1. Welcome to SMS Open House Mrs. Julie McLaughlin StingRay 8th Grade English

2. How to get in touch with me: Please feel free to contact me! jmclaughlin@usd345.com My Webpage: Mrs. McLaughlin's WebpageMrs. McLaughlin's Webpage School phone: 286-8400 –Team Time: 9:37-10:26 –Plan Time: 1:38-2:25

3. Our Class This is ______ hour We have ______ students in the class.

4. Units Covered This Year: Curriculum Vocabulary: Review terms for KS Assess Grammar: Parts of speech, sentences, punctuation Drama: The Miracle Worker, The Diary of Anne Frank The Writing Process: 6 Traits of Writing, Paragraphs, Letters Novels: Woods Runner, 2 independent reading book reports Short Stories and Poetry Reading Assessment Preparation Vocabulary and Comprehension Skills Research Unit

5. Homework I generally give homework 3-4 times per week. We keep the textbooks and novels in class, though I have a few copies that can be checked out for homework/make-up purposes. The Literature book can be accessed on-line: www.classzone.com (students were given log-in info during class--yellow folders). www.classzone.com

6. Late Work Policy Students are expected to turn in all assignments on time. However, I will accept an occasional late assignment if it is turned in by the end of the week. –If it has been signed by a parent, the student may receive full credit. –If it does NOT have a parent signature, it will receive 60% credit.

7. PowerSchool Grades will be weighted—each of the following categories will be worth 25% of the overall grade: VocabularyReading Comprehension GrammarWriting & Projects * Typically Mondays are a good day to check PowerSchool.

8. Communication Home Email or call me any time you have a question or concern. Know that if you are signing assignments, it means the student’s homework is late. Students are responsible for copying the agenda on the board into their planner each day.

9. Homework Folder Our team has a homework folder. You should see a yellow folder come home every day. A blue sheet inside the folder lists each day of the 9 weeks. When a student finishes an assignment for a class, s/he will check off the appropriate box. Any blank box indicates the student still needs to complete an assignment for that class. If there is no assignment for a class, the student should write NA in the box. We are attempting to help students keep themselves organized and up-to-date on their assignments using this method.

10. Team Communication We will send a team newsletter electronically around the first of each month. Please make sure the school has your current email address on file. We will also send 2 copies of your student’s grade card home at grade time. Please sign one copy and return it to us the following day. Your student’s Seminar teacher will be collecting the signatures.

11. The Team Newsletter will give... an update about each of the core classes: English, Math, Science, Social Studies upcoming team and school events, deadlines, etc. field trip info. or other special notifications *You will be able to access the team newsletter at the StingRay website as well.

12. Team Website Please visit our StingRay website and my teacher website for more information. You may access both sites at the SMS website. StingRay Webpage

13. Finally... Pleasure Reading Please promote reading at home! Encourage your son/daughter to read for fun outside of school. It truly is the best way for teens to improve vocabulary, reading comprehension, and overall school performance. Our library day is every Thursday. Students may check out books as long as they have their planner with them.

14. Thank you For coming tonight! And for sharing your student with me!