August 10th, 2017

Dear Parent or Guardian,

Welcome to the tenth grade! I hope you and your children had wonderful summers and are ready to get
back to school. The tenth grade has an especially good reading list, and I look forward to sharing some amazing
literature with your child. We will read Fahrenheit 451, Joy Luck Club, Lord of the Flies, Of Mice and Men,
Midsummer Nights Dream, Oedipus Rex, Julius Ceasar, and Crime and Punishment.
With writing, my main goal will be that every student, regardless of where they start as writers, should
improve over the year. We will work on improving writing skills through regular practice, structured
brainstorming, discussion of student writing, and peer reviews. I also give feedback on most essays indicating
to students which two things stood out as strongest in their paper and which two weaknesses, if they work on
them, could most improve their writing going forward. I will ask students keep a log tracking my comments on
their essays through the year, and they will use that log to help them set goals for how to improve as they move
forward. If students are struggling (or trying to push themselves!) with writing and want my feedback, they can
bring me rough drafts of their essay (in GPS or before or after school) before the due date to conference about
the most important things to focus on in revising.
I also want to share something which I have heard from parents and students for years. Advanced tenth
grade is harder than advanced ninth grade, and this is true not just in English but in other classes as well. If you
think about it, last year was the first year that students were able to take advanced English and some other
advanced classes, and it was harder than middle school. But next year, kids will be able to take AP classes for
the first time, and that is much harder than ninth grade. So each year, we step up the difficulty to get them to
the point where they are prepared for what is ahead. In my experience, there is an adjustment period in the first
month or two of tenth grade where students are adjusting to the higher expectations in all their classes, but by
the end of the semester they have figured it out. I share this because I think that if you know to expect that
adjustment period, it is easier to understand what is going on with them and to help them if necessary.
I recommend that your child get the following materials for my class:
A binder or folder to organize class notes, handouts, assignments, etc.
a spiral notebook or a composition notebook for the bellringer
paper
pencil or pen (blue or black)
red pen
highlighter
notecards
Your child can expect regular homework in my class. Every week, students will be assigned an Article
of the Week on Monday. He or she is expected to read the articles and write a response before class on Friday.
Some of the other things that your child may need to do at home for my class include reading assignments,
essays, and project work, for example, for the research project.
I hand out calendars at the beginning of each unit that list all of the upcoming due dates for that unit, and
I have upcoming due dates on the board in red. This year, I will also be maintaining a live google doc that
will show due dates and activities throughout the year. It is currently filled out for the first semester, and
I will be able to update it when necessary (snow days, student confusion that leads to more time on
something, etc.). You can access my calendar from this website:
http://mrspetrowsadvancedenglish10.weebly.com/calendar.html
If you have questions about what your child should be doing or your childs progress, please contact me. You
can email me at jody.petrow@bpsne.net, or you can call the school. If you miss me, leave a message, including
your name, the students name, and a phone number, and Ill call you back.
Thanks so much for your support, and I look forward to a fantastic year!

Sincerely,

J. Petrow
ENGLISH 10A: MRS. PETROW
English class focuses on some of the most important things that you will learn in high schoolhow to
better understand what you read, and how to present your own ideas, in written and spoken form, to other
people. Literature helps us explore and understand what it is to be a human being. This is great stuff!! The
simple tenth grade English curriculum includes four essential objectives.

1. Uses oral presentations for varied contexts.

2. Writes for different purposes.
3. Understands grade-level texts.
4. Researches using primary and secondary sources.

Advanced English requires more reading, and at a higher level, than in a regular English class. Students
will also receive more in-depth writing instructions and write significantly more than in a regular English class.
Being able to write well is a crucial skill in high school, college, and in the world beyond, and one that we will
spend a lot of time on in English this year.

RULES
1) Respect others and their property
2) Come prepared.
3) Stay in your seat and be quiet unless told otherwise.

GRADING
1. Grade breakdown:
70% Summative (includes papers, projects, tests, and speeches)
7% Article of the Week: weekly homework
23% Formative: smaller daily assignments, building blocks of larger projects, quizzes, etc.

2. Late work: Late formative work will be accepted until the end of the unit, with a 40% reduction in credit.
For late summative work, 10% will be deducted for each day late, up to 40% off.

3. Speeches: Speeches are a public speaking EO, which means that I have to score you on how you present to a
public audience. Unless you have an IEP or 504 plan that says otherwise, speeches must be given to a public
audience.

4. Summative Retakes:
*There will be no retakes of novel tests or semester exams.
*Some summative essays may be rewritten. Students may not rewrite research papers or timed papers.
To rewrite other summative essays, students must complete relearning assignments chosen by the teacher and
do so in a timely manner. Students should arrange to meet with the teacher within 3 days after the essay is
passed back in order to discuss the relearning requirements. The student will have 2 (calendar) weeks from the
date after the essay is passed back to complete the relearning assignments and turn in the rewritten essay.

5. If students plagiarize work, they will receive a zero for that work.

PROCEDURES
1) Seats will be assigned. If there is a problem with your seat, please let me know.
2) You may get up to throw away trash, sharpen your pencil, or get supplies during individual or group work
time, but NOT during lectures, presentations, or class discussion.
3) Water is always allowed. Food and other drinks may be allowed or restricted depending on class behavior.
4) Raise your hand to speak.
5) You should do your assignments in black pen, blue pen (standard blue, not teal, turquoise, etc.), or pencil.
You may correct assignments in other colors, but the original work should be in black pen, blue pen, or
pencil. Final essays should be typed.
6) If you dont turn an assignment in when I collect it, its late. The highest score you can get on late work is
60%. I accept late work for limited periods of time. For example, I wont accept formative assignments for
a novel after the student takes the novel final test.
7) ABSOLUTELY NO TALKING while Mrs. Petrow, a student, or anyone else is speaking to or presenting to
the class.
8) All typed work should be double-spaced, with standard margins, in Times New Roman 12-point font unless
I tell you otherwise.
9) If you want to use your phone for a purpose related to class, ask me. Otherwise, if you use your phone,
ipod, or ipad, or other electronic distraction in my class, I will confiscate it until the end of the day.
10) Assignments need to be printed before you get to class on the day they are due. If you dont have a printer
at home, make arrangements to print before school, in GPS the day before, or at some other time. I will not
write passes for you to print your paper at the beginning of class.

ABSENCES AND TARDIES

In order to be considered on time, you need to be IN YOUR SEAT when the bell finishes ringing. If
you are hanging out chatting with your friends instead of in your seat, I will mark you tardy. When you get
your 4th tardy, I will call your parents. You will be referred to the dean for your fifth tardy, again for your 8th
tardy, your 10th tardy, and every even-numbered tardy after that. If you are tardy to first period by more than 15
minutes, you will be counted absent. If you are excessively late to a class later in the day, you will be sent to
the dean for skipping.
If you are absent or tardy, you are responsible for getting your make-up work. I will list the missed
assignments in schoology, including any handouts you need. At the end of your third day back in school, your
make-up work is due. AFTER THAT DAY MAKE-UP WORK WILL BE COUNTED LATE. Please write
MAKE-UP WORK in large letters at the top of any make-up work, to help me remember not to mark it late.
If you miss a test, it is your responsibility to schedule with me a time when you can take it.