Back to school is a busy time for everyone. I would like to take this time to try to answer some questions that you might have about eighth grade life. I am very happy to have the honor of being your child’s homeroom and language arts teacher for the 2013-2014 school year. This is my twenty-eighth year at St. Peter School. My degree is in Elementary Education from Northern Illinois University where I also received my Master’s. I also have a Middle School Endorsement in Language Arts. I am excited about working with this group of students.
Students will have a certain amount of homework each night. How much time your child spends on homework will be dependent on his/her study habits. Please help your child to develop study habits that he or she can use throughout his/her education. Please try to encourage your student to start long-term assignments immediately and work on them daily until they are completed. Help stress the importance of not doing things at the last minute. Planning and organization are the keys to good study habits. This will help reduce stress for everyone especially when everyone’s schedules are very busy. Using an assignment notebook is essential. I am planning to send home a homework planner on Fridays. I will list any tests, major projects, and other major items for the following week. This is a tentative planner; not everything goes as planned. If plans change, I will announce it in class and your student will still be required to have the work done as announced. Ask your student to show you this planner on Friday if you have questions about assignments in any of my classes. I update this same planner weekly on my teacher page of our website.
Graded homework papers will be handed back on a daily basis. We are currently using TeacherEase, a web-based grade program. Both students and parents have access to grades using this program. If you are currently on TeacherEase but need to update your email address or have forgotten your password, send me an email stating this and I will have TeacherEase resend the necessary information. Please check TeacherEase on a regular basis. You will have to check to see if your student has late work or has not done so well on a test. TeacherEase will not automatically let you know this. If I see a problem in regard to late work or low grades, I will then email parents. If a student has late work, I expect the student to complete the work and get it to me the next day for 10% off. Students will be responsible for getting the missed work to me. What is handed in more than one day late is 50% off. Keeping an assignment notebook will help keep homework up-to-date. You have access to your student’s grade 24/7!
I have asked each student to have a library book with him/her every day. I have set aside ten minutes every day for reading time in books that will be used for book reports. A book report is due every quarter. I have given the students a sheet that tells them the exact due dates for book report rough drafts and final copies. Students have book report guides to follow. Each student must have a book for book reports approved by me.
Please encourage independent reading at home, also. It is also very important that you help your child in his/her selections of books. Be aware of what is being read and be ready to help make appropriate suggestions. I do question some books that are chosen, but what may be appropriate for some is not appropriate for others. We have a wide range of reading and maturity levels and together I hope we can help our students make good choices.
Students will be doing a variety of activities as part of the language arts program. Again this year we will be doing a novel based literature program. All reading skills will be enhanced through these selections. Students will also be expected to earn Accelerated Reader (AR) points each quarter. Students will be setting their own goals with my help. Many opportunities to take these tests will be given in class. We have an English textbook and workbook that we will use for grammar. Essay writing, poetry, creative writing, speeches, and career reports will also be a part of the program. I will continue to stress writing. I expect students to have a writing spiral with them ALWAYS; we do a “daily write” and I expect them to write it in their writing spiral. We will have “Writing Wednesdays” which will have students working on a writing project of some type every Wednesday. We will still do spelling and vocabulary; spelling will be combined with the literature grade and vocabulary will be combined with the English grade.
On days your student is absent, a parent must call the student in. Homework requests will be honored after your student has been out a second day. Please leave a voice mail message for me or send me an email stating that you will be picking up homework. I don’t gather homework automatically and only do it after your student has been out for a second day. For planned absences, school must be notified in writing at least a week ahead and all work and tests are due the day the student comes back. This includes high school visits or “shadow” days.
Please check the uniform on a regular basis. Skirts need to be the correct length, socks need to be correct, and hair needs to be neat. Please check the uniform policy.
I look forward to helping to prepare these eighth grade students for high school. It is important that we work together to get them ready for their next big step. I would appreciate your sharing any comments or concerns you might have regarding any aspect of your child’s education. Please feel free to leave a message on my voice mail or email me any time you have a question or concern and I will be happy to respond. I am planning on a rewarding and productive school year.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Jeanne VanLandeghem
Eighth Grade/Language Arts Teacher
jvanlandeghem@stpeterrockets.org