Transcript Open House

School Fees
All 6th – 8th fees are
$60!
Some additional fees
 An 8th grade graduation fee will be
assessed the second semester.
 There will also be a costume fee for
the 6th and 8th grades. These
amounts will be discussed in those
meetings.
th
8
Grade Play
 There will be an 8th grade meeting to
discuss the play and trip. It will be
announced as soon as possible.
 The dates for the play this year are:
 May 4-7, 2015
 Auditions for the play will be:
 November 20, 2014 from 1-3.
 Mr. Boyd and Mrs. Kassab facilitate the
tryouts but do NOT judge the tryouts!!
 Dr. Hood will be there to oversee the audition
process.
6th Grade Madrigal Dinner
 Second quarter elective for all 6th
graders is the 6th grade play. It is a
Madrigal concert and dinner.
 The performance is Tuesday,
December 2, in the Student Center.
 We will be having a meeting
regarding the Madrigal Dinner very
soon. We will need help with
costumes, ticket sales, and
decorating. Keep your eyes on your
email for more information!
Sixth Grade Dallas Trip
 There will also be a 6th grade Dallas trip
meeting. Again, we are waiting to schedule
this after we learn about the football
games! This meeting is to discuss the
itinerary and dates for the trip. Please
make all efforts to attend.
Fundraising/D.C. Meeting
 There will also be a 5th, 6th, and 7th grade
D.C. Meeting in the Multipurpose Room
soon! The date will be announced! This
meeting is to discuss fundraising.
 There will be a meeting with the 7th grade
parents to discuss the trip. Be there or be
square!
Arrival/Absenteeism
 Students may report to the gym @ 7:20.
 Students are not allowed to be here
before 7:20 – there are NO teachers on
duty.
 All tardies will be documented and
recorded.
 Students are not to miss more than
10 days this year. Excused or
Unexcused.
 It is the student’s responsibility to
schedule a time to make up work or
tests with each teacher.
Absentee work
 If your child is
absent for MORE
than one day,
please request
work.
 The request will
need to come
before 8:45 A.M.
and materials
picked up after 2
P.M. in order to
accommodate all
planning periods.
Parent/Teacher
Communication
 If you would like to schedule a parent-
teacher conference, please contact the
teacher via email.
 Please email teachers if you have questions
or concerns. This is a faster way for us to
communicate with you.
 Please follow the “chain of command.” If
you have a problem or something to
discuss, please be courteous and speak
with us first. We will gladly be open for
discussion.
 Please give us 48 hours to respond.
Continuing Communication!
 We will be sending home a link for
Remind…it will save your life
 Kassab will also email home the directions
for using the AEP website for her class.
Contacting Teachers via Cell
Phone…
 We will no longer
be responding to
parent texts until
our planning
period.
 We will be focused
on instructing
these darling
children every
minute!
Substitute
Teachers???
 Is anyone
interested in
being on the sub
list for this
year? Anyone?
Bueller? Bueller?
 If so, please
contact Mrs. Anne
in the office
Classroom Expectations
 Middle School Handbook contains:
 Schedules of Classes
 Policies specific to middle school
 Electronic devices
 Dress code
 Tardiness
 Detention
 Homework
 MUCH MORE!!
Graded Work Communication
 Parent Command
 If a student makes a “D” or “F” on an
assignment or test, that paper will
be sent home for a parent signature.
If the paper or a note is not returned
the following day, the student will
serve lunch detention.
 You are welcome to see your
student’s work at any time. Just
schedule an appointment with that
teacher.
 New textbook this year will be Eureka Math
 Eureka math is the only Tier 1 curriculum
recognized by the state of Louisiana
 Each “textbook” is broken into modules
 Students will only be given one module at a
time
 Each module will be put online so that
pages can be printed from home if
textbooks are forgotten at school
MATH
 This curriculum is
more rigorous and
focuses on proofs and
theorems behind the
problem, not just how
to work it.

PLEASE,
PLEASE, PLEASE!!! Do
not tell your
student. “You don’t
have to work it this
way.”
 “Why are you doing that the hard way?”
 Theoretically, you are right! BUT Eureka
math focuses more on building a
foundation and proving HOW to get the
answer, not just the fastest way to solve it.
 Our students have to learn differently from
the way we learned in order to be globally
competitive.
 If that is the way they will be tested, that is
the way I need them to learn the material.
Math Grades
 Chapter-Skill Tests
 These tests will be administered when a set of
skills have been completed and need to be
mastered before advancing to the next concept.
 All tests are cumulative
 Multiple Choice
 Short Answer
 Constructed Response
 Take Home Quizzes
 Homework - I will adhere to the Middle School Homework
Policy.
 Activities
 Quizzes will be announced in advance and
documented on the homework board.
Hang in there…
(it does get better)
• Problems are more rigorous and require more
thought.
No more skipping the word problems on homework--They
are pretty much all word problems.
• No more cookie-cutter problems. Students must
APPLY their skills. They will actually have test
questions that they may not have seen 5 times
before, but the SKILL is the same.
• Students will struggle in the beginning with making
generalizations from one format to another. That is
perfectly normal! (Disclaimer: “normal” in the
relative Middle School sense. You just buckled up for
a 3-year, hormone induced roller coaster.)
 The ultimate goal is to lay a foundation of
understanding so that they can tackle any
problem. That way when they get to high
school/college they can work more advanced
problems because they understand the
methods behind them.
 Several other countries teach this way with
overwhelming success.
 There will be fewer homework problems in the
beginning.
 Most of their notes will be taken in the same
section as their homework to use as reference.
English/Language Arts
 ELA is taught in a block, two periods
consisting of study in the areas of
grammar, vocabulary, composition, and
literature.
 DeEtte Wick is teaching 6th grade ELA.
 Carly McDuffie is teaching 7th grade ELA
and 8th grade ELA.
 Full implementation of Common Core Standards
 Increased emphasis on non-fiction
 For ELA, standards are divided into 5 categories
 Reading Standards for Literature (10)
 Reading Standards for Informational Texts (10)
 Writing Standards (10)
 Speaking and Listening Standards (6)
 Language Standards (6)
 The year is divided into modules containing
anchor texts.
 Fiction/Literature Modules
 Information Text Modules
 The anchor texts will be supplemented with
shorter pieces of literature and informational
texts with a common theme.
 Grammar instruction is imbedded in the texts.
 Vocabulary instruction is imbedded in the
texts.
 Writing is emphasized and tested in all areas -
including science, history, and math.
 In ELA, writing will be woven into each module
of instruction.
 There will be frequent writing for a variety of
purposes.
 Focus on the structure for 3 types of writing
 Informative/Explanatory
 Argumentative
 Narrative
 Text dependent and evidence based
 There will be multiple types of assessments
used for the overall ELA grades.
 Homework
 Accuracy
 Completion
 Tests and Quizzes
 Cold Reads
 Final Exams
 EAGLE tests
 Writing/Research
Middle School Anchor Texts
 Students are required to have a copy of each text to
annotate and write in. Handout for each grade will come
home for the purchase of these books.
 6th Grade Anchor Texts
 Holes by Louis Sachar
 Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
 Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah
 The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
 7th Grade Anchor Texts
 Wonder by R. J. Palacio
 The Giver by Lois Lowry
 Written in Bone by Sally M. Walker
 Behind the Scenes by Elizabeth Keckley
 8th Grade Anchor Texts
 Enders Game by Orson Scott Card
 A Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe
 Sugar Changed the World by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos
 Dailies, vocab note cards, classwork
 Tests will be scheduled when a unit of study has
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been completed.
Weekly Science vocab quizzes
Current Science News
Participation in Group work/experiments
Projects
Midterm/final
Grade sheet (student binder)
 Good Scientists Practice Safety Skills
 Lab Activities and Inappropriate
behavior contract.
 Sign and return by 8-22…or you can sign
and return it tonight!
Social Studies
 Grades – Grades will be given on
quizzes, tests, and projects.
 Classwork/Homework – All
classwork/homework will be checked
either for correctness or a completion
grade.
 Quizzes/Tests – Quizzes and tests will
be scheduled in advance. The
information for both, including the dates,
will be posted on the website. The dates
will also be recorded in the planner and
on the board.
Book Covers
 All 6-8 social studies classes will be
REQUIRED to have a book cover….no
exceptions!
 Our books are wonderful, but aging. We
need to do all we can to make them last
Happy Husbands!
Not so happy husbands!
Parents, PLEASE….
Label all of your
child’s stuff! We find
it everywhere…and
this way we can get
it back!
PAC
 Procedure
for selecting
new PAC
members
6th-8th
QUESTIONS??