Oak Grove School District AdVENTURE-STEM Agreements

The Oak Grove School District values a safe, nurturing, child-centered environment in which student success is the major focus in each of our schools. This agreement is intended to specify the school and district’s expectations and parent behavior while their child is enrolled in Oak Grove school District’s STEM Choice Program.

AdVENTURE Teacher Agreements:

1.  I commit to being in class, prepared to challenge our students to the most rigorous pursuit of academic achievement.
2. I will work collaboratively and cooperatively with all staff members at the school to ensure the maximum learning environment and integrated curriculum.
3. I am committed to being culturally responsive and building strong and safe relationships, and therefore will treat students and parents in a dignified, professional manner.
4. I believe that all students are able to learn at high levels and therefore will pursue a variety of instructional practices that will enhance student achievement.
5. I will provide parents and students with timely feedback on student’s performance and mastery of standards through a variety of instructional tools.
6. I will attend AdVENTURE activities in an effort to support students and families during and after school hours.
7. I will use AdVENTURE routines, norms, and posters in class.
8. I will attend staff meetings and work to make them relevant for our program.

AdVENTURE Student Agreements:

1. I embrace the norms, procedures, and philosophy of AdVENTURE and have pride in attending AdVENTURE.
2. I will do my work at a high quality, using rubrics to guide my progress.
3. I am self reflective, and make an effort to learn beyond my current knowledge.
4. I set goals for myself and work toward achieving them.
5. I will attend school daily, and make up my work if I am gone.
6. I will read every day outside of school.
7. I will actively participate school activities.
8. I have a positive attitude.
9. I take good care of myself outside of school.

AdVENTURE Parent Agreements:

1. I will reinforce AdVENTURE’s philosophy.
2. I will support my child with their collaborative projects by allowing and ensuring my child  communicates with group members outside of school.
3. I understand that my child will have to collaborate digitally with partners at times and therefore will allow them access to online content.
4. I will promote critical thinking by encouraging questions and exposing my child to a variety of   experiences. I understand the importance of providing these experiences not only during the school  year, but continuing through the summer months for my child to remain engaged in the AdVENTURE Mission, and maintain their level of achievement .
5. I will keep up-to-date with what is happening at AdVENTURE.
6. I will make sure that my child reads outside of school on a daily basis.
7. I understand that parent involvement is important and will offer my skills and abilities for the benefit of all children in the program as the opportunity arises
8. I will ensure that my student does their homework and school work by monitoring school loop.
9. I will ensure that my child gets to school on time and is present everyday.
10. I will ensure that my child dresses appropriately for school.

 Oak Grove School District

AdVENTURE STEM Program

2013/2014

MISSION

AdVENTURE’s mission is to engage all students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics through relevant, rigorous curriculum so they will be responsible, active, global citizens in the digital age. AdVENTURE has a culture of high expectations where students form safe and strong relationships with teachers, peers, families, and the community.

VISION

AdVENTURE’s vision is to be a school that provides students with the foundation for lifelong learning and resiliency, adept in the use of critical thinking tools and 21st century skills.

GOALS

• 100% of our students graduate from institutions of higher education.
• All AdVENTURE students make sense of problems and persevere in solving them precisely, accurately, and reasonably by constructing viable arguments and critiquing the reasoning of others.

NORMS

LIVE IT UP!

Listen to directions and follow them the first time.

Increase time on task by avoiding disruptive behaviors (interruptions, noises, etc).

Verbally solve our problems/issues.

Enforce respectful interactions.

Include everyone both in and out of the classroom.

Turn in our best work, on time, every time.

Use technology appropriately (from the moment we leave our seat to take our tech out to the moment we leave the class).

Perform according to expectations (call and response, SLANT, etc.).

GRADING

There will be several factors used to determine the final grade of our students.  The following table specifies the weight of each component:

RITUALS AND ROUTINES

Norms, rules and procedures are fundamental in life. We follow rules and procedures in our daily lives for things such as approaching a traffic light, starting a car and driving, and making a letter.

There are also rules and procedures in this classroom. These rules and procedures ensure a positive atmosphere in the classroom. They contribute to a controlled and learning environment for everyone.

Procedures

There is a specific way we want you to do things at AdVENTURE to keep things running smoothly and in good working order.

Entering the Classroom

1.       Enter quietly and go directly to your seat.

2.       Be in your seat and ready to go when the bell rings.

3.       Start the “Do Now” activity posted.

Exiting the Classroom

1.       When the teacher prompts you, “clean up” your workspace.

2.       When the teacher dismisses your section/table, push in chairs/stools.

3.       Deliverable is turned in to its designated spot.

Removing Netbooks from the Cart

1.       Sign out the netbook from the cart.

2.       Carefully unplug the netbook from the cord.  Do NOT yank the netbook off of its power cord.

3.       Carry the CLOSED netbook to your work area with both hands. Open the netbook only when you are seated at your work area.  Do NOT carry anything else when you are carrying the netbook.

Acceptable Netbook Use

1.       Only ONE set of hands may touch the netbook at any given time.

2.       Netbooks are TOOLS to be used for classroom assignments ONLY.

3.       Make sure the websites that you visit websites that are task appropriate.

4.       Do NOT change computer settings, rename icons, etc., WITHOUT the teacher’s permission.

Putting Netbooks Away

1.       When the teacher tells you to “put away the netbooks,” save your work on a USB.

2.       Close out/ “X” out of all programs/windows.

3.       Go to the start menu and click shutdown.  From the shutdown menu, choose standby and click “OK.”

4.       Wait for the screen to go black, THEN close the netbook.

5.       Place the netbook in its assigned cubby.  Plug it in, and make sure that the light next to the plug inlet goes on.  Carefully slide the netbook into its spot with the plug towards the back.

6.       Sign the netbook back in AFTER it is put away as outlined above.

Assignment Headings

1.       In the upper right hand corner of your paper, legibly write your first and last name.

2.       Under your name, write the date.

3.       Under the date, write the subject and class name.

4.       Under the subject and class name, write the assignment topic.

Rules

Classroom Rules are posted in the classroom. Let’s quickly review what each rule means.

1.  Respect the teacher, classmates, administration, and yard supervisors. (You respect the teacher, administration, and yard supervisors when you do what he/she says, don’t talk back, do not touch his/her property without permission, and follow all classroom and school rules and procedures. You respect your classmates when you follow classroom rules and procedures)

2. Follow directions (This means that you do whatever the teacher, yard supervisors, administration tells you to do without complaining or arguing about it. Example: return books, go back to seat, copy from board, stop talking, etc.)

3. Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself (This means you do not throw things, kick things, push people, hit people, etc.)

4.  Keep your language clean and respectful (You do not use obscene or vulgar language on campus for any reason. You do not make fun of or tease another classmate because of his or her color, race, language, religion, interests etc.)

5.Be in your seat when the bell rings (This means I want you in your seat as soon as you come into my classroom and I want you to be on time.)

6. Severe: No fighting, threats, or verbal abuse (It is extremely inappropriate for you to fight with another classmate, threaten anyone, or verbally abuse by insulting.)

Consequences

Everything we do in life has consequences. If you choose to run a red light, you must accept the consequences that come with it (traffic ticket, taking someone’s life, crashing your car, etc.). Consequences are the things that happen to you when you choose not to obey a rule. This is what will happen if you choose to violate one of the classroom rules:

1st  time: Warning/ Check-In  (I will usually look at you to let you know and mark you on my tally sheet, when appropriate I will check in with you)

2nd time: Detention (20 minutes & written assignment) (At Lunch)

3rd time: Detention (40 minutes & written assignment) (Two Lunches)

4th time: Call parents (and/or send note home) .

5th time: Office Referral

Severe: Time out and steps 4+5

Tracking Your Behavior

In order to help you make responsible decisions. I will use a chart to track your behavior that looks something like  this:

Key to Violations

Rule Violations

You start a clean slate every day. Consequences will be enforced for multiple violations committed during that day. If you reach the 4th step twice in a week,  we will have a meeting with all AdVENTURE teachers and to work out a student success plan. Time and location to be determined

Rewards

– We will recognize students who choose responsible behavior by offering you to select a reward from the Rewards poster if you have no marks next to your name for two consecutive weeks. Reward distribution will be done on Wednesdays.

Possible rewards are: a) 5 bonus points on test or quiz, b) grab bag, c) get an extra coupon, d) open book quiz, or e) 5 patriot bucks 

Late Work Policy

At AdVENTURE, we are teaching you the 21st century skills it takes to be successful citizens.  This is where our habits of work (Passion, Integrity, and Effort) come into play.  Part of how we (and you) can measure your Passion, Integrity and Effort,  through a unit of study, is turning in high quality work on time. We also want to help you develop some sense of grit and determination. In an effort to reduce the number of late assignments and missed work that students have, help students to remain current in school work, develop a culture of persistence, and provide a consistent and manageable system for both teachers and students the following system has been designed.  Every AdVENTURE student is given three coupons at the beginning of the first and second grading period. The number of coupons will be tapered off until the students will only receive one by the 5th and 6th grading period. COUPONS EXPIRE EACH GRADING PERIOD.

What are coupons used for:

These coupons can be used when a student has not completed an assignment or deliverable on the due date, when you have not met your own expectations on an assignment or quiz and would rather use a coupon then take the original grade.

How are they used:

These coupons are not actual paper copies, but instead they are simply kept track of by the teachers.  Students must let the teacher know when they choose to use a coupon.  Teachers will input a “c” on the comment section of the gradebook, with no grade attached.

How do they work:

            Late assignment:

When a student tells a teacher that he/she would like to use a coupon for an assignment that he/she has not completed, the teacher would mark that off on the gradebook, and the student will get graded out of 100% credit for the assignment if it is completed within one week of when the grade is posted, otherwise the coupon is used and the assignment remains a zero.  For example, Fred does not have his assignment done for science class on Tuesday so he tells Mrs. Garcia that he would like to use a coupon.  Mrs. Garcia marks off after Fred’s name that he would like to use a coupon, and enters a “c” in her grade book showing that Fred used a coupon on that assignment.  By the third day, Fred turns in the late assignment, and his work is graded.  

            Poor assignment:

When a student tells a teacher that they would like to use a coupon for an assignment that he/she did poorly on the teacher would mark that off on the gradebook. The student then has one week from when the grade is posted to re-do/revise the work, and submit it. The revised work must be accompanied by a written statement from the student that clearly and explicitly identifies the areas that were redone/revised. Once the re-done work is graded, the new grade stands (higher or lower), and the used  “c” remains in place

        Quizzes:

A student may use a coupon to retake the quiz. The student has one week from when the date the grade is posted to schedule and retake a quiz. In order for a re-take to be scheduled, the student must provide evidence of having studied the material by:

        - Providing a written statement from a guardian that witnessed the student studying the material.

        - Coming in one or more times after school to get help from a teacher.

        - Completing quiz corrections including why wrong answers were wrong and why right answers were right.

Re-takes will only be scheduled after school. Once the quiz has been re-taken, the new grade stands (higher or lower), and the used  “c” remains in place

            The goal for students is to not have a “zero” in the grade book in any class by the end of the grading period.  This means however, that once all coupons are used for a class, late work will not be accepted and there will be no grade modifications.

Contact Information

For more information please email:  Victoria Cross vcross@ogsd.k12.ca.us 

To contact individual staff or teachers:

Laura Meusel, Herman Principal, lmeusel@ogsd.k12.ca.us

Laura Sims, Herman Assistant Principal, lsims@ogsd.k12.ca.us

Barb Rawson, Educational Services Division Coordinator, brawson@ogsd.k12.ca.us

Mariana Garcia, Science Teacher, mgarcia2@ogsd.k12.ca.us

Ashley StLawrence, 5th & 6th grade CORE Teacher, astlawrence@ogsd.k12.ca.us

Judy Zaccheo, Math Teacher, jzaccheo@ogsd.k12.ca.us

Samantha McMillan, 7th & 8th grade CORE Teacher, smcmillan@ogsd.k12.ca.us

Herman Intermediate School, AdVENTURE Program

5955 Blossom Avenue

San Jose, CA 95123

408.226.1886

AdVENTURE Acceptable Use Policy

AdVENTURE provides a wide range of technology resources for student use. These technology resources are to be used only for educational purposes. This agreement outlines appropriate use and prohibited activities when using all technology resources and electronic devices as defined by school administrators. Every student is expected to follow all of the rules and conditions listed, as well as those given verbally by teachers and administrators, and to demonstrate good citizenship and ethical behavior at all times.

The OGSD network uses a filtering system to track and monitor all computer and Internet use on the network. The system is designed to prevent access to educationally inappropriate sites. It is important to understand that no filtering system is perfect. Due to the nature of the Internet and evolving technology, even with supervision, we cannot guarantee that students will not reach an inappropriate site. It is the student’s responsibility to report any inappropriate site to the teacher.

Below are examples, but not an exhaustive list, of online conduct that may constitute a violation of federal and/or state criminal laws relating to cyber crimes:

Criminal Acts: These include, but are not limited to, “hacking” or attempting to access computer systems without authorization, threatening/harassing email, cyber-stalking, vandalism, unauthorized tampering with computer systems, using misleading domain names, using another person’s identity and/or identity fraud.

Libel Laws: Publicly defaming people through publishing material on the Internet, email, etc…

Copyright Violations: Copying, selling or distributing copyrighted material without the express written permission of the author or publisher (users should assume that all materials available on the Internet are protected by copyright), engaging in plagiarism (using other's words or ideas as your own).

Acceptable Use Policy for Networks, Including the Internet

By signing the Acceptable Use Policy, students and parents/guardians acknowledge the following rules and conditions:

As an AdVENTURE student, I understand that the use of the school network and email is a privilege, not a right.

I understand that my school network and email accounts are owned by AdVENTURE and are not private. AdVENTURE has the right to access my information at any time.

I understand that AdVENTURE administrators will deem what conduct is inappropriate use if such conduct is not specified in this agreement.

I will use technology in a manner that complies with laws of the United States and the State of California.

I understand that I am to notify an adult immediately if I encounter material that violates appropriate use.

STUDENT RESPONSIBLE USE:

1. I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR MY COMPUTER ACCOUNT AND EMAIL ACCOUNT. I understand that passwords are private and that I should not share my password with anyone. I understand that I am responsible for all activities done through my account. I will not allow others to use my account name and password, or try to use that of others. I understand that I will be in violation of the law if I attempt to electronically capture another person’s password. I understand that it is important to log off the computer at the end of every session so another user cannot use my password.

2. I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR MY LANGUAGE. I will use appropriate language in my email messages, online postings, and other digital communications with others. I will not use profanity, vulgarities or any other inappropriate language as determined by school administrators.

3. I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR HOW I TREAT OTHER PEOPLE. I will use email and other means of communications (e.g. blogs, wikis, chat, instant-messaging, discussion boards, etc.) responsibly. I will not send or post hateful or harassing mail, make discriminatory or derogatory remarks about others, or engage in bullying, harassment, or other antisocial behaviors while in school or out of school.

4. I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR MY USE OF THE AdVENTURE-HERMAN SCHOOL NETWORK. I will use computer resources responsibly. I will not search, retrieve, save, circulate or display hate-based, offensive or sexually explicit material. I will not search, retrieve, save or circulate images or information about weapons using any computer resources unless authorized by school administrator/teacher as part of a school assignment. I understand the use of the network for illegal or commercial activities is prohibited.

5. I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR MY CONDUCT ON ALL ONLINE SITES. I understand that what I do on social networking websites should not negatively impact the school learning environment and/or my fellow students, teachers and administrators.

6. I AM RESPONSIBLE TO BE HONEST WHILE I AM ONLINE. I understand that impersonating, spoofing, or pretending to be someone else is forbidden. This includes, but is not limited to, sending out email, creating accounts, or posting messages or other online content (e.g. text, images, audio or video) in someone else's name.

7. I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR PROTECTING THE SECURITY OF THE SCHOOLS’ NETWORK. I will not attempt to bypass security settings or Internet filters, or interfere with the operation of the network by installing illegal software including file sharing, shareware, or freeware on school computers.

8. I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR PROTECTING SCHOOL PROPERTY. I understand that vandalism is prohibited. This includes but is not limited to accessing, modifying, or destroying equipment, programs, files, or settings on any computer or technology resources. I understand that I need authorization from a school administrator/teacher to use personal electronic devices that I bring to school, including, but not limited to, memory storage devices (i.e. USB drives).

9. I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR RESPECTING OTHER PEOPLE’S PROPERTY ONLINE. I will obey copyright laws. I will not plagiarize or use other’s work without proper citation and permission. I will not illegally download materials protected by copyright including, but not limited to, music and movies.

10. I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR FOLLOWING SCHOOL RULES WHENEVER I PUBLISH ANYTHING ONLINE. I will follow all guidelines set forth by my teachers when publishing schoolwork online (e.g. to a website, blog, wiki, discussion board, podcasting or video server). I understand that it is unsafe to post any personal information about myself, including but not limited to: my name, address, phone number or school. I will not post photos of students with their first and last names on any online site, including but not limited to: blogs, wikis, and discussions forums.

Oak Grove School District AdVENTURE-STEM Agreements

I/We____________________________, parents/guardians of ________________________ have read

           Parent’s names                                                                 Student(s)

the Oak Grove School District AdVENTURE Parent Agreement and agree to abide by its terms. I understand that participation in the AdVENTURE Program is a voluntary year-long commitment and based upon my child(ren) and I abiding by all the terms set forth in this Agreement. I further understand that if I violate the terms of this Agreement, then the District may reassign my child(ren) to his/her home school.

Requests to have any such decision reviewed must be filed in writing to the Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services within five calendar days of notice of the reassignment. After receipt of the review request, the Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services or his/her designee shall either meet with the individual(s) in person or shall provide the individual(s) with the right to respond in writing to the alleged violations. After the meeting or receipt of the individuals’ written response, the Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services or his/her designee will issue the final decision regarding the reassignment of the student.

By signing this document you also acknowledge receipt of the AdVENTURE Syllabus.

____________________________________________                       ______________________

Parent Signature                                                                            Date

____________________________________________                       ______________________

Parent Signature                                                                            Date

____________________________________________                _______________________

Student Signature                                                Date

Acceptable Use Policy for Networks, Including the Internet

Students & Parents/Guardians: Please review the Acceptable Use Policy and sign the form below to indicate your agreement to use AdVENTURE technology responsibly.

Parent or Guardian:

As the parent or guardian, I have read the Acceptable Use Policy and I have discussed it with my child. I understand that computer access is provided for educational purposes in keeping with the academic goals of AdVENTURE, and that student use for any other purpose is inappropriate. I recognize it is impossible for AdVENTURE to restrict access to all inappropriate materials, and I will not hold the school responsible for materials acquired on the school network. I understand that children’s computer activities at home should be supervised as they can affect the academic environment at school.

I hereby give permission for my child to use technology resources at AdVENTURE.

Parent or Guardian's Name (please print) ________________________________________

Parent or Guardian's Signature _________________________________Date ___________

Student:

I understand and will obey the rules of the Acceptable Use Policy. I will use technology resources productively and responsibly for school-related purposes. I will not use any technology resource in such a way that would be disruptive or cause harm to other users. I understand that consequences of my actions could include possible loss of computer privileges and/or school disciplinary action as stated in the Code of Discipline and/or prosecution under state and federal law.

Student Signature: ____________________________________________ Date ___________