AFTERSCHOOLPM

Two t ypes of PMs or af t er school sessions can

be given in 6t h grade.
Homework PM
St udent s are expect ed t o compl et e homework
assignment s and t urn t hem in on t he
designat ed day. If a st udent does not have his
or her homework at t he t ime of submission, he
or she wil l have t he opport unit y t o st ay af t er
school t hat day or t he f ol l owing day t o
compl et e t he work f or hal f credit . During t he
f irst t erm, when a chil d has missed t hree
homework assignment s in any of t he subject
areas, t he t eacher wil l not if y you via a writ t en
not e t hat requires a parent signat ure. This
not if icat ion is t o inf orm you t hat homework
compl et ion is becoming an issue, and you need
t o cl osel y monit or t he sit uat ion. For t he
remaining t erms, parent s can monit or t heir
chil d?s homework compl et ion t hrough t he
Aspen grading syst em. Missed homework
assignment s wil l be not ed as a PM in Aspen. If
t he chil d compl et es t he assignment af t er
school , t he PM not at ion wil l be changed t o
50% .
Behavior PM
Af t er School PMs can al so be given f or
behavior. Some exampl es of consequences f or
receiving a behavior PM are writ ing a behavior
st at ement , l et t er of apol ogy, and cl assroom
chores.

Nature's Classroom
Expectations
Inf ormat ion regarding t he 6t h grade t rip t o Nat ure?s
Cl assroom:
?Just as ot her t rips are an import ant suppl ement t o t he
educat ional experience of st udent s at t he Howard
School , t his t rip is even more so. This is a unique
program t hat spans a one week period t radit ional l y just
prior t o April vacat ion. In a f ashion simil ar t o t he ot her
f iel d t rips a chil d may experience at t he Howard school ,
t he t ot al f inancial cost of t his t rip, incl uding room and
board as wel l as t ransport at ion, wil l be t he
responsibil it y of t he parent . A budget payment pl an
has been est abl ished t o assist parent s in t his f inancial
endeavor. The nat ure and l engt h of t he t rip brings wit h
it some unique rest rict ions t hat t he st udent s and
parent s must be made aware of . We expect t hat t he
st udent wil l demonst rat e a good at t endance record,
and is expect ed t o be in good academic st anding. It
goes wit hout saying t hat because of t he t ype and
condit ions and responsibil it ies t hat t he st udent wil l
encount er whil e at Nat ure?s Cl assroom, t hat his/ her
behavior in t he school set t ing is beyond reproach. In
ot her words, a st udent ?s opport unit y t o at t end Nat ure?s
Cl assroom is based on his/ her overal l perf ormance and
t he decision t o at t end is at t he discret ion of t he
principal and t he 6t h grade st af f working wit h t he
st udent .? (2015 - 2016 K - 6 Parent Handbook)
Decisions regarding part icipat ion can be made up t o,
and incl uding t he week prior t o l eaving.

6TH GRADE
HANDBOOK
Wel come t o t he Howard 6t h grade! We are excit ed t o
work wit h your chil d during t heir f irst year of middl e
school . This brochure is our guide t o hel p you and your
chil d navigat e t hrough t his t ransit ional year.
Sixt h grade is based on t he middl e school model ,
where st udent s have more independence and
responsibil it y t han t hey did in previous grades. Wit h
support and guidance f rom t heir t eachers and parent s,
t he goal is f or t he st udent s t o successf ul l y make t he
t ransit ion t o sevent h grade.

What you can expect f rom us:

-An engaging and dif f erent iat ed curricul um t hat wil l
appropriat el y engage and chal l enge st udent s of al l l evel s
-A saf e and comf ort abl e environment f or st udent s t o l earn
-Af t er school avail abil it y f or individual ized academic
support
-Timel y grading of assignment s and post ing of grades on
Aspen
-Timel y response t o email and phone cal l s

What is expect ed of your chil d:

-He/ she arrives t o school on a t imel y and regul ar basis
-Your chil d adheres t o school rul es and pol icies
-Compl et ion of work in t he al l ot t ed t ime
-He/ she arrives t o cl asses prepared wit h al l necessary
mat erial s

What do we expect f rom you?

-Work wit h us as a t eam t o hel p your chil d succeed
-Reinf orce your chil d?s academic responsibil it ies
-Show int erest in t he homework being done but do not do
t he work f or t he chil d.
-Check Aspen on a regul ar basis

TYPESOFCOMMUNICATION
-The main source f or keeping t rack of your chil d?s
academic progress is monit oring t heir grades in
Aspen. This communicat ion t ool provides you
t he opport unit y t o st ay updat ed wit h compl et ion
of assignment s and grade averages. Aspen
username and passwords wil l be sent out wit h
f irst t erm progress report s. Pl ease see t he
at t ached inst ruct ions f or accessing your chil d?s
inf ormat ion in Aspen or use t his l ink:
ht t ps:/ / goo.gl / q7H4CM.
-Pl anner - see pl anner sect ion
-Progress Report s - issued t o al l 6t h graders
midway t hrough each t erm
-Report Cards - issued quart erl y
-Parent Conf erences - hel d in November
-Email ing t he t eacher about st udent progress
based on Aspen
-Sixt h grade newsl et t er incl uded wit h each
report card

PLANNER
The pl anner is an import ant t ool f or managing t he
dif f erent assignment s f or dif f erent cl assrooms.
Wit h a rot at ing schedul e, it is not possibl e t o
remember al l t he dif f erent homework
assignment s f or al l t he t eachers every day. Each
t eacher has a designat ed area in t he cl assroom
where homework assignment s are cl earl y visibl e.
The st udent s are given t ime in cl ass t o copy t his
in t heir pl anners. It is import ant t o check t he
pl anner every day t o make sure st udent s are
writ ing down assignment s. This wil l al so al l ow
you t o monit or t he assignment s. Bef ore l eaving
school each day, st udent s shoul d check t heir
pl anners t o make sure t hey have al l t he necessary
mat erial s f or compl et ing assignment s at home.
St udent s who f orget t o record an assignment can
cont act a f riend or in some cases use
Edmodo/ Googl e Cl assroom t o ask f or t he
assignment .
Organizat ion is key t o a successf ul year. If your
chil d has dif f icul t y wit h organizat ion, he/ she is
wel come t o st ay af t er school wit h any of t he
t eachers t o l earn organizat ional st rat egies.

HOMEWORKPOLICY
Homework is a val uabl e part of t he l earning
process. It provides t he opport unit y t o reinf orce
concept s whil e pract icing t he organizat ional and
management skil l s necessary f or high school .
Homework shoul d ref l ect t he st udent ?s abil it y t o
compl et e work. Parent support is import ant , but
pl ease encourage your chil d t o work on
independent skil l s. Pl ease see t he PM pol icy f or
incompl et e or missing homework assignment s.

Homework is given in correl at ion t o t he l essons in

cl ass. Some days t here wil l be more homework t han
ot hers due t o in cl ass assignment s, et c. Somet imes
homework may be given over t he weekend.
Somet imes homework is required t o be compl et ed
on t he comput er. Some exampl es are IXL, Edmodo
assignment s, and Googl e Cl assroom assignment s.
Pl ease cont act us if int ernet or comput er access is
an issue at home so t hat we may provide
appropriat e accommodat ions. If you do not have
int ernet access at home, t hen t he st udent can work
on it during powerbl ock, af t er school , or at t he
publ ic l ibrary.
Test Resul t s:
Any t est paper in a major subject wit h a score bel ow
70% must be signed by t he parent and ret urned t o
t he subject t eacher t he f ol l owing day. It is your
chil d?s responsibil it y t o show you t est s t hat must be
signed and ret urned. Once t est s are correct ed, you
wil l al so have t he abil it y t o view t he scores in
Aspen.

MAKEUPPOLICY
?If a st udent is absent f rom school t hey wil l
have t he amount of days t hey were absent pl us
one t o compl et e al l makeup work. St udent s
are encouraged t o check wit h t heir t eacher
when t hey ret urn t o school t hat t hey have
made up al l missed assignment s t hat t hey are
responsibl e f or doing.?
2015-2016 Howard, RLM and Spring St reet
St udent Handbook)
For exampl e, if your st udent is out f or t hree
days, t hen t hey have t he t hree days pl us one t o
make up t he work, a t ot al of f our days.
St udent s shoul d pl an t o st ay af t er school wit h
each of t heir t eachers in order t o make up t he
missed inst ruct ion, pick up, compl et e, and t urn
in assignment s.
As t he 6t h grade curricul um buil ds on prior
knowl edge, any missed cont ent can af f ect your
st udent in t he l ong t erm. Compl et ing
assignment s and worksheet s wil l not
necessaril y make up f or missed t ime in t he
cl assroom. This is why it is so import ant t o
schedul e t ime af t er school wit h each t eacher.
As work is caref ul l y al igned wit h t he
curricul um, giving work in advance is not
benef icial t o appl ying cont ent .