Course Content
Freshmen Cohort is designed as a class for incoming freshmen to bolster skills related to math and ELA literacy, academic vocabulary building, and college/career readiness. Students will complete the freshmen portion of CIS portfolios as part of this class. Additionally, students will have a check-in every Wednesday to conduct school communications, check and record grades in planners, note any missing or make-up work needed in a planner, and organize personal schedules and materials. Students are required to stay on campus during this time. If all work is caught up, studying or silent reading is the only other option during cohort block. This is NOT a study hall class. Students will have a home base teacher for cohort and will benefit from units in 3-week units from each teacher in a wheel rotation.
Unless stated otherwise, all assignments are due at the end of the cohort period. No exceptions (other than absence) will be made. The assignments are structured to allow plenty of time for completion within the 90-minute class period.
GRADING: Students must score 70% or better over to earn a passing grade. This grade is computed as 100 points per class date. Check-in participation will be incorporated into the score for the same week.
Student Learning Objectives
The material taught in this class is based on the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards. Students in this program will seek to become a:
Digital Citizen
The student will recognize the rights and responsibilities of living, learning, and working in an interconnected digital world and practices safe, legal and ethical use of software and hardware.
Knowledge Constructor
Gather, locate, organize, analyze, evaluate and use information
Creative Communicator
The student communicates clearly and creatively using platforms, tools, styles, formats, and digital media appropriately.
Global Collaborator
Student collaborates with others and works effectively in teams locally and globally.
Classroom Materials
Students are expected to come to class prepared with basic tools. Just like adults who carry pens or pencils and paper to record important appointments or information, students will be able to maximize their educational experience if they are prepared to learn. The following supplies are suggested: tabbed section in binder, eraser, pencils, *silent reading book, black/blue AND red/grading pens, lined notebook paper, index cards, and colored pencils/markers (optional). The student planner is a MUST daily, and will be graded for continued completion. Doing homework or silent reading is the ONLY acceptable activity when classwork is completed, so one must be present at all times.
Classroom Expectations
To ensure a productive learning environment, the school-wide positive behavior system will be supported and reinforced in the classroom. Across campus and especially in our classroom, the basic expectations for all students fall into five main categories: Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Diversity, and Excellence, as outlined in the student planner. Please familiarize yourself with these expectations.
LATE WORK: It is the students’ responsibility to check the website and the classroom agendas for assignments when they miss school.
In this class, if you are missing an assignment, you can still turn it in with no grade penalty! If your assignment is overdue by more than 2 weeks, you will be assigned Office Hours (8:00am - 8:20am) or Extended School Day (3:30pm - 4:00pm) to complete the work.
Stay on top of your work. ASK FOR HELP! Ask for help. I am here to make you successful.
Original Work Requirement: All assignments you turn-in must be comprised entirely of your own original work, fully created by you. You may use copyright-free images from outside sources, but you must manipulate the images to make them your own original work.
Censorship: No violent or sexually explicit themes, no hate speech, racial slurs or other sensitive material whatsoever. Do not use a photo of a fellow student without his or her written permission.
If a student does not understand my expectations, I will re-teach them, so that the student understands.
If the student is actively choosing not to meet basic classroom expectations, the following consequences will apply:
1st consequence = reteach / conference after class
2nd consequence = parent contact
3rd consequence = assign student to lunch detention
4th consequence = administrative referral/consequence to be determined by the administration
Grades can be accessed online from the school’s Powerschool page more frequently as grades are regularly updated. It is up to the student and parents to check grades regularly. I find that it is very rare for a student to fail when attendance is regular and true effort is attempted at all times.
Tips for Student Success
PERSEVERANCE is very important in this class.
Academic Support at BHHS
An Extended School Day bus will be available to all students each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday after school, starting the third week of school, so that students will be able to get extra help from teachers or form study groups on those days. The bus(es) will leave at 4:30 pm.
Classroom Behavior Expectations and Consequences
In accordance with BHHS school-wide expectations, students in this class will exhibit behaviors of Bruin PRIDE:
• Perseverance
• Respect
• Integrity
• Diversity
• Excellence
In my classroom, this means that student will:
• not bring food or beverages into the computer lab
• come prepared to work hard
• refrain from playing games or using social media on the computers
Cell phones are totally disruptive to learning. In this class, ALL students are required to silence their phones and put them away in their backpacks. Unless I give express permission for you to use your phone, and I see your cell phone, I will not take your phone, but I will give you a paper bag. By signing this syllabus, you agree to put your phone in the paper bag (which will then be stapled) and put the phone on your desk to remain there until the end of the class.