Welcome to
Mrs. Alcala’s Classroom
(Room C219)
July 25, 2016
Mrs. Alcala
• Hello! My name is Mrs. Alcala
• I grew up in Ahwatukee. I went to
Mountain Pointe High School and
graduated in 2005 (okay math kids,
figure my age out).
• After graduating high school, I went
to ASU and received my Bachelor’s
Degree in Secondary English
Education in 2009.
• After graduating from ASU, I taught
for 2 years at Moon Valley High
School in Glendale
• I then worked at…GASP…Chandler
High School  for the past 5 years
and while I did enjoy my time there, I
am a fully converted Hamilton Husky
now and am so excited to be here!
About Mrs. Alcala (as a person)…
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This is my EIGHTH year teaching and
my first year teaching at Hamilton
High School. I will be teaching 5
sections of English 11--so no
complaining about reading. I read the
same book 5 times a day! ;)
I am a mom to my almost six year old
son, Adam who will be a first grader
TODAY at Jacobson Elementary, and
a 1 year old daughter, Addison who
attends the daycare here. If you see
her in the halls, say hi!
My husband and I met while working
at the Boys and Girls Club, so we
often volunteer with underprivileged
kids in our community as much as
possible at either Boys and Girls Club,
Feed my Starving Children, and
ICAN.
My family and I love football and you
can expect to see me at almost all of
Hamilton’s home games.
About Mrs. Alcala (as a teacher)…
• I went into teaching to HELP students. I am here for
YOU. My goal is to help you become a well-rounded,
intelligent, decent human being in this ever terrifying
world that we live in. I want you to have the ability to
read something and TRULY UNDERSTAND IT. I want you
to have the ability to write and not have anxiety about
it. I want you to be able to understand America
through its literature to make you better citizens of this
world so that you can have a VOICE in our even more
terrifying political world.
• I DO NOT WANT any of you to fail. Failure is something
I really do not accept—so again, I am here FOR YOU.
Please let me help you—if you are confused, come see
me. If you are overwhelmed, come see me. If you are
excited/mad/scared/angry, come see me!
The Classroom
• Seating:
– I know you are all thrilled to hear this 
but seats will be assigned by me all year
– If you need to be moved for any valid
reason (not because you want to sit next
to your best friend), please inform me
after class and I will discuss options with
you.
– You will be thrilled to hear that we
OFTEN do collaborative group work, so
we won’t always be in the same seat!
Cell Phones
– Some (SOME) days, I may say you can
use your cell phones for help with
certain activities, but unless I
specifically say we are using our
phones AND THE PHONE SIGN IS ON
THE BOARD, they need to be put
away.
– If I see a phone out when the phone
sign is not on the board, I will take it
and you will have to pick it up in the
office after school
– No charging! Sorry, no charging your
phone in my room. That too will be
taken to the front office
– I graduated High School in 2005—
Texting cost a FORTUNE and my
teachers certainly did not allow me to
have my phone out AT ALL—so be
happy that we can SOMETIMES use
them. The longest you are ever in here
is 2 hours—I promise you will LIVE!
No music—SORRY!
• There will be NO MUSIC PLAYERS allowed or
any electronic device used during class—You
will receive a referral. END OF STORY.
• There is NO WAY you can pay attention with
music—so if I see ear buds, I will ask you to
put them away
The Classroom
• I probably have any supply you need. At
each of the BACK tables, you will find
baskets of supplies.
• Pencils are in the purple basket. I am using
the “honor system” with these so please try
and put supplies back once you have used
them.
• Classroom Calendar—refer to this for filling
out your Alcala Calendars (we will start next
week) and if you are absent.
• The folders at the bottom of the calendar
will contain extra copy of assignments
The Classroom
• On the back table is a crate that contains
every assignment we will complete this
semester!
• If you are absent for or have misplaced
an assignment, check the weekly
calendar and then find the assignment
you are missing! You were absent—take
care of what you missed!
The Classroom
• I am copying the Instagram
#bookselfie following and am
requesting some book selfies of
YOU! Simply take a selfie with
your favorite book (school
appropriate) and send the pic to
me through email and I will give
you 10pts extra credit!!!
• Also, if you are involved in any
extra-curricular activity (sports,
music, dance, clubs) write your
name down on a sticky and
what activity you are involved
in and stick to the board. I will
give 5 pts.extra credit for this
because I would love to come
see you!
The Classroom
• I AM A MOM so Birthdays are a big
deal for me, so yes, you will get
something and yes, we will sing
“Happy Birthday”. I am a mom and we
live for birthdays ! I will now pass out
post-it notes. Please write your first
and last name, your birthdate and the
class hour you are in. When you are
finished, please find your birthday
month on the storage cabinet in the
back and stick them!
The Classroom
• Turning in papers—my least favorite thing! In order
to have an easy and effective way of collecting and
RETURNING papers, each row will have a folder.
Let’s practice this now. You know your ice-breaker
activity we did first thing today? I will be handing
out folders to your row—once you are handed the
folder, please put your assignment in WITH YOUR
NAME! Then, please pass the folder to the front of
the row 
• The bookcase on the left has copies of the literature
books we will be reading out of over the next few
months. One person will be called from each group
to grab books for everyone else in that group.
The Classroom
• Destruction or theft of the school’s, fellow student’s
or my property will not be tolerated. This means you
do not write on desks, spit gum on the floor, or
damage anything that does not belong to you. This
behavior will result in a parent phone call, and/or
referral to the office. Remember, I know who sits
where! So if I find something on the desk, you will be
responsible for the damage. If you find something on
the desk before class begins, let ME know.
• If I catch you drawing on my desks, you will clean
ALL OF THEM.
• Also, if you throw ANYTHING in my room, including
garbage into the garbage can, you will be picking up
every piece of trash on my floor. Remember, I am
trying to make sure you end up as decent people so I
don’t think your LAZINESS constitutes more work
for our wonderful janitorial staff!
Classroom Behavior
• Students are expected to speak to the teacher and peers
in a proper and respectful manner. Please do not use
profanity, insult, badger, or tease other students.
Laughing or making fun of others is also not tolerated
and any of these actions will have consequences.
• Students are expected to act in a respectful
manner/attitude to their teacher, and peers at all times!
• Please do not talk while others are talking, disturb other’s
possessions, or school property. One (1) warning will be
given; continued behavior will result in deduction of
points from participation grade, a parent phone call, a
referral to the office, and/or possible expulsion from the
class.
Mrs. Alcala’s thoughts…
• It has been such a terrible year full of the most awful
news stories our Nation has ever had to hear. I am
TRULY SORRY for you. Being a young person in this
scary world is not what anyone wanted for you. But, I
do think you and your peers can make something
positive out of the negative things in our world. I think
you can all be KIND and THOUGHTFUL to one another
and to yourselves. So with this thought in mind, please
understand that I WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY SORT OF
NEGATIVITY in my classroom. Do not laugh, make fun
of or belittle anyone in this room *or anywhere else!
Classroom Behavior
• Insubordinate (Rebellious) or belligerent
behavior towards the teacher and peers will
NOT be tolerated. (Such behavior includes any
mental, emotional, physical or verbal abuse,
arguing with me, refusing to follow a reasonable
request, or profanity). This behavior will result
in a parent phone call, a referral to the office,
and/or possible expulsion from the class.
• What this means: Refusing to participate in an
assignment or to change a behavior or attitude
will not be tolerated.
Dress code
• Dress Code violations—if you are in
violation of dress code, I will simply hand
you a Dress Code Violation Report and
will send you to the office—if you
disagree with the violation, you can
explain your case to the administration
office.
• Just dress appropriately and we should
have no problems. We are in a school and
hats and sunglasses and other distractive
clothing will not be tolerated.
Plagiarism/CHEATING
•
Plagiarism: According to the New Webster‘s Dictionary the
definition of plagiarism is “to use of pass someone else’s ideas,
inventions, writings, etc. as one’s own . . .” Whether work is
stolen, given, or bought, the punishment for plagiarism is a zero
on the assignment, a parent phone call, and a referral.
•
Simplified: if you copy anything, you will fail the assignment. If
the crime is committed twice you will fail this class in its
entirety.
•
Just a hint: Be careful! I caught 5 students last year cheating—
how did I know they cheated? They had the same answer
(WORD-FOR-WORD) for each question on the assignment. One
person copied an entire book report word for word—not so
smart!
•
You will be using Turnitin.com so this will solve most of our
plagiarism issues concerning ESSAYS
ASSIGNMENT PREPARATION:
• Assignments should be turned in on time and
professionally presented – meaning no frayed
edges, crumpled or folded papers, or sloppy last
minute work. Every assignment must have the
name, date, period, and title. Assignments must
be composed in complete sentences (unless
otherwise notified), with proper spelling and
grammar.
• If there is not a name on the paper, I will throw
it away. We are too busy in here for me to play
the guessing game
• Take your time! If you do not take time on an
assignment, I will not waste my time grading it.
Have respect for your work!
Passes
• You will be allowed to use the bathroom/get
a drink (3) three times a quarter (9 weeks). I
will keep track of your passes in the
attendance binder. Once you use all three—
you are out—end of story.
• Use your passes wisely
• ALSO—THEY ARE WORTH 5 PTS EXTRA
CREDIT, SO AT THE END OF THE
QUARTER, YOU CAN RECEIVE 15 PTS for
them!
• You cannot go to the bathroom/get a drink
during the first 15 minutes and last 15
minutes of class (school rule)
• OBVIOUSLY THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS!!!
The End
• Ohmygoodness! That was a lot of
information! Just know that this
class is really pretty fun. I respect
you and am here for you for
whatever help you need and I
expect the same from all of you.
• And now….your first “real”
assignment…cue scary music here
Introduction Letter
• For your first assignment, you will be
writing an introduction letter to me. This is
a good way for me to get to know each of you
better. Follow the instructions on the handout provided. This assignment will be worth
30 points, so take your time and begin now.
This letter will be due at the end of class this
BLOCK DAY so either Thursday 28/Friday
29. You should also have some time on the
block day to finish (depending on how long
the writing diagnostic takes).