2010-2011+Syllabus

Journalism Staff

 Class Syllabus

Mrs. Michelle M. Scott, Instructor/Adviser Swainsboro Middle School Phone: 478-237-8047 Email: mscott@emanuel.k12.ga.us

Welcome back to school and congratulations on being selected for the 2011-2012 Swainsboro Middle School Journalism Staff. It is my goal to make this a useful course that will improve your ability to work as a team; it should also improve your writing, interviewing, editing, and design skills. You will be held responsible for all information contained in this syllabus, so please review it carefully.

**Curriculum: ** While the main focus of this class is to produce the campus yearbook and a bi-monthly news program, we will also study topics important to journalists. These topics will include: Interviewing Design Media law, including plagiarism, libel, invasion of privacy Computer Applications

**Grading: ** Your grade will be determined by the work you do in the following areas: Classwork (20%) Assigned Pages (30%) <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">News Show Participation (30%) <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Final Portfolio (20%)

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Each student’s participation will be assessed daily. Grades are earned by coming to class on time, actively participating in class discussions, completing assignments on time, meeting deadlines, fulfilling responsibilities, and cooperating with classmates. Deadlines are particularly important in the world of journalism and are just as important in this class. Submitting late work will significantly impact your grade.

**<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-variant: small-caps;">Materials: ** <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">All students must bring necessary materials to school everyday. This includes all materials relevant to the current publication cycle. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">For this class, students are required to log on to a wiki (is a website that allows the easy creation and editing of any number of <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none;">[|interlinked] [|web pages] <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> via a <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none;">[|web browser] <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">). This wiki can be found at http://smsjournalism.wikispaces.com/. IT IS A MEMBERS ONLY WIKI THAT IS PASSWORD PROTECTED. Only students in Journalism, the instructor (Mrs. Cameron), and parents of the students in the class will have access to the wiki. Students and parents will need to provide Mrs. Cameron with an email address in order for access to be granted. Class agendas and assignments will be posted on the wiki. Students will also be responsible for uploading assignments to the wiki and posting to the discussion area of the wiki. These requirements are part of the student’s grade.

**<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-variant: small-caps;">Rules: ** R espect Everyone O rganize Materials and Time A ct Responsibly R espond Positively **<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-variant: small-caps;">Rewards: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Praise and privileges awarded on a daily basis!
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Positive phone call or note sent home and to the administration.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">A reward decided by the class!

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">This syllabus should be signed by the student and parent/guardian and constitutes a contract with the other members of the Journalism Staff and the teacher. Turn over to see signature lines.

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif';">I have read the syllabus and understand the policies and procedures of this class. //

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> (Student’s Signature) ___ (Date)__

__ //<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif';">I have read the syllabus and understand the policies and procedures of this class. // __

__(Parent’s Signature)__ _ (Date)

**//<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif';">Permission and Email Addresses for Wiki Use: //**

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Student’s Email Address <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> **If the student doesn’t have an email address, please create one by Monday, August 30th.**


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Parent’s Email Address _ **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif';"> **When logging on to the wiki for the first time, you will be able to choose/change your password.**

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">