STATEMENT OF PHILOSOPHY: In the teaching of English, as in other areas, the student counts most. Each can achieve at his/her level. The grade a student achieves is not as important as what goes into that grade. How hard a student works is almost more important than how smart a student is. Similarly, it is imperative that a student complete all assignments so that the grade a student receives at the end of a marking period reflects the student's ability and industry. Assignments either not done or not submitted will adversely affect the grade received at the end of a marking period.

Preparing our students for the Terra Nova and for the GEPA, we will take them through a combination of literature, grammar, and composition lessons that reflect the New Jersey State Core Curriculum standards.

We send a Language Arts folder home to our students every two school weeks. This folder contains all English assignments, graded and ungraded, that have been gone over and returned to the students during the previous two school weeks. At a glance, parents can tell whether the student's work is up-to-date and passing, whether any work is missing, or whether any assignments have received a below-passing grade. We urge all parents to make note of the folder dates, check it faithfully, sign it, and return it to ensure a continuous communication between the school and the home. The folder becomes, in effect, a mini-progress report every two school weeks, a total of at least 16 times during the school year. Finally, if the student and his or her family faithfully participate in this activity, all his/her English work for the entire year will be contained in the folder for review in May or June for Final Examinations.