Dear parents, guardians, and students,

I have provided plenty of opportunities to submit late assignments. Today, I will enter all missing assignments as zeros so that students are aware of their grade. To find out what the missing assignments are, students must follow the directions below in Schoology. Except for one new student, everybody is now familiar with Schoology.

Students have this weekend to submit their assignments without lateness penalty. After that, students will lose daily points as per our school grade policy until they reach 50. In other words, the highest grade a student can achieve for a late assignment way past its due date is 50.

Moving forward (I am very excited about this), we will be using an online textbook that will track students' progress way more efficiently. The goal this year, because the NJ standards have changed, is to reach a certain level of proficiency by June. This means that in order to graduate, students must be able to communicate in scenarios we have practiced in class. 

So, we are hitting the gas pedal en la clase de español. It’s time to buckle down, move out of our comfort zones and review daily. This is the key. If you don’t understand something, you must speak up.

As far as upcoming presentations, these are always summative assessments. Students who present live in front of the class will have access to the highest score. Students who submit creative video recordings (I can help with that) can also achieve 100% if they share their videos in class on the day of presentations. Students who submit a private video will achieve an 85 as their maximum grade. Students who only submit written work will receive 50%.

Parents and guardians, please email me if you have any questions at pyanez@gpsd.us

Students, if you need to contact me regarding grades, do so via Schoology. We have a system to submit late assignments, so please follow the instructions in order for your grade to change. 

Con cariño,

Señora Yáñez

How to check missing assignments in Schoology (SGY)

1. Go to the corresponding course.

2. On the left menu, go to GRADES

3. Scroll all the way down to see your grade

4. Everything that is MISSING will say so and have an orange icon

5. Anything with a dash – means that I haven’t graded it. You should see your submission there. Click on it and read any comments I may have left you.

6. Look through all the information on that page. 

If you did not receive this email on 9/27, please contact me pyanez@gpsd.us.

Gracias!

 

Dear Guardians (Apoderados), Parents (Madres y Padres) and Students (Estudiantes),

 

Welcome to the 17th day of school. 163 more to go. This seems daunting to me because this year I am teaching 152 students a day. Getting everyone to learn at a good pace is a challenge I can only take on if I have everyone’s support and best attitude. 

 

Having said that, I want to give everyone an update so that we are all on the same page. Regarding grades, Schoology (SGY) and PowerSchool should be working properly. Students have had their first opportunity on their first Summative Assessment. “Take 2” will happen on Friday. As far as students’ linguistic performance, behavior and participation in class, I have hardcopies of those grades and will be entered asap.

 

Please have in mind that some students still don’t have a working school laptop, and that I am doing my best to keep everyone focused on the proficiency tasks listed below. Since we don’t have a textbook, students should be keeping organized notes (called their PORTAFOLIO) on either paper, an electronic document, or both. This “portafolio” will be assessed a couple of times throughout the year. 

 

Our focus is spontaneous communication on certain familiar topics. If you still haven’t been collecting notes, there is a sign on the left side of the room (facing front) that has the sections of “el portafolio” so that you can get it together. 

 

I am getting ready to contact individual families due to ongoing usage of phone and headphones in class, as well as signs of disrespect towards me. There are also groups of friends that are having a little too much fun in class and getting too much of my negative attention in class. This needs to change. 

 

Proficiency Tasks for the First Unit:

 

Spanish 1 - being able to say the alphabet, recognize the sounds of the letters, and spelling out loud.

Spanish 2 - grammar “article noun adjective agreement”, body parts vocab, and describing people (aliens) in complete sentences.

 

Students, please ask your family members or friends to quiz you. They do not have to speak Spanish to help you. They can simply ask you to actually say the alphabet (if you’re in Spanish 1) or to name the body parts (Spanish 2). Since I will be measuring proficiency levels in Spanish, I will be having unannounced assessments. I do believe in retakes, but those are dealt with on a one-on-one basis and have to be requested as soon as students receive their scores. 

 

There are all sorts of free resources available online and on SGY. There is a purple folder that starts with the word “apuntes” which means “notes”. There’s Quizlet that we use in class, Duolingo, and StudySpanish.com, to mention a few. Once you know the alphabet and the rules of pronunciation, you can read anything and fill your brain with words to begin with. Old-fashioned index cards with the Spanish word on one side and the English on the other are as effective as anything else. Spanish is a skill you will develop only if you actively practice it consistently.

 

Students, I’ve shared this in class and there’s a yellow poster in the front of the room. If I make any mistakes on SGY or PowerSchool, if you are absent, or if you are submitting late work, you MUST send me a direct message via Schoology and add the link to the assignment post so that I can easily click on what you need me to look over. Class time is not to be interrupted by individual concerns. I will address it, just not on everyone else’s time. 

 

If you have any questions or would like to hear details about your daughter or son, feel free to reply to this email. Please remember to share who’s mamá or papá or apoderad@ (guardian) you are. Thank you to all who responded to my previous email. Your support is appreciated. 

 

Always grateful,

Señora Patricia Yáñez 

 

Be safe – wash hands, keep your distance

Be smart – be informed and watch what information you put out there for 12 year-olds to read, see or hear

Be kind – wear a mask