Academic Information/ Expectations

Students and parents may request schedule changes only during the first week of each term.  A note stating the request and reason must be signed by a parent/guardian and brought to the office for review.  After the first week, a student’s schedule may be changed at faculty request, administration decision, or for health reasons.  The administration has the final say in the student’s schedule. Music electives (7th and 8th only) are full-year classes and may not be dropped during the year.  Exceptions may be made by the building administrator at the end of the 2nd quarter.

Students who earn a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0-3.49 will be recognized by the administration with Honorable Mention achievement.  Students who earn a grade point average of 3.5-3.99 will be recognized by the administration with Honor Roll achievement.  Students who earn a grade point average of 4.0 will be recognized by the administration with Grand Honor Roll achievement.  

Homework is a complement to, and an extension of, classroom learning activities.  Homework includes, not only written work, but also activities such as viewing specific television programs, searching for information in newspapers or magazines, reading and other activities, which are related to classroom work but are performed outside of school time.  The amount of homework will vary according to individual classes.  The homework assigned will be at the discretion of each teacher and will be based on knowledge of the student’s individual ability.  Bandon School District recognizes the critical role that home study plays in student academic achievement and strongly recommends parental support, communication, and cooperation to provide a positive and productive educational experience for each student.  Middle school students should expect 30-60 minutes of homework nightly.  If your child is spending more than one hour on homework, please reach out directly to the teacher for assistance.  If you are unable to facilitate a homework experience that fits into these expectations, you may also schedule time to speak with the building principal.

Teachers will submit grades on a weekly basis into the Synergy Gradebook, which can be accessed through the StudentVue or ParentVue portals.  Missing assignments will be given a grade of zero until the assignment is turned in and graded.  All missing assignments will be converted to 50% at the end of each grading period so that the impact on the overall grade is equivalent to 10%.  This is in line with the traditional letter-based grading system (A = 90-100%, B = 80-89%, etc).     Assessments will be given the true earned score, which may result in a score below the 50% threshold.  For specific details on grading practices in each class, please refer to the syllabus provided by the teacher.

Advanced math opportunities will be available to students based on math data collected both in the fall and in the spring.  This would offer your child the opportunity to move up to the next grade level for math instruction. HLMS uses our statewide assessment (SBAC) given each spring, our math curriculum (iReady) diagnostic given in the first two weeks of school, and our district benchmark screener (NWEA MAP) given in the fall and early spring.  Students must achieve at or above two of the three thresholds set by the school to be eligible for advanced math placement which are: Level 4 on SBAC, mid-grade level on iReady diagnostic, and the 80th percentile or above in NWEA MAP achievement. Classroom performance and teacher recommendation are also factors in this decision.  If you are interested in more information about your child's eligibility for advanced math opportunities, please contact your child's teacher for more information.

Synergy ParentVue is a website that offers secure, private access to school and student information, including assignments, grades, attendance, and teacher contact details. Every parent logged into the system and/or established a Synergy ParentVue account at registration.  This system is replacing our previous student information system, Tyler 360.

Your Synergy ParentVue account is active for all of your BSD students. You can continue to use the same account throughout the years of your students’ attendance at Bandon schools. We encourage you to maximize the usage of Synergy ParentVue to keep up with your student’s grades and check for missing assignments. If you have not already set up an account, please contact Nicole Heim or Leslie Wirt in the HLMS office, 541-347-4415, for directions and information to establish your account.