Math & ELA in the Middle School Welcome to Bonnie Branch Middle School! Post it note parking lot

Who Are We? Holly Byron-Math teacher at Bonnie Branch Middle School 11 years of experience teaching math Taught Math 6, 7, 8, Algebra and Geometry GT Taught on grade level, above and GT Grew up in Howard County Megan Valentine-ELA teacher and team leader at Bonnie Branch Middle School 11 years of experience teaching ELA Taught ELA 7 and 8 Taught and co-taught ELA Laura Smith-Special Educator in ELA at Bonnie Branch Middle School 17 years of experience as a Special Educator Co-taught ELA Grew up in St. Louis

Phelps Luck Staff Rachel Skinner Team Leader 7 years in HCPSS Taught 4th and 5th grade Amanda Lardner 6 years in HCPSS Taught 4th and 5th grade Shannon Rembert 5 years in HCPSS Taught 1st, 2nd, and 5th grade Laine Angle 5 years in HCPSS Taught 2nd and 5th grade

Counselors at Bonnie Branch Mrs. Germroth Last names A-K Mrs. Savage Last names L-Z

Administrators Phelps Luck Elementary School Michelle Leader, Principal Connie Fowlkes, Assistant Principal Sandra McGraw, Assistant Principal Bonnie Branch Middle School Drew Cockley, Principal Carol Ketterman, Assistant Principal Tiffany Carmean, Assistant Principal

Math & ELA at Bonnie Branch Math 6, 7, 8 (on grade level, above grade level, and GT) Algebra Geometry Accelerated Math (Middle School MIST or Elementary School MST can field these questions) ELA on grade level and GT

ELA-What do I need to know? Students should know how to… Respond to all writing tasks in complete sentences. Use correct capitalization and end punctuation in every sentence. Restate a question/prompt when applicable for writing tasks. Structure a paragraph with a topic sentence, provide one to two examples with text-based evidence, explain that evidence, and provide a concluding or transition sentence. Identify parts of speech and understand how words function in a sentence. Identify and apply basic reading strategies (questioning, making connections, visualizing, making inferences, determining importance, and synthesizing). Identify the main idea of a nonfiction text. Summarize nonfiction texts of varying lengths.

Math Resources In middle school we encourage parents to be involved but we also want to foster independence. This balance can be tricky. Use of the Howard County Family Math website is encouraged. Learn Zillion and Khan Academy are reputable sites recommended by math teachers for additional support. Apps are also available for these sites. Graphing Calculator is recommended (not required) for Algebra I. There is an app for that! The BBMS Media Center has a few available for check out.

Skipping a Math Level? Canvas courses are strongly recommended. Open communication between home and school is highly desirable. Engage your child in math related conversations when possible.

The Lingo GT-challenges students with content two years above the on grade level curriculum and does so at a fast, rigorous pace One year above-moves quickly with material that is one year above the on grade level curriculum On grade level-challenges students with rigorous tasks on the current grade level MAP-Measures of Academic Progress PARCC-Federally mandated/state level testing for all middle school grades

Canvas Grade monitoring Communication between teachers, students, and parents Access to instructional materials Assessments Some 6th graders, more 7th graders and most 8th graders use the Canvas app

Parking Lot Questions Contact Information holly_byron@hcpss.org (Math) megan_valentine@hcpss.org (ELA) MIST contact: annmarie_varlotta@hcpss.org (math placement questions) GT Resource: janine_sharbaugh@hcpss.org (GT placement) Counselors: debbie_germroth@hcpss.org (A-K) margaret_savage@hcpss.org (L-Z)