At the end of the marking period, the teacher will calculate students’ grades from tests, daily quizzes, specific assignments, etc. Letter grades will be assigned by the scale below. Student scores that result in .05 or higher should be rounded up. The following percentage scale applies.
100 - 91.5 = A
91.4 - 89.5 = A-
89.4 - 87.5 = B+
87.4 - 81.5 = B
81.4 - 79.5 = B-
79.4 - 77.5 = C+
77.4 - 71.5 = C
71.4 - 69.5 = C-
69.4 - 67.5 = D+
67.4 - 61.5 = D
61.4 - 59.5 = D-
59.4 - 0 = E
Grades will be rounded up only to the tenth place during this calculation. Students will only earn a passing grade for a marking period if they achieve at or above 59.45%, which rounds to 59.5%.
Mrs. Foster
Phone Number: 269-323-5825
West Middle School, Room 421
E-mail: mfoster@portageps.org
If you have any questions or concerns, please call or email me. Remember, I am teaching and interacting with the students during the school day so I take calls before or after school. Email is welcome anytime throughout the day, but will only be checked before and after school. If there is an emergency, please contact the office at 323-5800. Thanks!
Online Gradebook - Skyward
To keep track of your student's progress in math, please check out the parent internet viewer, called Skyward. I update grades regularly and try to record all assignments and assessments within 24 hours, although some exceptions do occur.
To get started with PIV, visit: https://piv.portageps.org/
The website for Skyward is http://skyward.portageps.org - yes this site works both inside and outside the district. There are also mobile apps in both the iTunes and Google Play stores for your Apple and Android devices.
You must disable any pop-up blockers to use Skyward. In most cases, if a pop up blocker is on, simply click the retry button. To disable the popup blocker in Chrome, see https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95472?hl=en
Course Description:
The Portage Public Schools’ 6th grade mathematics program will address The Common Core. The 6th grade program is designed to give students a well-rounded education in these eight mathematical practices:
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
Reason abstractly and quantitatively
Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
Model with mathematics
Use appropriate tools strategically
Attend to precision
Look for and make use of the structure
Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning
The teachers will use a combination of cooperative learning, independent learning, lectures, investigative activities, and Standards-based instruction to facilitate learning.
Ratio and Proportional Relationships
The Number System
Expressions and Equations
Geometry
Statistics and Probability
At the end of the marking period, the teacher will calculate students’ grades from tests, daily quizzes, specific assignments, etc. Letter grades will be assigned by the scale below.
Students are expected to bring their math notebooks and supplies to class every day. They are expected to participate in all discussions and activities.
Homework Expectations
The following explains the homework policy for my classroom. Please read this policy with your child so that you understand the expectations of students and parents with regard to homework. Following these guidelines can help decrease the tension associated with homework and increase your child’s learning. For your child to be successful with homework, he/she needs:
1. A place to do homework.
If possible, your child should do his/her homework in the same place (an uncluttered, quiet space to study).
2. A schedule for completing homework
Set a homework schedule that fits in with each day’s particular activities.
3. Encouragement, motivation, and prompting
It is not a good idea to sit with your child and do homework with him/her. Your child needs to practice independently and apply what he/she has learned in class. A more effective strategy would be to “check in” with your child every five to ten minutes to assess progress. If your child consistently cannot complete homework assignments alone, please contact me.
4. Reasonable time expectations
If while working on math homework your child becomes frustrated, take a break and come back to it later. If your child still does not understand the concept or is having difficulty then write a note to me explaining where your child was “stuck.” Keep in mind that your child should have the names and phone numbers of three classmates in his/her planner so that he/she can call for extra help. If your child consistently seems to spending more than 30 minutes of concentrated effort each night on math homework, please contact me.
Grading
Students need an opportunity to learn and to try new concepts without penalty. We will be correcting the assignment in class so your student will know how well he/she understood the concepts that were presented, but the daily grade will be based on completion.
Homework – Homework will be corrected the next day. I do not take off points for incorrect answers…only incomplete work. At the end of the marking period, I will drop your lowest homework score.
Homework points break down:
5 pts. – all questions complete, all work is shown, and on time
4 pts. – almost completely done or turned in late
0 – not completed
Grading Procedures:
PPS middle school mathematics teachers work with a strong commitment to cooperation and collaboration across the district. We believe strongly that all students must have access to the same curriculum, acquire the same essential knowledge and skills in mathematics, be subject to assessments of equal rigor, and have their work evaluated according to the same criteria. It is vital that we address the needs of all our students with consistency, equality, and fairness.
Therefore, through collaborative efforts, we have developed a common curriculum and agreed to a common grading policy for all classes. Student’s grades will be comprised as follows:
Tests (work graded for accuracy) (80% of the grade)
Classwork (work graded for completion) (20% of the grade)