ONLINE GRADUATION PROJECT SEMINAR
Student Citizenship
Respect Responsibility Initiative
Mrs. Morriston
Room B345
Morristont@pt-sd.org
RESPECT
You are expected to show respect to your peers, your room and your instructor.
Likewise, you will be due respect.
• Everyone’s opinions are valued and respected by all members of the class.
Period. Keep this common saying as your motto: “If you can’t say something
nice, say nothing at all.” We can disagree with each other, but must do so with
consideration.
• Log off the computer when you leave.
• Keep the room neat and clean. Push in your chairs when you leave. Please do
not leave trash or personal belongings. Never write on the desk or computer.
Water bottles are permitted but only if they have a cap. Food is not permitted.
• Each week one class will maintain the computers (dusting, screen cleaning, wire
management), on an alternating system. The schedule will be posted.
• Students will receive a teacher-assigned seat. Students are to be seated as soon
as they enter the room and remain seated until dismissal. Please do not queue
at the door.
• Be sure your phone is on silent, not vibrate. If you have forgotten to adjust it,
simply make the correction quickly and quietly. If someone else’s phone rings,
politely ignore it. If you use your phone in class, I will take it.
• Respect the academic environment by maintaining a studious atmosphere in the
room for the benefit of all learners. Monitor your sound volume. Use
headphones. Talk only as necessary.
RESPONSIBILITIES
• Learning can be fun. It is also your responsibility, as well as mine, to make it
fun. Some of that relates to attitude. Believe that it will be fun and it will be!
• Online learning requires you to take responsibility for your own learning and to
be an independent learner. That’s repeated below b/c it’s the critical point.
Begin your work as soon as you arrive in class. Work every day. There are no
free days.

• Login to your network account and your Blended Schools account as soon as you
arrive to the room. Do not wait to be told to do so.
• If your computer or other technology isn’t working, you need to report it
immediately. There is a form next to the printer for you to complete.
• Keep your password secure. Manage your passwords so look them up if
necessary. You can make a coded list or text it to yourself.
• You are responsible for being on time, which means being in your seat when the
bell rings. We all have times when we get delayed. Thus, you will receive 2 free
tardies per quarter. On the third occurrence, you will be asked to stay after
school. If a staff member delays you, bring a written pass at that time. Being
excessively tardy is not acceptable and will result in immediate disciplinary
action.
• Assignments should be submitted by the deadline (which includes a date and
time), subject to the absenteeism policy of the school. We all have times when a
little flexibility is needed. For that reason, you will be give one “life happens”
form that will permit you to submit an assignment up to one week late without
penalty. This cannot be used with group projects or during the last week of a
grading period. The Life Happens slip cannot be given to another student or
used more than once.
• Read the announcements in Blended Schools daily, as soon as you are logged
into the system, including weekends. On school days, the announcements will
often have an “opening activity” for the student to complete.
• Check the BlendedSchools email daily.
• Help your peers learn. Being a member of this class means helping your peers by
teaching them when asked and by contributing to the online help forum.
• Be a productive group member. We will have online group work. Collaboration
and assistance are important work skills.
• Submit original work. Giving a peer an answer or an assignment to copy is not
teaching them. Neither student (giver or receiver) will receive credit for work
that is plagiarized or copied, including “worksheets” and homework. Recognize
the difference between “giving someone a fish and teaching someone to fish.”
• Bring appropriate materials to class. Always have a pen/pencil. On certain days,
you will be asked to bring free reading material. As many of our online lessons
will require you to watch videos, you will need a set of headphones.
• Know the basics of the student handbook. Our dress code will be enforced. Do
not take this personally.
INITIATIVE

• Students are responsible for their own learning. Do not wait for the teacher to
remind you, show you, give you, make you, etc. Take ownership.
• Go beyond what is asked of you in class. Make connections between this class
and your other classes. Bring relevant materials to class. While this may sound
corny to you, think of it from an employer’s perspective. Employers reward
those who go beyond the minimum.
• Use any “extra time” to deepen your background knowledge. There will be a list
of approved drill games in SAT vocab, geography, etc. Students whose work is
complete may utilize those.
• Communicate with your instructor as soon as you begin to feel frustrated or
behind the pace. You can communicate both in person and by email.
• Contribute to the learning of the whole group. Our class will have a Help Forum.
Check this help forum regularly to see if you can assist a peer.
• If you have difficulties with other group members during a project, try to resolve
the problems within the group through honest discussion (and not anger). If
that doesn’t work, see the instructor early in the process.
• Determine your academic goals and design a plan to achieve them. Monitor your
assignments and stick to a timeline. In this class, you will be given freedom to
work at your own pace.
• When you are absent, check your Blended Schools page and when possible,
work on your assignments from home.
• Commit enough time to the coursework to achieve your goals. You will need to
have computer access outside of class. I will post computer lab hours each
week. You may also need to use the library lab or the public library computers.
Plan far enough in advance to find computer time.
• Technology mishaps or breakdowns are not acceptable reasons for late work.
Plan ahead.
Together, we create a collaborative community of learning.