Grade 8 Policies and Procedures:

Late homework and assignments
Student absences and missed work
Help Sessions and Time Management
Printing computer files from home at school

In order to promote responsible and independent behavior the following policy will used by the Grade 8 Core teachers.
 
 

ONE day:	minus 25% of the student’s mark
TWO days:	minus 50 % of the student’s mark
THREE days:	minus 75% of the student’s mark
FOUR or more:	The assignment must be submitted to receive a completion check.. The value received, however, will be a zero.

Missed assignments:  Students should request to make up missed work on the day they return to class. Unless there are special circumstances, the assignment will be due the following day. Generally, students will have one day for each day absent to hand in missed assignments. We will be encouraging use of the admit slip to help students keep track of school work when they’re absent.

Missed test or quiz: If students miss a quiz/test, they need to schedule a make-up on their first day back to class. If arrangements are not made in a timely manner, no credit will be recorded for the quiz or test.

Help Sessions and Time Management

Another goal for Grade 8 students in preparation for High School and later the IB program is effective time management. Students are encouraged to do their best work while preparing for tests and completing major assignments. Students should understand what is expected through classroom discussions and reviews for tests, and grading rubrics for major assignments. However, if students are not clear about what is expected, they should ask questions immediately. In general, there is little or no opportunity to retake tests or redo assignments.

Printing computer files from home at school

Printing delays and other problems may occur; therefore, use your home computer and printer if possible, and plan ahead to meet your deadlines. If you must print at school, do not leave it to the day the assignment is due in case of  printing problems.

Remember MS Word is the only full word-processing program we have. If you use WordPad or NotePad, some formatting features will not be saved.

I f you must print at school, you have several options:

1.  DISK: Bring the file on a floppy disk and a back-up disk. There have been a number of problems with the disks, when students have tried this. If you run XP at home, there haven't been problems.

2.  E-MAIL: Send the file by e-mail as an e-mail attachment. You may send it to a web-based e-mail address (even your own), or ask your teacher if you can e-mail the file to them.

3.  CD BURN: Burn the file on a CD. (While using Nero burning software, be sure to click "multisession" and leave it "open", by not clicking "Finish". This way you can use the disk again to add other files.) All the computers in the MS-Computer Lab have CD readers. Many classroom computers do not read this type of CD. CDs are dependable and there haven't been problems reading them in the MS - Computer Lab.

4.  USB REMOVABLE FLASH : Save the file on this key-like device. The USB port is on the front of the computers in the MS Computer Lab, so you don't need the extension cable.  A visit to Incredible Connection  in Pretoria - Menlyn on Sept 13, 2003 gave the price of a Kalliba 64 meg RAM  Removable USB Flash at  399.95 SAR, 128 meg RAM at 599 SAR, and 256 meg RAM at 1300 SAR. These are very reliable and may be worth the investment for your family.

**Best immediate and inexpensive solution if you must print at school:  BOTH numbers 1 and 2 above  - save on a floppy and e-mail the file. Explore #3 and #4 when you have the chance.