Spanish Fort Middle School

SPANISH FORT MIDDLE SCHOOL 2011 – 2012 6th Grade Syllabus

Teacher Subject Contact Information Beverly Floyd American History [email protected] Denean Huggins English/ Literature [email protected] Jan Adams Math [email protected] Janice Cloer Math [email protected] Jenifer Fyock Study skills/chorus [email protected] John Cummings Science [email protected] June Evans English/ Literature [email protected] Kathy Becker American History [email protected] Kim Langham Study Skills/Science [email protected] Leigh Walker English/ Literature [email protected] Margaret Howard English/ Literature [email protected] Shannon Snow Science [email protected] Sondra Smith Math [email protected] Individual teachers’ syllabus, assignments, and calendar may be found at www.spanishfortmiddle.com at each individual teacher’s web page.

Bell Schedule Textbooks Homeroom 7:50 – 7:55 1st Period 7:55 – 8:47 All students will be issued the textbooks. Break 8:47 – 9:02 Students are responsible for placing their name on 2nd Period 9:05-9:57 the table located inside the front cover of each 3rd Period 10:00-10:52 book. Students should never leave or store Lunch 10:52-11:17 textbooks in the classroom unless directed to do 4th Period 11:20-12:12 so by the teacher. Parents will be required to pay 5th Period 12:15-1:07 for all lost or damaged textbooks. 6th Period 1:10-2:02 7th Period 2:05 – 2:57 *Students who are on campus and do not report to homeroom by 7:55 will be marked absent and be required to go to the office for check-in. The student will receive an unexcused tardy.

Homework

A typical student should be able to complete daily required homework assignments in all specified subjects in approximately one hour. If a student is taking significantly more or less time to complete the assignments, parents are encouraged to examine all possible contributing factors including: work environment, time management, study skills, the quality of work produced, academic progress, and high school readiness. All 6th grade students will be expected to complete academic assignments outside of the classroom on a daily basis. Student Accountability/Intervention

All students at SFMS are expected to do their work and will be held accountable for doing so. Students who demonstrate a pattern of apathy resulting in academic performance below 70% will be required to attend and complete missing assignments during a supervised intervention time held during lunch on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of each week. Notification of students whose attendance is required will be made available on Monday and remain posted throughout the week. Failure to attend as assigned will result in the loss of a Toro Buck for each day missed, and failure to fulfill academic requirements may result in disciplinary action. This procedure will be followed through the end of the 3rd quarter grading period.

Discipline Procedure The 6th grade students will be required to have a conduct folder. (These will be supplied by the school.) Students will be given a new conduct sheet each Monday. Teachers will check conduct sheets daily for parent signature. Conduct sheets will be initialed by the teacher that witnesses the infraction. Students will receive a daily conduct grade. Grading Scale and Consequences are as follow: Grading Scale Consequences G: 0 Checks Per week S: 1-2 checks 1 N = Break detention N: 3-4 checks 1 U = Break & Lunch Detention U: 5 or More Checks 2 N’s or 1 N & 1 U = OCS (Automatic U given for RESPECT) 2 U’s = Office Referral

If a student’s folder is not signed the student will automatically receive break detention for that day.

Toro Bucks

The faculty and staff of SFMS recognize that the overwhelming majority of our students are committed to academic success and do what it takes every day to meet the expectations for excellence that represent SFMS. The Toro Buck program is an incentive system that was designed and implemented to promote positive behavior and reward those who exhibit it on a daily basis. Students who accumulate enough Toro Bucks throughout the year are rewarded in a variety of ways including field trips, skating days, break snacks, field day, parties, and many other surprises. 6th graders will be able to receive 5 Toro Bucks each week through the conduct sheet. If a student has all G’s he or she will receive 5 Toro Bucks, S’s will receive 3 Toro Bucks. Receiving excessive S’s, or an N or U will result in no Toro Bucks for that week.

Absences & Make-up Work

All students are encouraged to be present in every class every day unless they have a legitimate illness that poses a risk to the health of others. If a student is absent, they are missing an opportunity to learn. Students can make up an assignment, but there is no substitute for the personal interactions that take place in the classroom. Students who have an excused absence(s) may make up any work missed. Baldwin County Board of Education policy is that students have three days upon returning to school to complete missed assignments. Teachers will not provide assignments in advance of an anticipated absence or before a student returns to school. It is the student’s responsibility to obtain and return missed assignments and schedule missed tests or quizzes in accordance to each teacher’s established procedures for doing so. Students will earn an incomplete or zero for all work that is not completed in the appropriate amount of time. The Baldwin County Board of Education also prohibits the use of “extra credit” work to improve a student’s grades.

Parent Conferences Please feel free to communicate with your student’s teachers during the school year when necessary. The most efficient way to contact the teacher is to email through the school website or directly to the addresses listed on this syllabus. All teachers check their email account frequently and will respond as quickly as possible. All classroom concerns should be addressed directly with the teacher before contacting school or system administration. Should classroom issues arise that cannot be addressed and resolved via email or telephone, you may contact the teacher to request and schedule a parent conference.

Library Policy

Students will visit our school library to check out books for independent reading or class assignments throughout the year. They are expected to care for the borrowed material and return it in a timely manner. Students are responsible for lost or damaged books. Books are checked out for a period of two weeks and may be renewed or returned during that time. Students who keep a book past its due date are charged 10 cents per day. Late fines will accumulate until the book is returned. All fines must be paid by the end of the school year in order to receive the next year’s schedule.

E-readers will be allowed for student reading in Language Arts and other classes when specified by the teacher. A student must have an e-reader permission form on file with his/her Language Arts teacher in order to use the device in the classroom. These forms are available throughout the year.

Break & Lunch Procedures

Break – Students should bring snacks, snack money, 1st and 2nd period materials, and appropriate outerwear to their 1st period class. (Homeroom) At the conclusion of 1st period, all 6th grade students will leave their books and materials in the classroom and be escorted directly to the break area by the teacher. Students will be escorted back to the classroom by their 1st period teacher at the conclusion of break to retrieve their materials and transition to their 2nd period class.

Lunch – All 6th grade students should go to their lockers at the conclusion of 3rd period to get books and materials for 4th period. They should then report to their 4th period class to drop off books and be escorted to the lunchroom by the teacher. All students will sit at an assigned table with the 4th period class. An administrator or designated teacher will direct those students purchasing lunch to the serving line at the appropriate time, and they will return to their designated table to eat lunch. Each class is responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of their table and surrounding area. Failure to keep the lunchroom clean may result in silent lunch or the loss of other privileges . Important Dates

August 26 – Welcome Back Dance (grades 6 – 8 from 6 – 8 p.m.; 8 – 9 p.m. 8th grade only) August 31 – Skating Field Trip (Hot Wheels – Daphne) October 27 – Honor Roll Luncheon (12:30 in cafeteria) November 30 – Skating Field Trip (Hot Wheels – Daphne) December 2 – Christmas Dance (grades 6 – 8 from 6 – 8 p.m.; 8 – 9 p.m. 8th grade only) January 19 – Honor Roll Luncheon (12:30 in cafeteria) February 1 – Skating Field Trip (Hot Wheels – Daphne) February 3 – Sadie Hawkins Dance (grades 6 – 8 from 6 – 8 p.m.; 8 – 9 p.m. 8th grade only) April 5 – Honor Roll Luncheon (12:30 in cafeteria) April 10-13 – State Testing – ARMT+ April 13 – 2nd Annual SFMS Spring Court Dance (grades 6 – 8 from 6 – 8 p.m.; 8 – 9 p.m. 8th grade only) April 16-20 – State Testing – ARMT+ Makeup April 25 – Skating Field Trip (Hot Wheels – Daphne) May 11 – Field Day (tentative)

*All dates and times are tentative. Please refer to the school website (www.spanishfortmiddle.com) for updates and confirmation of dates and times.