1. Welcome to Alpha Pod
We’re glad you’re here!

2. Student Schedule
When you first arrive, report to the cafeteria until 8:15 (good time to put money in your meal account)
At 8:15 report to your pod area, go to your lockers, get class materials ready, and then find a place to sit and visit with friends or read quietly until the 8:30 bell. Sometimes during the fall and spring months, if it is nice, we may go outside.

3. Student Schedule: Very Important: Carry this schedule with you!
Bring this with you tomorrow!
Do not put it in your locker!
Many students will need help the first few days opening their lockers and finding their classes. There will be lots of people helping the first few days, but we need to know your classes and teachers. If you have trouble opening your locker we need to see the combination to make sure the numbers are right. What happens if you put it in your locker and then forget your locker combination? This information is on your schedule and there is only one copy – yours.

4. Your schedule for the year is also available through the Family Access website.

5. Accelerated Reading
Students (and teachers) have been put under a lot of pressure with
high-stakes testing being used to evaluate schools. Because reading
is one of the most heavily tested areas, it is important to make it a priority in implementing a reading curriculum.
More importantly however, reading skills have a huge impact on your child’s future. It is fundamental in any area of life!
But best of all, it’s FUN! I believe if someone says they don’t like to read, what they don’t know is that they just haven’t found the AUTHOR they like to read. KEEP READING! The right author is waiting to be found.
Your child and their reading teacher will work together to set an accelerated reading goal each quarter. Each child’s goal will be individually determined based on his or her reading level. There are thousands of AR books to choose from and I will also accept book reports if a book doesn’t have a test.
There are several websites designed to connect kids with books. A google search will give you lots of book recommendations.
Let’s work together to make reading for pleasure a priority for your child. This will count as a large portion of his or her reading grade. Thank you!

6. Spelling
Spelling homework will be assigned on Mondays and corrected on
Wednesdays. Spelling tests will be given on Fridays.
Didn’t bring the words home? You can find the spelling lists on Spelling City!
The website is spellingcity.com. Search for Bemidji Middle School and teacher Wendy Nyegaard.
Didn’t do so great on the test? Not a big deal! Everyone can earn a perfect score on a spelling test. By writing each misspelled word 10 times correctly, students can earn full credit. Spelling is actually an opportunity to earn some easy points.

7. Reading
The curriculum we use is Journeys by Houghton Mifflin. Stories from this book will be read during class. You will not see this book come home.
There are language arts packets that go with each new lesson. These concepts will be covered in class but students should be working on these for homework as well.

8. Writing
Writing is such an important communication skill. There will be several projects throughout the year that focus on writing. Larger projects include:
a figurative language dictionary
a book report
a short story
a research paper
a poetry project
There will also be several classroom writing assignments throughout the year.

9. Late Work
There are as many philosophies and policies regarding late work as there are teachers on the planet.
I find that if I accept late work some students just procrastinate in getting their work done and then become so overwhelmed with the amount of work they are missing, they give up and don’t do anything at all or the quality of the work turned in is of little value.
However, I do understand that there are those times when a student does have something come up in the evening or, yes, even forgets. Therefore, my late work policy is to accept 2 late assignments per quarter.
Homework not turned in on time due to an absence is not considered late. I would call this “make-up work.” The policy is that students have 2 days for each day missed to get all of their make-up work turned in.

10. Questions?