Please check Power School!

We are in the full swing of school and grades are now being entered. I record grades the day after the assignment is due so my students have yet another day to turn in a delinquent assignment. They shouldn't have homework if they are utilizing TA-20 minutes, and/or Seminar-26 minutes daily, which has been set aside for homework or help from teachers. Any assignment that is under 70% the student has the option of coming in to see me to correct or redo the assignment to improve their grade to 70% which would be a passing grade. I do not offer random extra credit, so they really need to be responsible. Please help them to be responsible by checking Power School and talking with them about their grades or struggles. I offer help to anyone during TA, seminar, or after school every day. Reading for pleasure/practice is part of their grade also. The minimum is twenty minutes daily which can be done at school or at home. I am able to determine if they are meeting their quota by checking their reading record, which consists of book titles, when they start and finish the book, and the number of pages. Twenty minutes is roughly 110-15 pages daily, or 75 pages a week. I will share this with you at conferences in September. Please call or email if you have questions or concerns.

School Olympic study has begun!

Reading class texts include: Gabby Douglas, Jim Thorpe, Oscar Pistorius, Jesse Owens. They will receive guidance and instruction about their Olympic research project to create a trading card about a famous Olympian. We just read and relaxed for their first time today, Friday, August 24th. The Starbooks Cafe was open and I must say a HUGE hit! My students will record expenses and revenue next week on the large record poster near the coffee bar. I checked every student to see if they were completing their 20 minutes of personal reading per day. Many are achieving that goal, however some are not. Please encourage them to read every day. I have No Excuse policy in force, so they really need to choose wisely and become independent readers. Practice makes perfect!

Welcome 7th graders to 2012-2013 school year!

First day - check Lockers close-check Lunch was served - check Walked through schedule - check Ate skittles and met new people:)-check Yep first day over and lots of eager students entering PHMS! This is going to be a great year implementing the Common Core standards to involve deeper thinking and processing information. My student swill go to the library tomorrow to get their first library book - their choice. Next Friday will be the first Starbooks Cafe read and relax time. During that time I will be conferencing with my students about the selections they make and want to summarize, blog, or recommend to others. Looking forward to seeing everyone Monday night for Open House at 7:00!