Shamou drummer visits MAMS

Several of my homeroom students were asked to participate in today's assembly. Ask you child if they, or a friend, were on stage today.

Gulf of Maine Research Institute Field Trip, 3

Gulf of Maine Research Institute Field Trip, 2

Gulf of Maine Research Institute Field Trip

Here are a few pictures from my homeroom's field trip experience on Tuesday. Great stuff!

Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences

By now parents should have received their sign up sheet for parent-student-teacher conferences. Parents-Students who have not received confirmation of the appointment need to contact the student's homeroom teacher. Students should make every attempt to be present during the conference so that they may hear, first hand, their teachers' comments on their progress so far this year.

Conferences will be held with the student's homeroom teacher in their homeroom space. The homeroom teacher will share notes and information from the other classroom teachers, not just from the subject they teach. Each conference will last between 15-20 minutes. If a family thinks they will need longer to conference they are asked to contact the homeroom teacher so that an alternative time and/or appointment can be made. Out of respect for all families we ask that everyone be on time. One late family can throw the entire evenings schedule off.

We look forward to meeting with all our families.

NECAP Testing

Here we go again! Yes, the students are taking another round of tests called the NECAPS. This is the test that is required by the state to make sure no child is left behind and replaces the MEAs we used to take. Staff found out Tuesday that the testing will begin on Friday and be over next Wednesday, unless a child needs to take a make up test. The kids will be taking two 90 minute tests each day. Please make sure your child is getting plenty of sleep and eats a good breakfast before coming to school. Also, MAMS does have a breakfast program at school so students can buy breakfast if they miss it at home.

For those of you willing to donate snacks for the team, please try to send in enough for at least 25 children. If you would like some ideas for healthy snacks please see the list below.



Foods and Beverages to Fuel the Brain

* String Cheese & Triscuits

* Mini whole grain bagels and light cream cheese


* Little yogurts
with spoons

* Hummus and vegetables


* Focaccia bread


* Cold plain pizza


* Plain Popcorn


* Cut-up fruit in little baggies


* Fruit kabobs


* Dried fruit mixed with Cheerios


* Little sandwiches (sandwiches cut in quarters)


* Low fat, low sugar quick breads (banana, pumpkin, cranberry)


* 100% juice
 with cups or individual containers

* Cider
 with cups or individual containers

* Orange Juice
with with cups or individual containers

* Bottles of Water


* Yogurt Drinks.

Grading Breakdown for Sixth Grade Math 2010-2011

Summative (Assessments) 100%

Students entire letter grade is based on their ability to complete assessments independently and accurately.

Short weekly quizzes will assess the skill/s being learned and practiced each week. Unit tests, approximately seven, will ask students to show what they have learned during the entire unit of study. Both types of assessments will be graded using the following scale:

E or 4 Exceeding standards
Shows complete understanding and can apply them in new situations without explicit instruction

M or 3 Meeting standards
Shows understanding of goals taught by independently solving problems

P or 2 Partially meeting standards
Shows partial understanding of goals or complete understanding with some prompting

N or 1 Not meeting standards
Can only show understanding with help

0
Shows no evidence of understanding even with help


Each score will be averaged at the end of the quarter to reflect a letter grade. The new guidelines for these grades are outlined below.


4 Point Grading Scale for Academic Performance:

3.85 - 4.00 A+ Consistently Exceeding Standards
3.50 - 3.84 A Blend of Exceeding with Meeting
3.25 - 3.49 B+ Blend of Meeting with Exceeding
2.75 - 3.24 B Consistently Meeting Standards
2.25 - 2.74 C+ Blend of Meeting with Partially Meeting
2.00 - 2.24 C Consistently Partially Meeting Standards
1.00. - 1.99 D Not Meeting Standards
0.00 - 0.99 F Student Failed to Engage in Learning


Formative (Practice)

Classwork and homework are opportunities to practice skills being taught. These practice assignments will not count toward the subject letter grade. Feedback will be provided to students on these assignments and will be recorded in Infinite Campus using the marks shown below. Students will still be expected to complete and pass in work on time.

Teachers will keep track of work completed using:

Y Yes the work was completed/attempted
N No the work was not done or passed in

AND / OR

4 or E Exceeds - see description above
3 or M Meets - see description above
2 or P Partially - see description above
1 or N Not Meeting - see description above

*The actual grading for this work, however, will now fall under the Work Habits section of the progress report and report card. These grades will be entered every two weeks. Below are the Work Habits and the scale used:

Conducts Self Respectfully
*Completes Assignments On Time and Is Prepared for Class
Puts Forth Best Effort to Produce Quality Work
Engages in Class

4 Consistently / Independently
3 Usually
2 Inconsistently / Sometimes
1 Rarely


School Honor Roll

Students who earn As in all their SUBJECTS and 4s on all their WORK HABITS will be on High Honor Roll.

Students who earn As and Bs in all their SUBJECTS and 3s and 4s on all their WORK HABITS will be on the Honor Roll.

Letter grades below a B and/or work habits below a 3 will keep a student off the Honor Roll.