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ST. PATRICK CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL
COURSE SYLLABUS 2014-2015

Teacher: Mr. Prindiville Email: [email protected]
Course: World Geography and Cultures (semester one); Mississippi Studies (semester two)
Teachers Website: mrprindiville.weebly.com


Our mission for our students is to promote spiritual growth; to assure intellectual growth
through academic excellence; to foster a Christian social conscience; to develop a
physically healthy lifestyle; and to provide a culturally enriching experience.



Course Description:

On August 1, the world's population passed 7.251 billion inhabitants. In 1960, the world's population was
just 3.037 billion. At the time of the Great Famine and the Black Death in 1350, the world population was
only 370 million (a number near the population of the United States today).

As the world continues to grow, and societies and cultures become ever more interconnected through
modern technological advances, knowledge of, and understanding between different cultures are a
necessity for the young adult.

The World Geography and Cultures course engages these necessities, examining one of the most
important questions in the field of social studies: how do environmental, economic, social, political, and
cultural factors connect to shape human societies?

Geography is not just the location of countries, cities, mountains, and rivers on a map (although that's an
important part of it); it is a broad subject in which students investigate the ways in which humans interact
with the world, each other, and with those that are different than themselves.

Students in the World Geography and Cultures course will develop a broad understanding of the physical
environments of the world and the processes that shape them, engage questions of population, migration,
culture, economics, and urbanization, and investigate the political factors influencing these complex
themes. More importantly, students will develop an understanding of the world with which they can
critically assess current events and engage their community, country, and world.



Objectives:

After successfully completing this course, students will be able to:

Demonstrate effective college preparatory social studies learning habits, writing strategies, and
analytical thinking frameworks.
Identify the prominent physical features of the world's cultural regions;
Explain the concepts and processes that shape patterns of human social and political activity in
the modern world (e.g. location, space, culture, economy, the nation-state, democracy,
authoritarianism, totalitarianism);
Identify major cultural regions of the world and explain how their cultural, political, economic, and
physical composition makes them distinct from others;



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Explain the ways in which places and regions contribute to the creation of individual and social
identity;
Apply understandings of different cultures and societies to questions of population, migration,
culture, economics, and urbanization;
Explain the role of the United States in the world geo-political system.



Grading Policies:

The academic year of St. Patrick Catholic High School consists of two semesters; each semester is
divided into two nine-week quarters. An academic grade will be issued each quarter (nine-week period)
for all classes on a report card.

Grading Scale

A = 93 - 100 B = 85 - 92 C = 75 - 84 D = 70 - 74 F = 0 - 69

Students will have at least six (6) major grades per quarter. Major grades count as 60% of the students
quarter grade. In this course, there will be two types of major grades: tests and unit project assessments.

The remaining 40% of the students quarter grade will be broken down as follows:

Lesson quizzes: 20%
Homework: 10%
Bellwork: 5%
Daily Reading Comprehension Checks: 5%


Descriptions of these primary types of assignments are as follows:

Tests: During each unit, students will complete a test that assesses their understanding of unit concepts
and themes. These tests will often involve short answer, identification, essay, and essay-outline
questions, but may vary in format throughout the course as needed.

Unit Projects: At the end of each unit, students will complete a holistic unit project assessment that
gauges their comprehension and analysis of the units concept and goal. The format of these
performance assessments will vary throughout the year, but will generally encourage students to use
different talents to engage the topics explored in class. For example, in a unit exploring the American
Revolution, a student might be asked to create a protest leaflet highlighting the colonists grievances
against the Crown.

Lesson Quizzes: At the end of each lesson (every 2-5 days), students will complete a short, 8-10 minute
quiz assessing comprehension of lesson concepts and themes.

Daily Reading Comprehension Checks (CCs): The class following each evening when reading is
assigned as homework, students will complete a short, two-question reading comprehension check. The
check will assess basic comprehension of the assigned reading.

Homework: Students should expect homework every night. Completed homework is due at the beginning
of class. If a student submits homework that is neat, complete, and organized, they will receive full credit
for that day. Often, students will be assigned reading in the course textbook. In this case, students are
expected to outline the reading in a notebook designated for this course. Proper format for these outlines



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will be discussed in class. If reading is not assigned, Mr. Prindiville will assign other homework. (See Late
and Missing Work policy below for more information).

Bellwork: Students will begin each class day by immediately engaging and thoughtfully responding to the
bellwork questions posted. This work begins before the tardy bell and continues after until the class
begins with prayer. Each Friday, students will turn that weeks bellwork log in to Mr. Prindiville. If a student
submits bellwork that is neat, complete, and organized, they will receive full credit for that day.


Grades are updated weekly, and current grades are available via PowerSchool
(https://www.biloxidiocese.powerschool.com/public).


Attendance Policy:

When absent from class, students are responsible for getting the makeup work from the teacher. It is not
the teacher's responsibility to remind the student to complete missed work. The three-day rule discussed
below applies immediately following the student's return, whether they have picked up late work or not.
Students who are absent on school business must get their assignments before they leave.

For all absences, students will be allowed three (3) days from the date of their return to school to make up
any assignments missed. Students will receive full credit for the assignments made up within the allotted
time period. Tests, quizzes, and other assignments that are pre-assigned should be made up (or turned
in) on the first day of the students return to school (i.e. tests, quizzes, or homework announced prior to
the students absence). Tests and quizzes are to be made up before or after school as scheduled by the
teacher.


Tutoring/Remediation:

I am available during the following times for tutoring or for students to make up missed assignments.

- After school until 3:30pm.
- By appointment.


Classroom Discipline Plan:

The behavior policy of St. Patrick Catholic High School fosters the total Christian formation of each
student through the nourishment of religious values, self-discipline, personal growth, and academic
excellence. This goal is best realized through the cooperative effort of students, parents, teachers, and
school administrators.

To ensure proper communication and consistency among students, faculty, administration, and parents, a
school wide discipline policy has been established. Listed below is the discipline plan of each classroom.
The steps below may be given verbally by the teacher or by placing the students name on the board.

Step 1: Warning
Step 2: Student/teacher conference
Step 3: Parent contact (by email or phone)
Step 4: Referral to the administration






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Major Units:

Unit One - Physical Geography: the Earth, Its Features, and Climate
Unit Two - Human Geography: Cultures, Political and Economic Systems, and Religious Beliefs
Unit Three - Europe
Unit Four - Latin America
Unit Five - Asia
Unit Six - The Middle East
Unit Seven - Africa


Additional Classroom Policies:


Academic Integrity:

Perhaps the highest measure of personal honor is how one achieves success. In the academic
environment, one can achieve success through honest means, or by nefarious methods that
cheapen the success sought and offend the community in which that success is valued. As a
Catholic school, we believe that working with academic integrity is held to an even higher
standard: that of right moral action. Academic dishonesty of any kindcheating, broadly defined,
and plagiarismis not tolerated in this course.

Per school policy, students caught cheating will be dealt with in a serious manner. The student
will receive a zero (0) on the assignment, test, quiz or exam in which the cheating has occurred
and be referred to the administration for disciplinary action.


Late and Missing Work:

Assignments are considered late when they are not submitted at the beginning of classi.e. (that
is) when the bell ringson the day the assignment is due.

No late homework is accepted in this course. Students who do not submit a
homework assignment receive a score of zero (0) on that assignment.
If a student has technical difficulties with a printer, it is incumbent on them to notify the
teacher either in person or by e-mail more than two periods prior to the class in which the
assignment is due (or in-person by 7:50am if the students class is scheduled during first
or second periods).
Students are expected to backup their work to mitigate technical difficulties.
Compuer failure is not an acceptable excuse for late assignments. Dropbox,
Google Drive, and other services offer second-by-second backup of documents.
Students are encouraged to use such a service.
Should a student chose to submit a unit project or essay ("major grades") late, the
assignment will be assessed a complete letter-grade deduction per day late, per school
policy (e.g.for examplework that would normally receive a B+ would receive a C+
and so forth).


Tardiness:




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Students must be seated in their assigned seats immediately as the tardy bell begins ringing. If
not, the student is tardy. Per school policy, tardy students must retrieve a slip from the main office
before being admitted to class.


Parental Contact, PowerSchool, and Gradebook Updates:

Students and parents are encouraged to regularly keep track of academic progress on
PowerSchool. Due to the nature of PowerSchools gradebook, the grade showed online might not
always reflect the most up-to-date grade in the course. It is Mr. Prindivilles intention to return
grades in a reasonable, one-week timeframe. Parents and guardians are welcome to contact the
teacher regarding school- related business via his e-mail ([email protected]).
The teacher checks his e-mail daily during workweek business hours, and will respond in a timely
fashion. Parent conferences are scheduled by appointment only.



Course Supplies:

Students will need the following items for their individual work:

Three-ring binder (that can be shared with other classes)
Dividers
Highlighter
Black ink pen
Colored pencils
#2 pencils

Students will need to bring the following items in to class on Friday, August 15 for group classwork:

Last name A-H: colored post-it notes, hand sanitizer, and a box of tissues
Last name I-R: post-it notes, one role of blue painters tape, and paper towels
Last name S-Z: colored post-it notes, two-sided tape, and disinfectant wipes.


Important Dates:

Meet the Teacher Night August 13
Labor Day Holiday September 1
Fall Holiday October 13
Thanksgiving Holidays November 24 to 28
Mid-term Exams December 17 to 19
Christmas Holidays December 22 to January 2
MLK, Jr. Holiday January 19
Mardi Gras February 16 to 17
Spring Holiday March 16
Good Friday April 3
Easter Holidays April 6 to 10
Memorial Day Holiday May 25
Final Exams May 22 to 27