We would like to welcome you and your child to seventh grade! We anticipate having a wonderful year together.

Please use the contact information below if you would like to speak with a teacher, specialist, or one of the support personnel. We do our best to respond within twenty-four hours.

Claudia Fox Tree 7th Grade Special Education Teacher/Team Leader cfoxtree@lincnet.org	Elizabeth Averch Science Teacher eaverch@lincnet.org
William Burns English Teacher wburns@lincnet.org	Scott Burke Physical Education Teacher sburke@lincnet.org
Marlenne Vizcarra Spanish Teacher mvizcarra@lincnet.org	Katherine Whitney French Teacher kwhitney@lincnet.org
Rosemary Heffernan Math Teacher rheffernan@lincnet.org	Keith Johnson Social Studies Teacher kjohnson@lincnet.org
Molly Flynn Special Education Tutor mflynn@lincnet.org	Pam DiBiase Art Teacher pdibiase@lincnet.org
Karen Sheppard Music Teacher ksheppard@lincnet.org

We value close communication between school and 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, midterm reports, and report cards, we also use these ways to communicate information:

Homework: Each student has an agenda book in which to write daily homework assignments. Homework is also posted on the web and updated daily. We do our best to coordinate across curriculum areas so that major projects and tests are not scheduled on the same day 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.

Additional information about homework and test policies can be found here.

“Hot List”: We send out a weekly email regarding seventh-grade activities, curriculum, tests, and major assignments for the upcoming week. This is a “heads up” to help you stay current with your child’s academic experience. Please note that on occasion plans do change depending on what individual teachers are able to cover in class in a given week. If you would like to be on this email list (you are welcome to include your child’s tutor on this list as well) please send Claudia Fox Tree (cfoxtree@lincnet.org) an email with:
your name(s)
the seventh-grade student’s name
the email address(s) to which you would like this information sent

Interim Reports: If your child demonstrates a week of difficulty with homework completion or missing assignments, we will send a written “Interim Report” listing overdue assignments to your home address. 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 homework completion. Please keep in mind that seventh-grade teachers are available after school on most Tuesdays and Thursdays to support students.

End of Term Notices: For those students who are experiencing academic difficulty between midterm and the end of the semester, an additional communication before the end of the trimester will be sent.

Conferences: Please call Anne Crosby in the main Brooks office if you need to schedule a conference with the Team (English, math, science, social studies, and French/Spanish teachers, as well as with specialists and special educators, if appropriate). The Team may also request conferences with you as the need arises. In addition to the scheduled “conference half-days,” we maintain weekly slots of time for parent/teacher conferences. Conferences are meant for the Team to learn about your child, share information with you, and plan appropriate support. We find that this collaborative approach to conferences is the most beneficial for students. For information about the curriculum, please see the Program of Studies.

Supplies: Here is a list of supplies your child will need next year. Students will also receive this information at the beginning of school; however, if you would like to secure supplies prior to the opening of school, please refer to the enclosed list.

Hygiene: We would like to emphasize the importance of having plenty of boxes of tissues and hand sanitizer available in classrooms, especially during the winter months. In addition, hygiene becomes a priority in 7th grade as young bodies mature. As part of the health curriculum, we will be encouraging daily baths, deodorant, and teeth brushing.

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 Team