Team 7-2 Welcomes You Back To School – September, 2010

1. Team 7-2 Welcomes YouBack To School – September, 2010 • Mrs. Bowers – Math • Ms. Cardella – Special Education • Mrs. Flood – Language Arts • Mrs. Griffith – Language Arts • Mrs. Kowalski – Social Studies • Mr. Slifstein – Science

2. Team 7-2 CARES • Cooperation • Attitude • Respect • Effort • Scholarship

3. Keys to Success We expect students to be… • Prepared • Prompt • Productive • Polite • Positive

4. Extra Help • Available • during study hall • before or after school by appointment with individual teachers • Students should assume responsibility in scheduling help from individual teachers

5. Homework • Reinforces skills and content • Expected to be turned in on time and completed thoroughly and thoughtfully • Late assignments are penalized • Approximately 70 minutes per night doing homework • All assignments are posted daily in classrooms • Students must record assignments in planners • Please contact teachers if homework problems occur

6. Attendance • In case of absence, the student is responsible for checking with teachers and completing missed assignments in a timely fashion. • Check team webpage. • Contact main office for work after 3 consecutive absences.

7. Field Trips • Theater performance in December • Science geology trip in May • Please chaperone geology trip (Extra Pair of Hands training needed)

8. Mathematics, Team 7-2 • Main Topics • Data Analysis & Algebraic Concepts (Variables & Patterns) • Proportional Reasoning & Percents (Comparing & Scaling) • Geometry (2d Review, then Filling & Wrapping) • Integers (Accentuate the Negative)

9. Math Support • Homework • Monday – Thursday • 15 – 30 minutes (45 minute cut-off) • Graded on effort – must attempt all problems • Extra Credit • Online for many tests/quizzes • Study Guides • Online for most test/quizzes • Quiz/Test Corrections • “C” or below

10. Algebra – Period 5 Math • Follows GHS Algebra I curriculum (plus extra topics) • Grading – Tests 50%, Quizzes 35%, Homework 15% • Homework very important practice – 30 to 45 minutes per night • Must receive a “B” or better to move onto Geometry

11. Language Arts - English WRITING - • Process Writing, including prewriting, drafts, revising, and final copies • Editing Skills • Essay Writing, focusing on persuasion • Creative Writing • Journal Writing • Student Portfolios

12. English GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS • Sentence Structure and Sentence Variety • The Parts of Speech • Punctuation and Capitalization SPELLING • Frequently Confused Words • Prefixes, Base words, and Suffixes VOCABULARY • WordMasters Analogies Challenge

13. Language Arts - Reading LITERATURE • The Short Story and its Literary Elements • Independent Novels • Cultural Novels • The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle • Nonfiction • Poetry

14. Reading VOCABULARY • Literature-based Vocabulary • Context Clues READING SKILLS • Identifying author’s purpose • Distinguishing between fact and opinion • Main idea • Summarizing • Drawing conclusions and making inferences • Interpreting figurative language

15. Learning Center • Staff members • Work with students based on their individual educational program. • Learning Center staff in the classrooms to assist students. • Collaborate with core subject teachers and support staff Please buy a duck!

16. Social Studies: World Geography and Cultures Our goal is to: • guide students to develop a global perspective • appreciate and respect other cultures • develop skills necessary to be successful in social studies

17. Social Studies: World Geography and Cultures – Curriculum Overview • Foundations of Geography • Latin America • Asia & the Pacific • Africa • Introduction to Research: • United Nations (Fall) • Global Issues (Spring)

18. Social Studies: World Geography and Cultures – Essential Questions • How do geography, climate, and natural resources influence the way people live and work? • What factors influence culture? • How has history shaped today’s world? • How do economic activity and political units affect people and their way of life? • How do global affairs impact the lives of all people?

19. Science: Overview • General science course – Life, Earth, and Physical Science • Goal: to help students develop scientific literacy and appreciation for the world around us by focusing on • skills (measurement, data collection, etc.) • experimentation and inquiry process • content knowledge

20. Curriculum Units and Topics • Scientific Measurement • Microbes and Food Preservation • Cell Structures and Functions • Human Body Organ Systems • Energy, Work, and Simple Machines • Dynamic Structure of the Earth

21. Optional Independent ResearchScience Fair Project • New this year • Optional for Connecticut Science Fair • Extra project beyond curriculum • Great opportunity for motivated and independent students • Students are given guidelines and advice • Experiment and research is done at home • Extra credit, but not grade recovery • Details to follow

22. Extra Review Science website: • Links to review websites and extra review • Textbook website • Animations & visuals • Practice quizzes • Concept reviews • Extra practice

23. Team Communication • Feel free to contact individual teachers • Phone/email information is on website and packet • Available for parent meetings: • Wednesdays and Thursdays: • 12:30-12:45 & 12:45-1:00 p.m. • Parent-teacher conferences will be held November 10th and 12th. • No spring parent-teacher conferences.

24. Team Website • Support your child proactively • Check regularly for information about • homework assignments • tests • projects • trips and special events • Please note that changes in assignments are sometimes unavoidable

25. Go to the Adams M.S. Home Page: Access for team page and contact info. http://www.guilford.k12.ct.us/~adams

26. Use the Team 7-2 Home Page to Access Teacher Class Web Pages

27. PowerSchool • Great tool for monitoring progress regularly • Progress reports will not be sent home • Every effort is made to post scores in a timely manner- please be patient • Grades may fluctuate early in quarter • Contact the Main Office with any questions regarding PowerSchool

28. Accessing Grades in PowerSchool: Go to the Adams M.S. Home Page Click PowerSchool for Parents!

29. Grades are BLUE. Click the BLUE GRADE to get information about the grade in that class.

30. View assignment name, type (i.e. HW), score, %, and grade.

31. Clicking the BLUE score shows the teacher comment.

32. Some Helpful Hints • A “0” typically means that the assignment was not turned in • A “--” means that the score has not been entered • Please click assignments for details if possible • If you have a concern about a score, please speak with your child

33. Powerschool for Parents Instruction Guideis on the Adams M.S. home page.

34. Our Thanks • We look forward to a productive and exciting school year. • Thank you in advance for all your help and support. “And when at last, their task was done, They were proud of what they had wrought. For the things they had molded into the child Could neither be sold or bought. And each agreed they would have failed If either worked alone. For behind the parent stood the school And behind the teacher, the home.” Anonymous

35. Please Join Us…. • Library Media Center Hallway • Language Arts (105 Griffith & 106 Flood) • Mathematics (101 Bowers) • Social Studies (102 Kowalski) • Third Floor • Science (205 Slifstein) • Main Floor - Learning Center (M9 Cardella)