Mrs. Merrill's Epistle: Explanation of Engrade, late work, absent work, etc.

So last week I handed out Progress Reports and parents and students alike were stunned. I have had a lot of the same questions, so here is (hopefully) some clarification.

-Usually, I don’t let you hand in assignments after one week. HOWEVER, because so many of you are behind, I will let you hand in anything from this last week all the way back to the beginning of the year.

-When you hand in missing work, COMPLETE it. You cannot receive higher than a 70% on missing work, but you can score lower than that, making it a D grade. Bottom line: When you hand in things make sure they are completed. Don’t waste your time and mine with anything less than your best.

-If you have missing work, but you were absent, on the top of your paper you hand in put “ABSENT” or “I was absent.” If you were absent when we did or handed in an assignment, these can be made up for FULL POINTS. (Know that I will check the attendance).

-IMPORTANT: Make sure you hand in assignments ON TIME and make sure they are COMPLETED. Write down when assignments are due. Have a specific place for “things to turn in” and “things handed back.” Have a folder just for my English class. Listen when I ask for assignments. Many of you do not get a good score on assignments because either they are late or are incomplete. Get them in COMPLETED and ON TIME.

-Keep all assignments I hand back. Many of you may realize that you have a zero grade for something you know you handed in. Come show it to me. Sometimes I make mistakes and somehow I don’t record the grade.

-Even though your grade might not be what you want it to be, just keep working hard. If you have any questions or concerns, just come talk to me. You can bring your grade up by the end of the term if you are committed and work hard.

-About Engrade: how to log in and access Engrade. Go to www.engrade.com. Click on “Students and Parents.” Click on #2 where it says, “sign up for a free student account now.” This will bring up a box. Type in your code I gave you that should look something like this: engrade-mrsmerrill-123456. (Reminder: Don’t give your code to ANYONE). Click “next.” This should bring up a page where you can set your own username and password. From then on, you can just go to www.engrade.com/mrsmerrill to sign in.

-Study hard for the Vocab Tests. A lot of you are scoring poorly. Remember that you need to memorize all 10 words (I don’t give them to you) and to spell them correctly.

-If you have any questions about ANYTHING, just come ask me. If you have a question on an assignment ask me as soon as possible. It doesn’t do you much good to ask me how to do something if it’s due in 60 seconds.

-BOTTOM LINE: Keep working hard. I know that each of you can bring your grade up. I know that each of you are capable of getting a good grade in my class. Don’t give up. Keep working hard. Together we will succeed.