August 24, 2011

Dear Parents,

            We are delighted to be working with you and your child this year. The students are beginning an exciting part of their school career at Mesa Verde.  Your child is entering the academic and social environment of middle school, leaving behind the world of elementary school.  It is a time of transition, change, growth, and increased independence. 

            We will do whatever we can to help your child have a positive transition from elementary school to Mesa Verde Middle School.  We strongly believe that parents are partners, and that with your support, we will provide a program which will challenge and encourage our students to reach their highest potential.  We hope that this year will not only be challenging, but also rewarding.   

    In order to plunge right into the fun and learning in school, we would like to provide you with the information you will need about our classrooms and guide you to a successful school year.  Our classroom letter can be found on both of our websites.  Please go to: www.ldipaolo@powayusd.com  or  www.ccochran@powayusd.com to access the rest of this letter. .

 Yours,

Mrs. Cochran                Mrs. DiPaolo               

 

 


 

Eagle Agenda

 

        Each student is issued one Eagle Agenda, which is our school-adopted homework calendar system.  Students will record the assignment each period in the space provided. (This includes the word “none” if there is no homework.)  Homework assignments will be given orally and written on the board in the same place each day, and posted online as a courtesy. Typically, homework will be assigned Monday through Thursday nights.  Please look for and ask to see your child’s Eagle Agenda so that you are aware of what homework needs to be turned in.

 

Study Buddies

    Every student should have the names of three students in each of their classrooms that are willing to be study buddies.  Study buddies can be telephoned for help when assignments are not clearly understood or when you are absent.  If possible, please help your child choose dependable study buddies.  Class time will be given for writing down names of three students and their phone numbers.

 

Parent Communication

 

      We are looking forward to an exciting year together.  When we work as a team, Parent + Student + Teacher, communicating and giving each other support, then SUCCESS in school will surely follow.  If you have questions or concerns during the year, please feel free to email or call us at any time.  We check our email regularly. Therefore, this will be the most efficient way of communicating.  Our email addresses are:

Mrs. Cochran – ccochran@powayusd.com

Mrs. DiPaolo- ldipaolo@powayusd.com

 

***Please be sure to check the school website as well as our teacher websites for updated classroom information throughout the year.***

 

 

 

Student Expectations

 

        All students are entitled to a positive learning environment; therefore, students are expected to make good choices, live above the line, and follow the pillars of character. The following discipline plan will be used:

1.      Respect- Treat yourself and others with respect.

2.    Directions- Follow directions of adults the first time given.

3.    Voice- Use a voice that’s appropriate to the situation or activity.

4.    Materials- Come to class prepared with the appropriate materials. Treat your materials, school materials, and materials of others appropriately.

 Rewards and Consequences

        When students make good choices, they will enjoy the following rewards: excellent report cards and grades, HOT, RAD, reward activities, positive postcards, phone calls home from the teachers, tickets toward classroom drawing, etc.

       

If a student chooses to make poor choices, he or she can expect one or more of the following consequences based on his or her action:

 

1.  1st offense: a verbal or documented warning

2. 2nd offense: student will be sent to another classroom to fill out a 'Refocus Form' and conference with teacher between class periods, during lunch, or after school

 3.  3rd offense: support call to office, parents notified for a  parent, student, teacher conference

 *Severe clause- Immediate support call to office

 

                       

Grading

 

        Our grading system is A, B, C, D, and F.  Passing (P) and Incomplete (I) will be used for Literacy Class.  Projects, reports, essays and tests will be weighted more heavily than daily homework or class work assignments; quizzes will be weighted less than a test, yet more than a homework assignment.   

        .

GRADES AND SCORES

Text Box: We will be using “Making the Grade” computer grading program, which is used by all teachers at Mesa Verde.  Our grades will be recorded as a point value.  This can easily be translated to a percentage or letter grade, and makes it easier to give more weight to one assignment over others.  For example, a large project, such as the Egypt project is worth 100 points, a test may be worth 50, a quiz may be worth 20 points, and homework assignments are generally 5-10 points each.  Additionally, there will be some work that is  graded on a rubric that will be translated to points for the grading program.

 

Rubric

 

   %

Letter Grade

6

100

A+

5+

99-94

A

5

93-90

A-

5-

89-88

B+

4+

87-84

B

4

83-80

B-

4-

79-78

C+

3+

77-74

C

3

73-70

C-

3-

69-68

D+

2+

67-64

D

2

63-60

D-

1

59-

F

 


 

 

Language Arts/ Literature

    Language Arts will be taught by Mrs. Cochran and Mrs. DiPaolo with their homeroom classes. Mrs. DiPaolo will teach literature to both classes. Our language arts/literature program emphasizes several types of writing projects across the curriculum, including; response to literature, letter essays to the teacher and each other, an autobiographical incident, report of information, and persuasive writing. We will continue to focus on the 6 Traits of Writing as well as Nancy Atwell strategies . During literature we will enjoy Reading Workshop, the 'Reading Zone', reading core literature books, as well as short stories within the literature book, and much more.

 Students will also enhance their learning through speeches, vocabulary development, reading workshop, grammar, punctuation, mechanics and spelling activities. 

        Additionally, we will encourage our students to read independently both in and out of class.  Students will have time to read in class most days and will be required to read each night at home for 30 minutes (approximately 20 pages/day).  By the end of their year, they will have read 40+ titles.  We will conduct "Status of the Class" frequently with students. For accountability, 'Status of the Class 'is part of their grade in literature.

        Students must have a book to read (at their independent reading level) at school each day.

Social Studies

    Early Peoples and Ancient Civilizations will be covered throughout the year with Mrs. DiPaolo.  Students will participate in exciting hands-on activities for this rich curriculum. We will cover thousands of years of history through reading, note taking, discussions, lectures, web activities, group work, projects, plays, research, video, writing and art.  Be on the alert for a Greece or Egypt project that students will love!

 

Science

     Earth science will be covered with Mrs. Cochran.  The science program is challenging and exciting.  Students will be involved in group activities, note-taking, web activities, discovery labs, reports, and projects! We will also be able to use the 6th grade science lab.

Math

         Mrs. Cochran will be teaching math.  In addition to the various concepts listed in the text, some supplemental materials will include PUSD Math Topics and Hands On Algebra.  Students will be using the newly adopted Holt Mathematics Course 1:  Numbers to Algebra text book. Homework will be assigned most days.  It is important to complete all assignments for credit because this will be part of the overall class grade.  Student’s math grades will be weighted, 25% for homework and 75% for tests and quizzes.  Students will be asked to keep all their homework in a spiral notebook.  Parents can help by having these available as needed throughout the year.  Spiral notebooks are also available at the student store.

 

School Supplies


School is work for students and no one would expect you to work without the proper tools for the job. Below is a list of supplies which will assist you in class.

 

§        8˝ inch by 11 inch college notebook paper, 3-hole punched

§        Dividers for binder (5)

§        Pocket-type folders, 3-hole punch to fit into binder (3)

§        Zippered plastic holder with 3-hole punches to fit in binder

§        Scissors

§        Glue sticks (2-3)

§        Ruler, inches and metric

§        Erasers

§        Number 2 pencils, several

§        Hand held pencil sharpener with shavings catch

§        Pen, blue or black ink

§        Colored pencils (Twistables recommended), crayons, or markers

§        Highlighters

§        Pencil and pen container for students to store loose items in desk

§        USB flash drive (not need right away-will use later in the year)

§        Cloth covers for textbooks

§      Calculator - standard

* Please label all supplies

Classroom donations are always greatly appreciated.  Our classroom needs: boxes of tissue, white board markers, and gift cards to Barnes & Nobel are always appreciated.  If you have vinyl bean bag chairs you wish to donate, Mrs. DiPaolo would love them!  Books rated a 9 or 10 are always welcome as well.

 In Closing

We look forward to a year filled with excitement, growth and learning! 
We hope to meet each of you at Back to School Night on Wednesday, September 1st.
Please make plans to be here.