We’re in the middle of our 5th week of school, and I feel that the kids are needing a few reminders. With all of the rules, procedures, new schedules, etc. that a new school year entails it’s not hard to forget some of the details that could greatly impact their grade.

1. Already I have had a SEVERAL students not turning in homework. Remember that an assignment may be turned in one day late for a max. grade of 70, after that it becomes a zero. This, of course, excludes late papers due to absences.

2. Three incomplete or late assignments results in a detention, and six results in a day of SAC.

3. Students may correct ANY failing hw grade for a max. grade of 70. This can help a students’ grade improve, plus will give extra practice on concepts where their skills may be lacking.

4. If a student receives an incomplete or late assignment, they will be ineligible for the reward day that six weeks.

5. I am here every morning by 7:40 to answer questions from previous lessons or about the hw from the night before. This is a great time for students to get one-on-one help or instruction on concepts with which they are struggling.

I hope everyone has enjoyed their summer break! Although mine felt a little short, I am excited about starting school again. I look forward to working with and getting to know my new students, and it’s my hope that in our class each child will not only achieve academic success but personal success as well.

To parents of my sixth graders, this year will be a totally new experience for your students…switching classes, dealing with lockers, more homework, and more responsibility. This can be a challenging year for some students, but I feel that together we can make it an enjoyable and successful year for our kids! Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you have along the way. Also, feel free to email me and let me know anything you feel I should know about your student…likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, etc. The more I know about your student, the better able I am to meet them at their point of need.

Parents,

As many of you know from the information attached to your child’s report card last week, you are now able to view your student’s grades for each class through Skyward. There may be times when you see assignments entered without grades or you may even see that your student has grades marked as missing when they claim to have turned them in.

Therefore, I want to make you aware of our guidelines for entering grades:

Teachers can enter assignments in the gradebook as far ahead as we choose. This means at any given time, depending on how a particular teacher likes to keep up with their gradebook, you may see many assignments for a class without grades listed for them. This does not necessarily mean that your student has assignments missing or that the teacher has failed to enter grades. It more than likely means that they have entered and post-marked assignments that are coming up in the near future. Please pay attention to due dates on the entered assignments to determine what is due and when.

Also, we have come up with a set of guidelines for the amount of time before grades should be expected to appear in our gradebook. Those guidelines are as follows:

• MINOR ASSIGNMENTS:  1-3 days after due date
  • This includes most daily assignments, classwork, and homework.
• MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS:  3-5 days after due date
  • This includes most tests, quizzes, and small projects.
• WRITING ASSIGNMENTS/PROJECTS: up to 10 days after due date
  • This includes all narratives, lengthy projects, or any project that requires a great deal of time to review and grade.

Also, be aware that if your child was absent or turns an assignment in late, the length of time to get it entered into the gradebook will based on the date your child turns it in instead of the due date. Because of this, there may be times when an assignment for your student gets marks as missing by the system when indeed it is not. Please be patient, and realize that we do our best to enter grades accurately and swiftly.