Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions
of students and parents.
- What goes on during activity period?
- What are my options if I am not able to schedule a conference during district assigned
- How is honor roll determined?
- What can I expect from a student led conference?
- How are field trips handled?
- What do I do when my child is ill for school?
- How do I contact the team?
- What are the Fire and Ice Classes?
- How do I check for my son/daughter’s homework schedule?
- What is a mosaic schedule?
- What are common assessments and why do we have them?
- How do I pre-pay my child’s cafeteria account?
- What do you do if you forgot your parent portal password?
- What are 4sight assessments all about?
- What is the school-wide Study Island assignment?
- What is the school-wide read?
- What is the Talon Club?
- What is meant by the club period?
What goes on during activity period?
Our Activity Period is utilized for activities, clubs, and
programs, allows students time for remediation and seek tutorial
help, maintains academic programs that enhance student learning
techniques and skills, and has had allowed students to prepare
for their academic day. .Some of the programs being held during
the six day cycle include:
2 days are available for math tutoring (3 grade level teachers
are available)
1 day is available for science tutoring (3 grade level teachers
are available)
1 day is available for language arts tutoring (3 grade level
teachers are available)
3 days are available for peer tutoring
1 day is utilized for school-wide sustained reading
2 days yearbook meets
1 days student council meets
1 day best buddies meet
1 day SADD meets
1 days school newspaper meets
1 day National Junior Honor Society meets
1 day Make-A-Wish foundation Club meets
3 days computer labs are available
2 days each grade level individual students are involved in PSSA
tutorial programs
1 day is available for clubs (every other cycle)
**Note: A student may seek help from their classroom teachers
during any day other than PSSA Program or Club days.
What are my options if I am not able to schedule a conference during district assigned
The Middle School Administration realizes that not every parent
is able to schedule a parent/teacher conference during the school
calendar scheduled times. There are only enough time slots for 55
conferences per team and roughly 130 students on each team. The
time limitations are created for many reasons. We are already
shortening three academic days to accommodate the conferences. To
accommodate more half days is not in the best interest of our
academic goals. Individual buildings cannot just add half days to
the schedule (even if we wanted to) due to the coordination of
each district buildings bus schedules. The reason for the
coordination of bus schedules was to serve as cost reduction of
School District funds. We no longer need to run separate or
double bus runs in the same day. The teacher's contract also
limits the number of hours spent after school or evenings to
perform the conferences. We understand that it is often important
for everyone to get the opportunity to have "face to face" time
with the staff. The teams are available to meet with parents
during their team times on any day except Wednesdays (reserved
for curriculum meetings). A parent simply needs to call the team
leader and schedule that meeting.
All spring conferences will be "student led" conferences.
This will require some planning and training with staff and
students. Student led conferences will allow us to accommodate
nine or more conferences at the same time, as we are allowing our
students to take on the responsibility for their own learning.
Parents will be able to talk to individual staff members if
needed and parents will also be able to meet with Fire and Ice
Teachers to discuss progress in their curricular areas as well.
Major issues or concerns can be handled at individual meetings
with the team or a conference call. We are excited about this new
approach and will create more of a dialogue between students,
parents, and staff.
How is honor roll determined?
Students need to achieve a 3.5 or higher in every academic and
fire and ice class during the trimester grading period. To
achieve honor roll, students need to achieve a 3.0 or higher in
every academic and fire and ice class during the trimester
grading period.
What can I expect from a student led conference?
The information was from a recent document given to all parents.
Student Led Conferences
1- Please use the bus parking lot and enter the building through
the courtyard entrance (next to Friedenstahl Avenue).
2- When entering the building there will be a table that lists
the room numbers to be used for the conferences. Grab a snack
and a drink located at the table and continue to the assigned
classroom. Your son/daughter will be very helpful guiding you
to the appropriate hallway.
3- When entering the assigned room, a staff member will guide
you to the appropriate area. Keep in mind there will be three
conferences going on at the same time. We have scheduled a
half an hour per conference, but take as long as you like.
There will be two staff members from the team assigned to each
classroom to assist your needs.
4- At your conference area, there will be several items to help
the conference go as smooth as possible.
1- A red card (questions) and a green card (thumbs up)
placed on the desks. Red means student needs help or
parents have a question or a request to talk to a
particular staff member on a selected piece of work.
Green means everything is good and at that time need
no assistance.
2- A student agenda will available to use (or not use).
There are simple suggestions and cues to help our
students have a successful conference.
3- A suggested list of parent questions to ask your
son/daughter is also available. These questions are
designed to increase the depth of the conversation and
gain a clearer insight to your child’s thoughts and
processes.
5- Students will begin the conference by welcoming you and
explaining the process of the portfolio, the student academic
and citizenship goals set at the beginning of the, year, a
self analysis on how they see themselves as a learner. Take a
good look at these key pieces of your son/daughter’s insights.
Begin reviewing each piece of work in the portfolio. Ask key
questions and for detailed explanations of the student work
provided.
6- If you need to see a staff member who is not in the room
simply use the red card and request. The staff in the room
will direct that person to you.
7- When the conference ends, please take time to fill out our
parent survey. This will help us to make improvements to next
year’s program.
8- Please visit other curricular areas of our building. An art
show will be going on in the large group instruction room
(upstairs at the top of the center stairwell) Also, all Fire
and Ice classes will have various projects on display. Ask
about student projects in computers class,career/informational
literacy, community living, foods, drama, music lab,
technology education, wellness and fitness.
How are field trips handled?
The Middle School often visits places or events as an extension
of the curriculum and create diverse learning opportunities. The
Middle School Teams rely on students and parents to follow the
procedures that are well communicated to everyone. Permission
slips may seem to be a bother and an item that is easily
forgotten. However, without it, students are not permitted to
attend the trip/event. Second is payment, all of our field trips
are funded by students participating in school-wide fundraising,
or paying the costs themselves. The trips require teams to
purchase tickets and bus contracts in advance. The costs are
often determined by the number of students attending. When a
large percentage of students fail to meet required deadlines,
trips/events have to be cancelled due to the increase cost. Keep
in mind, that there will be no refunds once bus/tickets are
purchased for the field trip. There are no monies set aside to
cover a refund.
What do I do when my child is ill for school?
Please call the Attendance Hotline when your son/daughter will be
absent from school. The message should contain the students name,
grade or team, and an indication as to the reason for the
absence. This simple phone call will alleviate a call home from
our secretarial staff.
The number to call is: (484) 292-1020
How do I contact the team?
The academic teams have special times when all instructors are
available everyday, with the exception of Wednesdays. The teams
will be sending you a team letter that will specify the phone
number and specific times to call. It will also be located in the
student/parent handbook given to each student at the beginning of
the school year. You may also visit the middle school web site
and click on the team and individual teacher to contact them.
What are the Fire and Ice Classes?
The Fire and Ice classes are sometimes called the exploratory
classes. The Fire classes meet all year at various times
throughout the six day cycle. The classes include; Computer
Education (2 times per cycle), Physical Education (2 times per
cycle) and Wellness (Health and Fitness)(2 times per cycle). The
Ice classes are six 30 day mini courses. Students are rotated
through the six classes throughout the year. They include
Drama/Theatre, Music, Art, Tech. Education, Family Consumer
Science, and Informational Literacy.
How do I check for my son/daughter’s homework schedule?
Each staff member has a teacher web page, located off of the
middle school home page. Our staff updates daily all assignments,
announcements, upcoming projects, and other information about the
course or instructor. Parents and students are free to check each
class daily.
What is a mosaic schedule?
The Nazareth Area Middle School utilizes a modified mosaic
schedule. The modified mosaic schedule allows the academic core
schedule to rotate throughout the year. The second trimester will
mark the first change in the schedule. What this means for
students and teachers is; classes will be rotated down one
academic period each marking period. The concept allows students
and teachers to change up the yearly schedule and see each other
at different times of the day. Therefore, a student will not have
the same academic class the last period of the day throughout the
year or the same academic class after lunch throughout the year.
We believe that students and staff "peak" at various times in the
day and all will benefit from the changes. The modified mosaic
schedule will not change the level of the class or the curriculum
delivered, just the time it meets during the day. We also will be
rotating team schedules each trimester. Thus, each grade level
team will be linked with a different grade level team each
trimester. This assures that at sometime during the year, all
students will be able to mingle everyone in their grade.
What are common assessments and why do we have them?
Did you ever experience one teacher being much harder than
another? Why would one teacher spend six weeks on a topic and
another only two? How can we begin to address curricular and
student issues if we are teaching different curriculums and using
different assessments? The standards based grading system
incorporates common assessments. The reason is to ensure all
students are being exposed to the same curriculum and
assessments. Assessments drive instruction, allow for proper
remediation in specific skills, and allow staff to use student
data to make curricular changes and improvements. We want all
students to be exposed to the same curriculum and instructional
practices. Therefore, if all students are being tested by the
same grading tool, then the entire curriculum must be covered
equally. The methodology used to get students to be successful on
the assessment may vary from instructor to instructor, but the
assessment tool will be the same for all students.
How do I pre-pay my child’s cafeteria account?
Simply write out a check to: NAMS Cafeteria. Make sure you put
your child’s name on the memo section of the check and place in
an envelope marked with your child’s name. Your son/daughter will
hand this in to his/her homeroom teacher and we take care of the
rest.
What do you do if you forgot your parent portal password?
Unfortunately, for security issues, we are not allowed to give
you a password over the phone or e-mail. Parents will have to
come to the middle school guidance office with proper
identification. Our administrative assistant will then give you
the password.
What are 4sight assessments all about?
The 4Sight assessments are valid, reliable and aligned to our
Pennsylvania State Standards and the PSSA Assessments given in
the spring. The Nazareth Area Middle School administers the
4Sight assessment four times a year. The 4Sight assesment data
is used to make instructional decisions for teachers and
students. The 4sight program allows us to look at areas of
concern and address them through daily or individual instruction.
What is the school-wide Study Island assignment?
Study Island is a web based program built from the Pennsylvania
State Standards. This program provides instruction, practice and
assessment in reading and math. Students can access this program
through any computer that has internet access. Students may use
study island at any time throughout the school year. The
Nazareth Area Middle School has an annual school wide study
island assignment. This assignment is designed to provide
instruction and practice on our state standards, which will help
them during the PSSA Assessments in the spring. The students who
complete this assignment are rewarded with a ticket to attend a
night time special event at the middle school. This event
includes games, food and awesome prizes!
What is the school-wide read?
Next school year, we will be having our 2nd school wide read at
the Nazareth Area Middle School. During this time, staff and
students all read the same text at the same time. After reading,
everyone participates in a fun, engaging activity centered around
the text that was just read. The engaging activities utilize and
practices Reading Apprenticeship strategies. The strategiess
taught to students are helpful no matter what reading level a
student may be. Reading is a big initiative at the middle school
and this school-wide project helps in our efforts to build a
school of readers.
What is the Talon Club?
The Talon Club was started last year to recognize students who
are excellent role models in our school. The students are
selected by each team of teachers every six weeks. The selection
criteria used is a combination of good work habits, good
citizenship qualities, school spirit, positive attitude, and
characteristics that exhibit a caring person. The student
recognized receives a framed certificate, a parent letter sent
home, and their picture displayed in our main hallway where we
honor our Talon Club Members. Promoting students to display
positive personality traits and enhancing student character is an
important part of our school. The Talon Club recognizes that type
of student and helps us accomplish our goal.
What is meant by the club period?
Clubs are held every other Wednesday in the fall and spring
during the activity period and occurs throughout the entire
building. All staff, including Specialists, Guidance, and
Administration are sponsoring a club that exposes students
to "fun" activities and allows them to escape from the rigors of
the academic setting. Some past clubs we have offered include,
strat-o-matic baseball, whiffleball, knitting, walking, yoga,
weightlifting, pilates, kayaking, scrap-booking, World War II,
board games, quoits, flag football, field hockey, soccer, movie
review, etc. Mr. Zemanick has done a great job in organizing the
project and our students have responded with much enthusiasm and
excitement.
