Clarification of studyspanish.com

Dear Parents,

I understand that many of you have questions about the studyspanish website and assignments that are being implemented.  I am going to try my best to get these cleared up but, please understand that I too am still learning to use this site.  So, we will plow through it together! J  My intent is to provide the students with a supplement to what we are doing in class since at most I only see them once per week.  As I have presented this to the students in class, they have seemed to be very interested and excited about this opportunity to do their homework on the computer instead of on paper.  I hope that eventually, once we have worked out all of the “bugs” that you and your students will find this site to be beneficial. 

Please understand that, once you or your student has created an account with studyspanish.com, I still have to assign them a class I.D.  That is why many of you have not been able to access your syllabus/assignments.  They cannot be accessed immediately after signing up.  They can only be accessed after they have been assigned a class I.D.  That is why I asked for the account to be set up prior to Christmas.  (The info was on the school website for a week and is still on my Spanish web page.  I have also spoken with the students about this at school since before Christmas.)

Once and account has been created and the student has been assigned a class I.D., you should be able to access the syllabus/assignments.  In order to do so, please follow the steps listed below:

1.  Go to www.studyspanish.com
2.  At the top, right-hand corner click on “Log-on/Log-off” and choose “Student Log-in”
3.  Enter your email address and the pass word that you chose
4.  Click on “View syllabus” on the left-hand side
5.  The syllabus will appear on the right and a calendar on the left
6.  Assignment due dates will appear as a RED square on the calendar 
7.  Click on the RED square and the assignments will show up on the syllabus under “Web Assignments”
8.  The students will ALWAYS need to click on and read the written assignment FIRST
9.  Once the written assignment has been read, on the left – hand side choose “Quiz 1” and complete
10. Next, on the left-hand side choose Mini-Test and complete

**Please note, the quiz and test may be taken as many times as they like until the due date.  This provides extra practice and also the opportunity to improve the final grade.

This should at least get the students through the first assignment that is due on January 27^th.  I also spent time in class showing them different ways of using the site.  I have encouraged them to spend some time exploring the site on their own.

Another question that has been presented is the grading policy for these assignments.  ALL STUDYSPANISH.COM ASSIGNMENTS WILL COUNT AS WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS (20% of total grade).  These assignments are to serve the purpose of homework assignments.

I hope that this has helped to clear up any questions but, please feel free to contact me if there are still questions or concerns.

Thanks!

Lee Benbow

Solutions Update for Music and Spanish

Good news!!  Solutions is now available for Music for students in grades 1-8 and Spanish for students in grades 5-8.  There were originally some problems with whether or not Solutions was able to be used for specialty subjects but it seems that we’ve finally gotten all of the “bugs” worked out.  Please be aware that numerical grades of 70 – 100 will convert to a grade of “S” and grades of 69 and below will convert to an “N”. 

**Spanish participation grades are based on ACTIVE participation by the student.  It is extremely important to SPEAK Spanish in order to learn it.  Students who do not volunteer to speak in class or answer when called on will not receive 100% participation.  Also, students who fail to bring their supplies to class will only receive 50% participation for the day.  We only meet once per week so it is imperative that students have their supplies each class meeting.  Since it is already 2^nd quarter and because it disrupts class, students will not be allowed to return to their homeroom to retrieve forgotten items.  Also, behavioral problems affect participation grade.  If a student is not behaving appropriately, they are not participating appropriately.  Therefore, if you see that your child(ren) have received a weekly participation grade that is lower than 100%, you will know that one of the above listed criteria has not been met.  If you would like to know the details of the grade, please feel free to contact me.

I will also be posting Spanish study guides and test dates to my Solutions page as I did last year with Edline.

 I hope that the use of Solutions will help to keep you aware of what’s going on with your student(s) in Spanish and Music.  However, please contact me if you need clarification.

Thanks,

Lee Benbow

The rules for the music and Spanish classrooms are the same as the school-wide rules.  Discipline with Purpose skills are taught and implemented and a grade is given to students in grades 1-8 for each skill.

The following procedures will occur for students demonstrating behavioral difficulties in the music and/or Spanish rooms:

Kinder – 2^nd Grade

*The student will receive a verbal warning and description of the behavior that needs to be corrected. A yellow warning card will be handed to the student.

*If the behavior does not improve or another inappropriate behavior is demonstrated, a red card will be handed to the student.  Any student receiving a red card will be given a specialty teacher discipline form to take home.  This form should be signed by the parent and returned the NEXT SCHOOL DAY.

Grades 3-8

*The student will receive a verbal warning and description of the behavior that needs to be corrected.  A blank disciplinary (demerit/detention) form will be handed to the student.

*If the behavior does not improve or another inappropriate behavior is demonstrated, the student will be asked to fill his/her name in on the disciplinary form and a demerit or detention will be given.

**PLEASE NOTE:  Students in grades 3-8 may be issued a demerit at any time at Mrs. Benbow’s discretion without prior warning.

**Any student who receives 2 or more Specialty Teacher Discipline forms or 1 or more demerits within a quarter will automatically receive an “I” and possibly a “U” for their quarterly conduct grade.

**Demerits are due back to Mrs. Benbow with a parent signature on the NEXT school day.  It is the STUDENT’S responsibility to make sure that it is returned. Failure to return a signed disciplinary form may result in the issuance of another demerit/detention.

**Rewards will be given in the form of hand stamps, stickers, treats, fun days, etc… at Mrs. Benbow’s discretion.

I look forward to a great school year with your children.  Please feel free to contact me through the school office, with a written note or by email if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Lee A. Benbow

Music and Spanish Teacher

St. Dominic School