OaklandEarlyCollege:FAQandQuickStartGuide,Fall2009Q:Let’sstartwiththemostbasicquestion.Whenaremyhighschoolclasses?

A:OEC’sFall2009HighSchoolscheduleisasfollows:

BlockHourTimeNotes1

18:10‐9:10Firsthour

2

29:15‐10:15Secondhour

3

310:20‐11:20Thirdhour

4a

411:25‐11:55Formoststudents,eitherlunchorFocus

4b

512:00‐1:00Fourthhour

4c

61:05‐1:35Formoststudents,eitherlunchorFocus

5

71:40‐2:40

6

82:45‐3:45

7

9+DualenrollmentblocksScheduleswillvarybystudent



(8:10AM‐10:00PM)Studentmaybeenrolledatanytimeofdayand/orweekendforcollegedualenrollmentcourses



Q:Isee“Focus”onmyschedule.What’sthat?

A:Focusisyourhomeawayfromhome.You’llgenerallymeeteverydayexceptFridayswithagroupofstudentswhoshouldstaytogetheruntilyougraduate.You’llbeledinthissessionbyateacherwhowillserveasyouradvisor,yourmentor,andyouradvocate.You’lldoalotofteam‐building,someacademicprogramming,andagooddealofplanning.StudentgovernmentrepresentativesarechosenthroughyourFocusclasses,andmostco‐curricularactivitiesbeginthere.Youwillworkoncommunityserviceprojects,trackyouracademicprogress,andworktobuildasmall,tight‐knitgroupofstudentswhoknoweachotherwellandhelpeachothersucceedandgrow.Allstudents

must

beinFocuseachday.Ifyouwillbeattendingsupplementalinstruction,acollegeclass,orrelatedcurricularorco‐curricularactivity,youmustcheckinwithyourFocusteacher.Studentsin13

seminarbutnotinFocusmustarrangeacheck‐intimewiththeirteacher.BecauseyourFocusteacherisfrequentlytheteacherwhoknowsyoubest,

yourFocusteacheristhefirstpointofcontactbetweentheschoolandyourfamily.

Ifparents,forinstance,haveconcernsaboutyourprogress,theyshouldcontactyourFocusteacherfirst,andyourcontentteacher

second.(Emailisfrequentlytheeasiestwaytocontactourfacultyandstaff.Thereisanemailcontactlistavailableonourschoolwebsite.)

Q:WhataboutFridays?WhatareTownMeetings?

A:TownmeetingsaregenerallyheldeachFridayinlieuofFocus.It’sachanceforalargergroupofstudentstocometogetherforavarietyofactivitiesandsessions.Guestspeakers,largegroupdiscussions,andinformationalsessionsalsofrequentlytakeplaceduringTownMeetings.

Q:WhattimedoesOECopeneachday?

A:Generallyspeaking,theofficeisopenaround7:00AMeachmorning.Theofficeisusuallyopenuntilabout3:30.Individualteachers,administrators,andstaffmaybeavailableatotherhoursaswell.TheOrchardRidgecampusgenerallyopensat7:00AMaswell,althoughtheHealthClubandHbuildingfacilitiesusuallyopenearlier.Classesnormallyrununtil10:00PM.

Q:Okay,backtomyhighschoolscheduleforaminute.Whereareeachofmyclasses?

A:MosthighschoolclasseswillbeheldintheBandGbuildings.Alist,includinglablocationsandoffices,follows:TeacherRoomRelatedroomsorresourcesOfficeBordoleyG‐219Mezzanine,G‐317ChanG‐221Mezzanine,G‐317HeffelbowerB‐203CompassonlineMezzanine,G‐317MaddalenaB‐108Chemorbiolab;seeteacherforinformationMezzanine,BStewartB‐204Physicslab(Abuilding);seeteacherforinformationMezzanine,BWarnerG‐215Coffeeshop,greenroomortheater;seeteacherforinformationMezzanine,B

TownMeeting

J‐191FridaysB‐201

Q:WhatdoIdoifI’mabsentfromahighschoolclass?

A:Ifyouareeverabsent,pleasecontactourattendancehotlineat(248)686‐1632andleaveamessage.It’salsoverygoodpracticetosendanemailtoyourteacherstoletthemknowyou’reokay,andtofindoutwhatyou’vemissed.(YoushouldattheveryleastemailyourFocusteacher.)Youare

responsibleforanyassignmentsmissedduringanabsence.Excessiveabsencesmayresultinlossofcreditand/oradministrativeaction.

Q:WhatifI’mabsentfromacollegeclass?

A:Sincecollegeclassesdonotgenerallymeeteachday,missingacollegeclasscanhaveahugeimpactonyourperformance.Manyprofessors,infact,factorattendanceasasubstantialcomponentofyourgrade.Ifyouareeverabsentfromacollegeclass,you

must

arrangeinadvancewithyourcollegeprofessor.Failuretoattendcollegeclassesmayresultinlossofcredit,revocationofcollegeregistrationprivileges,oradministrativeaction.

Q:Inoticethatmycollegeclassesbeginbeforeourhighschoolclassesevermeet.AmIexpectedtoattend?

A:Absolutely!Collegeclassesbeginthisweek.Youareexpectedtobeinattendance.

Q:Ohboy.That’salittlescary!WhenIwalkintothefirstdayofacollegeclass,whatshouldIdo?

A:Findoutwheretheclassisandgettherealittleearly.Findaseatnearthefrontoftheclassroom.Turnoffallelectronics—thesurestwaytoirritateyourprofessors(andhighschoolteachers)istohaveyourphonegooffduringclass,ortosendorreceivetexts.Havealltheusualmaterialsathand:notebook,pensorpencils,andyourbooks.Thefirstdayofclassisfrequently,butnotalways,shorterthantheassignedtime.Mostprofessorswilltakethisopportunitytointroducethemselves,explaintheircourseexpectations,andhandoutthecoursesyllabus.

Thecoursesyllabusisthesinglemostimportantthingyourprofessorwillgiveyou.

Itis,inmanyrespects,acontract,explainingthecourserequirements,howyouwillbegraded,andhowtoseekadditionalhelp.Usually,

thesyllabuswilldescribetoyou,inadvance,whenassignmentsaredueandhowyouwillbeevaluated.

Thesyllabusislikegold;donotloseitunderanycircumstances.Youwillberequiredtoenterinformationabouteachclass,includingeveryassignment,intoyouronlineportfolioatthebeginningofthesemester.(YourFocusteacherwillwalkyouthroughthisprocess.)Youarealsoexpectedtouploadanyworkyou’vedoneforthecourse.

Q:HowdoIgetmybooks?

A:Highschoolbookswillbedistributedbyyourteachers.Toreceiveyourcollegetextbooks,however,youwillfirstneedtogototheschoolbookstoreoverintheJbuildingwithacopyofyourcollegescheduleandaphotoID.Checktoseewhatbooksyouneed,thencomebacktotheOECofficestoseeif