Welcome Parents & Guardians

Mrs. Susan Clark-Luera

English Teacher

Arcata High School

sclarkluera@nohum.k12.ca.us

2025-26 Schedule

1* English 3CP

2* Creative Writing

3* AP Lang/Comp

4* English 3CP

5* Prep/Office Hours

6* AP Lang/Comp

• Monday/Friday: all classes for an hour

​

• Tues-Thurs: 4 classes for an hour and a half block

​

• Study Hall: 30 minutes, Tues-Thurs, before lunch

​

Essential Texts

​

​

• Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott

​

• “The Making of a Story”

A Norton Guide to Creative Writing,

by Alice LaPlante

​

• The Mystery of Harris Burdick

​

• An Introduction to Poetry

Major Writings:

​

• Journaling
• Personal Narratives
• Flash Fiction & Nonfiction
• Short Story/Various Genres: Fiction/ Nonfiction
• Various Poetry Forms
• Spoken Word Poetry
• Zines
• Final Project Menu: Short Story, Children’s Story, Visual Spoken Word Poem, Teach-in, Chapbook...

​

​

​

HABITS FOR SUCCESS:

​

• Be willing to read, write, speak, and collaborate every day
• Be willing to become part of a supportive writing community
• Be willing to experiment and explore different styles of writing
• Be willing to give and take positive, constructive feedback
• Be willing to work with writers of various abilities and backgrounds
• Be willing to struggle, make mistakes, and write in ways you have never done before
• Be willing to discover, succeed, and expand as a writer and person

​

​

​

​

Everyday Supplies:

​

​

​

• Bound journal of any size/writing utensils

​

• Charged Chromebook

​

Evaluation

​

Grading:

• 20 points of extra credit per term are available through a variety

of speaking and writing opportunities

• Check Synergy and/or Google Classroom bi-weekly/monthly to stay in the know
• I post a daily agenda, current, and upcoming assignments on GC regularly
• I input graded work weekly (except for long writing assignments)
• Late work is not accepted

​

Evaluation & Equity:Arcata High/NOHUM Academic Honesty Contract

• Plagiarism, AI, and cheating: Student will receive a zero and be asked to review the assignment with me to receive points. We will discuss and problem solve for future expectations and consequences.

​

​

​

​

Electronics: AHS cell phone policy

​

• Silence phones and place them in the phone nest matching the number on your desk before the final bell. Pick them up after the final bell rings

​

• Remove earbuds

​

• Please plan ahead and prepare to communicate before and after school and outside of class time

Homework:

• We start all daily writings in class with brainstorming, modeling, drafting and revising
• What students are not able to finish in class becomes homework--no late work for these
• There will be unit projects that require time outside of class--these can be late for a point reduction
• Home is for restoration, family, individual/community activities, and processing at your own pace in a solitary environment

​

Slideshow, bio and syllabi are available to review on my teacher web page within the AHS Website…

​

Arcata High School

​

~Susan Clark-Luera~