What to Expect this Year

1. Welcome to 6th Grade!Please fill out the index card at the back of the room and place it in the basket when finished.

2. What to Expect this Year • Hard work, but a lot of fun! • Setting personal and class goals • Meeting and exceeding goals set • Becoming better prepared for the rigors of Middle School

3. The Leader in Me • The goal of this program is to instill habits into students that will help then achieve and exceed their goals while preparing them for life and global citizenship. • We will read “Seven Habits of Highly Successful Teens” in class as well as complete activities and participate in discussions that will reinforce the concepts in the book.

4. Our Focus this Year • We all teach homeroom Reading • Stivers- Geography and Writing • White- Math • Dilsaver- Language Arts and Science • First semester will be Geography and Language Arts • Second Semester will be Writing and Science

5. Reading • We use the Scott Foresman series “Reading Street” to teach our reading curriculum. • Students will have a text book and workbook that will be utilized in class and for homework. • Students’ grades will be figured using multiple assessment such as tests and homework, but students will also be tasked with many individual and group projects to display understanding.

6. Math • This year, we are continuinga new curriculum called Singapore Math. See Ms. White for details. • How is the math grade figured? • homework grades • in-class assignments • Target Quizzes • Tests

7. Science • Although the information taught is based on a textbook, students will not be given texts for this class. They are available for checkout, however. • Detailed presentations for each chapter can be found on my website as well as other important links and files. • This is an extremely hands-on class, and experiments and projects count for a large portion of the grade as well as homework and tests.

8. Language Arts Students will learn about: • Parts of Speech, Grammar, Editing Marks/DOL, Types of Sentences, Spelling, and Vocabulary • Like Science, students will not have a textbook for this class, but detailed presentations are available on the class website. • Grades are determined by homework, projects, and bi-weekly tests.

9. Writing Students will write: • Poems • Short Stories • Scripts • Personal Pieces • Transactive Pieces • Reflective Pieces • Students will submit an original portfolio for their cumulative folders at the end of the year.

10. Geography • Topics to be covered: Latitude/Longitude, Landforms, World Cultures/Religions, Continents (Africa, Asia, South America & Europe) and Caribbean • Grades are determined using homework, projects (both individual and group), and tests.

11. Homework Policy • Students will be given the opportunity to work on homework in class. It will be with your child’s discretion how much of this work will be completed in class. • It is my belief that the purpose of homework is to practice and reiterate information. • Students may use homework passes with no penalty for an incomplete assignment. HOWEVER, they must turn it in the following school day. • IF your child misses a day of school, it is THEIR responsibility to see me for makeup work before OR after the day missed. • The first day an assignment is late, it will automatically be dropped to a 70%. • The second day an assignment is late, it will be dropped to a 50% (F), and the student must still turn it in! • Students will stay in homework room during recess on days they are missing their homeworkand will continue to miss recess until the assignment has been turned in.

12. Citizenship • Students will have citizenship/leadership cards. • If a student breaks a rule, he or she will receive a conduct mark. • This will result in a loss of 10 points out of one hundred for their weekly citizenship grade. • If a student receives a citizenship mark(s) during the week, he or she needs to get it signed by a parent over the weekend and bring it back on Monday. • If he or she has a 100%, the citizenship card does not need to be signed! • The Homework Policy applies to citizenship cards. • Students can also receive Leadership marks for following the 7 healthy habits. This does not translate to extra credit for citizenship, but it does figure into choosing our Leader of the Week. • Let’s discuss the Leader of the Week!

13. Leader of the Week • At the end of each week, students will have the opportunity to nominate and vote for a fellow classmate who they feel has been an ideal leader. • The winning students will be honored on our Leader board and will share their leadership knowledge with classmates. • This will also put students in the running for a drawing every three weeks for our sixth grade leader.

14. Discipline Policy • Please turn in your folder to the Behavior Contract. • This will need to be signed by both the student and parent and returned with the other paperwork.

15. Friday Folders • Students each have a mailbox where papers are filed throughout the week. • Students will stuff their folders on Friday, take them home over the weekend for parents to look through, and bring them back on Monday. • Please feel free to put notes for me to read in your student’s folder. • We also have Data Notebooks. • This houses important information for your child and plays a key role in goal setting and tracking for the year.

16. Attendance • The expectations placed on the Sixth Graders are high. Please note that the doors are opened to the students at 7:30. Having your child at school on time is very important. Students are considered late after 8:10. The students are dismissed at 3:15.

17. Dress Code • Please make sure that your child is appropriately dressed for a learning environment. Spaghetti straps are NOT allowed at school. Students may not wear skirts or shorts that are shorter than 2 inches from their knees. Halter tops that show stomachs are not allowed. Students may be asked to sit in the office until an appropriate outfit is brought to school. Warning! Ms. Garrett is on top of the wardrobe issue!

18. Electronic Devices • Cell phones, cameras, ipods, e-readers, and all other cool electronics are not to be visible or active during school time. If the students possess any of these items they MUST stay in their backpacks and OFF during school. If we see or hear any of these items during the day, the item will be taken to the office and can be retrieved at the end of the day per Mr. Cassady’s discretion. • Students may not access Facebook or any other social network at school. • Please caution your child about using Facebook at home. Bullying is not tolerated!

19. Internet Policy • The internet policyis clearly defined in the papers your student will receive. If a student chooses to ignore the computer policies for the Warren County School District, he/she will not be allowed access to a computer.

20. Agenda Book • Students are expected to fill out their agendas daily. It will include assignments and deadline notifications. • This is a super way to communicate with me. Feel free to leave me a message in their agenda. I would be more than happy to discuss concerns over the phone, via e-mail, or we can set up a meeting. • Agenda Books are organization tools. Students WILL NOT be allowed to call home for forgotten assignments.

21. Where are we going??? • We are planning a series of field trips this year. • With the Leader in Me initiative, we are focusing on long term goals for students, including careers. • Therefore, we will be taking several local field trips to explore various careers. • This is tentative per administrative approval. • We will also be going on a variety of Science related field trips, so get ready for some hands-on fun and learning!

22. How can your student get involved??? • Try out for the Academic Team • Apply to be a member of KUNA • Run for Student Council • Interview as astudent worker • Try out for choir • Volunteer outside of school

23. How to Reach Me • Our classes have websites. Go to the Warren County schools homepage, click on Schools, Elementary Schools, Rockfield Elementary, and scroll down to Quick Links and choose Teacher Websites. Rockfield Homepage • Call, e-mail, or stop by!

24. Paperwork • Please check out the check list to make sure you have completed all the required paperwork. • Please fill in all sheets completely and turn them back in before you leave tonight or send them with your student on the first day of school. • Please note the student supply list. Some items are required and others are wish list items.

25. Before your leave… • Please complete the index card at the back of the room • Visit the other two 6th grade teachers • Ask me questions! • Enjoy some refreshments • Look through the Friday Folder

26. Ask the Teacher! • What questions do you have for me???