Welcome to the Land of Ites!

As we begin our journey together this next school year, I will periodically post information on this blog page to keep you informed and to answer questions. This is just a review of what we have covered these first few days of the school year:

All school and middle school rules apply in my room. If you want to keep it simple, think RESPECT: respect God, yourself, those around you, your teacher, and all equipment. This is a safe place for your body and your ideas; everyone's opinion is valid (deserves attention) and everyone is equal.

I am huge on scheduling and planning ahead. There will be calendars on-line, on the board in the MS hallway, and in my classroom. This may be THE MOST IMPORTANT skill you learn this year; try to take advantage of it.

I am also big on students learning responsibility for their things and actions. I will be handing out assignments in class ONCE; all will be posted on-line, so if you loose or forget your copy, it is YOUR (the student's) RESPONSIBILITY to make another (hint: try printing it off-line from home or school).

Regarding testing: I believe in testing you over what you know. I do not give pop quizzes, I do not add additional information to tests, and I let you know ahead of time what will be covered on all assessments. For every project, I give a rubric. Therefore, if you have questions about an assignment, the time to ask them is BEFORE the assignment is due.

I post grades on Edline each week, and expect both parents and students to be aware of their current grades. All work that is given to help students learn a skill (formative work) is scored using a 1-4 scoring system; those grades are also entered into Edline, but are worth zero in the overall grading. That being said, a student who receives a score that is less than a 3 is expected to redo that work until it is of 3 or 4 quality. Those scores will be changed in Edline as students continue to improve their work quality. When students complete work showing their mastery of a skill (summative work), that work will be entered into Edline with a numerical grade. With the exception of a student failing an assignment, these numerical grades will not be changed after being completed.

If you have any questions, the fastest and easiest way to get a hold of me is to email me at cites@sainttheresaiowa.org. I can also be reached at the school office 277-0178. I have a young child and live 35 miles from Des Moines, and will need at least a 1-day notice in order to set up before or after school meetings.

I'm looking forward to a wonderful year for all of us!