2. Welcome Back to AJHS! The main things you need to know- 1. I am Coach Rains. This is room 35. I teach English 8 in this room. 2. You will sit in alphabetical order in these four rows. 3. The rules here are simple. Do your best! Be responsible! Respect everyone! 4. You will be graded on a point system in my room. Fifty percent of the points will come from daily work and homework, while the other fifty percent will come from tests and/or projects. 5. You will be READING! We will be applying literary elements to what you read. You will continue to work on writing and grammatical skills. If your mind is right, you will appreciate what you learn, and you may even have some fun. 6. Who is Coach Rains? We’ll get back to that. 7. Will Coach Rains treat me fairly? We’ll also get back to that in a few moments.

3. Coach Rains I was born in Guntersville a long, long time ago. My family moved to Huntsville not long after I was born. I attended Ridgecrest Elementary and Westlawn Middle Schools in Huntsville through the eighth grade. We then moved back to Marshall County, and I attended Claysville Junior High for one year and DAR High School for three years. I went to Snead St. Junior College for a year-and-a-half before transferring to the University of Alabama. I graduated from U of A in December of 1992. I worked for a couple of different companies before deciding to go back to school to become a teacher. I attended Alabama A&M University and received my Master’s Degree in English Education. I have always been very close with my family, and my wife was raised the same way. Therefore, I am now close with her family, too. My wife and I have a daughter who is starting fourth grade today. You will hear many stories about Kate throughout the year. She is a pretty awesome kid who has her dad wrapped around her finger. I have always been a rule follower, and I expect my students to do the same. If you follow my rules, you will perform better in this classroom and get along with me. Getting along with me will make your days, weeks, months, and year a lot more enjoyable for you.