Frequently Asked Questions

• 1 composition notebook

  • Their notebook will be kept in the classroom

• Glue Stick(s)

• Scissors

• Pencil(s)

• Colored Pencils

• Headphones for laptops

  • Sometimes we do assignments online that will require watch a video or listening to a clip and the students will need headphones to complete this

My partners and I all use Canvas to post our daily activities. Your child can access this through their IAM/NC EdCloud account.

My partners and I do our best to make sure your child's grades are updated regularly. Parents and students now have 24/7 access to grades through the Parent Portal app. The instructions to sign up are here.

Each assignment is coded with a specific category to help identify the weight of the grade. Please check the assignment's details and comments on PowerSchool for more information about the specific assignment, where it may be completed, as well as any individual feedback. 

Koontz Intermediate has the same grading policy for all classrooms:

• Tests: 40%

• Quizzes and Projects: 30%

• Classwork: 20%

• Homework and Participation: 10%

Each grade in PowerSchool is coded with one of these categories. If a student is unhappy with their grade on a project, test, or quiz, they may request to redo/revise their work by filling out a request form. They may either ask for a form in person, or via email. Please note, a request does not grant them immediate approval to revise the assignment. I'll reach out to your child to let them know if their request has been approved or not and any additional details. 

Please check the assignment's details and comments on PowerSchool for more information about the specific assignment, where it may be completed, as well as any individual feedback. 

Yes. Each week your child will be given a list of vocabulary that we will encounter in our daily classroom readings. It is your child's responsibility to study these words each week, as there will be a quiz every Friday. 

The weekly vocabulary words will be posted on our Canvas page along with a link to a Gimkit to help them study. A paper copy of the vocabulary words can also be provided upon student request.

I love having parents involved in our classroom! Our school uses TalkingPoints messaging to send and receive texts directly. You were automatically signed up at the beginning of the year using the information provided in PowerSchool. If that information is not correct, please update it and let me know via email so we can add you to the list!

You may also email me, leave a message at the school, or use the Contact Me link. 

99.9% of the time, if a student is failing my class, it's due to missing assignments. If your child does not turn in an assignment when it's due, they have an additional two weeks to turn that assignment in. If, after two weeks the assignment is still not turned in, I will be sending home a "Taking a Zero" form that must be signed by an adult at home. 

Tests are counted for 40% of the overall grade and are typically open book/note. 

If, after turning in all of their missing work and also taking advantage of the redo/revise opportunities, your child would still like a chance to raise their grade, I do offer one large extra credit option in the form of a PROBE research project and presentation at the end of each nine weeks. PROBE stands for "Possible Research On Basically Everything" meaning your child can pick any topic of their choosing and create a researched presentation for that topic. Please have your child come talk to me for the specific guidelines that are required for this project.  The guidelines can also be found on your child' Canvas.

**Note that I only offer this extra credit opportunity to those who have no missing assignments. Extra credit is just that, an extra opportunity on top of the required work. If your child has not completed the required work in class, they will not get the opportunity for the extra option.

We understand that life happens, and there's no reward for perfect attendance anywhere except school. The one good thing about COVID-19 is it gave us the ability to access almost anything from anywhere. If your child is absent for any reason, they can access all of their missing work and daily agenda on Canvas. Most of the work can be completed online, however, some assignments will have worksheets that need to be completed as well. If you don't have a printer at home, there is also an "Absent Work" bin located on the back counter of our classroom where your child can pick up a copy of the worksheets that are posted. 

If you know that your child is going to be absent for any extended period of time such as a family vacation, please let your teachers know at least a week in advance so we have ample opportunity to get some modified work together for your child so they don't fall behind in class.

Buncombe County Schools uses the Wit and Wisdom curriculum by Great Minds to help teach our North Carolina State Standards for ELA. We use a combination of materials from the Wit and Wisdom curriculum, as well as outside resources to help ensure we teach all of the required NC State Standards. Below is a brief outline of the novels we read and what standard we focus on.

• September:

  • Citing text evidence (RL 6.1)

  • Inferencing (RI 6.1)

    • We use a variety of short articles and texts from sources such as ReadWorks, NewsELA, CommonLit, and SchoolNet

• October

  • Theme and Main Idea (RL 6.2)

  • Figurative Language (RL 6.4)

    • Various works from Edgar Allan Poe

      • "Tell-Tale Heart"

      • "The Raven"

      • "Annabel Lee"

      • "The Bells"

      • "Masque of the Red Death"

      • "The Black Cat"

• November

  • Plot & Character Development (RL 6.3 & RI 6.3)

    • "Bud, Not Buddy"

• December

  • Comparing different versions of the same story (RL 6.7)

  • Comparing information from multiple resources (RI 6.7)

    • Various versions of "The Nutcracker"

• January

  • Review of standards previously taught

    • We use a variety of short articles and texts from sources such as ReadWorks, NewsELA, CommonLit, and SchoolNet

• February

  • Text Structure (RL 6.5 & RI 6.5)

    • "Ramayana: Divine Loophole"

• March

  • Non-fiction main idea (RI 6.2)

    • "I Am Malala: Young Reader's Edition"

• April

  • Point-of-View (RL 6.6)

  • Identifying an author's claim (RI 6.6 and RI 6.8)

    • Various works about the historic Jamestown settlement

      • "Blood on the River"

      • "Written in Bone"

• May

  • EOG review

• Be Respectful

• Be Responsible

• Be Rigorous

Koontz Intermediate is a Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) school. We believe in the power of positive interventions and reflections on our choices. We discuss what it means to respect others and ourselves, and how some choices can affect others. We don't expect perfection, but we do expect reflection and change. We try to help students by providing certain incentives such as our quarterly RAMS  social for those who have made excellent choices in their behavior, academics, and attendance; as well as providing opportunities for reflection if a student is struggling in any of those areas. 

I do my best to practice what I preach when it comes to my three main expectations and expect the same from my students. I value honesty and communication, as we are all human, and not always feeling at 100% every day. I tell my students, "You're not always going to make the right decisions, and that's okay. I still don't always make the right decisions myself. But it's best to own up to your mistakes and accept the natural consequences of that choice, rather than making things worse for yourself by not accepting or denying your choices."

I'm known to be firm, but fair. I also try my best to teach that fairness is not the same as equality, making sure to point out that not everyone needs the same things in life. I do my best to have fun, but also make it known that we are only able to do fun things if we earn it and can handle it. I live by the motto "Work hard, play harder" and try to show my students that hard work and good choices help you to earn big rewards.