DearParentsandStudents,

Welcometomy8thgradeHumanitiescourse!ImLauraKaufman,andIamlookingforwardto
workingwithallofyouthisyear.IhavetaughtintheUnitedStatesandinColombia,andIam
veryexcitedtostartmythirdyearhereatAIS.Ijustwantedtogiveyouallalittleinformation
abouttheclassthisyearandmyhopesandexpectations.

Thisclasswillbeusingbothlanguageartsandsocialstudiestoexaminelanguage,literature,
thepast,andtheworldwelivein.Therewillbequizzes,tests,projects,homework,and
classwork,butmygoalisforusasaclasstotakealltheinformationwelearn(evenfromother
classes)anduseittointerprettheworldaroundusandseehistory,language,andsocietyfrom
manydifferentpointsofview.Becausenosubjectstandscompletelyalone,wewillbe
combiningskillsfrombothareasinprojects,presentations,andeverydaywork.Grammaralone
hasverylittlemeaningitis

usinggrammarcorrectlyatalltimesthatisvital.Knowingour
historyiscrucial,but understandingourhistorycanhelpuslearnforthefuture.Eventhough
yourschedulesaysEnglishondayAandSocialStudiesondayB,wewillalmostalwayscover
bothsubjectseveryday.WealsohaveonlyoneEaglenetcoursetomakethingssimplerwhen
youneedtofindinformation.

Wearealllearnerstogether.EveryyearIlearnfrommystudents,andIknowthatthisyearwill
benodifferent.Itisperfectlyfinetonotknowananswer.Itis

unacceptableforanyofusto
acceptthatasanexcusethough.Wemustalltrytofindtheanswersbeforegivingup.This
meansreviewingnotes,thetexts,askingclassmates,andaskingforhelp.Iexpectthatallofmy
studentswilltrytheirbestandbeacademicallycourageous.Thismeanstakingchances,being
willingtoaskforhelp,beingabletosupporttheirpositioninthefaceofopposition,andbeing
respectfulofothers.Wewillhavedebatesandspeechesinclass,andIexpecteverystudentto
dotheirbestforthepositiontheyareassignedandtorespecttheworkandthepositionof
everyoneelseintheclass.Whenwehaveclassdiscussions,Iexpecteveryonetoparticipate
withmeaningfulandthoughtfulcommentsandtoletothersparticipate.

Itrulywanteverysinglestudentinmyclasstosucceed.Thismaylookdifferentfordifferent
students,andIdonotbelieveincomparingstudentstoeachother.Iwillbesharinggradeswith
studentsindividuallyandonEaglenetonaregularbasis,butIwanttostressthatabadweekor
abadgradedoesnotmeanthestudentisincapableorthattheywillnotbeabletorecoverfrom
it.Weallhavebaddays,butwhatmattersishowwerecover.Therewillmanygradesandmany
chancestodemonstratewhatstudentshavelearned.Iamavailableafterschool,beforeschool,
andoccasionallyduringlunchtohelpstudentsthatwantorneedalittlemoreattentionplease
checkwithmeaboutaspecificdate.

Communication
Iamhappytocommunicatewithparentsthroughouttheyear.IfIhaveaconcernorwantto
sharepositivenewsaboutastudent,Iwillgetintouch.Ifyouhaveaconcernaboutyourchildin
myclass,pleaseletmeknowassoonaspossiblesowecanaddressit.Idonotusuallycheck

myschoolemail(lkaufman@ais.edu.hk)after6pm(unlessotherwisespecified).Iwillgetback
toyouassoonaspossible,butIwouldrespectfullyaskthatyougivemeupto24hoursto
respond.Allassignments,deadlines,classpolicies,andclassresourceswillbepostedon
Eaglenetinadvanceandmaybeafasterwaytofindanswers.

Priorities
Iexpectforstudentstomakeschoolandlearningtheirpriority.Iwasastudentoncetoothough,
andIunderstandthatsometimeslifegetsintheway.Ifthereisastressfulsituationathomeor
outsideconcern,IwilldomybesttobeunderstandingandworkwithyouifIamawareofit.If
thishappensfrequently,wewillneedtomeettofigureoutalongertermsolution.

ClassRules
Wewillreviewallclassrules,policies,andproceduresinclass.Simply,therulescanbe
condensedtofollowingtheschoolscorevaluesofrespect,responsibility,unity,andhonesty.I
willalsopostthemtoEaglenet.Mypriorityishaveaclassthatisasafelearningenvironmentfor
all.Itisnotfairtotheotherstudentsinclassifastudentbreaksoneoftherules,isdisrupting
learningforothers,ornotbeingrespectful.Studentswillbewarnedandguidedbacktoworkif
theygetofftaskorbecomedisruptive,butifithappensagaintheymaybeseparatedfromtheir
peersfortheday,askedtostayduringbreaktocompletetheirwork,orneedtoattendStudy
Zonetomakeuptheworktheymissed.Ifweallworktogether,thisshouldnotbeaproblem.

Deadlines
Iexpectallworktobeturnedinontime.Partofthe8thgradeexperiencetopreparestudents
forthehighschoolandtheexpectationstheywillfacenextyear,andintheirfuture.Assuch,I
expectstudentswillmeetalldeadlines.Thisisalsotoacknowledgetheworkdonethatisturned
inontimebyothers.Allhomeworkisdueatthebeginningofclassunlessspecifiedotherwise.
Pleasecheckthehomeworkdiary(orhoweveryouchoosetotrackyourhomework)eachdayto
makesurenothingimportantisbeingforgotten.Ifastudentisabsent,theywillhavethenumber
ofdaystheywereabsenttomakeuptheirassignments.Completingyourworkontimewillhelp
youprepareforfutureworkinclassandlearning.Ifyoudonotturnyourassignmentinontime,
youwillneedtocompleteaLateSlipwhichasksyoutoexplainwhyitwaslate,howtoavoid
thishappeningagain,andawritingportionaboutthetopicswearecovering.Untiltheworkis
turnedin,youwillhavea0%inthegradebookthiswillbechangedassoonasIgetthe
assignment.

Tests/Quizzes
Wewillhavebothtestsandquizzes.Theywillallbeannouncedaheadoftime,andthetopics
willposted.Ifollowtheschoolspolicyofzerotoleranceforcheatingandwillassigna0%and
contacttheparents.Studentswilldocorrections(nomatterhowhightheirgradeexceptfor
100%)tohelpthemlearnandreflectonwhattheydidanddidnotdowell.Inorderto
retake/redoatest/quizormajorproject,studentswillneedtocompleteaRequestto
Revise/Retakeform(availableonEaglenetandintheclassroom).

IwillbeatBacktoSchoolNightandMiddleSchoolOrientationifyouhaveanyspecific
questionsorconcerns,andIwillpostthislettertoEaglenetforfutureuseaswell.Pleasesign
theformbelowandreturnittoclassbyFRIDAY,AUGUST19forfullcredit.

Thankyouandhavewonderfulyear!

LauraKaufman

BeginningofYearLetterHome,pleasereturnbyFRIDAY,AUGUST21,2015
Parent
Name___________________________________________________________________

Parent
Signature________________________________________________________________

Date_____________________________

Student
Name__________________________________________________________________

Student
Signature_______________________________________________________________

Date_____________________________

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