Havergal College Course Calendar, 2016-17 Academic Year

HOMEWORK Homework is a learning experience that is assigned by a teacher to enhance student learning outside of the classroom. Homework is based on the curriculum expectations and is designed to require no additional teaching outside of the classroom. Homework should be engaging and relevant to students. Students must understand what is required of them to complete the homework. Teachers should be made aware of homework that is beyond a student’s capability in terms of understanding or time. This contact should be made by the student in the Upper School. Homework has different purposes: • to complete class work; • to provide opportunities for practice to reinforce learning when the student can already independently perform the skills required to be successful or to reinforce previous learning or to provide opportunities to reflect on learning to increase student retention and understanding of concepts; • to prepare students for future lessons by giving them opportunities to reflect on their prior knowledge; • to extend learning by giving students opportunities to deepen their understanding and relate their learning to the real world; • to support the development of good work habits; • to build a sense of independence and personal responsibility; • to reinforce the attitude that learning takes place outside as well as inside the school. Homework Guidelines 1. No homework will be assigned on the school day immediately preceeding scheduled holidays and long weekends. 2. The amount of homework assigned to students will vary depending on their grade. 3. Teachers will provide students with guidance on the type of homework assigned. • Grades 7 to 8: Homework assignments in total should typically not exceed one hour per day. • Grades 9 to 12: In general, teachers will provide homework assignments that should not normally take more than two hours per day. 4. Teachers should be made aware of homework that is beyond a student’s capability in terms of understanding or time. This contact should be made by the parent in the Junior School and by the student in the Upper School. 5. For homework that requires a student to submit a word processing, spreadsheet or slide show document, the file must be one of the following: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx), Microsoft Excel (.xls or .xlsx) and Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt or .pptx). Adobe portable document format (.pdf) files are generally preferable. Teacher will specify the appropriate formats with students.

36  HAVERGAL COLLEGE | Course Calendar 2016–2017