Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions of students and parents.
- Can my child do extra credit to help raise his/her grade?
- Why is my child's backpack so heavy?
- Does my child need to go to outdoor school?
- Are parents needed to help work in classrooms the way they used to
Can my child do extra credit to help raise his/her grade?
I rarely, if ever, give extra credit. I always tell my students to study
hard the first time around, so there won't be a need for extra credit. I
used to allow extra credit until I realized it was twice as much work for me,
and I wasn't the one who blew it in the first place. That practice came to a
screeching halt shortly thereafter.
Why is my child's backpack so heavy?
Your child has a homeroom desk in which to place all of his/her materials.
Both block teachers communicate regularly to make sure not to assign too many
books to go home daily. We often find that with 6th graders they feel the
need to take everything home every day. This philosophy makes for a very
heavy backpack unnecessarily. We try to emphasize that just the books
assigned for that night's homework should go home. There are some solutions
like: purchasing a rolling backpack, or getting another copy of the text from
the librarian to keep at home. (We can't do this for all students, but if
your child is really having a hard time with this, we can do it.) Also at
Back-to-School Night I sent home information about how to get both of our
textbooks on-line. For those of you who were unable to attend, I sent this
home the following day with your child. Hopefully you received this packet.
Does my child need to go to outdoor school?
No, HOWEVER, Outdoor school is part of 6th grade curriculum and is, by far,
the highlight of most students' 6th grade year. I highly recommend having
your child attend! If s/he does not attend s/he will be placed on the other
6th grade team for the week. I'll be going too, so s/he will have lots of
familiar friendly faces to help ward off home sickness.
Are parents needed to help work in classrooms the way they used to
Many teachers would welcome the idea of help from another adult.
Unfortunately, many students die just thinking of having Mom or Dad show
their faces on campus. Contact your child's teacher and let him/her know
what you could help with and what days/times work for you. It's a great way
to stay connected to your child, and his/her school and teachers. Plus you
always have interesting dinnertime conversation!
