Welcome to another exciting and busy year at Notre Dame de Lourdes! I am very happy to be here and look forward to getting to know your children better each day. I will challenge your children, foster cooperative work, and teach them to appreciate how the differences between us actually make our school a better place.
If you need to contact me, email or a written note is the best way to reach me. Please make sure you alert your child that a note is being sent in. I have had situations where a parent has been upset that I haven't responded to a note, but upon further investigation, the child had never turned it in to me. Please also know that I may not have time during the school day to check my email, so my response may not come until after the students are dismissed. If anything is extremely urgent, please call the office and I will get a message from Mrs. McKinney.
Your child will be receiving a Test Folder every Tuesday, which will show their graded assignments from the past week. You will be asked to sign the chart found in the folder AS WELL AS initial every paper inside. These folders are due back to me by Thursday morning. Grades will be posted on Option C as soon as possible after an assignment or test is collected. There is a link to Option C on my Welcome page under the Contacts heading.
As I will discuss with the students, they will be responsible for copying and completing all homework, projects, and in-class assignments. I ask that they TRY every question/problem of their assignments, knowing that there will be times that they may not actually find the answer, or might even get the answer wrong. Our motto is “Mistakes are normal, and that’s how we learn!” I am striving to create an environment where your children will feel comfortable taking risks and trying new methods to solve problems.
Please make sure that your child has all necessary supplies with him/her at all times. This includes pencils, pens, highlighters, dry erase markers, looseleaf, rulers, etc. I have a copy of our supply list on its own page. I would suggest that you label your child's supplies this year, since the students are not allowed to share supplies due to COVID concerns. Please check with your child frequently to see if any of his/her supplies need to be replenished. It is vital that your child always has a personal supply of tissues, hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes to use each day.
Students will always have advanced notice of any tests, quizzes, projects, etc. Homework will be given in Math every night (Mon.-Thurs.), and is due the day after it is assigned, unless a project or multi-day assignment is given. Any incomplete work can be completed and shown to me for partial credit. Science will have various assignments, including studying, typing good copies of lab reports, doing research, or answering questions based on a video, the text, or an enrichment packet. Other subjects, such as Spanish, Religion and Art, will have assignments and projects that will need to be completed as well, but your child may not have homework in those subjects every night. If your child is absent, I will schedule any make-up testing and collect any missed assignments. Demerits will be issued for missing or incomplete work, and must be signed and returned the next day accompanied by the missing assignment.
Trimester grades will be based on the following:
· Tests/quizzes/First in Math
· Homework/classwork/group work
· Projects/Lab reports/Presentations
· Class participation, preparation, and effort
· Copybook check (Math and Spanish)
I look forward to working with you to make this a successful school year. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you in advance for your support and cooperation.