Academic Decathlon - Fall Semester                                                   Mr. Borneman

Oxnard High School                                                                             Fall 2004

e-mail: sanskrit@pacbell.net                                          web-page: www.bornemania.com

Class Rules

Purpose: This course is designed to enhance students’ study skills and inter-disciplinary knowledge in Art, Economics, Literature, Math, Science, Social Science, Public Speaking and Presentation, Essay Writing, as well as other topics.  Additionally the course is designed to support the OHS Academic Decathlon Team.  Practice Tests (25%), Quizzes (25%), Participation (25%), and Activities/Projects (25%) will be used to evaluate student achievement (%'s are approximate).

Materials: Students will be issued Academic Decathlon study guides which will be used as the core text for the course.  Students will regularly need to bring their study guide packets to class.  Students will be responsible for obtaining their own copies of the literature (available at bookstores, public libraries, or on-line).  Students will need to regularly bring notebooks and pencils.

Especially for Fall 2004: Literature includes Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and Antigone as well as Euripides' Elektra.  Additionally, the first two months of the 2004 will be closely parallelling the Honors World Civ. class.  Many of the quiz readings in the HWC2 class will be given, for a grade in the Aca Deca class as well.  Study guides will most likely be distributed in October or November. 

Class Rules:

1.      Respect for people – students must show respect for other students, the teacher, administrators, substitutes, visitors, and others in the class.  Most importantly, students must respect themselves and their ideas.

      2.      Respect for materials – students must show respect for the property of others and of the school.  Food and drink will be allowed after the 7th period sessions.

      3.     Work – Written work must be in blue or black ink, or typewritten.  (Typed work receives extra credit.)  Names must be on papers.  Papers without names will not be graded.  I do NOT accept late work.  For certain portions of study we will work in student teams (particularly for Mathematics) - it is essential that all members participate in their team assignments as grades for team work will be averaged among all members' scores on the team.

     4.     Preparation – Students are expected to be prepared for class, having completed their readings and brought their materials as needed.

     5.     Class Time – The unique time-frame of this class (7th period) will demand some flexibility on the part of students.  In September students will be required to put in one scheduled hour per week after regularly scheduled class time.  In October this will become two hours; November, three hours; December four hours; January five hours additionally per week.  Students will also be required to spend time during some weekends and holidays..

Grading Scale:

Grades will be given on a points system.  Missed assignments will count as zero (0).  Missed quizzes must be made up through extra credit.  Students will be placed with team study partners to keep them informed of homework assignments.   Excused absences may be used to turn in late homework, provided that the re-admit slip is attached to the late work.  Extra credit is offered occasionally but infrequently.  Students who are selected to be on the team may be subject to failure of the course in the case of non-participation.  Transcripts will not note grades above A+.  The grading scale is as follows:

A++                             101+ %

A+                               97 – 100%

A                                 93 – 96%

A-                                90 – 92%

B+                               87 – 89%

B                                  83 – 86%

B-                                80 – 82%

C+                               77 – 79%

C                                 73 – 77%

C-                                70 – 72%

D+                               65 – 69 %

D                                 60 – 64%

D-                                50 – 59%

F                                  less than 50%

Placement on the Teams:

Placement on the Team will be based on four factors: scores on "practice" tests; grade in the class; participation and attendance at sessions; and level in the competition (Honors, Scholastic, Varsity - determined by previous GPA's).  While placement on the team is partially determined by students' grades in the class, student's grades in the class are not affected by either placement or performance on the team.

 

 

Signatures of Acceptance:

Signatures indicate that both student and parent/guardian understand and have discussed these rules and agree to these conditions.

 

_________________________________        ___________________________________

(student signature and date)                                                           (signature of parent/guardian)