You are not responsible for tonight’s reading.  You will be working on ch 4-5 in class tomorrow (no quiz, since I won’t be there) .  We will catch up and get back on track over the weekend.  You’re welcome.

Due to the snow day, rewrites will now be due on Monday, March 17.

I will be out of the building for a meeting tomorrow, so those of you that signed up for conferences today must attend on Friday.

Because everything has been pushed back, the rewrites will not be graded in time to be on this report card.  It’s the payoff for this lovely snow day…the universe is cruel some times.

Enjoy your day!  See you all on Friday.

While I applaud your enthusiasm regarding this very important research project, you emails and posts are getting OUT OF CONTROL.  Like for real, I have answered no less than 54 separate emails and posts.  54.  That is not a hyperbolic attempt to shock you, that is the actual number.  I only have 59 students total.  So if you think this post is directed towards you, it is.  ALL OF YOU.

Let me be perfectly clear here, since the notes I gave in class, the notes I posted on the blog, the MLA unit you all completed last year, AND repeated formative exercises done together in class have not been enough to help you understand:

ANY WORDS OR IDEAS (IMAGES COUNT AS BOTH OF THOSE THINGS) THAT ARE NOT YOUR OWN NEED TO BE PROPERLY CITED, BOTH PARENTHETICALLY AS WELL AS ON YOUR WORKS CITED PAGE.  ALL OF THEM.  ALL.  OF.  THEM.

I can’t be any clearer than that.  I will not longer be answering any questions regarding this issue.

In addition, the annotated bib is a completely separate assignment, due on a totally different day.

Lastly, as I stated on the day I explained the rubric, you must turn in a hard copy of your works cited page with your project.

In the future, before frantically dashing off your 5th email to me, first try looking at the rubric.  Second, try going over your notes.  Third, try thinking about the information we discussed in class.  And fourth, try trusting your own judgement.  You are all very smart people, the smartest in the tenth grade actually, there are some things that you can figure out on your own.

And guess what, if you get something wrong on this project…THE WORLD WILL NOT END.  You will not fail LA 4.  You will still get into college.  Your life will be ok.  I promise.

Dear Savages,

It is my policy that any written communication (email or blog post) should follow proper letter format.  That means it should begin with a salutation such as Dear Ms Jamieson, or Good Afternoon Ms Jamieson.  Salutations that include the words “Hey”, “Yo” or missing salutations are not acceptable and will not be answered.  Likewise, misspelling my name is never a good idea.  You may abbreviate it to Ms J, if you so choose, but please be aware that Mrs. Jamieson is my stepmother, and I will forward all correspondence addressed to her so that she may answer them.

Also, using text messaging abbreviations (u instead of you, for example)  in an email or blog post intended for a teacher, especially an ENGLISH teacher, is considered academic suicide by ALL educators.

As a basic rule of thumb, you should proofread each message before you hit send, to make sure that you  A. Are asking an actual question.  B.  Have constructed your sentences in a way that makes sense to your reader.  And C.  Cannot answer the question simply by reading the rubric I have so generously provided.

Lastly, all emails and blog posts must contain a signature.  I can not answer a question if I do not know who is asking it.  Your email addresses, while creative (zeelalasparkles@yahoo.com), oftentimes offer no indication of your actual identity.

In this digital age, these are the things you should do for EVERY email that you send.  It is good practice for when you go to college, because I assure you, your professors will simply ignore whatever you have sent if it does not follow these guidelines.  And they won’t bother to spell them out for you like I have done here.  So, if you sent me a message over the break, and it does not follow all of these rules, please resend it in the proper format.  I will gladly answer it then.

Enjoy the rest of your break,

Ms J

Before school, every day but Tuesday at 7am, nothing after school.