Chadbourne
6thGrade
Back-to-School
Information Packet
2011-2012
Mr. Armstrong
Ms. Bozzo
Mrs. Farmer
Mr. Kurtz
Ms. Zins
ClassroomPolicies
Class Goals:
1. Providea positive and enjoyable learning environment.
2. Maintaina safe and secure environment in which learning can take place.
3. Movealong at a reasonable and challenging academic pace.
4. Includedifferentiated enrichment activities and experiences that will enhance thebasic curriculum.
5. Developthe social and organizational skills needed for a successful transition tojunior high school.
6. Furnishstudents with necessary skills and ample opportunities to achieve district andstate benchmarks.
Communications:
Your childs completed work will be senthome on a weekly basis in the Tuesday Folder. Please review the work with yourchild. Classroom newsletters will keep you informed about the classroomprogram. Special notifications and updates of projects, activities, and fieldtrips will be sent home on a timely basis. Students may ask you to sign,review, or complete forms that will need to be returned to the classroom assoon as possible. Thank you for your help and cooperation with this.
Materials:
All students are to come to class each dayprepared with appropriate materials. Each student should maintain a separatesection in his/her binder for each subject area. The binders are part of aschool wide program to help students develop the necessary organizationalskills for academic success. A materials list was sent home at the start of theschool year. Students need to keep track of their supplies, keep them organizedat school each day, and will need to replenish supplies throughout the year.The 6th grade student planner is the responsibility of each student,and it should be at school every day and brought home every night.
Class Work andHomework:
Assignments are given daily Monday throughThursday and are to be written in the student planner. It is the studentsresponsibility to complete all work and return it to school on the date it isdue. Assignments must be neat, complete,and include a proper heading. Homework assignments will be monitored, and maybe formally and explicitly a part of each students grades. All aspects ofhomework are considered important, including completion, quality, accuracy, andeffort. If an assignment is not at school with the student when class begins,it is considered late. Students will not be allowed to call home to haveassignments delivered to class. Students will have to utilize time duringrecess or lunch to make-up late assignments. Unexcused late work will receiveonly half credit.
The total numbersof minutes stated below include all subjects and classes. Studying for examsand related subject area classroom should be included in the required nightlyminutes for homework. These minutes are based on time estimated for an averagestudent working at an average pace:
5th and 6th grade homework will beapproximately 45-60 minutes per evening, or 180-240
minutes per week.
The following arerecommended guidelines in addition to their regular school reading:
By grade 4, readone-half million words annually, roughly 20-30 minutes per night.
By grade 8, readone million words annually, roughly 20-30 minutes per night.
Absences:
If a student isout ill, parents may call the office before 10:00 A.M. to requesthomework. If a request is made, daily work and homework will be delivered tothe office by 3:15. Students with excused absence are allottedthe same number of days of the absence to complete work. The student willarrange with the teacher when all absent work is to be completed. If you planfor your child to be out of class five days or more, please notify theoffice a week prior to the absence so the teacher will have adequate time toprepare materials.
Daily andLong-Term Assignments:
By the end of the day homework assignmentswill be reviewed with the students and should be written in the studentplanner. Assignments will be planned so that a variety of study skills arepracticed. Different types of assignments will be given, and students may beprovided with the opportunity to choose from a variety of homework options,depending on the students needs and readiness. Some assignments may be dueimmediately, while others may be short and/or long range, in order to providestudents the opportunity to plan and budget their time. Long-term assignmentsand projects will be discussed in detail in class and students will be given awritten set of instructions so that directions and expectations are clear. Toverify that parents have been informed about certain projects, teachers mayrequest a parent signature on the direction sheet.
Assessments,Quizzes and Tests:
Teachers use a variety of assessments andtechniques to determine how well a student understands the concepts beingtaught. Tests, quizzes, class work, projects, activities, observations,presentations, and discussions are just a few of the techniques we use.
Quizzesmay be given randomly in all curricular areas. They may be announced orunannounced and carry a greater value than homework and class work.
Testsare given at the end of a unit or chapter. The teacher will inform students inadvance of test dates. Students are expected to study and review for all tests.To assist them in preparing for tests, students should review information intheir binders (worksheets, notes, etc.) and textbooks. If a student is absenton a review day, he/she should call one of their study buddies for testinformation. All tests will be sent home for parent signatures and returned toclass. As with quizzes, tests are weighted at a higher percentage than homeworkand class work.
DiscoveryEducation, Renaissance Place, & On-line Textbooks:
Students haveon-line access for the following:
q DiscoveryEducation: discoveryeducation.com (teacher will assign user name andpassword)
q Renaissance Place Home Connect: hosted206.renlearn.com/280731/HomeConnect/Login.aspx (teacher willassign user name and password)
q McDougal-LittellMath: classzone.com (student will create user name andpassword)
q Pearson-PrenticeHall Science: PHSchool.com (student will create user name andpassword)
q Holt SocialStudies: my.hrw.com (teacher will assign user name and password)
Grading:
Thereare primarily two types of scores students will earn on assignments, either aletter grade (percentage) or a plus/check/minus/zero (rubric).
Letter Grades:
97-100% A+
A= Superior 93-96% A
90-92% A-
87-89% B+
B= Above Average 83-86% B
80-82% B-
77-79% C+
C= Average 73-76% C
70-72% C-
67-69% D+
D= Below Average 63-66% D
60-62% D-
F= Unsatisfactory 0-59% F
Plus/Check/Minus/Zero:
+ or 4 = Exceeded expectations
v or 3 = Achieved expectations
- or 2 =Needs time to achieve expectations
Ø or 1 = Showed little or no evidence thatexpectations were achieved
Interim Reports:
Interim reports are issued at the midpointof each trimester. Teachers are not required to notify every student of his/hermidterm grades, however many teachers do. Parents will be notified whenevertheir child falls below 70%.
Citizenship:
Students are expected to adhere todistrict, school, and classroom rules. On the first day of school students andparents received and signed a copy of the school and district guidelines forbehavior. Classroom rules have been developed within each room, and the rulesof playground use and safety have been discussed with the students. The H3 character education programis the driving force at Chadbourne for student character development.
Community Serviceand Service Learning:
Students are asked to become involved inthe Chadbourne community by volunteering for, and taking part in, variouscommunity service opportunities. Students are asked to donate ten hours eachtrimester to promote values and a sense of giving. A few examples of communityservice are: tutoring, environmentalawareness, lunch servers, teacher assistant, safety patrol, etc.
Seventh GradeRegistration:
Parents will be notified in the spring byHopkins Junior High regarding upcoming 7th grade registration. Atthat time parents will be invited to Seventh Grade Information Night. At theinformational meeting, programs, requirements, and the registration process willbe discussed. Parents will also meet administrators, counselors, and departmentheads. Please note that Proof of Residency is required by the district inorder to complete this registration process.
6thGrade Field Trips and Assembly Programs:
EARLY MAN Guest Speaker ~$2 each
EARLY MAN Assembly ~$5 each
ROSICRUCIAN MUSEUM ~$17 each
ROMAN LEGION Assembly ~$5 each
Art Program and Music Program:
Students will be participating in aten-week Art program and a ten-week Music program funded by Pioneer Pledges.These wonderful programs continue to enrich students awareness andappreciation of music and art. Thank you for your continued parent support!
Sixth Grade Activities:
Each year the 6th gradestudents participate in a variety of sixth grade activities. These activitiesinclude: Sixth Grade Swim Party, Chadbourne Field Day, Dance Festival, andSixth Grade Promotion. The students look forward to these activities as theirelementary school experiences come to an end. Parents will be asked tovolunteer on committees and help to coordinate these events. A donation of approximately$35 will be requested in the spring to cover the expensesassociated with these activities. This cost is not included in the PioneerPledge or Classroom Donation request.
ClassroomDonation:
CFFA is asking each family to make onedonation to their childs classroom. Your donation will go directly to yourchilds classroom and may be used to pay for or to help pay for thefollowing:
· Student planners
· Classroom and project supplies
· Educational materials
· Printer ink
· Technology
· Hand sanitizer
· Otherconsumable and non-consumable classroom materials & supplies
Thank you so much for your support!
(To obtain a gradelevel Parents Can Help guide for students in the Fremont Unified SchoolDistrict, please go to FUSD website at www.fremont.k12.ca.us and clickon the parent area.)
