General Class Information
Hello parents!
Now that we are fully into the school year, I wanted to share some information with you to clarify a few items that I have been receiving questions about over the last week or so.
GRADING POLICY
As stated in the class syllabi (which you can find linked in the, "Class Presentations" located at the bottom of the Google Classroom stream/feed), assignments are weighted as Formatives 0%, Summatives 100%. However, in order to receive credit for the Summative assignment/performance, students must have 70% of the Formatives turned in by the Summative deadline. This means, that if we have 15 assignments in a unit, students must have at least 11 turned in by the final deadline to receive anything other than an IE in the grade book for that Summative. This also means that it is ok if a student has one or two missing assignments in either Drama or Stagecraft. I give kids this wiggle room since my classes are often used to pull students out for meetings with counselors, etc, and the assignments done in class can rarely be made up if the student was absent. Many of the assignments we do are done in tandem with the activities we do during the class period, so it would require a time machine for the students to go back and accurately complete missed work. The kids still get plenty of Formative practice during the classes they are present for, so as long as they are at the 70% turn in ratio, they will get credit for their work and the practice they need to grow their skills.
MISSING ASSIGNMENTS
I have received several questions about how missing assignments show up in Infinite Campus, and missing assignments in my classes. Infinite Campus can be quite confusing at times, so I have a few clarifications and tips to make checking for missing work in Drama and Stagecraft classes easier.
One of the biggest questions I get is, "Why does the same assignment show up as missing multiple times on Infinite Campus?" The answer to this question has to do with which learning targets are being assessed by each Formative or Summative assignment. If a missing assignment hits multiple learning targets, it will show up once for each learning target it is assigned to. So, if the same, "Do Now" assignment (which hits 3 learning targets) shows up 3 times on the missing assignment list, and the same, "Reflection" assignment (which hits 2 learning targets) shows up 2 times, it means the student is actually only missing two assignments, not 5. Unfortunately, this is a setting in Infinite Campus that we are not able to change, so it often makes it look as though students are missing several assignments, when it may only be one or two.
Along with the confusion IC provides, I also often get approached with is, "Ms. Stone, my mom says I am grounded until Infinite Campus is updated and shows that those missing assignments I had are turned in now. Can you update the status of these 'x number' of assignments for me by tonight so I am not grounded this weekend?" I get more emails like this than you can imagine on Friday afternoons! To help make checking for missing assignments easier for parents (and to help cut down on the number of emails like this that I receive), I suggest checking your student's "Classwork" tab in Google Classroom instead of Infinite Campus.
First, if your student does not have a "Classwork" tab at the bottom of their class page, I HIGHLY recommend having your student delete the app and reinstall it through SelfService to get the latest update. The latest version formats assignments in a way so they are much easier to find them. See the photo below for an example of the new update.
Now that we are fully into the school year, I wanted to share some information with you to clarify a few items that I have been receiving questions about over the last week or so.
GRADING POLICY
As stated in the class syllabi (which you can find linked in the, "Class Presentations" located at the bottom of the Google Classroom stream/feed), assignments are weighted as Formatives 0%, Summatives 100%. However, in order to receive credit for the Summative assignment/performance, students must have 70% of the Formatives turned in by the Summative deadline. This means, that if we have 15 assignments in a unit, students must have at least 11 turned in by the final deadline to receive anything other than an IE in the grade book for that Summative. This also means that it is ok if a student has one or two missing assignments in either Drama or Stagecraft. I give kids this wiggle room since my classes are often used to pull students out for meetings with counselors, etc, and the assignments done in class can rarely be made up if the student was absent. Many of the assignments we do are done in tandem with the activities we do during the class period, so it would require a time machine for the students to go back and accurately complete missed work. The kids still get plenty of Formative practice during the classes they are present for, so as long as they are at the 70% turn in ratio, they will get credit for their work and the practice they need to grow their skills.
MISSING ASSIGNMENTS
I have received several questions about how missing assignments show up in Infinite Campus, and missing assignments in my classes. Infinite Campus can be quite confusing at times, so I have a few clarifications and tips to make checking for missing work in Drama and Stagecraft classes easier.
One of the biggest questions I get is, "Why does the same assignment show up as missing multiple times on Infinite Campus?" The answer to this question has to do with which learning targets are being assessed by each Formative or Summative assignment. If a missing assignment hits multiple learning targets, it will show up once for each learning target it is assigned to. So, if the same, "Do Now" assignment (which hits 3 learning targets) shows up 3 times on the missing assignment list, and the same, "Reflection" assignment (which hits 2 learning targets) shows up 2 times, it means the student is actually only missing two assignments, not 5. Unfortunately, this is a setting in Infinite Campus that we are not able to change, so it often makes it look as though students are missing several assignments, when it may only be one or two.
Along with the confusion IC provides, I also often get approached with is, "Ms. Stone, my mom says I am grounded until Infinite Campus is updated and shows that those missing assignments I had are turned in now. Can you update the status of these 'x number' of assignments for me by tonight so I am not grounded this weekend?" I get more emails like this than you can imagine on Friday afternoons! To help make checking for missing assignments easier for parents (and to help cut down on the number of emails like this that I receive), I suggest checking your student's "Classwork" tab in Google Classroom instead of Infinite Campus.
First, if your student does not have a "Classwork" tab at the bottom of their class page, I HIGHLY recommend having your student delete the app and reinstall it through SelfService to get the latest update. The latest version formats assignments in a way so they are much easier to find them. See the photo below for an example of the new update.
Next, as you are looking at all of the assignments for each unit, you will see the assignment title, and a small colored circle to the left of the title. These circles will alert you to whether or not an assignment has been completed and turned in. If the circle is grayed out, that means your student has turned in the assignment. If it is in full color, that means the assignment is missing. Clicking on the title will also show you more details about the status of the assignment. Please note, that just because an assignment is turned in on Google Classroom, does not mean it will show up as turned in on Infinite Campus immediately. I do my best to update IC every 2 weeks, as is district policy, but seeing that I have nearly 200 students, it is a very lengthy and time consuming process and can take time since I must enter in each grade, for each student by hand. This is why for the sake of my classes Google Classroom will be the most accurate representation of turned in versus missing assignments for your student. Infinite Campus will always be updated ASAP with the accurate information on your student, but if you need immediate reassurance as far as what your student has completed, Google Classroom is the place to look.
Also note, that if a student turns in a missing assignment AFTER the Summative deadline, I will NOT update that assignment as, "turned in" in the grade book. The kids know that they are unable to turn in missing work past the final performance, so since it no longer counts towards their final grade, I will not update it in the grade book and the, "Missing" tag will remain for the rest of the semester/year.
See the photo below for a closer example of what Assignments will look like under the, "Classwork" tab.
If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me through email at [email protected] and I will be happy to help however I can!
Drama I Families
So far in Drama I, we have been spending our time working on Ensemble building within the class and teamwork skills. Since feeling comfortable around their classmates is integral to having successful performances throughout the year, we spend a lot of time practicing these skills in the beginning. The class has had discussions around our class expectations, and participated in several team building activities over the last few weeks. They created class rules as a whole group and worked together to create a short skit to present their rule to the rest of the class. Groups began performances this Monday and have already impressed me with how well they have come together as an ensemble! I can't wait to see the growth this class has over the next few months!
Stagecraft Families
Stagecraft has been similar to the Drama I class in that much of our time this year has been spent working on team building. Students who have taken the class before led new students in a discussion about necessary rules and procedures for the class, and we created a class safety contract, which all students signed and returned to me. This contract will be the basis for our interactions throughout the year and will hopefully help keep the students on task and making safe choices!
Last week, we moved on to the Theatre Hierarchy, our class hierarchy, and conflict management techniques, since the students will be working closely together in peer-run groups. We discussed the different kinds of conflict that can happen during a class like ours, and learned about the different ways to solve those problems in appropriate and professional ways. The students were then placed into small groups and created videos displaying an assigned conflict management strategy. The videos were due today and I am looking forward to watching the final products. I was really pleased with how well the groups worked together overall and hope that this is a sign for what is to come the rest of the year!
Next steps are to learn about the stage, tools, and materials, and then we are on to building!
Last week, we moved on to the Theatre Hierarchy, our class hierarchy, and conflict management techniques, since the students will be working closely together in peer-run groups. We discussed the different kinds of conflict that can happen during a class like ours, and learned about the different ways to solve those problems in appropriate and professional ways. The students were then placed into small groups and created videos displaying an assigned conflict management strategy. The videos were due today and I am looking forward to watching the final products. I was really pleased with how well the groups worked together overall and hope that this is a sign for what is to come the rest of the year!
Next steps are to learn about the stage, tools, and materials, and then we are on to building!
Drama II
Drama II students began the year by making SMART Moral Character Goals and were asked to think about how they can become the best person they can be, and then make a plan towards self-improvement.
For the last week, they have been working on scenes reviewing the basic movement, vocal, and character building skills learned in years past. Students are grouped by level (Drama II, Drama III, and Drama IV) and got to choose scenes based on their difficulty level. We have just finished up the character work over the last few days and plan to present the scenes next week.
Drama II is always a great group, so I am truly excited for the rest of the year!
For the last week, they have been working on scenes reviewing the basic movement, vocal, and character building skills learned in years past. Students are grouped by level (Drama II, Drama III, and Drama IV) and got to choose scenes based on their difficulty level. We have just finished up the character work over the last few days and plan to present the scenes next week.
Drama II is always a great group, so I am truly excited for the rest of the year!
Drama Club
The Drama Club also had our first meeting of the year on the 13th and had an AMAZING turn out with over 60 students! It was so exciting to see so many new faces! The next meeting is Thursday, October 11th after school, so mark your calendars! We also had our first auditions of the year for the Fall Play and One Act. Auditions had a great turn out and rehearsals started this week. There is a lot of talent between the two plays, so stay tuned for updates and plan on coming to see the shows! You won't want to miss out. Speaking of the Fall Play, after school tech crews start next Monday. Interested students can sign up outside of room 903 using the QR code found outside the classroom! Lastly, each year we ask for help from parents to organize our tech week dinners for the after school productions. This year, our parent in charge of arranging this dinners, Sandra Korthas, has written a letter asking for donations in advance. Please see the link below and donate if you can! |