Housekeeping Matters:

Grades will be based on the following:

Tests, essays, writing projects :  70 percent

Classwork, quizzes, homework, participation:  30 percent

Total: 100 percent

IMPORTANT: Grades are cumulative. That means the grades you make now count as much as the grades later in the semester. So it's important to work hard from the very beginning and not dig yourself into a hole in the first weeks of our class. We will use Skedula, an online grading system in this class. I’ll give you information shortly about how to register. You’ll have your own account, where I’ll post grades. Your parents or guardians should be given access to your account.

Responsibility: It is the student’s responsibility to make up work. If you’re absent, you must find out from a fellow student what work was done in class or for homework and get the work to me the following day. No late homework or classwork will be accepted! If you miss a test, it is your responsibility to let me know and arrange for a make-up.

Attendance: You’re expected to be in class every day. Absent notes are required if you are absent due to illness or family necessity. 

Electronic devices: 

Keep them in your pockets or bags. No use of electronic devices.

Honor Policy—Cheating and Plagiarism:  

If you do the work of this class on your own, you’ll develop skills that will serve you well for the rest of your life. If you cheat, you’ll get no such benefits, and you’ll receive a 0 on the work in question. Your parents/guardian will be informed of your actions. THIS IS MY CHEATING POLICY AND HOLDS FOR A FIRST TIME VIOLATION. In addition, Midwood has a series of consequences for cheating that you should be aware of, which will occur in addition to my own response noted above. Cheating will expose you to the Midwood consequences too. By cheating you'll also violate my trust in you, and you’ll lose my respect.

Plagiarism: This is a particular form of cheating that requires a special note due to its ubiquity. When you take other people’s work and hold it out to be your own (whether another student’s work or something taken from the Internet), you are engaging in theft. Plagiarism won’t be tolerated. Plagiarism will result in a 0 on the work in question. The consequences enumerated in the Midwood plagiarism code will also be enforced.

IMPORTANT: If you place work on blogs/fan sites, etc., you must not submit that work for class assignments, prior to turning it in for class credit.

Class Communications and Contacting Mr. Vilbig:

Class blog: The class will use a blog to communicate assignments and other important matters. It can be accessed at www.vilbigap.blogspot.com. I highly suggest that you register for the blog and ‘follow’ it, since this will result in your receiving an email notification when new posts are made.

Contact information: The best way to contact me is through Skedula, the online grading system we'll be using this semester. (You'll receive more information on this shortly.) I can also be reached at pvilbig@schools.nyc.gov. Or by phone: 718 724-8560.