Mrs. Beberniss

Mrs. Beberniss
Kathryn Beberniss

8th Grade Language Arts/Reading
Creative Writing
Communications
Junior High and High School RtI Reading
High School Speech Coach

It is with great excitement that I continue to claim to be an Eagle this year at Garden County Schools. I have earned a B.A. Degree in English, with an emphasis in Secondary Education; completed graduate studies in Curriculum and Instruction; and gained Principal licensure. With Colorado experience of seven years of middle school teaching and three years as an instructional achievement coach, I am enthusiastic and prepared to promote the school district’s mission: provide a quality education through shared responsibility in a safe supportive environment for all students to meet the challenges of a global society. As I continue my career in Nebraska, I now have four more years of high school/junior high experience under my belt.

I welcome hard work, accept new tasks, and pride myself on my dependability. I seek to promote my own, as well as other staff members' professional growth and development while being mindful of teamwork and cooperation. I coordinate my efforts with those of parents, other teachers and administrators to stay familiarized with and ensure to meet the needs of the students in the school.

1st Period 
Garden County Elementary
2nd Period
Garden County Elementary
3rd Period
Garden County Elementary
4th Period 
Reading
5th Period
8th Grade Reading/Language Arts
LUNCH   Lunch Duty 
 6th Period   Advisory
7th Period    Communications
8th Period    Plan
9th Period   Communications

Contact Information:

Teacher: Kathryn BebernissEmail: [email protected]

Phone: HS: 308-772-3242 Plan Time: 10:36-11:24 a.m.

Language Arts - 8th grade - Course Syllabus 2017-18

Course Description:

Eighth grade Language Arts will provide students with various language arts lessons in reading, writing, and basic communication skills (oral presentation, discussion, and media communication). The course will review basic skills in grammar and will extend into usage, agreement, mechanics, and sentence structure in conjunction with writing as needed. Students will also engage in reading a variety of literature. A focus will be placed on cooperative learning, the incorporation of technology, development of critical thinking skills, and an emphasis on the impact that individuals can have on others.

What to bring to class:

1. writing utensil

2. laptop (fully charged)

3. notebook *to be left in the classroom

4. Daily Grammar Practice workbook *this will be on the computer

5. Homework (when applicable)

6. independent reading book

Expectations:

Student will:

  • Respect self, others, and property

  • Promptly attend and work when the bell rings

  • Complete homework on time so it can be used in class the day it is due

  • Ask questions prior to the due date of an assignment

  • Take responsibility for missed work in the case of an absence (excused/unexcused)

  • Use technology appropriately

Vocabulary Expectations: The student will be doing the root of the week and the word of the day. There will be quizzes over these each week. The student will write down the root, its definition, the words and their definitions, and then, use each in a sentence. The student will maintain a notebook in which all the information is written. I will be giving five minutes of study for the vocab quizzes this year; I will set the timer as soon as the tardy bell rings.  Come to class prepared.  If the student does not pass the first time, the student will be taking the quiz again, until the student passes it.  On all tests, the student has to pass the roots or retake the entire test.  Missing a root means the whole test has to be retaken.

LITERARY Terms Expectations: The student will be doing the term of the week and the word of the day. There will be quizzes over these each week which will follow the format of the vocab quizzes. The student will take the practice quizzes on Juno in preparation for the real test on Fridays. If the student chooses not to do the practice quizzes, he or she is still responsible for the test on Fridays. The quizzes will feature terms that have to be passed just as the roots ones are on the vocab tests, and then, there will be words that are changed out just as they are on the vocab quiz.


Language Arts - 7th grade - Course Syllabus 2017-18

Course Description:

Seventh grade Language Arts/Reading will provide students with various language arts lessons in reading, writing, and basic communication skills (oral presentation, discussion, and media communication). The course will review basic skills in grammar and will extend into usage, agreement, mechanics, and sentence structure in conjunction with writing as needed. Students will also engage in reading a variety of literature. A focus will be placed on cooperative learning, the incorporation of technology, development of critical thinking skills, and an emphasis on the impact that individuals can have on others.

What to bring to class:

1. writing utensil

2. laptop (fully charged)

3. notebook *to be left in the classroom

4. Daily Grammar Practice workbook *this will be on the computer

5. Homework (when applicable)

6. independent reading book

Expectations:

Student will:

  • Respect self, others, and property

  • Promptly attend and work when the bell rings

  • Complete homework on time so it can be used in class the day it is due

  • Ask questions prior to the due date of an assignment

  • Take responsibility for missed work in the case of an absence (excused/unexcused)

  • Use technology appropriately

Vocabulary Expectations: The student will be doing the root of the week and the word of the day. There will be quizzes over these each week. The student will write down the root, its definition, the words and their definitions, and then, use each in a sentence. The student will maintain a notebook in which all the information is written. I will be giving five minutes of study for the vocab quizzes this year; I will set the timer as soon as the tardy bell rings.  Come to class prepared.  If the student does not pass the first time, the student will be taking the quiz again, until the student passes it.  On all tests, the student has to pass the roots or retake the entire test.  Missing a root means the whole test has to be retaken.

LITERARY Terms Expectations: The student will be doing the term of the week and the word of the day. There will be quizzes over these each week which will follow the format of the vocab quizzes. The student will take the practice quizzes on Juno in preparation for the real test on Fridays. If the student chooses not to do the practice quizzes, he or she is still responsible for the test on Fridays. The quizzes will feature terms that have to be passed just as the roots ones are on the vocab tests, and then, there will be words that are changed out just as they are on the vocab quiz.


Creative Writing Course Syllabus 2017-18

Course Description:

Creative Writing is a course designed to allow students to explore all the genres of writing of which they are capable on the secondary level.  Several different genres may be attempted depending the make-up of the class and the ability level.  The genres attempted may include the following: short story (mystery, fantasy, science fiction, collaboration, parody, myth, rewrite of a fairy tale (either modernized or from another character’s point of view), explanation of a natural phenomenon (Oak Island for example); one-act play; children’s story, illustrated children’s story, short story, round robin, and poetry.

This class is designed to allow students explore their creativity as well as learning to handle different points of view in a story, different settings, and different genres. For the most part, the story is assigned on Monday, the rough draft is due on Wednesday, and the first typed copy is due on Friday of the week assigned. If it is a short story, there will be a 7-page minimum for the rough draft.  The revision process may take one or two weeks, up to the discretion of the teacher and the quality of the first draft submitted. Students are expected to make use of class time for creative writing projects only. If a student finds him/herself “done,” he/she should go back in his/her collection of stories and rework another story, rewrite a story from another character’s point of view, or edit another student’s story; please be aware that I’ll assign tasks to any student who appears to be idle.

What to bring to class:

1. writing utensil

2. laptop (fully charged)

4. independent reading book

Expectations:

Student will:

  • Respect self, others, and property

  • Promptly attend and work when the bell rings

  • Complete homework on time so it can be used in class the day it is due

  • Ask questions prior to the due date of an assignment

  • Take responsibility for missed work in the case of an absence (excused/unexcused)

  • Use technology appropriately


Reading Course Syllabus 2017-18

Course Description:

Reading will build vocabulary and increase reading capacity, efficiency, motivation and writing skills. Students will engage in a personalized and dynamically adjusted program to increase reading achievement in reading rate and comprehension.


What to bring to class:

1. writing utensil

2. laptop (fully charged)

3. independent reading book


Expectations:

Student will:

  • Respect self, others, and property

  • Promptly attend and work when the bell rings

  • Take responsibility for missed work in the case of an absence (excused/unexcused)

  • Use technology appropriately


Late Work/Behavior Retraining:

All assignments are expected on the due date. If the student gets off track they should expect to spend time after school until it is completed. If there is a struggle/question the student should address it with me immediately to problem-solve the situation. After school can also be utilized as a time to work on assignments that are currently in progress before their due date if help is needed or simply just as a place to work.

Similarly, all behavior expectations will be followed. If the teacher observes unacceptable behavior the student receives retraining. The student will responsibly show up the same day for RETRAINING. (during ELT) In the case of an inability to RETRAIN the day of the inappropriate behavior, the student is expected to communicate respectfully with the teacher. A student’s failure to report to retraining will result in the teacher contacting the principal about the insubordination.


English 9 Course Syllabus 2017-18

Course Description:

English 9 will provide students with various language arts lessons in reading, writing, and basic communication skills (oral presentation, discussion, and media communication). The course will review basic skills in grammar and will extend into usage, agreement, mechanics, and sentence structure in conjunction with writing as needed. Students will also engage in reading a variety of literature. A focus will be placed on cooperative learning, the incorporation of technology, development of critical thinking skills, and an emphasis on social action/community involvement.

What to bring to class:

1. Writing utensil

2. Laptop (fully charged)

3. Notebook *to be left in the classroom

4. Daily Grammar Practice workbook *this will be on the computer

5. Homework (when applicable)

6. Independent reading book

Expectations:

Student will:

  • Respect self, others, and property

  • Promptly attend and work when the bell rings

  • Complete homework on time so it can be used in class the day it is due

  • Ask questions prior to the due date of an assignment

  • Take responsibility for missed work in the case of an absence (excused/unexcused)

  • Use technology appropriately

Vocabulary Expectations: The student will be doing the root of the week and the word of the day. There will be quizzes over these each week. The student will write down the root, its definition, the words and their definitions, and then, use each in a sentence. The student will maintain a notebook in which all the information is written. I will be giving five minutes of study for the vocab quizzes this year; I will set the timer as soon as the tardy bell rings.  Come to class prepared.  If the student does not pass the first time, the student will be taking the quiz again, until the student passes it.  On all tests, the student has to pass the roots or retake the entire test.  Missing a root means the whole test has to be retaken.

Literary Terms Expectations: The student will be doing the term of the week and the word of the day. There will be quizzes over these each week which will follow the format of the vocab quizzes. The student will take the practice quizzes on Juno in preparation for the real test on Fridays. If the student chooses not to do the practice quizzes, he or she is still responsible for the test on Fridays. The quizzes will feature terms that have to be passed just as the roots ones are on the vocab tests, and then, there will be words that are changed out just as they are on the vocab quiz.