FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - FAQS

Transcription

1 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - FAQS 1. How do students receive a copy of their schedule? Student schedules are handed out during schedule pick-up. Schedule pick-up for the School year is tentatively scheduled for August 1, Please check the website for updates. 2. How do I find out what bus my student rides and where the bus stop is located? Bus stop locations can be found at the SCPS website front page: Transportation Contact: Main Office (407) ; Dispatch (407) or How do I set up a lunch account? Incoming 6 th grade students previously enrolled in a Seminole County Public School, may continue to use the same lunch number used at their elementary school. Parents or students new to Seminole county may set up a lunch account with the cafeteria staff during schedule pick-up. Students can also submit a check to the cafeteria manager any time during the school year. Accounts may be established by check or by credit card. Students and parents are encouraged to set up an account with 4. As a parent, how do I arrange a parent teacher conference and when are they available? Most parent-teacher conferences are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning at 8:30. Please contact the guidance office at if you would like to schedule a parent-teacher conference. 5. Must I take a physical education (P.E.) class? Yes, physical education is a required course for 6 th, 7 th, and 8 th grade students. 1

2 6. What Advanced courses are offered in Middle School? Please see the Curriculum Guide for a complete listing of courses available at Teague. 7. Who is eligible to take advanced classes? Advanced core academic classes are open to any student who wishes to take on the challenge of a more rigorous curriculum in preparation for higher level course work. 8. How can a student receive academic help? Teague offers free before and after school support programs throughout the year which will be posted on the Teague website. Parents are also encouraged to contact your student s teachers. Teachers often provide before and after school assistance in their classrooms. 9. As a parent, how can I be aware of what homework my student has? Parents are encouraged to sign up for Family Access. This online service provides attendance, grades, and assignments (homework and class work). Some teachers use voic as a "homework hotline" to announce assignments. Parents can also access teachers by , phone or voice mail. All students are provided a free planner at the beginning of the school year or upon enrollment. Teachers post weekly assignments on the board and students record the weekly information into their planners at the beginning of the school week. 10. Are there sport programs available at Middle School? Boys and Girls sport programs are available at Teague. We offer Cross Country, Volleyball, Track as part of the district s Middle School Sports Program, and a variety of intramural sports. 11. My student was participating in the Gifted Resource program in elementary school, how many gifted classes are available? Gifted students may select to participate in all four academic subjects language arts, math, science and social studies. 12. If a student selects beginning band, must they own an instrument in order to register for beginning band? Although some students may have instruments when they sign up for band, it is not necessary. Instrument evaluation and assignment is done in class the first few weeks of 2

3 school. When this process is complete, parents will be invited to attend an instrument rental meeting with local companies present for their convenience. 13. Who is my guidance counselor? Ms. Aleisha Kraft Last Names A-K Dr. Lateshia Martin Last Names L-Z If the only electives the students can choose are Band or Chorus, how are the other electives determined for each student that has extra periods open for electives? Students are placed in electives based upon availability in their schedule after core and enrichment courses are scheduled. 15. Do students need to bring special clothes for physical education (P.E.)? Students are expected dress out for gym daily. Uniforms (T-shirt and shorts) are available for purchase thought the P.E. department or the link to PaySchools on our website. 16. Do the gym lockers have built-in locks? No, each student must purchase their own combination lock for their gym locker. 17. What type of lunches are available? Students may bring their own lunch or buy lunch. There are a variety of combo meals hamburgers, cheeseburgers, pizza, salads, sandwiches, pasta and much more. The menu may be found at Do students eat lunch with a specific class or teacher? Most 6 grade students eat lunch during the same lunch period. Students may sit with anyone they choose. 19. How much time do students have for lunch? Students have 30 minutes for lunch. 20. Do sixth grade students go on any field trips? Yes, the numbers of field trips vary from year to year. Each team decides on the field trips they will be going on. 3

4 21. When are report cards given out? Students receive a report card every nine weeks. Students will receive a progress report half way through each nine weeks for parents to see how they are doing in classes. Parents may also follow their student s progress using Family Access. 22. Do sixth grade students have homework every night? Students can expect homework most nights. Homework is intended to extend the learning that takes place within the classroom, whether as a review of skills and processes or as an introduction to a new lesson. 23. What is a detention? Detentions are assigned to students as part of the school s progressive discipline process when students violate district or school rules and procedures. Detentions may be assigned by teachers, deans, and administrators. Detentions that may be assigned to students include, but are not limited to: Non-social lunch detention, Wednesday detention, and Saturday school detention. 24. How is it determined whether incoming an 6th grader is placed in 6th Math standard or 6th Math Advanced? Parent or Student choice? Seminole County Public Schools is a district of choice; therefore parents may choose to place their child in either a standard math class or an advanced math class. Parents should consider their child s previous grades in math, FCAT Math scores, and teacher recommendation when making this decision. 25. What is the difference between Gifted Math or Advanced or Gems? Only students who have successfully completed PRIMES in 5 th grade should consider enrollment in GEMS. Additionally, students should be strong math students, responsible, and really like math. Successful completion in GEMS prepares students for Honors Algebra, which is a high school class and goes on their high school transcript, in the 7th grade. GEMS students will have homework almost every night to cover six standards of the 6th grade, all of the 7 th grade standards and fourteen standards of the 8th grade during the one school year. This amounts to 280 days of learning in one 180 day school year. To accomplish this, students should expect to complete a Virtual Bridge during the school year in addition to their daily work. 26. Are students in Advanced/Gems Math and Language Arts grouped together for all of their classes? Students are randomly assigned to a course section. Students are not grouped as a cohort that goes to the same classes throughout the day. 4

5 27. If you weren t in Primes in Elementary School can you register for Gems to Middle School? Admission to GEMS math without PRIMES math is not recommended. 28. What happens if you are in Advanced Math and not successful the 1st nine weeks? Can your child go to Standard? Course selection in advanced courses should be made carefully, with deliberation, and thoughtfulness. Students desiring to take on the challenge of an advanced class should select the course. Parents should work with the student s teacher and guidance counselor to identify possible causes for the struggles and possible interventions to support the student in his/her math class. If efforts to improve the success of the student are not helpful the parent and student may speak with the counselor regarding a possible schedule change. 29. I was always under the impression that the gifted kids are clustered/grouped together in middle school as they have been in 5th grade this year. Is that still the case? I did not see anywhere on the registration form to indicate gifted. Teague offers the following programs, in accordance with Florida s K-12 Plan for Gifted Education: Gifted services are delivered in advanced content classes for gifted and non-gifted students. Content and pacing are differentiated to the degree that activities are clearly intended for students evidencing a need beyond the general curriculum as indicated by their individual EP; the gifted-endorsed teacher clearly documents in the lesson plans the differentiation provided as necessary to match the student s EP goals. In standard courses, identified gifted students with strengths in the same content area will be clustered in groups into an otherwise heterogeneous class. The gifted endorsed teacher clearly documents in the lesson plans the differentiation provided as necessary to match the student s EP goals. Students can be dually enrolled in an epathways Virtual Course on Teague s campus to meet the need of a more advance curriculum as written into their individual EPs. 30. The Curriculum Guide also mentioned Career and Technical Education Options, including enrichment curriculums through Junior Achievement. For 6th and 7th grade, it mentioned JA Global Marketplace and JA Economics for Success. How do these work? I do not see them listed anywhere on what came home today. Is that the epathways M/J Careers class? 5

6 In the 6th and 7th grade the Junior Achievement curriculum is embedded through selected 6th and 7th grade electives. It is delivered in a similar format as the Junior Achievement curriculum in elementary school. The epathways suggestions in the Career and Technical Education section of the curriculum guide are for 8th grade students meeting the suggested prerequisites. 31. I see course listings for the advanced math (or GEMS) as well as Advanced Language Arts. However, the only advanced listings I see for Social Studies and Science is a chart in the Curriculum Guide I received last night that lists M/J Comprehensive Science 1 Advanced (no course #) and M/J World Cultures Advanced (no course #) -- both of which are indicated as epathways SCVS. Does this mean these classes are only available through the virtual school? If my student takes these classes, is it completely online? Advanced courses in Science and Social Studies are not offered in 6th and 7th grade. Students seeking the challenge of an advanced class may elect to take these classes virtually through Seminole County Virtual School (SCVS) on Teague's campus, during the school day, in an epathway's Virtual Learning Lab (VLL) on a space-available basis. Students interested in taking a virtual course through epathways should complete an epathways' application. 6