Welcome to my classroom. I am Mrs. Wolpert-Gawron, and if you are here, I'm assuming it's because you or your student will be spending their year in WolpertWorld either as a Language Arts student or Speech & Debate team member.
This year, you will be able to find agendas, assignments, prompts, and resources all posted here on the WolpertWorld website.
I will also be posting a calendar of after school "office hours" that will be available via Elluminate, a virtual classroom. We can meet there to discuss assignments, upcoming tests, or dive more deeply into a concept that may have been interrupted when the school bell rang.
During the first week of class, I asked groups to come up with a series of norms, some kind of vow regarding their academic efforts and in how they treat one another both online and offline. After creating a list of 96 bullets (yeah, and yikes!), we honed it down to these top 28. I ask that all visitors follow the norms set up by the students for both online and offline communication. The norms are as follows:
We, the students of Mrs. Wolpert’s Room 1 know that there is a certain level of academic and behavioral expectations when we work together both in the classroom and online. We pledge to do the following as stated in our student-created Classroom Constitution…
1. We will manage our time and not procrastinate.
2. We vow to be brave enough to ask questions - many, many, many questions.
3. We will ask for help when we need it.
4. We will turn in all work, even if it’s late.
5. We will respect our classmates the way we would want to be treated ourselves even if there’s a person we do not like.
6. We will enter this face to face or virtual room ready to learn, coming prepared with our materials and our minds.
7. We pledge to learn from our mistakes.
8. We will dedicate ourselves to our success.
9. We promise to always pay attention to possible opportunities because one door might open to the road of success.
10. We vow that if we see someone who doesn’t understand something, we will not be afraid to help others.
11. We refuse to be fun-suckers.
12. We promise to be brave enough to show who we really are; we will not be afraid to raise our hand.
13. We pledge to remember that even online, people can be hurt. “If you won’t say it to their face, then don’t say it at all.”
14. We vow to use our brains wisely, 24/7, no matter where we are or what we’re doing.
15. We promise to dream beyond the stars. After all, the sky ISN’T the limit.
16. We will remember that we can have an opinion, but we must keep others in mind with our tone.
17. We will stay involved in class and online discussions, and look for opportunities to participate, not just lurk.
18. We will be positive and encourage ourselves and others to do better.
19. We pledge to give respectful advice to those who need it, while being open to advice from others.
20. We will remember that enthusiasm can be contagious. Being positive can motivate others as well as ourselves. After all, “what you give is what you get.”
21. We will keep a sense of our surroundings, our work, our colleagues, and our goals. We will remember our audience.
22. We promise to work to think a bit out of the box, trying something new that no one has seen before. We will remember to trust ourselves and take risks because risks are what drive us to our goals.
23. We will try to understand others by putting ourselves in their shoes.
24. We will pledge to remember that if it’s worth achieving, it’s worth over-achieving.
25. We will contribute our ideas whether in a small group or with the whole class; we won’t be shy.
26. We will be prepared to work with everyone, not just our friends.
27. We will remember this one fact: life’s hard. We will deal with challenges as they come. There are many that we all share, and many challenges that we all go through, so just do it.
28. We promise to try not to blank out. We pledge to pay attention in class. After all, the only time we’d be wasting is ours.
Thank you for visiting, and thank you for entrusting me with your learning this year. I'm a selfish teacher, however. In exchange for teaching you, I also expect to learn from you too.
Sincerely,
Heather Wolpert-Gawron
Language Arts Department Chair
Speech & Debate coach
This year, you will be able to find agendas, assignments, prompts, and resources all posted here on the WolpertWorld website.
I will also be posting a calendar of after school "office hours" that will be available via Elluminate, a virtual classroom. We can meet there to discuss assignments, upcoming tests, or dive more deeply into a concept that may have been interrupted when the school bell rang.
During the first week of class, I asked groups to come up with a series of norms, some kind of vow regarding their academic efforts and in how they treat one another both online and offline. After creating a list of 96 bullets (yeah, and yikes!), we honed it down to these top 28. I ask that all visitors follow the norms set up by the students for both online and offline communication. The norms are as follows:
We, the students of Mrs. Wolpert’s Room 1 know that there is a certain level of academic and behavioral expectations when we work together both in the classroom and online. We pledge to do the following as stated in our student-created Classroom Constitution…
1. We will manage our time and not procrastinate.
2. We vow to be brave enough to ask questions - many, many, many questions.
3. We will ask for help when we need it.
4. We will turn in all work, even if it’s late.
5. We will respect our classmates the way we would want to be treated ourselves even if there’s a person we do not like.
6. We will enter this face to face or virtual room ready to learn, coming prepared with our materials and our minds.
7. We pledge to learn from our mistakes.
8. We will dedicate ourselves to our success.
9. We promise to always pay attention to possible opportunities because one door might open to the road of success.
10. We vow that if we see someone who doesn’t understand something, we will not be afraid to help others.
11. We refuse to be fun-suckers.
12. We promise to be brave enough to show who we really are; we will not be afraid to raise our hand.
13. We pledge to remember that even online, people can be hurt. “If you won’t say it to their face, then don’t say it at all.”
14. We vow to use our brains wisely, 24/7, no matter where we are or what we’re doing.
15. We promise to dream beyond the stars. After all, the sky ISN’T the limit.
16. We will remember that we can have an opinion, but we must keep others in mind with our tone.
17. We will stay involved in class and online discussions, and look for opportunities to participate, not just lurk.
18. We will be positive and encourage ourselves and others to do better.
19. We pledge to give respectful advice to those who need it, while being open to advice from others.
20. We will remember that enthusiasm can be contagious. Being positive can motivate others as well as ourselves. After all, “what you give is what you get.”
21. We will keep a sense of our surroundings, our work, our colleagues, and our goals. We will remember our audience.
22. We promise to work to think a bit out of the box, trying something new that no one has seen before. We will remember to trust ourselves and take risks because risks are what drive us to our goals.
23. We will try to understand others by putting ourselves in their shoes.
24. We will pledge to remember that if it’s worth achieving, it’s worth over-achieving.
25. We will contribute our ideas whether in a small group or with the whole class; we won’t be shy.
26. We will be prepared to work with everyone, not just our friends.
27. We will remember this one fact: life’s hard. We will deal with challenges as they come. There are many that we all share, and many challenges that we all go through, so just do it.
28. We promise to try not to blank out. We pledge to pay attention in class. After all, the only time we’d be wasting is ours.
Thank you for visiting, and thank you for entrusting me with your learning this year. I'm a selfish teacher, however. In exchange for teaching you, I also expect to learn from you too.
Sincerely,
Heather Wolpert-Gawron
Language Arts Department Chair
Speech & Debate coach
