Middle School Handbook
Table of Contents
2007 - 2008
Page
I. Middle School Mission Statement 2
II. Academics
a. Honor Rolls 2
b. Effort Categories 3
c. Grading Scale 4
d. Acceptable Use Policy 5
e. Academic Honesty 6
f. Study Tips 6
III. Discipline and Dress Code 8
IV. Community Service Philosophy 10
V. Resources
a. Wellness Resources
1. Hotline numbers 11
b. Individual Subject Pages
1. English 11
2. Math 13
3. History 14
4. Languages 15
5. Science 16
6. Miscellaneous
a. Forum requirements 17
b. Useful websites 19
c. Library resources 20
d. Research guidelines 20
e. Business letter format 22
VI. Student Council
1. Mission Statement 23
2. Roles 23
3. Election Process 24
Middle School Handbook
Middle School Mission Statement
The Bancroft Middle School strives to develop confident learners who are well prepared to address the challenges in our Upper School and in life. In a safe, rigorous, and experiential learning environment, dedicated teachers promote independent organizational skills and manage each student’s transition to more abstract and inferential thinking. Students are steeped in a culture of compassion and respect. Through our community service program and a curriculum that celebrates world cultures, they learn to think beyond themselves and to embrace their roles as global citizens.
Academics
HONOR ROLLS
The Middle School recognizes three honor rolls: high honors, honors, and effort honors. The honor rolls are determined at the end of the year and announced at the Middle School Closing Ceremony.
High Honors
Students must have an academic average of A- with no grade below C, including physical education, in order to attain High Honors.
Honors
Students must have an academic average of B+ with no grade below C, including physical education, in order to attain Honors.
Honor Roll of Outstanding Effort
The Honor Roll of Outstanding Effort is comprised of those students – who in the opinion of the faculty – have shown outstanding effort in all classes in the areas of class participation, homework preparation, test preparation, class notes, and have also shown a high level of intellectual curiosity that is the hallmark of every learner.
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Effort Categories
The following effort categories will be used on trimester comments:
Excellent
Excellent effort is demonstrated when the student either has excellent intellectual curiosity as shown by the pursuit of knowledge for reasons beyond getting good grades, or the student demonstrates outstanding effort that is above and beyond expectations.
Very Good
Effort that is characterized as “very good” means that the student participates in class discussions by asking and answering questions. Homework is consistently prepared with thought and care. Class notes are an accurate record and the student’s binder is well organized. The student is a respectful participant in group projects. Tests and announced quizzes are prepared for with thought and care. The student seeks extra help when needed. The student’s behavior in class is consistently supportive of the learning environment.
Good
Good effort is demonstrated when the student follows the class discussion and is able to answer questions but may not always ask questions for extension or clarification. Homework is generally prepared with thought and care. The student seeks extra help but may need to be reminded by the teacher. The student is a productive member of group activities. Class notes are a reasonable reflection of the material covered in class. There is clear evidence that the student has studied for tests and announced quizzes.
Needs Improvement
The student that demonstrates effort that “needs improvement” is not able to participate in the class discussion on a regular basis. Homework is prepared, but it does not show sufficient detail and may be sloppy. Little effort is made to make up missing assignments. The student comes for extra help only after repeated requests from the teacher. The subject binder is messy and disorganized.
Insufficient
Effort that is “insufficient” means that the student is rarely able to participate in the class discussion. The student is frequently not focused on the class discussion. Homework is frequently not completed on time or with sufficient care. The student does not come for extra help and demonstrates little concern that his/her grades do not reflect the student’s ability.
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Grading Scale
A 93-100
A- 90-92
B+ 87-89
B 83-86
B- 80-82
Acceptable Use Policy
Each student is required to sign the School’s Acceptable Use Policy. While the School is constantly trying to promote the use of technology, computers should only be used for academic purposes. You are not allowed to use the computers unless you are working on an assignment or you have the permission of a teacher. Specifically, you should not:
· download music or games,
· use the internet to check your personal email account, or
· use the internet to play games.
Additionally, the information that is stored in your student folder should only be information that is required for your classes. You should never provide another student with your password.
Academic Honesty
“Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people.”
Spencer Johnson
Academic honesty is telling the truth about what you know on your homework, your quizzes, your tests, and your projects. The information that you give must be based on your knowledge. While it is obviously impossible to list every form of academic dishonesty, you should never:
· copy another student’s homework, or provide homework for someone to copy;
· receive or give information about a quiz/test; or
· talk to another student or look at another student’s paper during a test or quiz.
Sometimes you may not be sure if it is appropriate to share your work. Can you work with another student on a homework assignment or copy someone’s class notes? When you are not certain, you should always check with a teacher.
Plagiarism is a specific form of academic dishonesty where one presents the work of someone else as his or her own. Plagiarism prevents you from learning the information. When you are using outside resources to support a research paper you should always:
· cite (author, title, internet address, etc.) the resource if you use the ideas of someone else;
· if you have a short quote where you use the exact words from someone else, you should put the words in quotation marks and cite the resource; and
· if you use a direct quote that is longer than a sentence, you should indent the words and cite the source.
Specific techniques on how to cite a source are provided by the librarian and your classroom teachers.
Incidents of academic dishonesty can result in failing the assignment and an automatic detention.
Study Tips
Learning what methods to use to help understand and remember information is one of the most important things you will do in the Middle School. The following guidelines will be useful in any grade.
Studying at Home
·Find an area that is well lit and free from distractions.
·Find a place to store your school materials.
·As soon as you complete your work, put your work and books in your book bag.
Organizing Yourself
·Prioritize your work – you may decide to do your hardest assignment first and then do the easiest last as a reward.
·Check off your assignments as you do them – this will give you a sense of accomplishment.
·Choose one day every week to clean out your book bag and go through your notebooks. Reorganize anything that’s not in order.
·Break long-term projects down into manageable steps and write them in your plan book. This will allow you to get your work done on time and without stress.
Preparing for Tests, Quizzes and Exams
·Study actively – list ideas, recite information out loud, write questions you think might be asked, have someone quiz you on important facts.
·Use old tests and quizzes to study from – analyze the type of questions missed.
·Space out review to avoid last minute cramming of information.
Stress
·Remember: the more prepared you are, the more confident you will be. At times you may be faced with a stressor in your life. Here are a few ways people have found to cope with stress:
·Work out – get some physical exercise.
·Tell someone how you feel – talking about your feelings can help you feel better.
·Take a break from the pressure – take a look at your schedule and see if you can make some changes to make life a little easier.
·Analyze your thinking – change negative thoughts into positive ones.
Discipline Section
The goal of our discipline system is to support your ability to make independent and responsible decisions. Ideally, you will be making good decisions because you have thought about the values of your parents, the values of the school, and most importantly, your values. We also recognize that you may not always make good decisions, so we have different consequences to address poor decisions. The School’s Code of Conduct and Discipline Policy are further outlined in Part IV (the Parent/Student Handbook) of the Bancroft School Directory.
Infraction
An infraction is a written warning. It is a reminder that your behavior was inappropriate. Infractions need to be signed by your parent and returned to your advisor. Lateness – students who arrive in their advisories after 7:50 a.m. will be marked late. If you are late three times in one trimester you will be given an infraction. If you have three infractions in three months, you need to serve a detention.
Citation
A citation is a written warning that you are not prepared for class. Generally, they are written when your homework is incomplete or not done. They can also be written if you have forgotten required materials for class. Citations need to be signed by your parent and returned with the completed assignment to the teacher issuing the citation. If you get two citations that are not signed with the work returned in one week you will have an Academic Detention on Friday afternoon. If you get three citations in one week – regardless of the work being completed and the citation being signed – you will have an Academic Detention on Friday afternoon.
Detention
Detentions are served on Friday afternoon from 3 PM-4 PM. Any faculty member or administrator may issue a detention. Your parents will be notified of the assigned date by a written notice or phone call. You must receive permission from Mr. Jones if you need to change the date of your detention. During the detention you will quietly write a reflective essay detailing:
· a description of the infractions – just the facts;
· an explanation of why the action is a problem in the eyes of the school; and
· what you will do to ensure that the behavior will not happen again.
You will take the essay home and have it signed by your parents. It should be returned to the Discipline Dean who will then forward it to Mr. Jones.
Dress Code
The purpose of a dress code is to encourage students to be neat and clean, modest, and well groomed. Concern for personal appearance is an indication of self-respect and courtesy for others. Each student is expected to dress accordingly. Dress should be appropriate and not distracting to other students or teachers. The following regulations aim to cultivate a sense of appropriateness. Interpretation of the dress code is made by the Head of Middle School.
General Guidelines
• Students must wear neat, clean, properly fitted clothing that is not ripped, torn, revealing or frayed.
• Hair should be neat, clean, and of a natural hair color.
• Jewelry and other accessories must not be garish or distracting.
• Piercing any part of one’s body other than the ear is not permitted. No visible tattoos are permitted.
· Hats may be worn to school, but they should be kept in your locker during the school day.
Boys may wear:
• pants or walking shorts.
• a collared or non-collared shirt.
Shirts must not have any writing or pictures (beyond small brand-name insignias) on them.
Undershirts should not hang below dress code compliant outerwear.
• a sweater or Bancroft sweatshirt.
• shoes, sneakers, or sandals (although sandals are not recommended in science labs).
Girls may wear any of the above. In addition, they may wear
• a skirt or a dress. Skirts must reach a point midway between the fingertips and the knee. Shorts must have a five inch inseam. These guidelines apply to dress down days, dances and other school functions.
• a blouse.
On dress up days, boys will wear dress slacks, shirt, tie, and dress shoes. Boys will wear jackets at the Academic Awards and the Closing Ceremonies. Girls will wear dresses, skirts, or dress pants and blouses and dress shoes.
Not permitted: Athletic gear, warm-up suits, sweat pants, blue denim or anything that resembles blue denim, painters’ or work pants, halters, tank tops, military clothing, beach wear, undershirts as outerwear, tie-dyed shirts or blouses.
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Community Service Philosophy
"Service learning is about helping our young people grow up to understand the connection between living and learning, what it means to be an adult, what it means to live as a citizen in a free and ‘civil’ society, and what it means to live as a truly compassionate and caring human being."
~ Carol Kinsley, Director of the Community Service Learning Center
In order to accomplish these goals and bring our curriculum to life, students will have a number of experiences performing community service in their middle school years. Service projects are a natural extension of the sixth grade Worcester-based US History class, the seventh grade English and advisory theme of tolerance, and even the annual eighth grade play. Bancroft is also the regional host of the annual March of Dimes walkathon. Around the winter holidays, advisories shop for an adopted family provided by local agencies and conduct an extensive toy drive. Along with teachers and parent volunteers, all students also devote at least nine hours each year to community service in a small, mixed-grade group at one of fifteen local agencies.