Welcome to Curriculum Night Walker Intermediate School 2019-2020 Mrs Welcome to Curriculum Night Walker Intermediate School 2019-2020 Mrs. Jen Medendorp 6th grade - Science #anythingispossible

Discipline Policy The Walker Way: BE RESPECTFUL, BE RESPONSIBLE, BE SAFE Procedures/Rules are a part of life and are intended to make our classroom/school a respectful, responsible, and safe environment.

Discipline Policy Students will be expected to follow all procedures outlined in the PBIS expectations matrix (posted in my classroom and included in parent information packet) as well as other procedures taught throughout the year. Should a student violate any of the above, a proper consequence determined by the teacher and or the Administration Team will be issued. Consequences are as follows: verbal warning, loss of intermurals, detention(s), phone call(s) home, conference with teacher, change of seat, referral, and/or visit to the office. Compliance with procedures/rules will result in following rewards: constructive learning, verbal praise, PBIS tickets, free time, participation in end of year activities, and/or participation in various activities throughout the year.

Positive Reinforcement To encourage students to follow classroom procedures/rules, I will reinforce appropriate behavior with rewards. Rewards can be whole group and/or individual. Students can earn PAWS for our class and tickets individually. Tickets can be redeemed at “PawMart” during lunch on designated days.

Dress Code Please refer to your child’s assignment notebook for a complete explanation of the dress code policy All dress code violations will be sent to the main office

Weapons Policy A student who uses, possesses, controls, or transfers a weapon, or any other object that can reasonably be considered, or looks like, a weapon, shall be expelled for at least one calendar year, but no more than 2 calendar years. The Superintendent may modify the expulsion period and the Board may modify the Superintendent’s determination, on a case-by-case basis. A “weapon” means possession, use, control, or transfer of: (1) any gun, rifle, shotgun, a weapon as defined by Section 921 of Title 18, United States Code, firearm as defined in Section 1.1 of the Firearm Owners Identification Act, or use of a weapon as defined in Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code; (2) any other object if used or attempted to be used to cause bodily harm, including but not limited to, knives, brass knuckles, billy clubs; or (3) “look- alikes” of any weapon as defined above. Any item, such as a baseball bat, pipe, bottle, lock, stick, pencil, and pen, is considered to be a weapon if used or attempted to be used to cause bodily harm. The Superintendent or designee may grant an exception to this policy, upon the prior request of an adult supervisor, for students in theatre, cooking, ROTC, martial arts, and similar programs, whether or not school sponsored, provided the item is not equipped, nor intended, to do bodily harm.

Assignment Notebook Tool for communication between classroom and home. Daily assignments are posted in class as well as on my webpage. Students should write EVERYTHING that I write on the class assignment notebook page. I do not force students to bring home materials – each student must decide and make choices for themselves and be held accountable for their decisions. All assignments are handed back throughout the week.

ABSENCES / TARDIES ABSENCES When a student is absent, it is the responsibility of the student to ask for his or her absent work. Assignments missed due to illness will be given one day per day of absence plus one day. Requests for homework should be given to the school office before 11 AM and picked up at the school at the end of the school day. Summit Hill School District 161 appreciates parents taking an active role in the child’s education both at school and at home. Students may take advantage of studyhall to complete work.

ABSENCES / TARDIES TARDIES Students are required to arrive to class on time. Students that are not in class by the time the bell rings may be subject to further consequences

Missing Assignment Policy Assignments that are not completed by the due date will count as a missing assignment and a MISSING ASSIGNMENT slip (pink slip) will go home for parent signature. Until the missing assignment is turned in, the assignment will be marked as a ‘missing’ or ‘incomplete’ in PowerSchool. Once the assignment has been completed, the grade in PowerSchool will be updated to show the final score on the assignment. The missing assignment slip (pink slip) must be returned with parent signature along with completed work. FIVE missing assignments (accumulated across all subjects) will result in MANDATORY study hall attendance for TWO days per week. Subsequent missing assignments will result in one additional day added to mandatory study hall up to the maximum attendance of 5 days per week. After 4 weeks, if a student has not had any additional missing assignments, they are no longer required to attend mandatory study hall. At any time, the parent and teacher may need to develop a plan to assist the student. LATE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS ACCUMULATE FROM ALL SUBJECTS PER QUARTER STUDENTS BEGIN EACH NEW ACADEMIC QUARTER WITH A CLEAN SLATE

Assessment and Grading District grading scale: A 90-100% - student achievement is outstanding and demonstrates continuous excellence B 80-89% - student achievement is above average C 70-79% - student achievement meets expectations D 60-69% - student achievement does not meet expectations;student needs reinforcement F 50-59% - student achievement represents failure of student to meet minimal academic expectations Adjusting the grading scale reduces the negative impact of zeros on a student’s grade. Each grade will have an appropriate and equal amount of influence on the student’s final grade. The lowest score that will be reported in PowerSchool is a 50% - if the actual grade is lower, actual grade will be reported in the comments section of PowerSchool. FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS - 25% OF STUDENT’S OVERALL GRADE IN A SUBJECT SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS - 75% OF STUDENT’S OVERALL GRADE IN A SUBJECT

Assessment and Grading REASSESSMENTS: “Safety Net” - not a strategy Students must show readiness for the reassessment through a series of tasks to demonstrate understanding Summative Reassessments - required for students scoring below a 70% Opportunity for students that score above a 70% available Formative Reassessments- optional ; End of Lesson formatives For all reassessments, the most recent score will be reported as the final score Reassessment “Contract” required for any student to complete a reassessment Reassessments will be completed during studyhall

Next Generation Science Standards The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) create K–12 science standards through a collaborative state-led process. The NGSS are arranged in a coherent manner across grades and provide all students access to a challenging science education, and are based on the Framework for K–12 Science Education, developed by the National Research Council, the staffing arm of the National Academy of Sciences. Every NGSS standard has three prongs: content, scientific and engineering practices and cross-cutting concepts. The integration of rigorous content and application reflects how science is practiced in the real world.

Science Curriculum 6th grade science curriculum is aligned to NGSS standards - Common Core Learning Standards are embedded within the NGSS Illinois adopted these standards and refers to the NGSS as The New Illinois Learning Standards - Science (New ILS-Science) ; effective Feb, 2015 NGSS Implementation Team - meetings in 2014-2015 : Articulation with Summit Hill Junior High Collaboration with all feeder districts for Lincoln-Way High School 210. Introduction to Science - review of scientific inquiry protocols and the scientific method Earth’s Changing Surface (Book G) - Earth Science Inside the Restless Earth(Book F) - Earth Science Weather and Climate (Book I) - Earth Science Astronomy (Book J) - Earth Science

Science Curriculum What to expect in class: What to expect at home: Group work/ Collaboration Independent inquiry / scientific journal entries Whole class discussions Class demonstrations Lab work / group experiments Analysis of data / scientific explanation for results Lesson/ chapter reviews What to expect at home: Preparation for all class discussions - note taking and re-reading text sections Extensions of any independent work Written explanations for any class demonstrations / data analysis Formal lab reports Preparation for formative and summative assessments

Science Curriculum Assessments: Various reinforcements of lesson concepts Note taking / re-reading sections from text Labs and experiments Critical Thinking Activities Math Skills Additional resource materials (articles, videos, lab simulations) Formative Various assignments and activities to reinforce lesson concepts (in class and out of class) Lesson reviews Note taking checks Entrance / exit slips End of lesson assessments Summative End of unit/chapter Lab reports Mini Research papers / C.E.R. papers (claim,evidence,reasoning) Performance-Based Assessments

Period 1 – Physical Education Period 7 – Cycle Rotation Cycle Class Schedule Period 1 – Physical Education Monday - Friday 8:27am – 9:07am Period 6 – Lunch 11:57am – 12:37pm Period 7 – Cycle Rotation 12:39pm – 1:19pm MONDAY Art TUESDAY Skills & Strategies   WEDNESDAY Technology THURSDAY Library /  Cool Tool FRIDAY Music

Mrs. Medendorp’s Webpage Visit my webpage to stay updated on what is happening in the classroom/school each week. Go to www.summithill.org, click ‘schools’ and choose Hilda Walker, click on teacher list, scroll down to 6th grade, click on Mrs. Medendorp. Notes, Important Dates, Overview of Weekly Lessons, General Information, Upcoming Assessments NOTE: Things are subject to change as needed. Homework is posted on my webpage, but is subject to change – please refer to your child’s assignment notebook for all homework assignments. “Remind” – text / email service used to communicate upcoming activities and assessments. Not used as a daily assignment reminder.

Contact Information Phone: Call the main office to leave a voicemail message Write a note E-mail anytime jmedendorp@summithill.org

Thank you!!! Please contact me with any questions or concerns-your concerns are my concerns! We are all working towards the same goal – providing the best possible environment for your child to reach and exceed any goal they set for themselves.