This Week Begins a Brand New School Year for All of Us, and I D Like to Extend a Warm Welcome

WELCOME

August 27, 2012

Dear Parents,

This week begins a brand new school year for all of us, and I’d like to extend a warm welcome to my students. This year is a particularly exciting one for us because many of my students were in my room last year. I decided to “loop up” with my class because they are such a terrific group! If your child wasn’t with me, don’t worry! We’ll get everyone in the “same boat” and we will have a great year. In addition to 7th grade Math, I am also teaching a new class for West Orange-Stark Middle School: Robotics.

I have put together this handbook of information to help you and your child become familiar with my expectations for the school year. Take a day or two to read through this information, and then sign the last page and return (last page only) by Friday for a test grade. (This handbook can also be found online on our class webpage – see below.) You may want to keep the handbook in a special place so that you may refer to it throughout the year. If you need to contact me, I prefer email - if possible. My email address is [email protected]. I check my email each day and I will respond promptly. If you do not have email, you may call the school and leave a message with the school’s secretary (409- 882-5520).

Soon, our school will host an open house (September 24th) in the evening so that I can answer your questions and share some ways you can help your child at home. I’m looking forward to an exciting year with my class. Thank you for your cooperation in getting this year off to a great start!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Ellis WOSMS 7th Gr. Math WOSMS Robotics

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS

3 PROCEDURES AKA: The Student’s Survival Guide

WEEKLY PROGRESS REPORTS The seventh grade teachers require that students carry a binder divided neatly with the students’ classes. We ask that you check over your child’s work often and I ask that you sign the Monday Night form and return it on Tuesday. In the math section, I will attach all the graded papers for that week. Please review the papers, read over the comments on the Monday night form in the front part of your child’s binder, sign it, and return it to school with your child on Tuesday. For Math, any grades less than 70 are required to be re-done to improve the grade and to learn where the student made their mistakes so they can improve. ALL work MUST be shown.

Please do not accept any excuses for your child not having his/her binder.

OUR CLASS ON THE WEB Our class has a home on the Internet! We have a class web page on which I display our students of the week (first name and last initial only), list all graded assignments (class work and homework), pictures, etc. Parents can also visit the web page to view weekly vocabulary words and keep up-to-date on classroom events. Our web site is located at http://sites.google.com/site/wosmsmrsellis I only use students’ first names and last initials, and I don’t match pictures with names. If you do not return the Internet permission form, then I will not use images of your student. If you did return the form, but do not want him/her to be included in our class website, or do not want your child’s picture, stories, or other work on our class web page, please write me a note or send me an email. (Grades will never be posted on the website.) Be sure to visit our web page before you make this decision! I hope that all students will be able to be included on our class website.

CALCULATORS My students will be learning to solve increasingly complex mathematical word problems this year. Students may NOT use calculators to complete math homework. They may only use the calculator in their head. 

MATERIALS NEEDED - MATH Student Supplies 1* 2 packages Loose-leaf notebook paper (college or narrow ruled) 2* One single-subject spiral notebook 3* 24 Pencils with erasers 4* Extra pink eraser 5* Zippered pencil case (heavy duty canvas) 6* 2 Boxes of tissues 7* Hand sanitizer Note In math classes, students are to only use pencils! NO pens!!!

4 RESTROOM Students are to go to the restroom during transition times only unless there is an emergency. Only one at a time may leave. Do not interrupt if the teacher is talking. When I let you leave, you are to go straight to the restroom/water immediately and do not take too long. You are to return to the room immediately. If another teacher/principal/staff stops you in the hall and asks you to run an errand, you are to come back to my room FIRST to let me know what is going on. This lets me know why you might take a little longer and saves you from getting in trouble.

HALLWAY PROCEDURES Between classes, while you are in the hallway, you are to keep the voice levels at a Level One. You are to walk on the right side of the hallway at all times. You are to show respect by giving the “right of way” to any adult – especially guests (parents, teachers from other campuses, Superintendant, other Administrative staff, etc.) while they are on our campus! Show others how polite and respectful our students are.

If you are in the hallway for any reason during class (going to office, restroom, arriving late, etc.), you are not to:  look into other classes  talk to other students or teachers in other classes Again, you are to show respect to other classes in progress.

GRADES Grades will consist of: 65% of the final grades on progress reports and report cards coming from test grades (weekly quizzes, projects, benchmarks, etc.). 35% of the final grades on progress reports and report cards coming from daily grades (class work and homework).

PROJECTS There will be at least one project assigned during every grade period. These projects will be test grades. You are too put every effort into these. I will know who waited until the night before and those who put hard work and effort into their final products. All of you have the ability to grow and shine this year. I want this to appear in your work. I will display your work for all to see. Do not turn in work that will embarrass you. If you do not turn in your work in a timely manner, I will put up a blank piece of paper with your name on it to show that your work was nothing.

GROOMING Students are to take care of their grooming needs (combing/brushing hair, putting on make-up, lotion, powder, etc.) when they are in the restroom. They are to leave their shoes on at all times in my class. They are to have their pants pulled up and not hung loose. We are here to make shining stars academically – take care of the personal on your own time.

5 HOMEWORK Homework will only be given on Mondays through Thursday. I will not give you homework on Fridays. I will let you have your weekends off. I do still hope for those that are not strong in your math basics that you will still practice your multiplication drills, even on the weekends as well as every evening. (A secret to share with you: It has been scientifically proven that if you do the SAME thing for 28 days in a row – and do not miss a day, that “thing” will move from your short-term memory to your long-term memory at the end of the 28 days. That means you will simply know that “thing” in and out. I suggest you make that “thing” your multiplication facts. I cannot stress how much easier math will become for you with this one knowledge alone.)

Many of our students are also behind grade-level in their reading as well. You cannot improve your reading skills if you do not read. Spend at least 30 minutes every day reading something. Hopefully, something that will also earn you AR points so that we will have a lot less students in summer school next year. (Another secret: a lot of students fail the math STAAR, and TAKS before that, simply because they did not understand the question. They could complete the math part, but they did not realize that is what the test was asking for because of their lower reading levels. This goes the same for the Social Studies and Science STAAR tests you will take next year in 8th grade. If you improve your reading levels, you will improve on ALL your subjects. They all require reading to succeed.)

Back to homework: All homework is due by Friday without talking with a parent/guardian if you need an extension. I will not always grade your homework. Sometimes, we will simply go over the work the next day in class. On those occasions, I will take up the work at the beginning of class, as usual, check off who turned it in and who finished it. Then return them to you. If you had your work finished, you receive a 100. If it was partial, your grade will be determined by how much you completed. If you did not have it, then you will receive a zero. For papers I grade, if not turned in the day it is due, you will lose 11 points the first day and 10 points for every day late thereafter up until Friday. After Friday it becomes a zero.

For homework we go over in class, you will leave your regular pencils put up. You will work with your partner and go over the problems quickly. If you make any changes, you will do so with a dark blue map pencil. Then you will put away the blue map pencils and use red pencils. You will only use a red pencil while we go over the homework in class. Then I will take the papers back up to see how you progressed and what kind of work went into making notes about why you missed certain problems. If you do not “think” about why it was wrong, you will never learn to fix the problems. You are to show me that you are “thinking” on any problems you did not get right.

On homework I take up the day it is due: I will grade it the first time in purple ink. I will give it back to you with a grade in purple. If you correct the problems you missed, I will give you half the points. In other words, if each problem is worth 6 points apiece and you correct the ones wrong, I will add three points for each new correct answer. When I grade it the second time, I will grade it in green ink. Again, I will give you a chance to make repairs. The third time I grade it will be in red. This grade is final.

If you make below a 70 on any assignment, you MUST fix your paper. As always, you are to show your work. Your original paper must always be turned back in with any new papers you add. (Side Note: Make sure your correct heading is on all your work.) If any paper is still below a 70, those papers must be signed by parent/guardian. If you start to get into a habit of not turning in homework, I will assign you AfterSchool Detention (ASD) until the homework is completed. If still not turned in, in a timely manner, I will call for a Parent Conference.

6 CLASS WORK Class work is just that. It is work meant to be completed in class. If you do not finish it in class, you will have to finish it at home, in addition to any homework that was assigned to you. This includes Fridays. If on a Friday, you do not finish in class, for whatever reason, you will then have work to take home that WILL be due on Monday. The same with homework, if this becomes a habit, I will start assigning you ASD to finish any class work that is still due. Do not play around in class. I know some students take longer than others and I am willing to give you more time at home if you need it. Others simply play around while in class and do not finish. Those are the students that will be facing ASD and other consequences for their actions.

HEADINGS At the front of class for the first part of the school year, (once we move back into our “real” classroom) I have a poster in place that shows the correct heading for the first page of every assignment. It looks like this (I will use a made-up name as an example):

Jane Doe Math – Per. 1 8/27/2012

(2-16, evens only)

For any pages that go over the first page, you simply place your name with a dash with the period # with another dash with the page number with another dash and the date it was assigned. For instance, I would put on my second page of an assignment:

Mrs. Ellis – Per. 1 – Pg 2 – 8/27/12

For any papers, after the first week, I will take off 11 points per assignment if I can figure out who the paper belongs to; otherwise, it is a zero.

STRATEGY GRADES Each assignment will have two parts when grading: Half of your grade will be determined on the percentage correct and the other half will be determined by your strategy used. If you do not show any work and get all answers correct – your grade is a 50. If you miss a lot of problems but show your work, your grade will not be as bad. I can see where you went wrong and give you credit for all the parts you worked correctly. The rule is simple: ALWAYS SHOW YOUR WORK!!!

SEATING CHARTS I will have seating charts in my room. I am somewhat lenient on where a student chooses to sit so long as the student can pay attention and do their work while sitting there. If a student shows there will be distractions to him or herself while sitting there, I will rearrange the seating chart accordingly. Once a student has a “permanent seat,” (I will let them know when I have created the seating chart) they are not allowed to move to another desk without permission first. If they have good reason to move, I will allow the change. If not, I will think about it and let the student know of my decision.

7 DAILY OBJECTIVES Every day, I will post what we will cover and the objectives (goals) the students are to work as hard as possible to reach by the end of the lesson. Usually after bell-ringer, I will start class by going over these objectives to let students know what their objective (goal) of the day/lesson will be to reach.

ABSENCES I know there are days students have to miss due to illnesses, death in family, or doctor appointments. Try your best to have your parent/guardian schedule doctor appointments after school hours. If we go over a new item that day, you will be behind and that makes it that much harder on you to catch up with the class. Regular school attendance is critical to the learning process. Our school day officially starts at 8:15 a.m., and we begin “morning work” assignments at that time. When your child is absent or tardy, he or she misses valuable instructional time. Please send a written note whenever your child is absent. State law requires the school to code each absence as excused or unexcused. Excused absences include illness and doctor’s appointments. Unexcused absences include out-of-town trips, missing the bus, and family vacations.

Even though the district has strict attendance policies, it’s important to keep your child home if he or she is sick. The policy states that a child must be free of fever for 24 hours before returning to school. Thank you for understanding. If your child misses more than one day, you may contact the front office to pick up their assignments. You will need to contact the school in the early part of the morning to give the teachers time to get the assignments to the front office by the afternoon. Each teacher has a different time for conference periods when they are able to bring the assignments to the front office. Some teachers have conference time during first period (like myself), and have classes the rest of the day. So if they are not informed very early, they will not have a lot time to gather your child’s work until after school.

If you do have to miss, do not come to me about it at the beginning of class when you are to be working on your bell-ringer assignment. Also, do not come to me about it when I am about to start class. When I am finished, then you may come to me about finding out what you need to do to get any missed work, what to do about any tests you might have missed, etc. I will let you know where to find the work and when I expect the work to be turned in. If a student has an excused absent, I will give the student an extra day for each day missed.

If not turned in, in a timely manner, I will assign you Afterschool Detention (ASD) until the assignments/missed tests are completed. You cannot learn math without actually doing the math. Math is very hands-on. You have to do your part to succeed and grow. If there is a make-up test you need to take, I will do what I can to have you take it during class time, but if we are still working on things in class that you need, then I may have to have you attend some tutorials or ASD to get the test completed. This is not a punishment – just simply a means to an end.

TARDIES AND LUNCH DETENTION For every tardy a student receives, a day of Lunch Detention is assigned. For instance, if the student is late to three different classes on the same day, that student has three days of lunch detention. If you are assigned Lunch Detention, you are to report to the Lunch Detention room instead of going straight to the cafeteria. When Mrs. Hebert, or whoever is in there on other days, says you may go get lunch, he or she will walk you down to the cafeteria to get your lunch on a to-go tray and you have to take your lunch back to the lunch detention room. You are not allowed to talk at any time and are to have homework or a book to read while in there. The best policy you can make for yourself – never be late to class!

8 SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING TARDIES There is a new law that is being enforced, that if a child has too many tardies (just like too many absences), he/she, along with a parent/guardian will have to see the judge regarding truancy laws. Again students, get to class in a timely manner. Do not play in the hallways. If you are late because of a teacher (or counselor, nurse, etc.), have that teacher write a quick note.

TALKING LEVELS DURING CLASS When entering class and while everyone is working on bell-ringer, students are to have a Level Zero (NO talking) voice level. While I am talking, students are to have a Level Zero voice level. While they are working on regular class work, they may talk at a Level One (whispering – no louder than if someone is more 12 inches away, then they should not be able to hear.) They may only whisper to those sitting directly by them. If they are taking a test, the Level is Zero at all times. If they are giving a presentation to the class, then they are to speak at Level Two in a clear, firm voice for all of us to hear. At no time will they talk above a Level Two while in class. If someone else is giving a presentation, everyone else is to be at a Level Zero!

Also, during emergency situations (real or drills) – they are to remain at a Level Zero until we are released. When we are released from the drill, they may talk at a Level One while we are re-entering the building and/or getting back to class and/or seats.

EMERGENCY DRILLS We will have several drills throughout the school year. Each one has a set procedure to follow to keep everyone safe and alive in case it is not a drill, and is the real thing. Fire Drills The students are lineup, without speaking, outside door at the lockers. I will make sure room is empty and shut/lock door. Students will remain at Level Zero as we walk down the hall to our designated safe place. They will stay in line and no talking until we get the “all clear” or further directions. Students are not to talk to one another or to students in other classes. Students are not to leave my class line to go “hang out” with another student(s) in another class.

Tornado Drill Students will quickly move to hall and sit facing wall with legs crossed. They will not sit near any windows or doors. They will put their heads down into their laps and cover their heads with their arms. They will remain in position of safety until we get the all clear. As with all the other drills, students will remain at a Level Zero (and in position) until we receive the all clear from the administrative staff.

Lockdown Drill When I get the coded intercom message, I will tell students Level Zero and that we are in lockdown mode. I expect every student to line up on designated wall with ZERO TALKING. This includes no laughing, snickering, coughing, bumping into walls, etc. ABSOLUTE QUIET! This is in case an intruder with a weapon has entered the school; we want him/her to think our room is empty. I will have the window to my door covered and the door locked. The students are to remain as close to wall and as quiet as possible until we get the all clear.

These drills are not to embarrass anyone or make anyone uncomfortable. They are in place so each student knows what to do in order to keep us all safe and alive in case the alarm goes off and it is not a drill.

9 TEXTBOOKS Students will not be issued Math textbooks in my class. All work sent home will be printed worksheets or something of this nature. If a student has missed an excessive amount of days, I may issue him/her a temporary textbook in order to get caught up. If not returned, the student will have a textbook bill at the end of the school year.

OFFICE OR NURSE PROCEDURE If a student is feeling ill, they need to tell me as soon as they come into class or start feeling ill. Of course, I will ask them if they need to go to the nurse. I write the pass right then and give it to the student – even if they say no. If they feel like it will pass and do not want to go, as I have experienced a lot in the past, that is not a problem. The reason I want to know immediately, is so that if the student gets worse and has to get to a restroom or the nurse immediately, at any point thereafter, I know why they might be interrupting me (or simply running out the door) and I do not get upset about it then. At that point, they could pretty much raise their hand and point to the door and I will nod and they can go.

If the student does not return with a signed pass from the nurse, I will verify the student showed up when they left class and that the nurse either had him/her the whole period or that the nurse sent him/her home.

MUSIC I will often play music after I have gone over lessons and any information the student needs to know. Students are never to speak louder than the music – remember – Level One when given permission. I will only play music without words, often a type referred to as Baroque Music. Studies show that if students work while hearing music, their brains actually have to work harder, because it forces the body to use more than one area of the brain to comprehend both things going on at once. Studies have found, students learn better in these atmospheres and the results show on the tests. The stronger the brain works, the better the student performs, not just in class, but in life. They will be able to use the skills learned in class to overcome all issues life will “throw” at them.

That is what math is really all about anyway. Teaching the brain to move into a higher level of thinking so that no matter what problem occurs in life, students, as adults, will be able to figure out what the problem is, and will find solutions to the problem in a smart way. This is why I love my job so much. I know the bigger picture of what I am contributing to and everyone of you are working on becoming strong leaders who can solve today’s and tomorrow’s problems successfully and create a wonderful future for us all!!! Isn’t that exciting?!!!

(By the way, all of our core subjects fall into this category: reading is there so that you can research about the problem, science is there to teach you methods – the scientific method… and to understand a lot of what you read, and social studies/history teaches you what others have done in many areas – what went right and what went wrong – so you will have more knowledge to base your decisions on.) It is all about your future!!! That is why the state and the nation are so big into making sure you are learning the fundamentals! And only the fundamentals are tested on the state levels.

10 WHEN FINISHED… When finished, raise your hand and let me know. If I am really busy, helping others around the room trying to answer questions, I may have you help some of those still waiting for help. If that is not the case, I will more than likely have you work on VersaTiles or Keys or other mini assignments I have in place in the room. I will go over this more in class as the time comes.

BELL-RINGER ASSIGNMENTS When students are released from previous class, they are to go to the restroom and get water and then to quickly get to class. Girls, the restroom is directly across from my classroom – no excuses; you may quickly put your stuff in class and go the restroom, come back and get to work on bell-ringer. Girls and Boys – the water fountain is right outside my classroom – no excuses; again, you may put your stuff down and quickly get in line for water. Boys, if my classroom is before you can get to the nearest restroom, they may enter, quickly place stuff on desk, and get to the restroom. There is a full five minutes in order to do so. Students are NOT to enter class telling me they need a pass to the restroom. I will not write them a pass at that time.

When students enter room, they are to QUIETLY (Level Zero) get their bell-ringer and go to their seat. They are to quickly get out homework and place it on their desk. Then they are to sharpen pencils (I recommend two) and start the Bell-Ringer. I will either have the assignment on the board or I will hand them the work as they enter the room. While they are working, I will check roll, quickly check email to see if any teachers emailed me to let me know they have one of my students was “held-over” so I will not count them absent, etc., and see if anyone needs help.

When bell-ringer time is over, length of time depends on the assignment (usually 10 minutes), I will start class. After I have gone over the assignment, and practiced it as a class, I will assign the class work.

MATH BUDDIES PROJECTS My classes will participate in the Math Buddies program. This program involves students taking home one math activity a month to complete at home with a Math Buddy. Each activity comes with several questions to answer. You will receive more information about these projects soon. Your first activity will be sent home on or shortly after September 5th and will be due on September 21st. I'm sure you will look forward to each month's investigations.

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS FOR 7TH GRADE Your 7th grade Assistant Principal is Mrs. Hebert. Just as in 6th grade, if she is in a meeting, at a conference, or is out, than the other assistant principal (Mrs. Miller) will take care of the situation, and let Mrs. Hebert know at a later time what happened and how the situation was dealt with at that time. Best rule: Stay on task so you do not get in trouble!

HELPERS Occasionally, I will pick helpers to help out in class. More on this in class as the time arises. I promise to be fair in how I pick and never pick someone twice until all have had a turn.

11 LUNCH When you were in 6th grade, all 6th graders went to A lunch. When you get to 8th grade, all 8th graders go to B lunch. In 7th grade, students are split depending on which teacher you have during a certain period. That teacher will let you know which lunch to go to. Going to lunch twice or at the wrong time, will lead to serious consequences. Do not do it. Again, truancy laws could be broken, and you could face time in front of a judge.

Also, while at lunch, you are to keep the voice levels at a Level One. Going over this level could result in lunches being kept at a LEVEL ZERO and requiring you read as soon as you are through with your food. It has happened in the past. Make sure it does not happen to your group.

FOOD, DRINKS, ETC. IN CLASSROOM Speaking of food… You are to only eat or drink in the cafeteria. At NO time should you have food, candy, drinks, sunflower seeds, etc. out in ANY classroom. In the past, I have often not said a word to those eating sunflower seeds in my class. Instead, I simply wrote the referral and let the assistant principal deal with those students. Students left my room thinking they did not get caught to get their surprise later when the principal showed up in another class time to pull them out of class over the issue. I will not tolerate anyone eating or drinking ANYTHING in my class. If you need to get some water, I will let you go as soon as I go over the assignment. Eat your candy and sunflower seeds during breakfast and/or at lunch – not in our classes!

UIL CONTESTS If you are in any GT classes this year, you are required to sign up for at least one UIL event. If you are not in GT classes, you may also sign up. Sponsors may only pick three students to compete and one alternate in case someone is sick that day. You must attend practices and only the top four students from the practices will be selected to go. Students have a lot of fun at these events. This year, we want the best of the best, to bring us home a lot of medals. Work hard so that can be you!

TUTORIALS Soon, tutorials will start. They will be offered on designated days directly after school until 4:10. Busses will be available to take you home. To get on the bus, you have a have a pass from a teacher. To be allowed into 21 st Century after school program after tutorials and ride their busses home or are assigned ASD, you will need to sign in with them directly after school, hurry up and get to class, and then have a bus pass from a teacher as well.

I will NOT give passes to anyone who is more than 5 minutes late. That is five minutes after the last period bell rings – at that point you are late! If another teacher kept you for a few minutes, ask them to write a note with the time they are releasing you. You then have just a few minutes to get to class. I will NOT give a pass to anyone who asks to go to the RR and is gone for more than just a couple of minutes. I will also NOT give a pass to anyone who comes to tutorials and does not work on math quietly and disturbs others. At that point, you will need to go to the office and call for transportation.

12 PERMANENT MARKERS Permanent markers (Sharpies, etc.) are not allowed on our campus for understandable reasons. I will take up any permanent marker that I see a student using in my class or in the hall. Keep them at home where they belong. If another teacher has asked you to bring them for a project in their class, keep them in your backpack or purse until you get to that class.

DISCIPLINE Now would be a good time to bring up how I deal with behavioral issues…

Each student begins each week with a clean slate. If a class rule is broken, the student is given a verbal warning. If another behavior problem occurs that week, the student will receive a written warning, the second caution. The written warning the student will have to complete is a Time Out worksheet explaining their inappropriate behavior and how they plan to correct the problem. If a third behavior problem occurs, the student will receive an essay assignment. This essay has to explain what they did wrong, how they will fix, and an apology for interrupting class. This essay will have to be completed at home. If the student does not return the essay or still continues to show behavior issues, the student will receive Afterschool Detention (ASD) for two hours. The ASD form will be sent home to parents to be signed and returned. Transportation will need to be arranged.

If the student is still refusing to behave in class, I will make a phone call home to discuss further steps to take. Referrals are for very severe discipline problems (and sunflower seeds or food/drink), or for continued smaller issues and results in a trip to the office. The assistant principals know I go through a series of steps before sending students to them – or they know the behavior was severe – if I stop to write a referral and they take that into consideration when assigning consequences. They also know how I feel about sunflower seeds in my room or in the halls.

AFTER SCHOOL DETENTION (ASD) ASD will be issued for two reasons: one as a punishment for continued disruptions in class OR two: as a means to get some work from you that you are missing after a timely manner. If given as a punishment, I never give less than two hours. If you are going to cut into my time in class, then I am going to cut into your after school time. If I assign you ASD to complete work (homework, work from being absent, test, or class work not finished), then you will have the detention until the work is caught up – even if it takes more than one day.

WEEKLY QUIZZES Every Friday – even early out Fridays – we will have a quiz. On most Fridays, it will consist of two parts. The first part is a timed multiplication test and the second is a math vocabulary/skill test. The first part will cover from 1X1 through 12X12. If a student knows their multiplication, it means they can answer each problem in less than three seconds. The test will have 144 problems each week of these basics. Three seconds each would be 7 minutes and 12 seconds. I will let them have 7 minutes and 30 seconds. Then ALL pencils go down when alarm goes off. While they are working on multiplication tests, I will be placing Vocabulary/Skills Tests on their desks upside down. The second test will be a mix of math vocabulary words as well as problems we covered during the week, either in class and/or as homework. They will hand the firsts tests forward upside down and start their vocabulary/skills tests. These tests will be averaged together to form two test grades for every six weeks.

13 Note: On Fridays, their bell-ringer assignment is to get into seats quickly with pencils sharpened and be ready to start test immediately upon tardy bell ringing.

JOURNALS I will have students keep a journal in my class. For those students I had last year – we are making a change in the process. Instead of the journal being a “bell-ringer” assignment, I will assign it at the end of the class as a reflection and to add notes about what they are covering. They will take notes during class in their spiral that they may take home as notes to use during homework, studying for a test, etc. The journals will be used as a way to tell me how they view what we are covering so that I can make sure we are all on the same page. 7 th Graders also have a STAAR writing test this year – writing in these journals helps teach them to arrange their thoughts and find ways to express them on paper so they learn to communicate well in the future. The results will show on the STAAR writing as well.

DAILY MATH DRILLS In my experience, students cannot move on to higher level reasoning in mathematics until they master their basic math facts. In addition to regular math assignments, your child will be performing weekly tests until the class has mastered the basic facts. You can help your child prepare by studying with flashcards or having them spend 15 minutes a day working with online flashcards at www.mathfactcafe.com . You can even call out math facts to your child while driving in the car or waiting in the doctor’s office! Mastering Times Tables is particularly challenging!

FOLDER SET-UPS I believe that homework is necessary for practicing skills that have been learned or for enriching the classroom experience. It also gives the student review over previously learned items. On the other hand, I don’t believe in overloading students will busywork! Additional homework is simply class work that was not finished. I try to give ample time in class for the completion of assignments, but some students work more slowly and must finish at home.

In order to help students get their homework assignments done, students will have a special area in their binder for homework. I will give students a table of contents of what is to be kept in the math section of the binder as well as some other forms. These forms will be placed, in order, in the front of the math section of the binder.

They will write their assignments in their math section’s Homework Sheet and place any important papers in the front of the binder. Also in the math section of the binder will be a weekly grade sheet to be signed each week. On Monday, after the quizzes and/or tests grades are returned, we will go over the assignments you should have listed. You will use the papers from your binder to mark the grades accordingly. You will then find your new mean (average) and write that on the bottom of the page. You will take the folders and grades home on Fridays and bring them back signed on Tuesdays throughout the school year. These grade sheets will be averaged for a test grade every six weeks.

Actually, you will bring this binder home every day and bring it back every day.

14 WORD WALL If students look around my room, they will see a group of words above the chalkboard that is on the wall that the door is on. These are all words they should all know the meanings of. A lot of students have trouble during the test simply because of not understanding the words used – even if they know the math. I brought this up earlier in this guide – they have a hard time with reading the questions. That is why I am giving the weekly tests to make sure students are learning the words needed to succeed in math. For instance, whenever they see the word difference, they should know in math, that means subtraction is involved. It is the little things like this that really hurt some of our students, and I am working on making sure they improve at the little things as well as the bigger elements of math.

GRADE LEVEL MATH CONTEST Twice a month, three students will be picked as winners of our Math Competition. Winners will receive a “Free- Dress” Pass and will not have to wear their uniforms for a specified day. They will still have dress code regulations to follow: no baggy pants, pants must stay pulled up, etc. After each winner is announced, a new math challenge poster will be placed in the hall for students to solve and turn answers into me. Answers must show all work and students must write their names on the top of the paper as well as on the bottom of the paper. Students who answer correctly will have their bottom name cut off their answer sheet and placed in a bucket and three winners will be drawn from the bucket.

THE BIG EXAMS Students are now required to take Six Week Exams at the end of every grading period. They cover everything the student has covered so far. At the end of the semester, in January and in May/June, these exams are called End of Semester Exams. These tests are taken for EVERY class the student is enrolled in – even electives. These exams are taken during regular class time. End of Semester Exams are two class periods long and special schedules will be sent out before the exams.

A Mock STAAR test is generally given around February to let students see where they stand at that point. The entire test is graded and the scores are given to the student. A second score is created based off what has actually been covered so far. That is the score that goes into the grade book.

The real STAAR tests to let students show the state of Texas and the nation that they have been learning the math this year, will be in the end of April. That is the time for our students to shine bright like the stars they are! Those that do the work I ask of them between now and then and work hard, are not only going to pass, but will get commended! I know these students. I had them in the second half of the year last year. They are extremely smart and once they buckle down and study – they are going to blow this test out of the water! And I cannot wait to see it happen!

Then we will start 8th grade Math basics as well as a final project for the year. This information, in addition to math learned in 7th grade, will be on their final end of semester exam in either the last week of May or the first week in June.

15 SPECIAL NOTE: Construction on Campus This year we are starting the year with having our rooms being painted. Due to some complications over the summer, the job has “run-over” into the first few weeks of the school year. For at least the first week of school, most of the 7th grade classes will be moved into the 8th grade hallway – except for the math classes – they have been moved upstairs. My class will be in Room 206 for the first week or so and then we will move back to my regular math class (Room 107.) At that time, the 6th grade hall will be painted, so teachers and students will be moved into rooms in the 7th and 8th grade hallways. We are asking that everyone be patient and quickly get where you belong so no problems occur. It will only be inconvenient for the first week or so and then we can get into a more “normal” situation. We can all get through this if students do not play around and do their part.

MRS. ELLIS’S SCHEDULE

16 CONFIRMATION FORM I have received and read the class handbook and understand Mrs. Ellis’s expectations for the 2012-2013 school year for 7th Grade Math.

This page is due back to Mrs. Ellis by Friday, August 31, 2012. (If student started later in year, it is due back within four class days.)

Student Name ______

Parent Signature ______