Gulliver Branson

Meet the Teacher

Welcome to Aspen View Academy 7^th Grade English Language Arts. This will be a very exciting year. My name is Mr. Branson, and I have been teaching for over  20 years in Colorado, Idaho, Estonia, and Mongolia. I am very excited to be able to share these educational experiences with you.

My goal is to provide a positive and challenging learning environment to help students reach their full potential. All of my classes are designed to encourage students to be successful by using the five tenants of inquiry-based learning: Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation. These are skills that translate to learning any subject, and they will be helpful in all academic and non-academic pursuits. If you have any questions or concerns during the school year, please feel free to email me. ([email protected]) I look forward to meeting and working with all of you.

Schedule

7:45 to 8:00 Homeroom

8:00 to 9:03 1st Period

9:07 to 10:02 2nd Period

10:06 to 10:56 3rd Period (Specials / Steam) 

11:00 to 11:55  4th Period

11:59 to 12:49  5th Period (Specials / Steam

12:54 to 1:45  6th Period Lunch

1:49 to 2:44  7th Period

2:48 to 3:30 8th Period (Electives Tuesday to Friday, Advisory Monday) 

Class Expectations

• Treat each other politely and kindly.
• Treat school and personal property respectfully.
• Follow teacher requests.
• Be prepared for class.
• Make a sincere effort in your work, and request help if you need it.
• Solve conflicts nonviolently.
• Follow all school rules. 
• No cell phones, smart watches must be on airplane mode or school mode.
• No Gum!

Policies and Procedures

Please be on time for class, seated, and prepared to go when class starts with all materials necessary every day: computer (charged), composition notebook, and pencils.

• No music, games, or emailing / texting during class time.
• Turn in all assignments on time.  
• Raise your hand from your seat and wait until called upon when asking a question, making a comment, or answering a question.

School computers are for school use only.  Playing games and/or using non approved websites and apps may cause computer privileges to be suspended. (See AVA website for approved sites and apps)

Grading:

Student grades are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week.  Please check your student's grades on Infinite Campus

• 50% Assessments (tests and quizzes)
• 50% Practice (assignments and activities in class and as homework )

7th Grade Grading Policy: 

Standard Grading Scale

100 – 90% = A        89 – 80% = B        79 – 70% = C          69 – 60% =  D         59 – 0 % = F

Students will be able to retake assessments up to one week after the grade has been entered in Infinite Campus.  Quarter 1 and 2 - the final grade entered will be the higher of the two grades.  Quarter 3 and 4 -  the final grade entered will be an average of the two grades.

All grades will be kept in Infinite Campus. Google Classroom and Infinite Campus DO NOT align, so please refer to Infinite Campus for current grades. 

If a learner has demonstrated “Academic Dishonesty” on any assignment or assessment, he/she will receive 50% credit for the first offense.  ZERO percent credit will be given on a second offense.  

Absent Work

Students will be given two days for every one day absent to complete work.  Absent work can be  found on Google Classroom, or the learner may ask for it upon his/her return to school. It is the student’s responsibility to get the assignment(s) and complete it within the given time frame.  

Late Work Policy Learners will lose 10% credit for each day an assignment is late, after it is due, down to 50% (after five days). Late work is counted once the assignment or assessment is entered in Infinite Campus as missing.

Typical Daily Agenda

1. Warm Up – Daily Activity.
2. Class Work - Discussion and Review. There will be daily activities as well as writing assignments, projects, quizzes on spelling/editing, grammar, and material covered in class.  
3. Wrap Up - A Good Thing and Something Learned