Dear Parents and Guardians of 7th Graders in Miss Purcell’s class:

I welcome your children to my 7th grade class this year. This will be a year of growth, work and responsibility for them, but if they try, they will end the year knowing how to read, write, think, be creative, responsible and self-starting, and know more about grammar than anyone!

Please read and keep this letter because it will answer a lot of questions that come up through the year.

I expect students to be mature and responsible about their work. I expect projects I give three weeks to work on to show three weeks of work, and not be done the night before. I can tell, and it will not get a passing grade no matter how late they stay up, as is fair.

I expect students to help each other, ask each other questions, and work with each other. If they have ANY questions or problems, I expect them to come to me and ask about it. We do a lot of work through a draft process, so all students should bring in drafts and get them checked for correctness to ensure final work is done correctly.

There are some class routines you should be aware of:

-EVERY quarter your child is expected to read a MINIMUM 600 pages (as is every student at AMS,) of any kind of BOOK(s) they choose. See last page to sign off on this. This ends up being about 20% of the language arts grade and makes a BIG difference. This is the biggest grade killer when students don’t do this, or saver if they do. They should always have a reading book with them for ALL classes if they finish their work. I should see it in class every day.

-EVERY day we will do WAGS--Writing and Grammar Skills-- ALL that your child needs to do is what we do each day and not lose it. At the end of each week they will get a stamp for completed WAGS that week, and at the end of the quarter, the stamps are counted for a grade. They must not lose their work. If they are absent, it is their responsibility to copy missed work from another student. If they don’t do ANY part of the work for the week, they will not get a stamp. Each Friday we will also have a small quiz on exactly what we learned in WAGS.

A small notebook is a good place to keep this. This will make them amazing writers with a great knowledge of the craft.

-For journal writing (writer's notebook) the ONLY RULE is they must write the whole time and do the minimum number of words twice a week. (We start with 250 words and increase 50 words each quarter.) It’s an easy A+ on this grade. If they are absent, they are expected to make up the work on their own. ALL students should have been and be doing this in core, as per Writer's Workshop and Reader's Workshop.

--I do projects regularly, because testing is not the only way to show learning, so you will be seeing them regularly. I ALWAYS give a handout with directions that say what is required for the assignment, and I usually give a rubric, which is basically a self-grading checklist about what their grade is. I encourage and expect students to always ask for help and bring in drafts to get checked. I expect hard work, time, thought, and creativity in relation to the amount of time they have to work on it. An “A” means excellent, not adequate. (See Definition of Grades on website.) READING the DIRECTIONS is often the biggest problem, so try to really help them check.

All final work must be neat and in pen or typed. Typing up is not necessary and takes more time for some students. EVERY student will have a personal Chromebook for their use to do their work that they must have with them daily. We recommend a good case for its protection. Copying and pasting from the internet is plagiarism and will be treated with a referral. If this happens twice, it's a suspension. ALL typed work MUST be their own, original writing.

They have a portfolio here in class where all work not in their binder is kept, so there is NEVER any excuse for not having anything they need or losing something. NEVER, EVER throw any work away, EVER.

CLASS RULES

*Be Responsible: Be in class on time and ready for work. Class time is for class work. Always be prepared with all necessary materials.

*Be Respectful: Respect each other and the teacher--this means good manners and no cheating or lying.

*Be Safe: Absolutely NO food, gum, drinks, or inappropriate dress.

Students are responsible for any books checked out to them and they must return the same one given them or pay for it.

Grading policy adheres to district guidelines: homework, classwork, and participation are 50%, and tests, quizzes and projects are 50%. Grades are based on a standard scale: 90-100% = A; 80-89% = B; 70-79%= C; 60-69% =D; <60 =F.

There will be two grades from me each quarter, one for history and one for language arts. Each quarter begins a NEW grading period. If students are absent, they are responsible for making up work. If they are absent for a period of time, parents should call and get the work for them.

If you have an E-mail, please E-mail me with ANY questions, concerns, etc. at any time. E-mail me at spurcell@nhusd.k12.ca.us My phone is 489-0770, ext. 60590. The office can put you through to me directly when I’m not in class, before school, after school, or during my first period prep.

Class website with homework and more: https://sites.google.com/site/amspurcell/home

Make sure your child has a good, strong three inch binder for the beginning of the year and keep it organized. This is a school rule and will help them immensely. If they do work on the computer, a flash drive is very helpful for transferring information. Also, any typed documents can be sent to my email so I can print them up at school.

Back-to-School Night will be Tuesday Sept. 23. I hope I will see you then. It’s REALLY helpful if you can come.

Thank you,

Shareen Purcell, S-8, AMS

Independent Reading/SSR (Silent Sustained Reading) for Purcell

All students are required to read a MINIMUM of 600 pages a quarter. All AMS students are expected to read a MINIMUM of 20 minutes a day. (Minimum 20 pages a day= minimum 100 pages a week=minimum 500 pages in five weeks very easily.) How each teacher records this varies. Go through this document carefully to make sure you understand my requirements for reading.

* All reading must be books, not comic books, graphic novels, or magazines.

* You may read any type of book you’d like. Try to choose something at about your grade level of reading, not too easy or difficult.

For each quarter, you must turn in AT LEAST 300 pages of completed book or books before the end of the deficiency period. You may choose one 300 pages + book, several shorter books, or a longer book. If you choose a longer book, one that may get your reading done for the whole quarter, you still MUST turn it in by the deficiency. If you know you will have trouble with a longer book, don’t do it.

You will get a grade for the first half of the reading and the second which will add up to about 20% of your grade.

A week before the end of the quarter is the LAST day to turn in the rest of the minimum 600 pages due. NO ONE should wait until the last day to turn in anything.

Books need to be turned in with the chapter summary sheets as SOON as you finish them. You must bring in the book and the book review or summary sheet to do this. I will just talk to you a few minutes about the book, which will be very easy if you read it. You may turn it in during class during appropriate times, before school, after school, etc.

DO NOT wait until the last days to turn in reading. I expect good students will be turning in books in the first two weeks of the periods. To get 100%, students must turn in books before the last few days of turn in time. 4 days before is 90%, etc. There will be a sign up sheet for the last week turn in with a maximum of five students per class--if they wait that long, they MUST be on the sign up sheet BEFORE then.

100% 90% 80% 70%

Q1 def to 9/22 9/23-24 9/25 9/26

Last week 9/22-26

Q1 final to 10/13 10/14-15 10/16 10/17

Last week 10/13-17____________End of quarter Oct. 24____________

Q2 def to 12/1 12/2-3 12/4 12/5

Last week 12/1-5

Q2 final to 1/5 1/6-7 1/8 1/9

___________Last week 1/5-9_____________End of quarter_Jan. 15________

Q3 def to 2/16 2/17-18 2/19 2/20

Last week 2/16-20

Q3 final 3/9 3/10-11 3/12 3/13

Last week 3/9-13_____________End of quarter March 20______

Q4 def to 4/27 4/28-29 4/30 5/1

Last week 4/27-5/1

Q4 final to 6/1 6/2-3 6/4 6/5

___________Last week 6/1-5______________End of Quarter June 10_______

The chapter summary sheets or book review sheets are designed to be simple, but make sure you do them correctly. They are also designed to practice writing a concise summary for each chapter so they are practicing their writing skills, also.

Please read over the class rules and guidelines with your child and that you both understand them. Please keep that page for your reference.

CORE_____ Print Name: Last___________ First_____________

Please answer the questions below, sign, and fill in all possible contact information so I can get a hold of you if I need to. Have your child return this page only by __________________.

Here is an opportunity to tell me a little about your child. Please feel free to answer any question or add anything you feel necessary.

What is best about my child:_________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Concerns I have about my child:_______________________________________________

Something the teacher should know about my child to make him/her happier/more productive in class (medical problems, requirements, behavior, strengths/weaknesses, etc.):

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Guardians:

#1--relation:_________________ #2--relation_________________

name: _____________________ name: _____________________

home phone #_______________ home phone #:_______________

work phone #:_______________ work phone #:_______________

work hours:__________________ work hours:_________________

cel phone #:_________________ cel phone #:_________________

e-mail:_____________________ e-mail:_____________________

I have read the rules and expectations of Miss Purcell’s class. I understand them/I have gone over them with my child. I will do my best to be productive, responsible student in class/I will support my child’s good behavior and work ethic in class.

___________________ ___________________ ____________

student signature parent signature date

I have read the requirements for independent reading in Ms Purcell’s class and understand them. I will make sure to do the reading as required, or support my child in doing this.

_________________________ ____________________________

print student name student signature

_________________________ ________________

parent signature date