ELA Grade 7

Mr. Rolerson’s

English/Language Arts

Course Overview 

Introduction:

Greetings parents and students! My name is Amon Rolerson and I’ll be teaching  7th and 8th grade ELA. This will be an exciting year. Read below for everything you need to know to make it a successful one!

Parent & Teacher Communication:

I want to be sure you know all of the important assignments and dates for your student. First, each parent or guardian should ensure that he or she is on my weekly mailing list for the weekly student syllabus. It will contain homework assignments and important due dates, along with other important information you will want to know. To join the mailing list, send an email to [email protected] and title it “contact info.”In the message, include your name and relationship to the student (i.e. mother, father, or guardian), along with the student’s full name and grade level. From there I’ll add you to the proper list and send a reply “thank you for joining,” to confirm that I got the message. I should already get a master list of parent emails for the primary guardian, but this is an extra measure to make sure no parent falls through the cracks when it comes to communication. If you provided this info when visiting my class at the Back to School Bash, then you are good to go and no email is needed. Good deal!  FYI, students will see the same syllabus in their  Google Classroom weekly. Lastly, parents and students should also check out grades in FOCUS weekly and email me with any questions or concerns. Most issues with grades are easily resolvable. My goal is to have weekly grades posted by the end of the day on Fridays. Sometimes they are not all posted until the end of the weekend depending on the assignments.  I intend to return email messages daily if I receive them before 3:00 P.M. If received after 3:00, you will receive a reply the next day. 

Teacher Credentials:

Education:

Master’s Degree – Teaching

Bachelor’s Degree – Mass Communication / Journalism

Experience:

Teacher: 11 years

Professional Educator Certifications:

• ELA (6-12) 
• Reading Endorsement 
• English for Speakers of Other Languages -  ESOL (K-12)
• Exceptional Student Education - ESE (K-12)
• Social Studies (6-12)
• Elementary Education 

Curriculum:

I’m excited to say that Belmont ELA is adopting a new curriculum this year for middle and high school! My Perspectives is the name of the program. It will provide students with interactive textbooks and a matching online component. There are a lot of embedded media features that are sure to excite students! This curriculum also aligns to the new Florida BEST standards. Curriculum will be supplemented with Study Island and other resources. We will be practicing all required FSA standards this year. The basic strands include the following:

Reading Literature	Informational Writing	Speaking and Listening
Reading Informational Text	Narrative Writing	Language Conventions

Grading:

Letter to Percentage Correspondence	Grade Scale
A 90 – 100	Assessments: 50%
B 80 – 89	Assignments: 40%
C 70 – 79 D 60 - 69	End of Quarter Assessment 10%

Grading Policy:

1. Late work will be accepted with a maximum score of 60%.
2. Some assignments will not be accepted past a certain deadline. These dates will be noted in the weekly syllabus email to parents and the students’ Google Classrooms. 
3. Late work attributed to an excused absence will receive full credit within the guidelines set forth by Belmont Academy. 

Classroom Rules:

1. Treat people and property with respect.
2. Be ready and working at the start of class when the bell rings.
3. Bring materials and homework to class on time.

 

Discipline:

All students are expected to follow school rules and procedures as stated in the Belmont Academy Student Code of Conduct. Belmont Academies “strike” system will be used to record rule infractions.  Students who commit a minor classroom infraction will often have a chance to briefly discuss it after class, if it is not a regular occurrence. Common minor classroom infractions include talking out of turn, distracting peers, and being off task. If an infraction continues after an individual or class reminder, the student will receive a “strike.” The “strike” indicates that the incident is to be recorded on a “team record” of behavior. As a team, your child's teachers will review the record of student behaviors as related to classroom disruptions and insubordinate behaviors. Minor behaviors that interfere with the school day will be documented as a "warning." Major offenses will result in an automatic referral to the Director of Discipline. Students who receive a cumulative of three or more warnings (or “strikes”) on the record from his/her classroom teachers in the course of one week, will be assigned lunch detention on Friday. If this happens, parents will be contacted via email. If the student is absent on Friday, the lunch detention will be served on the next day in attendance. Upon three visits to lunch detention, the student will then be given a referral to the Director of Discipline through FOCUS for further disciplinary action. If I encounter a situation where a student is having repeated difficulty with following the classroom or school rules, I intend to contact the parent and have a friendly discussion on the matter. Most issues seem to resolve when parents know what’s going on.  I also encourage parents to contact me anytime about any issue.

 

Thanks for reading to the end! 

I’m looking forward to a great year! Reach out any time if there is anything I can do to help. 

 

Mr. Rolerson

English /  Language Arts (7th & 8th Grade)

[email protected]