Embedded Files
Parents have as many questions as their students! You have questions about Classroom, about missing assignments, and just what is this "GoGuardian" you've heard about? You want to be able to support your student, but you're not quite sure what's going on.... Hopefully this page will help! If you don't see what you're looking for here, try the POLICIES tab on the Middle School main page or my General Expectations page.
Parents have as many questions as their students! You have questions about Classroom, about missing assignments, and just what is this "GoGuardian" you've heard about? You want to be able to support your student, but you're not quite sure what's going on.... Hopefully this page will help! If you don't see what you're looking for here, try the POLICIES tab on the Middle School main page or my General Expectations page.
FIRST OF ALL: we are a Google for Education school. Our emails and user accounts are all on the GMAIL platform. Students use CHROMEBOOKS (Chrome is a Google product), and teachers create most of their documents within the gSUITES APPS (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, etc). This website was even created using Google Sites. We do expect Middle School students are checking their email at least once once a day. If they email a teacher with a question, they need to check back for a reply. We encourage students to use the Google Calendar for more than just the Due Dates from Google Classroom. I even suggest Google KEEP as a checklist or another companion option to a planner to keep track of projects and assignments. Google Apps on your devices to access these things on the go.
What day is it?
What day is it?
SGM Middle School operates on a rotating 43 minute period schedule. Language Arts classes are blocked (2 periods) by 88 minutes. What "day" is it? Check the Middle School Calendar? The LETTER designates which class is seen first between a set of classes. The NUMBER indicates the Specialty classes for the day as well as the overall order of the Middle School classes that day.
GOOGLE CLASSROOM - I say this is a “glorified digital planner” for the students, while teachers can use it to share documents, links, videos, quizzes, and assignments. Students are responsible for checking off if work is TURNED IN (with attachment) or DONE (if no attachment) - teacher have no control over this. Even if we grade an assignment in Classroom and then RETURN it to the student, that still doesn’t necessarily check that it’s DONE. Likewise, they can mark it as done and it is not. You can (and should!) get a summary email, but they can be misleading. We suggest you download the app to your phone or tablet and have your student log in (but then turn the app notifications OFF! or they will bug you endlessly) and then you will see what they see. We also remind students to look at the STREAM or CLASSWORK and not just the thumbnail view or the calendar view. There is so much more to see! Also, in class assignments may not be posted in Classroom if all students were present and no work or links were shared. I like to share sub plans with students in Classroom.
POWER SCHOOL (aka Parent Portal) - This is the gradebook and the final say if work has been turned in or not. Please look at this on a computer as the app is very limited and depending on the OS and your device may not show the special indicators or the hyperlink for comments. Do not hesitate to email us with questions about the gradebook. We also encourage parents to share login access with their Middle School student. We tell the students they need to be checking PowerSchool at least once a week, preferably once a day. One thing the app is good for - it notifies when there has been an update in PowerSchool (in other words - when a new score has been entered).
GoGUARDIAN - We began this program August 2018. It is the program SGM is using to monitor student screens while in our class. We have shown the students the program. By choice we are not monitoring them off campus or even outside of our time with them in the classroom at school. You may already be familiar with GoGuardian as an app parents can use to track device usage for their child. It works in a similar way in that it is linked to the student’s email login through Chrome - so it can only monitor them on a Chromebook (not on their phone because they have the Classroom App or their Email linked). It also only monitors their Chrome browsing usage and only views the screen they are viewing and logs the websites and apps visited. It does not access their camera, a concern 7A had! If they are following the Technology Policy and following teacher instructions, they should have no concerns.
REVIEW WEBSITES:
REVIEW WEBSITES:
QUIZLET - This is a flash card based review website. I create all of my test reviews through this site. I know other teachers use it, too. There are even public Quizlets users can search. Students have access to these reviews and can quiz themselves in a variety of ways. There is a group review game, Quizlet Live, we can play in class. For those who prefer paper-in-hand to study, there are several printable options. For those who aren't interested unless it's on a device - there's an app for that!
As of 2022 many features have been restricted without a FREE account. Only the first 10 items of a study set can be seen without an account, for example. Students need to make a FREE account using their SGM email. This may require parental permission due to their age. You do not need to pay for additional features - students can access all they need with a free account.
KAHOOT: This game-based review requires students to buzz in on their devices to answer multiple choice questions. Like Quizlet, they can be teacher-created or one of the hundreds of thousands of public Kahoots! available.
QUIZIZZ: Like a hybrid between Quizlet and Kahoot, you can search existed quizzes or a teacher can make one and assign it for practice.
Page updated
Report abuse