Dear Parents and Students:
Welcome to English II and Gaffney Senior High School. This is an exciting and challenging time in your lives.
This year, the school curriculum integration theme is “Mission ’08: Challenge to Change,” and I plan to stress those strategies needed to be successful in the real world. To carry out our theme in our classroom, I will require our students to function as if this is the real world. I expect students to be on time, to complete all tasks, to master the skills required to complete the tasks, to get along with others, and to show respect for authority. As you know, using these skills in the workplace will guarantee success. Likewise, using these skills in English II will guarantee success.
My lessons and assignments are based on the South Carolina State Standards for English II. To ensure that each student is completing required work, I will check notebooks periodically by grading them accordingly.
I try to avoid assigning excessive homework, but I will do so as the need arises. I also expect students to take notes, follow along in their assigned textbooks, and complete ALL work assigned during the class period. If a student is absent, they must check with their homework buddy for any missed class work or homework assignments.
Cherokee County School District has adopted a Balanced Literacy Approach to teaching English. Students will be in English class for two class periods, and will receive two credits for this course.
Our 107 minute class will be divided into segments for Standardized Test Preparation (First Move), Vocabulary Study (Brain Teasers), Guided Reading and Literature, Guided Writing, Self-Selected Reading (SSR), and Teacher Read - Aloud.
This is a required course, so students will need to complete all assignments, maintain a passing average of 70 or higher, and meet the attendance guidelines in order to receive credit. If a student fails this class, they WILL NOT receive credit and WILL NOT be promoted to the eleventh grade.
I promise to enter our classroom each day, focused on the students’ success – not just for English II, but for life. I expect students to enter our classroom in the same manner.
Sincerely,
Ms.Corettia L. McElrath
