COURSE: 11th Grade English

ENGLISH TEACHER: Ms. Larounis

CLASSROOM: AC 136
EMAIL: Larounisj@mcvts.net
Course Description: The English Department at Middlesex County
Vocational and Technical School of East Brunswick provides students with
necessary higher-level thinking skills, such as analysis, reasoning, problemsolving, and critical-thinking. These skills are applicable to students
endeavoring to pursue a career in any of the vocational and/or technical
programs at MCVTS. In this course, students will become more advanced
thinkers through the implementation of fiction and non-fiction texts.
Students will use the selected texts to write essays and speeches, effectively
participate in class discussions, and enhance grammar, usage, and
mechanics.
Class Rules:
1. Respect one another.
2. Respect the established MCVTS rules.
3. Arrive to class at the scheduled time.
4. Arrive to class prepared. That is, course text(s), paper, writing utensil,
and any other assigned materials.
5. No profanity.
6. Keep your class clean.
7. Homework assignments must be completed and handed in on time.
Failure to comply may result in a decline in academic standing.
8. Cell phones are prohibited unless advised otherwise.
9. Be prepared to participate in class every day.
Homework: Homework assignments will be graded based on the quality of
the work produced. Most homework assignments will be graded on a 1-2pt.
scale. Failure to complete these assignments will poorly impact your grade.
If you are unable to complete a homework assignment, you are held
accountable for communicating that with me. Unexplained missed, or
incomplete, homework assignments are unacceptable and will result in a
zero in the gradebook. 1 point is deducted from your grade with each
passing day following the due date.
Attendance: What does it actually mean to be in class? In my class, it is
not enough to just show up. I expect all of my students to arrive to my class
eager and ready to learn. What does that mean? You must be prepared with
the assigned text(s), your journal and/or something to write on, and a writing
utensil. Additionally, you must be involved in all lessons. That may mean
taking notes, or that may mean leading a group discussion whatever the
case, you must bring more than just your body to my class. Bring your mind,
too!

Late Work: Grades will drop one level with each passing day following the
due date.
Absentee Policy: It is your responsibility to contact your teacher(s) and
classmates about missed work during an absence. You will be held to the
same expectations as every other student in the class. You will be allotted
the same amount of time as your classmates to complete an assignment.
Plagiarism: The practice of taking someone elses work or ideas and
passing them off as ones own (Google). All of the written work produced in
this class must be original and derived from your own mind. You will be
expected to cite the work of others in this class, but to avoid plagiarizing you
must always credit the person(s) and/or source(s) who have given you the
information you are utilizing. You can do this by employing the use of
quotation marks, or in-text/parenthetical citations.
Group Discussion Guidelines: During in-class discussions, you are
expected to conduct yourself in a professional manner. Inappropriate
behavior (that is, disrespectful comments, use of profanity, failure to comply
with established rules, etc.), will be dealt with accordingly. Generally
speaking, I expect all students to participate in the group discussions.
Participation is 20% of your grade, so come to class prepared having read
all assigned texts and completing assigned work on the expected due date.
and you should do just fine in this grading category.
Essay Guidelines: Generally speaking, I expect all essays to be typed in
MLA Format. MLA Format requires you to type in 12pt. Times New Roman
font with 1 margins. There is always a header on the left side of the page,
clearly listing the writers name, the course, the teachers name, and the date
(double spaced). Additionally, you must type the page number in the upper
right-hand corner, and create a title below the header. Refer to
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/13/ for more information
regarding my essay requirements. Failure to comply with this format will
lower your grade.
If you do not have access to a computer at home, please communicate that
with me. I will allow you to hand-write your essay. However, it must be
legible! If I have difficulty reading your essay, I will ask that you re-write it.
Your hand-written essay must also emulate the MLA Format as much as
possible (header, title, page numbers, accurate citations, etc.)
Journal Writing: In this course, you will participate in journal writing every
Friday. You will walk into my class, take out your journal (preferably a 2subject notebook), and begin free writing. Free writing is exactly what it
sounds like it is. You will write about anything you like for the first 7-10

minutes of class. Additionally your journal entries may be no less than 5-7
sentences. You must also write in an organized and neat fashion including
your name and date as I will be reviewing these entries. I will grade your
journal entries based on your ability to follow these instructions, not on the
content/subject of your written work.
Your journals will be reviewed every Friday and returned on Monday with a
grade:
- 0: no participation/written work
- 1 some written work/participation but activity is not complete
- 2: activity assignment is fulfilled
If you are absent, you are not required to make it up. Instead, you are
required to simply use a page to indicate your absence. Failure to do this will
result in a decline in your grade.
Simply do the following when you are absent:
Ms. Larounis
2016

October 20,

Absent.

Journal Writing Extra Credit: At the end of every semester, you may type
an essay or short-story based on any of your journal entries. You are
required to type this assignment. If you choose to write an essay, you must
use MLA format and it can be no less than 5 full paragraphs (that is, 7-10
sentences per paragraph). If you choose to write a short-story, it can be no
less than a page and a half.
Vocabulary: Every Monday, you will be introduced to a set of 7 vocabulary
words. You will come into class, and copy the words from the board into your
X-Boxes.
-

Monday homework: Define all ten words and use each word in
sentence.

Tuesday homework: draw a visual to remind you of each

words meaning.

Wednesday homework: identify two synonyms for each word.

Thursday: Vocab Review

Friday: Vocab Quiz

Grading:
*You are all walking into this class with 100%. What you end up with is YOUR
choice.
Homework 25%
Quizzes 25%
Tests/Essays.... 25%
Class Work/Participation. 25%
Course Texts:
Remind 101: Remind 101 is a communication application that allows
teachers to send short text messages/reminders to their students. We will
use this source of connectivity in our class for academic purposes only.
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Class code:

Grades & Genesis: You, and your parents/guardians, have access to your
grades on Genesis. However, be aware that the gradebook is not always
accurate and your online score may not reflect the most recent data, as I can
only grade so much at a time. On that note, if you have any
questions/concerns about your grade simply ask.
Contact Information:
Email: Larounisj@mcvts.net
Weebly:
Google Classroom: