Sixth
Grade Sapient Scholars’ Parents’ Packet of Success!
2013-2014
Mrs.
Susan Goers sgoers@gfautah.org
ttp://www.engrade.com/user/login
(801)393-2950
Welcome to all the
Sixth Grade Sapient Scholars and Parents!
WE are
delighted to be serving you as your child’s instructors this coming year. We
have many exciting teaching experiences planned that will enrich and stimulate
learning in and out of the classroom. We ask that you simply read through this
disclosure, sign the back page, and send it in with your student to school tomorrow.
Keep the rest of the information at home. We would like to all start the year
on the same foundation and know what the expectations are for success.
1. Scheduling and Planners – Your students
will be working with planners this year. They are vitally important in teaching
time management skills and organization. As parents you will be responsible for
signing off on certain homework activities throughout the year (see homework
section). Please note that if your child misplaces his/her planner it will need
to be replaced within 24 hours at your cost as to not lose track of activities
and assignments. The first day of school your student will be filling out their
schedules in their planners. Please review this when they arrive home.
2. Field trips/classroom help/visits - Your participation and support during
the school year is not only encouraged, but greatly appreciated. If you would
like to join us on a field trip, help car pool, come spend a day with us in
class, or simply drop in for a visit, please communicate that to us via email. We
welcome parents’ participation at any time.
Currently
we are scheduling one field trip per quarter and would like parents to join us.
Please refer to the Parent Handbook for information on which students will be
allowed to participate in Field Trips at the end of each quarter. Your student
needs to demonstrate 95% attendance at school in order to qualify to
participate. Students must meet all criteria to participate since field trips
are a privilege to expand upon learning.
3. Birthdays – the last in school Friday
of each month we will celebrate the birthdays of the students born in that
month. We will send an email to all parents of birthday students for the month
so you can coordinate your treats if you wish. We will reserve the last 15
minutes of the day to celebrate birthdays.
4. Snacks – We will have a ten minute
break in the morning between our math time and language arts time to grab a
quick snack and use the restroom. Students concentrate better when they are fed
and have used the facilities. Please DO NOT send your students with candy, soda, or sugary snacks. Fruit, crackers, or other healthy snacks are
highly suggested as to help facilitate the learning process. Also, please be
certain your student has a balanced
healthy breakfast before starting the day.
5. Homework Policy – Many of us are
working parents, and therefore many of us after working hard all day do not
desire to go back to work after dinner. However, we are teaching our students
responsibility and a good work ethic, therefore there will be some work
required of them during the week while at home. Students will be assigned an
essay of the week that they will get on Monday, due the following Friday
(beginning the end of September). They will also have their own book to be
reading outside of class, and a book report due the end of the month. These
dates and topics will be in their planners. Please follow the blog so you will
know when your students’ planners need to be signed to substantiate that they
have been reading during the week, and have worked on spelling/vocabulary and
any extra projects that may be assigned. There will be evenings where WE will
ask your student to teach the family a particular math strategy. If they get
confused please don’t attempt to help them; they will cover it the following
morning with us in the classroom.
If
your scholar is out ill it is HIGHLY suggested that you either have a
sibling pick up their work, or that you come and pick up their work after
school. There will be a list on their desk with any handouts and directions. It
is in their best interest to not get more than one day behind in work as it
tends to be fast and furious in the suite. The more they can complete at home
the better!
6. Grading Policy - All homework is DUE
on the date specified unless we change that date. Students can hand in
their work one day late and get half credit for the work if it is perfect. If
they do not hand in their work after that date, they will receive a zero in the
grade book, BUT in order to get their quarterly report card they STILL
have to hand in the work. Any
work assigned is work worth completing, therefore they need to be
responsible and do the work. Of course special circumstances and sickness will
be considered. It is the student and the parents’ responsibility to sign on to
Engrade and view grades on a weekly or daily basis. Parents will be notified
when homework is not handed in via email, and when a student falls into the
zone of a D or lower in a particular class. It is the responsibility of the
students and parents to be constantly aware of where a student’s grades are
standing. Please do not email us asking for grades.
Plagiarism – Students will be taught,
according to the school policy, the first week of classes what plagiarism is.
Please see school policies for a detailed explanation. Plagiarism will NOT be
tolerated in any way, shape, or form, which includes parents completing work
for students. Please do not think that teachers do not know when parents
complete work. It becomes evident quickly in the classroom environment. This
also applies to projects, such as science fair, etc. Plagiarism will be considered a major offense
and will be dealt with by the Dean of Students.
TIME MANAGEMENT is a huge part of learning in
the 6th grade year. It is essential for us to help coach the
students through the first quarter to hand in items on time and to manage time
to not be rushed. By second quarter you will still be signing planners, but we
are not expecting you to check each piece of work. By third quarter your
student should be into the swing of things, and you should only need to sign
their planner, not inspect schoolwork. You will be notified if you sign a
planner but the work is not complete. By fourth quarter the scholars will be
pros at managing their time and getting things done decently and in order! J I will not be checking planners during fourth
quarter. By working as a team we can constructively coach your student into
being more responsible. During the fourth quarter you will not be notified if
your scholar did not complete homework, they need to be responsible and keep
track by that point in time.
Also by FOURTH QUARTER any work
handed in without a name will be granted a 0%. It is important for students to
have developed this responsibility by then. When they move into Jr. High they
will not have the option of going and finding their papers without their names!
7. Contact Information – Please feel free
to contact me via email. If there is an emergency please contact the office and
they will get to me immediately. Please also follow our classroom blog as we
will be updating it weekly with what we’re learning in class, as well as
pictures of our day! You must become a member of the blog in order to comment.
All comments come through me before posting. Please respect my time and the
fact that we work 60 – 70 hours per week during the school year. Do not show up
after school expecting our time and attention unless you have requested it
first. Most items can be handled through email and we will respond to you
within 24 hours. If your question/concern is addressed on the blog you will
simply get a response email stating “please see blog”.
8. Behavior – In keeping with our Charter,
Good Foundations Academy
will be encouraging students to behave in accordance with our standards of
respect, cooperation, citizenship, integrity, perseverance, self-control, and
responsibility. As a family you may want to go over these traits and discuss
them before school begins. Any student who has consistent trouble exemplifying
these behaviors will be referred to the Dean, and parents will be notified. Scholars
who are sent to the Dean due to repeated offenses will not be allowed back in the learning community until we have met
with the Dean and his or her parents. We expect 6th graders’ behavior
to be exemplary and reflective of the foundation stones for the younger
students. We take behavior seriously and will not tolerate infractions. All
management techniques will be used in the classroom prior to sending a scholar
to the dean. Once this has occurred further action on the parents’ part will
take place.
Public
Displays of Affection will not be tolerated at GFA. If students choose to make
this choice, they will be referred immediately to the Dean of Students. If students are found to be harassing one
another through inappropriate touch, the Dean of Students will take immediate
action. Scholars are expected to follow all of the foundation stones of GFA in
reference to relationships with one another.
Any inappropriate touching is a breach of respect.
9. Attendance Policy – It is mandatory
that parents read and understand the attendance policy. Ten unexcused/excused
absences results in being referred to the Headmaster for counsel. More than 10
unexcused/excused absences can result in being dropped from the roll. Please
read it carefully. Teachers are not expected to approve vacations during
regular school days unless a student is in good standing, and the teacher has
had a two week notice. Please respect the policy. Also pay attention to school
times and the tardy policy. School begins at 8:00 a.m. and teachers will not
repeat work for students who are late. Three tardies becomes an absence. Please
consult the School Parent Handbook for more information. Any student who is absent for more than half the school day is not
eligible to participate in after school activities or competitions.
10. Parental Involvement – In order for
your student to be successful this year, WE highly encourage parental
involvement in the classroom. With this in mind, WE am looking to have parents
who are interested and available, to come and visit our room for a small
presentation on their career field where they are currently working. The
students will be writing research papers this year investigating a question in
regards to what they may want to do for a career. WE would like to broaden
their horizons and give them the opportunity to hear about various careers. If
you are willing to share with us, please include your career field with your signature
below. Thank you.
Important Dates
October 16 – Grandiloquent
Guardians’ Competitive Speech Tournament - GFA
(mandatory)
October 25th - FIELD TRIP for first quarter (TBA)
December 19– EVENT 7:30 pm – Terrace Plaza Playhouse, Ogden – A
Christmas Carol (voluntary) $7 students, $9 adults.
January 17 – FIELD
TRIP for second quarter - Ott Planetarium, Date to
be confirmed, Seasons/Moon phases
February 27 - EVENT
– 6th grade Science Fair – GFA
(mandatory)
February TBA – EVENT School chapter competition Math
Counts
February TBA – EVENT Date to be confirmed – Regional
Math Counts Competition – Utah State University. Top math students will be
invited to compete as individuals and a team.
March 21 – FIELDTRIP for third quarter (TBA)
March – EVENT
– Junior Richie Science Fair – Weber State University – Top Sixth Graders
invited to participate
March 24 – EVENT – date to be confirmed – Math
Counts State Competition SLCC all day
April 12 – GGFT All Day Competitive
Tournament – GFA (voluntary)
May 16 – EVENT – Lagoon Physics Day Competition –
Field Trip fourth quarter
May 26 – EVENT – National Competition Math
Counts, Orlando Florida.
June 4 – LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!
Homework
and Rigor
So that there’s an
understanding of what we are talking about in reference to your scholar’s
learning of time management and being able to handle a rigorous load, let’s
clarify what we mean when discussing middle school homework.
Your scholar is no
longer in elementary school where they are being babysat and watched over
constantly. We expect parents to be coaches and help students by signing
planners and reminding now and then that there are always book reports to be
done, and projects to be worked.
Your scholar will have
a number of assignments going at one time, and a number of items to juggle. It
will behoove them to always be looking a couple weeks ahead in their planners
and working on projects and studying all the way through. They will be expected
to read every night, and work on their spelling and vocabulary every night.
Some scholars can get those things done quickly, others need more time. If your
scholar finishes his/her book report book in two weeks and is not currently
reading another novel, please provide him/her with a newspaper, Time Magazine,
World Magazine, Discovery Magazine, or some other quality piece of media where
they can read and learn more about current issues. Popular Science and Popular
Mechanics are a hit with the young men, as well as computer magazines. As long
as they are reading 15 minutes undisturbed each evening they will keep
learning. Once they have finished looking through Spelling City, and reading,
then they can move to whatever else THEY need to study. They are being taught
how to self monitor and are being reminded daily that if we cover a lesson and
they are not sure of what we learned, it is THEIR responsibility to either get
help, or go over their notes at night.
Math work will be
assigned daily, but those scholars that are quick to learn will have time to
work on their homework during class. They may not need to bring it home every
night if they get it done.
Every week, somewhere,
sometime, there will be a “pop” quiz. We rotate the classes that we post the
scores under, so if you see “pop” quiz in Engrade, you will understand what
that is. Basically this is a 10 question quick quiz that covers the entire
spectrum of what we are learning. There may be a couple questions from each
course. This quiz is worth 100 points, therefore it will behoove your scholars
to be in school every day that they can be there.
So what if they are
sick? WE very HIGHLY suggest that you
find someone in your family, or carpool that would be willing to come up to the
suite and pick up the stack for your scholar at the end of the day. Every
scholar will have a full listing of what they missed and what they need to make
up. They will have a day for every day they missed to get their work in, UNLESS
it is something that was already on the calendar and already due. That includes
projects and book reports. They are due the minute your child returns, or
sooner. That is, if you can send in their work, please do so. Most times we
will hold a student back from recess until the work is complete; we can’t
afford to lose time. We will never hold back the rest of the class due to one
student not being present. We have MUCH to cover in very little time, and this
year will virtually fly by!
Thank you for
partnering with me to make your scholar a success here at GFA. They will be
proud of their accomplishments come June 2, 2014!
We have
read and discussed the disclosure for our student. We agree to work with our
teacher to make this year a success!
Signature
of Parent______________________________Date_________________
Signature
of Student_____________________________Date_________________
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