Welcome to Back – to – School Night 2017 – 2018 Ms. Petersen/ Mrs Welcome to Back – to – School Night 2017 – 2018 Ms. Petersen/ Mrs. Erickson Please: Come in! Sign in! Take a Math/Science and an English/History packet! Have a seat!

Policies and Procedures

Attendance School begins at 8:25 am. Students should be at school by 8:20 am ready to line up. It is very important that your child be on time every day! When students are on time, they are more prepared to start the day on a positive note, so please help them establish good habits. If your child is absent, please call the office at 779-7420 or send a note when your child returns. The absence is unexcused if no phone call is made or a note is not sent in.

Parent-Teacher Communication Parent-teacher communication is important to your child’s success! The following is a list of ways to keep this communication going:  E-mail: This is the quickest and most efficient way to communicate with me. Aeries: Create an account and you can look up daily homework, grades, and information! Planners: Students will write down homework everyday. Voicemail: You can also call the office follow the prompts and leave a message.

Dress Code Please review the dress code policy with your student.

Text Books and Library Books Your child will receive school textbooks. Please help your child be responsible for these books all year long. Also, your child is responsible for all books he/she checks out from the library. Science and History textbooks may stay at home, we have class sets in the classroom. English textbooks will stay in the classroom, and your student will be responsible for bringing them home when they have a homework assignment from them, which is vary rarely.

Grades and Homework via Aeries You can now use Aeries to look up homework assignments and your child’s grades. Homework is assigned approximately every day and updated on Aeries. Any attachments are attached to the assignment or in the “briefcase” section on the homepage. You can sign into Aeries and check that your child is turning in all work and check which assignments are missing. You can also look at your child’s grades.

Aeries Registration (ROOM 208 @ 7:30)

Water Bottles Water bottles are permitted in class. They may only be filled with water. If the water bottles create a distraction for students, they may be taken away.

Homework and Classroom Expectations Please review the syllabus for homework expectations. Please review the attached policy for classroom expectations.

Classroom Expectations Following the PARK Way:   P: Positive A: Ambitious R: Respectful K: Kind Positive Consequences Students can earn student of the month, Spartan bucks, homework passes, positive referrals, and positive notes/calls home. Consequences In order to maintain a positive classroom environment, students need to behave appropriately in the classroom. To be successful in their studies, students need to arrive on time and bring required supplies and completed assignments. Refer to the Parent Handbook for “Progressive Consequences”.

6th Grade Science Camp

Mathematics and Science Standards The Common Core Standards for Mathematics and Key Standards for Science are attached. Please review at your leisure.

McGraw – Hill Log in Students have been set up with a username and password for the online math program website, McGraw-Hill. This site is great at helping your student master skills and concepts we are working on in class. The username is: student ID number and AUSD Ex. 100099AUSD The password is: Birthdate (in 2 digit format) and first name initial and last name initial Ex. February 14, 2004 John Smith – 021404JS   The website is: http://connected.mcgraw-hill.com/connected/login.do

Khan Academy Log in Students have been set up with a username and password for the online math tutoring website called Khan Academy. This site is great at helping your student master skills and concepts we are working on in class, as well as those at lower grade levels that students are still struggling with. I will recommend skills that they should be working on as we go through the year. They will have some opportunities to use the site at school or before/after school (more information coming on that), but is mostly for home use. The username is: first name initial, last name initial and student ID number (no capitals) Ex. John Smith – js100099 The password is: math!512 The website is: https://www.khanacademy.org/login If you have problems logging on try using Chrome browser.

Letter Grade Equivalent Math/Science Grades I have chosen this policy because it focuses on the student’s ability to master a set of skills rather than simply memorize facts that will quickly be forgotten. This will ensure a greater understanding of the material taught and provide a boost for future learning. The chart below shows the grading scales. 20% homework/ classwork/ projects (will be listed in Aeries as “assignment”) 80% tests/quizzes (will be listed in Aeries as “test”) Percentage earned Number Scale Term used Letter Grade Equivalent 100% - 90% 4 Advanced A 89% - 80% 3 Proficient B 79% - 70% 2 Basic C 69% - 60% 1 Below Basic D 59% - 0% Far Below Basic F

Opportunities to Improve Grades Math - Students are allowed to retake tests every Thursday. If a student takes a test and does not score the grade they want, they may retake the test on a following Thursday. Retakes are per grading quarter. Students can only retake a test in which ever quarter the Thursday is in. Science - Students are allowed to “Fix and Return” tests. If a student is unhappy with a Science quiz/test, they have an opportunity to increase their grade. Students will be allowed to take home the test, fix it, and return it the next day. Because students are allowed to use his/her Science book and workbook, the page number of where the correct answer was found needs to be listed.

English Curriculum and Standards -How to conduct research -checking validity of sources - citing evidence -Writing argumentative essays with support for your claim -Grammar and language conventions -Use of Technology (PowerPoint) -Analyzing multiple sources of information - Creating a thesis statement / claim -Evaluate author’s arguments and author’s purpose -Using Context clues as well as Greek and Latin roots to discover new words.

English tests - Retakes are given afterschool if needed - Weekly test will be given on focus standard - Retakes are given afterschool if needed - See Aeries for test grades, date and time for retake -Most recent score will be used -Students need to see Mr. Erickson if they have questions or need help studying. Sometimes I will offer test retakes in class, if I feel the majority of the class will benefit from a reteach and retake.

Ancient History We will focus on learning about early man and the first great civilizations. This will include studying: written languages religion Government social structure technology Art food supply We will focus on Hominids and early man. We will look at early civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, India, Kush, Greece and Rome.

History test Tests given after each chapter STUDY NOTEBOOK!!! Fix and Returns- on a separate sheet of paper, correct each incorrect answer and include the page number you found the answer on. A portion of points will be given for each corrected answer w/ pg.

English and History Grades Test and assessments are worth 80% of the grade in both English and History, while homework/classwork is 20% of the grade.

Core Enrichment– 7th Period Core is an intervention class. The students will be practicing skills learned in English or Math class. Mrs. Erickson teaches the English intervention and I teach the Math intervention. We will switch classes every quarter.