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Ontario Middle School~

Sixth GradeBack-to-School Night 2015

Daily Schedule Information• You will have Math, Science, Social Studies, Literature, and

Language Arts daily.• You will have a “specials” class daily. These “specials” are

PhysEd, Art, and Keyboarding and will change every 12 weeks, so you will end up having all three classes by year’s end.

• You will have a 25 minute lunch each day. • You will have a daily study hall period called Warrior Time,

during which you can get extra help. • You will have a music class - either Band or General Music.

Band is held daily all year. General Music is held daily for 12 weeks.

• Alternating with General Music is a class called Skills for Life and a study hall; each are held for 12 weeks.

Warning Bell 7:45

1st Period 7:49 – 8:35

2nd Period 8:39 – 9:25

3rd Period 9:29 – 10:15

4th Period 10:19 – 11:05

Bell Schedule Warrior Time 11:05 – 11:59 Lunch 11:59 – 12:25

6th Period 12:29 – 1:15

7th Period 1:19 – 2:05

8th Period 2:09 – 2:52

Getting to Class on Time• Most classes are located in the sixth

grade hallway. They are right next to one another!

• You are given a full four minutes to get to class. This is plenty of time - even if you have to go to your locker and use the restroom!

• During the first several days, teachers will be understanding if you have trouble getting to class due to locker trouble, etc.

Tardy Procedures

• Your teacher will fill out a tardy slip for you and file it with the office. (Some teachers have you complete the slip.)

• If you accumulate a total of six tardy slips within a grading period, you will be assigned to a Friday School detention.

• Friday School is held from 3-6 p.m. You are responsible for transportation home at 6p.m.

Locker Info

• Keep your locker clean and organized! This will help you get to class on time with the materials you need.

• You are responsible for keeping your locker in good condition. Magnets are allowed - stickers are not!

• Use a combination lock on your locker to keep your things safe. “Key" locks are not recommended!

Each quarter, you will receive a “materials” grade in math, science, social studies, literature, and language arts.

You will start each grading period with a certain number of points and will lose a point each time you forget to bring something!

Forgotten materials also count you out for the end-of-the-year MAT Award “Materials Always There”

After all, proving you are responsible is a major sixth grade goal!

Restroom Breaks and Hall Passes• With 4 minutes between classes, and not too

far to travel, we encourage you to use the restroom during breaks.

• If you MUST use the restroom during class, you will need to sign out in the class binder, then take a plastic “paddle” pass with you.

• For using the restroom during class, you will have to turn in a restroom pass (you get 8 per quarter), or lose a “materials” point.

• If you need to leave the room for other reasons (locker, office, etc.), you will follow this same procedure.

• Using your break time wisely is really important. Teachers have the right to deny you permission to leave class, and will do so if they feel that you are abusing the privilege.

Sixth Grade Rules

• The sixth grade’s PRIDE motto is a set of goals we all should follow. If your behavior follows its guidelines, you will be fine.

• We call our sixth grade discipline plan Baseball Discipline. Just like the real game, you DON’T want to get strikes!

Sixth Grade “PRIDE” Motto

Baseball Discipline Plan

Try not to strike out!

Strikes for:

~ Talking at inappropriate times

~ Off-task behavior

~ Disrespect

“Three Strikes and You’re Out!” (Take a “time out” to think about how YOU can

improve your behavior.)

Six Strikes = A note in your agenda! (This gives your parents notice that your behavior needs to improve.)

Nine Strikes = Discipline Form and Friday School

Friday School is held from 3-6pm on certain Fridays. Parents pick you up.

No Strikes = BAT Award for Behavior Always Terrific!

(Receive your BAT Award at the end-of-the-year Awards Assembly)

Homework• You will have homework almost every night,

and keeping up-to-date in all subjects is crucial.

• Each teacher has a routine place in their classroom where they post their homework assignments for you to copy into your agenda.

• Always record your assignments in your agenda and use this as a tool to remember your homework assignments. If there is no homework for the day, write “none” instead of leaving the box blank.

• During Warrior Time, you are given an opportunity to clarify assignments if you have any doubts.

• Take your agenda home each night, and check off the work as you complete it. When you complete the work, checking it off your list is a great feeling!

Parent Signatures - Agenda

• To start everyone off on the right track, we’ll begin the year requiring that your agenda be signed by a parent each night.

• This parent signature tells us that your parent has seen your completed work. This is why you should file all completed work in your Homework Folder on the “done” side.

• During Warrior Time on Tuesdays – Fridays, your teacher will check your agenda for a parent’s signature. For every five times you forget, you will serve a lunch detention.

• Use your assignment notebook wisely and you will never forget to do your homework, study for a test, or bring materials to school!

ParentAccess Online Grade Book• Students and their parents can stay informed of current grades

by logging in to their personal “ParentAccess” account on the Internet.

• An easy way to access this account is to go to our website: www.ontarioschools.org and under the Student Resources heading, click on “Grades.” Enter your user name and password* and you will have access to lots of useful information that we strive to keep as current as possible.

• We have learned that students who regularly check their own progress seem more motivated to improve their grades, so we encourage you to check this site often. Checking grades together is a great way for you and your parents to communicate about what’s going on at school.

*Having trouble with your user name or password? New to the district and have not received this information? Call the OMS office to get the help you need!

Homework Passes

• You will be given a sheet of homework passes each nine weeks; one pass each for language arts, math, science, social studies, and literature.

• Some assignments will be designated “No passes allowed.”

• Save your passes for emergencies! If you happen to forget to do your homework, or have one of those crazy nights with no extra time, you’ll be glad you can turn in a pass.

Missing Assignment Notice(Yellow Slip!)

• Each student must turn in something when an assignment is due. If you have not completed the assigned work, you must fill out a Missing Assignment Notice, even if you intend to use a Homework Pass for the assignment.

• On the form, you’ll need to explain your reason for not having the assignment completed. The teachers then record this reason in the comment section of the online grade book.

• If you don’t turn in an assignment, you will receive a ZERO, which really hurts your grade. If you forget to do an assignment, turn in a Homework Pass or turn the work in the next day for a “LATE” grade.

• “LATE” work completed well earns a 70%, while “LATE “ work completed satisfactorily earns a 50%.

Required Heading

Class Period #

First and Last NameToday’s Date

We require a three-line heading on all papers.

Write this heading in the top right corner so your teacher can find your paper quickly.

Your grade may be lowered if you forget!

Grading

• You earn your grades each quarter through a combination of tests, quizzes, homework, daily participation, class activities, and projects. How much weight each of these categories carries is up to the teacher.

• We all use the same grading scale to determine letter grades. Basically, 90’s are A’s, 80’s are B’s, 70’s are C’s, 60’s are D’s, and scores below 60 are F’s.

Make Up Work

• For each day you missed, you get one day to turn the work in. But turn in the completed work as soon as possible, because you will have to keep up with new assignments as well!

• If you miss more than one day, you may want to ask your parent to call the school to request that the teachers send work to the office for your family to pick up so you won’t be too far behind. As a courtesy to the school staff, please be sure any requested homework is picked up and completed if at all possible.

• Work requested prior to a vacation is due upon return to school.

• When you are absent from school, it will be your responsibility to make up the work you missed.

• Each teacher keeps an assignment notebook (agenda) on his/her desk. Copy the assignment information from this book and get any handouts you need from the teacher or the absent folder. Ask the teacher or another student if you need help understanding the work.

Sixth Grade Conferences•Sixth grade conferences are quite a bit different than those at Stingel Intermediate. Remember, each of your teachers has all 165+ of you each day! We have only 3.5 hours of evening conference time four times per year, so we use it to request conferences for students who we see as struggling in some way.

•Sixth grade conferences are held in the OMS Library. Several conferences will be taking place simultaneously, so every teacher may not be available at every conference. This is the best way we can schedule to see as many families as possible.

•Of course, any parent who wants to request a conference may do so. Remember, though, that we teachers actually communicate with families almost daily through our ProgressBook/ParentAccess site, so everyone can be kept well informed of your progress by checking the site very regularly. Instead of waiting for conferences, please email or call any teacher as soon as you have a concern.

Ohio’s State Tests· Sixth graders will take Ohio’s State

Tests in three subject during the testing window of April 4 – May 13. Our district has flexibility to choose exact dates within this window of time.

· These tests will measure your skills in English Language Arts (reading and writing), Social Studies, and Math.

· The sixth grade teachers are familiar with the tests and will help you prepare for them.

Sixth Grade AwardsAfter each quarter, sixth graders can earn awards. • Awards are given for:– Honor Roll (3.5+ GPA)– Merit Roll (3.0+ GPA)– Perfect Attendance– Citizenship

• In addition, we have special “end-of-the-year” awards!– BAT Award (Behavior Always Terrific!)– HAT Award (Homework Always Timely!)– MAT Award (Materials Always There!)

…and the award

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