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Dear Parent of an Incoming Seventh Grader,
We would like to welcome you and your child to seventh grade! We anticipate having a wonderful year together. The seventh grade teachers provide an interdisciplinary curriculum incorporating skills (math, writing, reading, vocabulary, etc.) across all subject areas, including art and foreign languages. Some of the highlights of our interdisciplinary curriculum are: an overnight trip to the Sargent Center for Outdoor Education with a science/English focus; a unit on tessellations which integrates art and math; and, a civic learning opportunity to raise awareness and funds for the Sudanese Educational Foundation through an English/social studies unit.
Seventh grade is an exciting and dynamic time. As adolescents strive for independence, they are maturing and making more choices about their academic, personal, and social lives – becoming who they will be as adults. Academically, students continue to move from “learning to read” to “reading for content” and for pleasure. In Lincoln, seventh grade is vocabulary and writing intensive. Vocabulary is taught, reviewed, and practiced in all subjects in preparation for new concepts, units, short stories, and novels. Many forms of writing are taught, including how to write an essay. Students practice writing in all subject areas, including in preparation for the MCAS Long Composition at the end of March. Teachers focus on using evidence/details to support a thesis, argument, debate, and/or short answer (Open Response) question.
Teachers also incorporate a strong technology base, integrating interactive boards and document readers with such elements as electronic/web-based research, word processing, web-based activities (e.g. vocabulary review, math games), and specialized computer programs for skill practice. We hope that you and your family have a wonderful summer break. We look forward to an enjoyable, productive, and rewarding school year.
Sincerely,
The Seventh Grade Teachers
Communication:
We value communication and feel it is important to form a strong partnership between the school and the home. To that end, we would like to give you some information about methods of communication we have found helpful in the past. In addition to phone calls, email, midterm reports, and report cards, we also use these ways to communicate information:
Weekly Progress Reports (as needed):
If your child demonstrates a week of difficulty with nightly work completion or missing assignments, we will send a “Weekly Progress Report” to your email address listing overdue assignments. We find that this written record is an effective means of communication to facilitate work completion. We encourage students to complete overdue work, as all assignments are important to understanding concepts and lessons in class. In addition, we emphasize the importance of maintaining a high standard for daily assignment completion. Please make sure Ms. Crosby has your most up-to-date email address on the Emergency Contact cards
Homework Web page:
Check in to see nightly homework assignments on individual Teacher Pages or on the 7th Grade Homework page. We do our best to coordinate across curriculum areas so that major projects and tests are not scheduled on the same day. If your child is absent, please notify Anne Crosby in the office as early as possible and request to pick up handouts after school. Ms. Crosby will email the teachers and a packet will be left in the Brooks office.
School Visits:
Please remember to check in at the office to receive a visitor badge if you are going into the building. If you would like to meet with a teacher, please make an appointment through Ms. Crosby (see below) as impromptu "teacher meetings" are not possible due to teachers’ school responsibilities.
Conferences:
7th grade parent-teacher conferences are on a "rolling" basis, scheduled as requested. Conferences are meant for the teachers to learn about your child, share information, and plan appropriate support. For specific information about the curriculum, please see the Program of Studies that is handed out at Open House and posted on the school website. Please call Anne Crosby in the main Brooks Office if you need to schedule a conference with the teachers (English, math, science, and social studies are invited. French/Spanish teachers, specialists, and special educators, are invited upon request). The teachers may also request conferences as the need arises. In addition to the scheduled conference days listed on the school calendar, the 7th grade teachers maintain weekly times for parent/teacher conferences.
At-Home Computer Use:
Sometimes assignments require on line or computer use and Internet access. If a student is unable to access a computer or the Internet, it is the student’s responsibility to make arrangements with the teacher for access during school hours. Students are responsible for backing up their work and passing it in on time.
Health:
We would like to emphasize the importance of frequent hand washing, coughing into one’s shoulder, having plenty of boxes of tissue, and using hand sanitizer in classrooms, especially during the winter months and flu season.
Supplies:
We are including a list of supplies your child will need next year (posted below). Students will also receive this information at the beginning of school in their respective classes; however, if you would like to secure supplies prior to the opening of school, please refer to the enclosed list. General Supplies Needed for All Seventh Grade Classes:
We strongly encourage students to color-code their subjects as identified below in parentheses. You may obtain a colored binder (this is preferred) or used colored tape on the spine. Please write the subject name on the spine of the binder. More specific supplies needed for the following classes:
PLEASE SEE AN INDIVIDUAL TEACHER’S SYLLABUS FOR SPECIFIC GRADING, HW, AND TEST/QUIZ POLICIES
Please remember that the Lincoln School Parent/Student Handbook strongly discourages vacations taken when school is in session. Teachers are not responsible for supplying work. Nightly Homework Policy:
Long-Term Projects:
Tests (and Quizzes):
Last Modified on 9/1/2010 4:21:25 PM |
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