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8th Grade: Homeroom; Social Studies, (U.S. 1865
Present, U.S. Constitution) Religion, (Church History, Catholic Social Teaching, Family Life)
Literature (short stories, non-fiction articles, novels, poetry, speeches)
7th Grade: Social Studies (U.S Prehistory-1865)
6th Grade: Social Studies( Ancient Civilizations), Religion (Old Testament,
Catholic Social Teaching, Family Life)
email Welcome Back to School! Most students spend 3 years in middle
school, but this year I’m starting my 25th year as a Catholic schoolteacher
at the middle school level, and my 7th year here at St. Clare. I
consider this a privilege, a challenge, and a joy.
As always, I am excited about the opportunities of a new year. I look forward to helping the students
discover new ideas, new people, and themselves. Middle School is a dynamic but challenging phase
of education. Here are some basic
reminders of things to watch for and ways to guide your sons and daughters. Organization
& Stress Management
Organization and
maintaining a healthy level of stress are perhaps the most important keys to
success in middle school. I try to
present my lessons and set up my assignment requirements to foster the
development of organization skills.
Normally, this skill improves with practice, and students gain
confidence in their abilities to manage several different teachers and
assignments each night. This in turn helps to keep stress at a healthy
level. It is especially common,
however, for some sixth grade students and their parents to experience a few
bumps during the first few weeks as they get used to the routines of middle
school. Don’t worry; all of the
teachers are here to help out. In the
same way, seventh and eighth graders, though more practiced in organization
and stress management skills, can also occasionally stumble with schoolwork,
extra curricular activities, and family obligations. Curriculum I have a syllabus for each
subject and class that I will be covering.
While this is a very basic summary, you will notice that I employ a
variety of written, visual, and technological projects as well as more traditional
tests. The syllabi will also outline
the core topics we will cover in each class.
These syllabi are also posted on my web pages.
My students in social studies will be
working on several projects throughout the year including one major Current
Events report, one major computer based project such as a Power Point presentation(all
research will also involve computer use for research and word processing),
and some creative and artistic projects including posters, maps, political
cartoons, roll plays, models,
and creative reports. Head of the Class
For those of you new to my reward systems,
I’ll begin by explaining Head of the Class or HofC. This is a way to reward an entire table
group of 4-5 students every time any one of those group members earns a good
grade or behaves in some other positive way.
Every two weeks the group with the most points earns a small
prize. (Students have the choice of a
snack or a non- food prize.) The goal
is to encourage students to work together and motivate each other. All students will have the opportunity to
earn this reward over the course of the year.
There are also extra prizes every fourth week. Star Notes and
Student of the Week
The
second part of my reward system is given to individuals. Star Note certificates are given
when a student carries out his/her assigned classroom “job” for one
week. Student of the Week
certificates are given for exceptional effort and/or attitude in that
particular class the previous week.
Usually 2-3 students per week receive these certificates from me. The Star Note and Student of the Week certificates
may be redeemed for special rewards as follows: ·
a free pass to go to lockers,
water fountain or restroom during class time (1 certificate) ·
a free pass to bring a snack
into class and eat it (2 certificates) ·
Rent-a-Pen during class (2
certificates, but get one back if pen is returned at
end of class) ·
a free pass to skip part of a
homework assignment (3 certificates)
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If your son or daughter
has misjudged or misused study time, it is most helpful when parents can help
him or her to learn from the mistake.
On the other hand, if your son or daughter can not finish a regular
homework assignment because of some reason beyond his or her control
(unexpected family activity, illness, too much work for one night, etc.) I
will accept a parent note to excuse the work for the next day and give the
student a reasonable extension to complete the work. If your middle student
has a homework crisis that is not his or her fault, calm him/her down, get
him/her to go to bed at a reasonable time, and tell him/her not to worry
about me being upset. Please note that without a parent email or
written explanation, missing or incomplete homework will result in a lower
grade. Parents can help students to set aside
specific times and places to complete their homework without
distractions. I suggest that between
90 minutes and 2 hours per week night be set aside for homework, although it
may not be necessary to use that much time each night. Some weekend time may also be necessary,
but students can have less homework to do if they can utilize the class time
provided to get started on their work. Rules Please refer to the Middle School
handbook for detailed information on all of the rules and policies including
the uniform code, discipline policy, grading, Honor Roll requirements,
etc. Besides these school wide
standards, each teacher has his/her own individual behavior
expectations. For instance, I want the
students to complete all of their assignments in black, blue, or purple ink,
although I allow any color of ink to be used in their notebooks. You can read the rest of my expectations on
the link on the 8th grade web page. Web Page Communication I try to keep my web pages under the St.
Clare web page updated at least every two weeks. Please check my pages at least that often
for important information on academic content, upcoming tests and projects,
pictures of student
work, etc. In addition I
have posted my curriculum schedules for each subject I teach. Just click “8th Grade” on the
St. Clare web page, and click on links for 6th, 7th or
8th grade. (Click the red apple for 8th, the green
apples for 7th, or the yellow apple for 6th grade. Homework
Middle School
students should expect to have 1-2 hours of homework each school day. Please contact me or another middle school
teacher if you consistently observe your child having an excessive amount of
schoolwork. In every class students
are expected to use the assignment book you purchased for them through the
school. Homework will also usually
be posted on the web each day, but it is ultimately the student’s
responsibility to write down the assignments before leaving school. I have also assigned a homework “buddy” to
each 8th grade student to help out with homework lists and
gathering of materials when the buddy is absent. This can be a help to the absent student,
but it is still that student’s responsibility to make sure that he/she has
taken care of all class and homework missed because of an absence.
As stated in the Middle School handbook, students will be given one
extra school day for each day missed from school due to an absence to
complete their homework assignments.
Late and missing work in another issue. Late homework loses 20% the first day and
10% per week after that. Also, missing
work will require a parent to sign a “Homework Slip” in my classes if that
work is still missing by the Monday following the original due date. Once a homework slip is issued no grade for
the late work will be given without the parent signature, and points will
still be deducted. If this becomes a
pattern I will contact the parent(s).
Getting Tests
Signed
I have sent a letter home explaining my test signing policy. Please make sure you review and sign your
son/daughter’s tests. It is his/her
responsibility to give tests back to me with the parent signature within 2
school days to earn HofC points.
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