Ms. Cahill- Individuals & Societies
By email: kcahill@jeffcoschools.us At school, we monitor students' internet usage using Securly. There is a Securly Home that families can use as well. See info about it here.
Voicemail: 303-982-8980
About Individuals & Societies
In 8th grade Individuals & Societies, we study early American history, from colonialism and the building of America to the Civil War and Reconstruction. We utilize the iCivics curriculum, which is a Jeffco-approved curriculum based on the Colorado Academic Standards. This curriculum is inquiry-based, which means students will be exploring and asking questions about our history and its relevance to today. They will engage in projects as well as rigorous informational and argumentative writing to practice communication and problem-solving skills, asking questions, drawing their own conclusions, and making connections to their own lives.
You will need to come to class prepared. You need your fully charged chrome book, paper, and writing utensils.
Grading:
Summit Ridge has a school-wide 60/30/10 grading policy. 60% of a student’s grade is based on summative assessments; 30% of student’s grade is based on formative assessments; 10% is based on work habits. Here is a video from our principal, Ms. Schulz, about the shift to standards-based grading.
Summative, 60%
Tests
Final projects
Formative, 30%
Classwork
Quizzes
Warm Ups
Work Habits, 10%
Participation
Behavior
Coming prepared with required supplies
Make up work: In the event of an absence (excused or unexcused), students will be responsible to look in google classroom to see the assignments that were missed. Teachers are available for additional questions in class or during advisement time. Parents can request to be added as a guardian in google classroom to receive updates via email.
Students are able to make corrections on all assignments for up to 100% during that unit.
Technology:
Students are expected to come to class with a fully charged Chromebook daily. A large portion of our school work is done digitally. When students do not bring their devices charged, we do not have extra devices to loan and they will need to make up the assignment at a different time. We also expect students to use Chromebooks responsibly and only visit approved Jeffco websites relevant to classwork.
Students are NOT permitted to bring cell phones into the classroom per Summit Ridge policy.
International Baccalaureate School
Summit Ridge Middle School is an International Baccalaureate (IB) school. The Middle Years Programme (MYP) develops students into independent, responsible citizens. In Language & Literature, we will be focused specifically on these two pillars of IB:
Inquiry - students asking questions, students finding answers.
Global awareness - connecting to the local, state, national and international community.
We are looking forward to an amazing year together!
Ms. Cahill's Amazon Wishlist. Thank you for your consideration!
I'm a Level 1 Google Certified Educator, which means I have the knowledge and skills to implement technology in the classroom to enhance student learning.