Class Rules AcaDeca

Academic Decathlon - Fall Semester  Mr. Borneman

Oxnard High School Fall 2006

e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  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. 

Materials: Students will be issued Academic Decathlon study guides which will be used as the core text for the course.  Students will also receive Acalon Study Guides..  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).  Student distribution of the music CD's will be arranged during the semester.  Students will need to maintain multiple notebooks.  Students will also be required to get a faculty advisor who will evaluate their essays and speeches twice monthly, September through January.

Especially for Fall 2006: Literature includes Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth.  This year's Super Quiz topic is Climatology.  The social science topic this year is Modern China.

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 normally scheduled time of the 7th period sessions (ie. after 4:45) and on weekend sessions.

      3.     Work and Participation– Essays and Speeches must be typed, particularly for evaluation by the faculty sponsor.  Participation in the additional hours after school and on weekends is approximately one-third of the student's grade in the course and is thus essential.  Extra-credit to make up for missed time will be offered via fund-raising activities.  Students who are disruptive in the after-hours sessions will be sent outside of the class and will lose credit for the corresponding participation.

     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, 3:30 - 4:45 pm) 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 and to come in on one Saturday (10 am to 3 pm).  In October this will become two additional hours weekly and two Saturday sessions; November, three and a half hours and three Saturday sessions.  At the end of November, teams will be selected.  From then on out only the A-Team will be required to attend the additional sessions and Saturdays. Students will be given the option in November of not participating in the A-Team.  All other students in class will not be required to attend after-hours or weekend/holiday sessions.  Any students on the A-Team who fail to attend the additional sessions may have their class grade reduced accordingly. ALL students, regardless of team placement,  are required to attend the four critical weekend sessions; Scrimmage, Speech Competition, Objective Competition, and Awards Ceremony.  Faculty and Department meetings mean there will be no Aca Deca sessions on the 2nd and 3rd Tuesdays of each month.

6. Fund-Raising - Students may be asked to participate in various fund-raising activities in order to pay for the multiple expenses involved in this class.  These fund-raising activities will be counted as extra-credit opportunities to make up for missed participation time.

Grading Scale:

Each of the nine primary fields of competition (Speech, Interview, Social Science, Economics, Art, Science, Language and Literature, Essay Writing, and Music) will involve various projects, activities and tests and each will be equally made to represent 8% of the student's grade. Math will be evaluated on a participation basis, not on an achievement basis.  The most significant portion of the student's grade will be based on participation and attendance (28%).  A great deal of time is REQUIRED of students outside of normal, designated classroom hours.  These hours will be awarded a one-point per-hour "grade".  (Example: A student who participates in a full Saturday session (10:00 am - 3:00 pm) will be awarded 5 points out of a possible 5.  A student who is unable to come until noon of that day will receive only 3 out of a possible 5 points.)  Students who are selected to be on the A-team may be subject to failure of the course in the case of non-participation on the additional sessions.  ALL students are required to attend the four critical Academic Decathlon dates: Scrimmage, Speech, Objective, and Awards ceremony Days.  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" test and in the Scrimmage; objective-portion grades in the class (not attendance); 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)

 

_______________________________         _____________________________________

(printed name of student)                                                            (printed name of parent/guardian)