7th Grade Back to School Night 2014

Madeline Berghoff

Curriculum:

Language Arts:

Literature Text – Pearson Literature– Grade Seven

Novels: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Reading - Students will read and analyze a variety of works including but not limited to historical fiction, realistic fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and drama. We will focus on word analysis, comprehension, and literary response and analysis. Their homework will include reading from their text or their novel and/or preparing written responses.

I also require that the students read recreational novels throughout the year. Please help them to choose books that are age appropriate. They must also have their novels with them at school each day for Sustained Silent Reading, SSR.

Writing – Most of our writing will be literature based. We will use the Writing Process to write narratives, responses to literature, persuasive compositions, poetry, summaries, research papers, etc.

I will introduce the Jane Schaeffer Multi-Paragraph Essay format to further develop their organization and focus. We will spend time citing evidence from the text to support their opinions shared in discussion and their writing. Writing strong and well-organized paragraphs will be the focus.

In a composition notebook, students will write journal entries. Their journal prompts will consist of a phrase, sentence, song, short story, scripture passage, piece of art work, etc.

The students will keep many of their writing assignments in their Writing Portfolios that will follow them into the 8th Grade.

Speaking - The students will practice organization and delivery of oral communication by participating in various individual and group speaking activities in front of the class. They will share literary analysis, formal writings, group presentations, dramatic readings, and current events throughout the year.

Grading - Students will be graded on a point scale. Their Language Arts grade is based on their writing, literature tests, quizzes, speeches, participation, and homework. They must participate in class in order to get an "A".

I will give them grading rubrics for their speeches and major writing assignments.

Grammar:

Text: Voyages in English: Grammar and Writing - Grade Seven

Published by Loyola Press

Our curriculum is an extension of what they learned last year. We will stress usage, mechanics, punctuation, and diagramming sentences.

Grading- Their grammar grade will consist of homework, group projects, quizzes and tests.

Vocabulary:

Text – Vocabulary Workshop published by Sadlier

Each unit is 2 weeks long. The students will receive twenty new words each unit. We will have spelling quizzes and vocabulary tests at the end of the unit. After every three units, we will spend time reviewing and preparing for a Mastery test.

Grading- Their vocabulary grade will consist of homework, spelling quizzes, unit, and review tests. All vocabulary practice and tests related to our literature will count towards their language arts grade.

Religion: Religion is integrated into the entire curriculum. Throughout the year, we talk about Christ’s message in all we do as a class. We will spend time studying the life of St. Ignatius and begin some preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation which they will receive in 8th grade.

We will also use the text: We Live our Faith published by Sadlier.

7th grade will also participate in some service projects this year such as collecting toiletries for Sharing God’s Bounty and singing Christmas Carols at a retirement home.

Mass is on Fridays at 8:00. Please have your child here no later than 7:55

Grading – Their religion grade will be based on in class assignments, homework, group projects, and some tests.

Grading Scale:

96 - 100% A
90 - 95% A-
87 - 89% B+
83 - 86% B
80 - 82% B-
77 - 79% C+
73 - 76% C
70 - 72% C-
67 - 69% D+

63 - 66% D
60 - 62% D-
0 - 59% F

Grade Point Average

All subjects will be counted towards the student’s Grade Point Average (GPA). Subjects will be weighted on the following scale:

Religion, Math, History, Language Arts, Grammar, Science and Vocabulary will have a weight of 4.0.

Physical Education, Computers, Spanish, and Art will have a weight of 1.0

GPA breakdown for our Honor’s System

4.0: High Honors

3.99 – 3.50: First Honors

3.49 – 3.0: Second Honors

Math/History: Steve Grialou

Spanish: Ana Damian

Science: Jen Hammel

Computers: Bob Christensen

PE: Rich Romo

Art: Barbara Domek

Classroom Rules – Your children have been given a set of Classroom Expectations that they have probably shown you by now; many have already returned them signed. If not, they need to be returned to school with your signatures by tomorrow. I have included an extra in your Back to School night folder just in case.

Please pay close attention to the following:

Uniform – No makeup or nail polish allowed at school. Shirts must be tucked in and boys must wear belts.

Homework – All homework must be complete by 8:00 am on the due date. If homework is late, the students will receive detention. For every day that the assignment is late, they will lose points from the assignment. In case of absences, the students have as many days to make up their work as the days they were absent plus one extra day. It is due by 3:00 pm on the "plus" day.

Homework should average 1- 2 hours a night.

Extra Credit – Extra credit will be teacher generated most often in the form of extra quiz and test questions on selected assessments throughout each trimester.

Conduct and Effort Grades reflect an average of grades given by each teacher. In order to qualify for the citizenship award, a 3.5 average in both conduct and effort must be earned.

Positive Management Plan – I use Berghoff Bucks as a reward system in the classroom. They receive these for staying on task, kind acts, displaying great focus or hard work, completing assignments on time, staying in uniform, etc. They can also lose them for poor behavior. We have auctions at the end of every trimester. If you are interested in donating items for our auctions, please let me know.

Detention - If your child receives four detentions in one quarter, the fourth detention will be served on the following Tuesday or Thursday before school at 7:15. All subsequent detentions that quarter will be served at that time. If no appropriate changes are evident, the school administration will discuss the problem with the student. Further disciplinary action by the administration is probable if the problem gets to this point.

Absences – If your child is absent and you need work gathered, please let me know by morning recess and I will have a student leave it in Extended. If I do not hear from you, your child can collect their homework when they return to school. The students will make up missing tests during lunch recess. If they have missed a number of days, they may have to stay late or arrive early to make up their missing tests.

All make up tests for planned absences will take place upon your child’s return. Sometimes this will happen during the following Tuesday or Thursday morning detention.

Communication – If your child is having any problems or is concerned about something, please encourage them to come and talk to me. I will always listen and make time for them.

If you have any questions or ever need to reach me, you can email me at or call me at school please. I will try my best to respond to you within 24 hours.

Baccalaureate – Baccalaureate Mass and brunch are on May 29th, mark your calendars! It is mandatory that every 7th grade family helps with this event. Chair is Cheryl Guidi.

Room Moms – Becky DelPiero

Thank you and I look forward to a great year!

Madeline Berghoff