Parent Letter

Laptop Agreement

School Discipline Policy

Mrs. McLaughlin, Room 603
6th Grade Language Arts & History Laptop Block

Welcome to Pleasanton Middle School!

I am looking forward to getting to know you and having a fun, memorable 6th grade year. I love teaching 6th graders, especially through cool, innovative technology. Working with various software and applications, we will be learning our academic curriculum aligned with the Common Core and California State Standards.  I believe every child can achieve academic success with hard work and dedication.

Language Arts
How is Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger like Confucius and The Buddha?

Students will focus on reading, vocabulary, and comprehension skills using the 6th grade Holt literature anthology accompanied by literature works such as Boy of the Painted Cave, Where the Red Fern Grows, Dragonwings, and The Tao of Pooh.  We will study grammar in conjunction with various forms of essay writing including narrative, informative, and argumentative, using the Easy Grammar workbook (please look for a department letter regarding the workbook further in the week) as a resource.  Spelling and vocabulary will be addressed with weekly assignments from the Houghton Mifflin and Wordly Wise spelling and vocabulary programs.

History
How did King Tut actually die? Was he murdered by Colonel Mustard with the candlestick?
Students will also be using the Glencoe, Discovering Our Past Ancient Civilizations.  We will be covering ancient civilization topics from thousands and thousands of years ago ranging from Geography, the Earliest People, Early Middle Eastern and North African Civilizations Early Asian Civilizations, the Ancient Greeks and Classical Greece.

Suggested Supplies
My backpack is sooooooo heavy….
Lighten your load! Only come prepared each day with the following**:

• A fully charged laptop uploaded with the appropriate software (I recommend QuickOffice Pro HD for the iPads, $19.99);
• Headphones/ ear buds (for sanitary reasons, please do not share with your peers);
• A folder for history worksheets and spelling assignments;
• Your assigned history workbook (this will be given to you);
• One 1-inch 3-ringed binder for Reading and Writing (this binder may be left in the classroom);
• 3-4 Black/blue pens and 3-4 pencils with a non-electric sharpener;
• 3-4 red pens and highlighters for correcting and editing papers;
• A book of your choice (must be a chapter book and may be left in the classroom);
• Since this will be the only class of students in my room, you may want to bring a pencil box to leave at your desk to keep filled with colored pencils, highlighters, scissors, glue, etc.).

**If this is a hardship for you, please contact the school or me, and the materials will be provided.

Homework
What did I do today? What is due tomorrow?? What planet am I on now???
The daily agenda, homework, and grades are accessible from my class website and is updated daily:
http://mclaughlin6thgradeblock.com

Uh-oh! I forgot my homework! It’s late! What do I do?
For excused absences, make-up work will be accepted per school policy.  Students will have the same number of days to make up an assignment that they were absent.
Unexcused late work will be accepted within three days of when it was due for half credit earned.

I was absent…Panic mode sets in… Yikes!!!
It is the student’s responsibility to find out the missing work from an absence by: First checking the classroom website; then asking a peer from class questions about the posted work; and finally meeting with me during lunch to cover any additional questions and concerns.

Help! My dog ate my printer and I can’t print my homework!
In the event of a home-network or printer issue, either hand-write the assignment, e-mail a peer the assignment to print out, or come to school early to print out the work in the library. If you have A period, I will allow you to print in my classroom right at the beginning of class. The laptop teachers will not be accepting homework submitted by e-mail.

Wish List
Feel like picking up extras for the class?

• Construction paper, all colors;
• Glue (both liquid and glue sticks);
• Tissues;
• 3-hole puncher;
• Electric pencil sharpener;
• Highlighters and red pens;
• Markers;
• 70 manila folders (no pockets) to create more private workspaces at desks;
• Gift certificates to Office Max so we may buy a colored printer one day!

I look forward to meeting your parents at Back-to-School Night on September 19th where I’ll cover this all over again and more!

Welcome Back!!!!
Sincerely,

Mrs. Rebecca McLaughlin
rmclaughlin@pleasantonusd.net

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Parent Signature & Contact Info Required
Due Printed & Signed (don’t forget to fill out the online form!):
Wednesday, August 28th (5 points)
I have reviewed the 6th Grade Classroom policy with my child,_________________________ .

Parent Signature:  _____________________  Student Signature: _____________________

Student e-mail: All PUSD students will be given a PUSD Gmail account; I will be using this account to communicate with students as well as to collaborate on essays, presentations, and other projects. 

Parents and students: Fill out online form to submit your important information:
http://goo.gl/oDFoNL
**To receive all 5 points… the form must be completed!**

On Fridays the class will turn in their Spelling & Grammar Notebooks. If you are interested in volunteering to help grade these notebooks or other assignments on Fridays, you will be asked to check one of the following on the form:

_____ : I would like to help grade spelling packets about one hour each Friday from 9 to 10 am.

_____ : I would like to help grade notebooks about one hour every other Friday from 9 to 10 am.

_____ : Although I cannot be there to volunteer on a consistent basis, I would like to volunteer less often during other activities.

In order to volunteer in any classroom in the PUSD, you must cleared through the district for this 2013-2014 school year. If believe you may want to volunteer or chaperone at any point this year, be sure to obtain a clearance form from any school in the PUSD. Due to the high volume of clearances submitted at the beginning of the year, this process may take up to eight weeks.

Laptop Classroom Rules:

Internet/Email safety

Virus safety

Last updated: August 25, 2013

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