Mr. Rutten's SchoolNotes.com page!Each week,this page will be organized into the following sections : (1) Summary of major highlights during the previous week and special announcements, (2)Current requirements (including homework), (3)upcoming projects , (4)Supernovas Team announcements,(5)recurring requirements, and (6)General comments/class overview.[Since I am also the Supernovas Team Leader, I will use this section to keep you informed of important team/school events and activities]The focus for students should be on sections 2 and 3. Many of the items in section 5 and 6 will not change for the entire year. The information is provided for your information and is made available for you to access at anytime.
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(1) New Announcements for this week / Summary/Highlights of last week:
***Announcements: ** Make up EOG tests this week (if absent last Wed.,Thurs., or Fri.)
*** Summary / Highlights (Last Week) : ** Most students completed Ski Jump mini-project ** 7th Grade Science Common Assessment ** EOG Reading and Math Tests
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***** Current requirements (including homework):
** ( 21 - 25 May 2012) This weeks' highlights: ** Make up EOG tests if students were absent for any test days last week ** Make up 4th quarter 7th Grade Science Common Assessment ** Make up Ski Jumps ** Check Ch 2 textbook work ** Continue Ch. 4 textbook work (skip Ch. 3) - [Due Thursday for bonus points and Friday for regular points] ** Simple machines ** Fact sets / video notes ** Intro to Inventions and famous inventors ** Intro to final 4th Quarter mini-project (Invention project) ** Project Planning/Brainstorming sheet ** Project draft ** Quick Drill #4 ** Quiz #3
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*** Monday (May 21) : Homework: ** Return late signed Interims ** Continue work on Ch. 4 textbook work
***Tuesday (May 22): Homework: ** Continue Ch. 4 textbook work (Due Thurs., for bonus points and Friday for Regular points)
*** Wednesday (May 23): Homework: ** Quick Drill #4 tomorrow (study Ch. 4 Key terms and key concepts) ** Ch. 4 Textbook work tomorrow for early turn in bonus points
*** Thursday (May 24): Homework: ** Quiz #3 tomorrow (Study Ch. 4 Key terms, key concepts , and Monday's video notes) ** Ch. 4 Textbook work due tomorrow for regular points ** Project draft pages due
*** Friday (May 25): Homework: ** No homework ** Have a great Memorial Day holiday weekend!
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***** All students should come to class prepared everyday (supplies, homework, etc.!) - To receive credit, all assignments must be in the class at the beginning of class on the day they are due (sometimes there will be a "surprise" bonus points day) ** Always be ready for notebook / class prep checks.
This schedule is subject to change based on the quantity of material covered in class, weather closings/ delays, conflicts created by other school/ school system requirements, or other unforeseen circumstances.
(3) Projects:*** Mini-project: ** 4th quarter mini-projects -
****** Ski Jump mini-project: most students have already completed this requirement (there are still a few make ups that must be completed. There will still be a contest for prizes. This will involve a competition between the top eight on the team (top two from each period).
****** Invention mini-project: This will be the final project for the year. There will be three levels of project completion that students (with parents guidance) must choose from. Each level involves a different amount of work and will result in different amount of points available. Instructions will be given this week and a handout will be sent home. Please ask your children on Wednesday for the handout. Brainstorming/initial planning sheet due Wednesday. Students will work on draft pages in class on Thursday and Friday. Most students will have draft pages completed by end of the class on Friday. Students should be working on final version on Tuesday and Wednesday of the following week.
(4) Announcements (Including Supernovas/LRMS):
*** Items of interest/deadlines:
Apr 2 - 6 Spring Break
Apr 27 Early Release Day
May 11 Interims sent home
May 15 Return signed interims
May 16-18 EOG Tests
May 28 Holiday
Jun 7 Last day of school this school year
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** Welcome to the Supernovas team. The team consists of very experienced teachers. Carol Brown (Language Arts), Margie Farmer (Math), Maxine Wilson (Social Studies), and David Rutten (Current Supernovas team leader - Science). All of us have taught together in various combinations over the years on several teams here at Leesville.
(5) Recurring requirements:
**Quizzes/tests:Some form of evaluation (quizzes/tests/Grade level common assessment/Quick Drills) will be conducted nearly every week.[Note: approx. Seven out of every nine weeks each quarter] You can normally expect them to be given on Fridays. Make-ups are given on Mondays and Tuesdays. Graded quizzes/tests are returned on Wednesdays or Thursdays (after make ups have been given). All tests must be taken home by students and have them signed by parents and returned to school. Although we would expect all students to share all quiz grades with their parents/guardians, I require that all quizzes with failing grades (less than 70%) must be signed and returned. Quick Drills occasionally are like "mini-pop quizzes" but most often are pre-tests. They are given one or more times a week. They are given for many reasons: encourage early studying for evaluations, determine weaknesses early, allow self-assessments by students to allow them to focus on specific areas prior to quizzes/tests, and allow an increased number of mini-evaluations throughout the quarter to reduce the number of high percentage,high-stakes evaluations. Although they can be "pop" in nature, they can always expect one the day before a quiz or test. The others can come at any time.
** Homework:
We encourage parent support of your child's home work progress; however, we continue to stress the importance of individual responsibility and independent work skills. Each student should have their own assignment notebook (agenda) and we expect all students to record accurate and detailed information about their assignments. We are already initialing a number of student agendas so parents can confirm assignments. These were initiated by parents that have instructed their child to come up to us and get our initials. We acknowledge their initiative to start this process early because they know it works if there is a system of incentives established at home that encourages this process.It is the student's responsibility to approach the teacher to get his/her initials. The agenda can also be used to exchange notes between school and the home.Homework is expected to be in the classroom at the bell. Most "Textbook work" requirements are placed on the board one to one and a half weeks at a time. However, these are normally just checked at the end of the 1 - 1 1/2 week for a single grade. Although this reduces the likelihood of homework everyday, all students are encouraged to keep pace by following the "date assigned" column that appears on the board. The due date will always appear in the homework box on the board in class at least 24-hours before the actual due date. Students that keep pace will never have a problem with the due date. Students that wait until the last minute will of course be in the panic mode the day before it is due. This year I have included "Student Flex Time that will allow students to reduce the amount of homework they have by giving them the opportunity to catch up or get ahead on classroom/homework requirements. Students that use this time effectively will greatly reduce homework time. This year, homework will only count as 10% of their report card grade.
** Extra credit/Bonus points/etc.:
There are many opportunities for students to help improve their grades. At least two extra credit opportunities are provided each quarter to earn "Extra credit." Most involve a writing assignment of some sort;however, a few can be a simple matter of bringing something in that can help someone (donations to the food bank etc.) Extra credit is worth 100 "homework points". It can be used to replace "zeroes" or even to help raise a homework average to make-up for a poor quiz/test grade. This can be used for a "rainy day" or like an insurance policy. A student with a 100 homework average can end up with a homework average over 100 that can make up for any other "problem area(s)." I do not offer any "special request" extra credit chances. No extra credit can be requested just because a student did poorly on a quiz for example. All students must turn in the extra credit by the due date or wait until the next extra credit assignment is assigned. I also offer many bonus point opportunities on quizzes/ tests/ projects. These must be earned. Bonus points are normally awarded for something other than academic reasons. The focus for these points are to encourage positive character traits: turning in signed quizzes or interims on time, coming to class with the required/ instructed item(s), no tardies, low number "discipline points", extra effort, early turn-ins of projects, willing to accept challenges,etc. By paying attention and making an extra effort, students can help themselves.
Notebook/class preparation check:
Periodically there will be unannounced notebook/class prep checks. All students will be required to produce a variety of items that I expect them to have. These items can include notes, worksheets, lab reports, study cards, textbook work, study guides, other handouts, and required supplies,etc. I will schedule occasional notebook clean-out sessions. Until then, students are required to maintain all required items in their binder. The following items do not have to be maintained in the binder; however, I would recommend that you set up a file at home to maintain these: quizzes, tests, project notes, drafts, and other items that may be identified. The at home file is up to you however, they will not be maintained in the binder at school due to space limitations.
(6) General comments/class overview:
**A form that provided an overview of my class (major topics, grades, homework, etc)will be sent home during the first week of school. All students will be required to show the form to their parents, get it signed , return it to school, and then to keep it in their binder (as the first page of the science section). Some of the forms may not signed when checked during the first notebook check. Please ask your child for this so you can read and sign it prior to the second check.
**To meet state of North Carolina Curriculum requirements, we will be using four primary textbooks. Students will not be issued individual textbooks. Students will be using part of a classroom set during class activities. Students will be given access to an on-line version of our textbooks. Instructions will be sent home in the near future. Most students will be provided sufficient time to complete all assigned work that requires a textbook (during "Student Flex time". If necessary, students that do not have access to a computer will be allowed to check out books for a single evening at the end of the day. They will be required to return the textbook during homeroom the next day to ensure that sufficient copies of the book are available for all periods. Most students and parent liked this situation because of the large size of most new school textbooks and the extreme weight of taking multiple books home. We once again stress individual responsibility. If the students are responsible (plan, organize, make a serious effort) then the book issue has never been and will never be an issue.
**Discipline system: The team utilizes a team concept of discipline that is consistent with Wake County and LRMS policy. It ensures a consistent team policy and also encourages individual responsibility and self monitoring. All students will go over the system, school, and team policies and procedures during the first week of school. All students took home forms and booklets to parents that outlined / highlighted these policies. Both student and parents were required to sign various pages. Please look over the school's policy in the student agenda / student handbook. The team policy allows for an intermediate team level consequence for student behavior (for many less serious infractions)rather than going directly to a school administrator. Serious infractions will receive a more rapid response by administrators.
