2. Curriculum Night

3. Thanks! Thank you so much for coming to Curriculum Night for Team 8R! We know you are very busy, so we’ll try to tell you as much as possible in the time we have.

4. From the Office -Parent may preview the materials being used in this year’s Puberty, Sex Education, and Aids Education Classes tonight in the Counselor’s Suite – Rm. 119 -School Council Elections are taking place in the Media Center – please stop by and vote!

5. Discipline Behavior Card There will be a discipline behavior card stapled into the back of your student’s agenda this year. Please check it often to keep up with how things are going at school re: behavior. If you have any questions or concerns, email the teacher directly, please.

6. Distribution List If you’d like to be added to the team distribution list, please email Mrs. Lanter. We sent out several reminders about tonight. If you didn’t get them, just email Mrs. Lanter to be added. Each homeroom also has a PTSA rep who will occasionally send out emails. You can get added to that list through PTSA or your homeroom teacher.

7. 8R Important Dates 2013-2014 September 16-20 – Fall Break October 14-18 – ITBS Testing December 22-January3 – Winter Break January 22 – Writing Assessment Test February 17-21 – Midwinter Break March 31- April 4 – Spring Break April 16-26 – GCRCT Testing May 29 – Last Day of School/Chiefs Walk

8. Aspen Parent Portal For those who do not currently have an account, the parent/guardian may email the school at @cherokee.k12.ga.us to request an account. In the message subject line please place “Family Portal Request.” An email will be sent to them explaining how to access the portal. @cherokee.k12.ga.us

9. Teacher Websites Our websites are all set up with tabs to divide the site. Each site is a little different, but they all contain three important elements: recent work that can be downloaded for use at home, helpful sites, and homework assignments.

10. Attendance See page 4 in the agenda Excuse notes should be sent in the day student returns to school and should include ID#; student’s first and last name; date of absence; reason for absence; and parent signature. E-mailed notes cannot be accepted. Notes sent six days or longer after the absence will not be excused. Please DO NOT plan appointments or trips during testing weeks. See page 6 of the CCSD handbook and discipline code.

11. 8 th Grade Expectations Think “long term” about high school/college Promotion Guidelines Decide on track (honors, college prep, technical) and work towards it starting now Talk to high school students/parents, particularly in 9 th grade Visit colleges/technical schools Be responsible for self – NO excuses

12. Study Skills Now is the time to move from written down = homework to studying every class every night. Students should also use calendars for long- range planning. HW should consistently be 1 hour. If students don’t do work/begin work when assigned, it can snowball. Work will get progressively harder as the year continues.

13. T-shirts Students will vote on the design for the t-shirts. Students can submit a design for the contest. The kids will get the shirts and then be asked to wear them several times during the year. The contest will start this week. Order forms can be found on teacher websites - $10. 8R

14. Homework and Grades Check for homework nightly Students should expect homework regularly. Please plan accordingly. HW should be around 1 hour per night. If it is consistently more or less, please email us. All teachers have websites and emails please feel free to use them often.

15. Websites and HW If your student struggles with HW completion, you can use the website to see exactly what happened and what is due the next day. If an assignment is on the website as HW, it has NOT been collected. We don’t accept homework early. This is also a useful tool if your student is absent, checks out early, or is tardy.

16. Websites vs Aspen Parent Portal The teacher websites are different from Aspen Parent Portal. The websites have assignments/hw ahead of time. Aspen Parent Portal gives you the grades AFTER the fact.

17. Aspen Parent Portal Check Aspen Parent Portal at least once a week. Sign up for notifications when grades are below what you find acceptable. (Most parents use 70%.)

18. Teacher Websites Georgia History Mrs. Lanter: http://mysite.cherokee.k12.ga.us/personaldebbie_lanter/site/default.aspx Language Arts Mrs. Herrera: http://mysite.cherokee.k12.ga.us/personal/laura_herrera/site/default.aspx Math Miss Brown: http://mysite.cherokee.k12.ga.us/personal/haley_brown/site/default.aspx Reading Mrs. Yursis: http://mysite.cherokee.k12.ga.us/personal/kathryn_yursis/site/default.aspx Science Mr. Wagoner: http://mysite.cherokee.k12.ga.us/personal/phil_wagoner/site/default.aspx

19. Additional Teachers Websites Spanish Mrs. Castrillon http://mysite.cherokee.k12.ga.us/personal/elizabeth_castrillon/site/default.aspx REP Reading/ESOL Mrs. Mills: http://mysite.cherokee.k12.ga.us/personal/mary_mills/site/default.aspx Special Education Mrs. Artessa http://mysite.cherokee.k12.ga.us/personal/rebecca_artessa/site/default.aspx Mrs. Davis http://mysite.cherokee.k12.ga.us/personal/bridget_davis/site/default.aspx Mrs. Harper http://mysite.cherokee.k12.ga.us/personal/misty_harper/site/default.aspx?Page View=Shared Mrs. Petersen http://mysite.cherokee.k12.ga.us/personal/lisa_petersen/site/default.aspx

20. High School Placement High school placement can be affected by all grades in all classes. Placement can also be affected by ITBS scores, Writing Assessment scores, and GCRCT scores. GCRCT is a promotion test. ITBS and Writing Assessment are placement tests. Both are important.

21. High School Recommendations Guidance counselors at Sequoyah are suggesting students take 1 or 2 honors classes in 9 th grade if they’re going to try the Honors track. Students should choose the classes they want to attempt based on their interest and their future goals. If planning on a career in medicine, for example, they should go Honors in math/science.

22. Honors/Academic Curiosity Things have changed a LOT since the HOPE grant. Colleges can be really picky. If your student is considering a Tier 1 school like UGA, GA Tech, or Berry, student will need Honors classes in addition to an excellent GPA and extracurriculars.

23. Technical Schools Technical schools used to be for students who could not go to college. Now, many jobs require technical school vs college. There is real money, challenge, and advancement capability in technical school. HOPE also pays for more of it in most cases.

24. We could use your help We still need lots and lots of tissues. Don’t forget the t-shirt orders and money. We need parent volunteers for activities, field trips, and assistance with copying.

25. Thanks! Thanks again for coming tonight! Remember to email us any time if you have questions or concerns!

26. Are there any questions?