Dear Evangel Christian Academy Parents and Students: May 2010

In our constant effort to improve education and reading at Evangel, we will continue our summer reading program. It is vital that you, as parents and students, know that we select books based on research of other top schools, college reading requirements, and classic books or authors who are often referenced in secondary schools or society.

We strongly suggest that the student look over the reading guides (www.evangelacademy.com), which include plot summaries of the stories as well as the questions to be answered BEFORE he or she begins to read.

We hope that summer reading not only introduces our students to classic novels but also supplements their personal reading. With this goal in mind, we offer a program of reading that allows our students some personal choices in their book selection through the Christian fiction choices (9 & 10), nonfiction choices (11 & 12), and a required classic novel (see list below).

With each book, a required reading guide is assigned. You will find the reading guides on our website (www.evangelacademy.com) under the summer reading tab or in the main office at the high school. NOTE: these reading guides have been changed and updated. Please make sure you are using the revised 2010 reading guides. The requirements for the reading guide are as follows:

Students should answer each question neatly and in full-sentence response. The responses should be no more than a paragraph in length (unless otherwise stated) and include thoughtful reflection and references to the book.
It must be the student’s own work and words. DO NOT TYPE ANSWERS. We will give zeros for cheating or the appearance of cheating.
The questions are due the first half day of the 2010-2011 school year and they count as two 50 point test grades. There is a 3rd book for honors classes. It counts as a 50 point test grade.

A list of the books will be given to local bookstores; however, we cannot guarantee that they will always be in stock. Please consider checking early in the summer just in case they need to be ordered. We also recommend checking online bookstores for better bargains or for hard-to-find books.

POLICY FOR ENGLISH HONORS

English honors summer reading policy: It is a privilege to be in an honors class. These classes are preferably smaller in number and contain students who really wish to learn, who push themselves to become stronger, and who want to be challenged. Ideally these classes would utilize class discussions more than a general class. Honors classes would have more “at home” reading assignments and higher standards for writing and research.

In an effort to take our honors classes to a stronger level, we are implementing a 3rd summer reading book for prospective honors students. The additional book will be on the summer reading list. This book will also have questions to be answered and a possible quiz on the first half day of school. If a student does not do the additional reading or any of the required reading, he/she will immediately be moved to a regular class for the remainder of the school year.

Policy for late enrollees:

All new students who were not officially enrolled at Evangel Christian Academy during the previous school year and who enroll after August 1st will still be required to read the classic novel on the appropriate summer reading list. These students will take a test over the novel during the 3rd week of school. Individual teachers will administer the test and choose the exact test date. The students will not complete the reading guides for credit. The other novel(s) will be excused. This includes foreign exchange students who are new to Evangel.

Adopted and approved May 10, 2010