Dear Students and Parents/Guardians,
I hope that each of you had an enjoyable summer and are ready to begin the home stretch of middle school! Let me start by introducing myself - my name is Laura Shearer, and this will be my ninth year at Walkersville Middle School. I grew up in the Frederick area, and although I have moved around over the years, I have a special place in my heart for this corner of the world!
In order to have a positive, successful, and engaging year, certain expectations regarding behavior and supplies have been put into place. The best way for us to achieve this is for everyone to take each of these expectations seriously.
Behavior Expectations
As in the past, we will be continuing to follow the school wide PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Support) program this year. These expectations (which are also posted in the classroom) will help each student ROAR to success while in any classroom setting.
Supplies Expectations
- Writing utensils (pens or pencils required EVERYDAY!)
- Loose leaf paper
- Science Notebook: 1 composition book
- Science Folder
**Donations of supplies are always welcome but by no means mandatory! This may include materials such as glue sticks, boxes of tissues, cleaning wipes, etc. Thank you so much for any assistance you may give!
Grading
Grades will be earned for both summative as well as formative assessments throughout the semester. Summative assessments will include Tests/Quizzes (30%), Labs/Projects (30%) while formative assessments will include Classwork (30%), and Homework (10%). As with all 8th grade classes, late work will not be accepted (unless the student has been absent; see below). All work must be turned in on time!
Grading Scale: A = 100%-90% B = 89%-80% C = 79%-70% D = 69%-60% F = 59% & ↓
Homework
Any homework that is assigned will always be posted on my personal website as well as the 8th grade team homework website ( https://goo.gl/tsqMMQ ) Students will only be given full credit for completed homework that is turned in on time.
Absences
Students who are absent from class are responsible for asking and finding out what work they missed during their absence. Copies of missed work will be made available to the student by Mrs. Shearer; however, it is the student’s responsibility to pick up the work, complete it, and ask any questions that they may have.
Communication Between Home & School
On the first day of school every child received instructions, a username, and a password for the Home Access Center. This is where you will access your child’s grades. I will be using the information you provide in HAC (Home Access Center) to contact you. I will be able to email you individually or as a group in this manner. FOR THIS REASON IT IS NECESSARY THAT YOU UPDATE HAC WITH CORRECT EMAIL ADDRESSES AND PHONE NUMBERS.
2. Webpage
You can access my webpage at http://MrsShearerScience.Blogspot.com and/or on my WMS Staff page at http://education.fcps.org/wms/laurashearer. Lab readings, assignment due dates, links to key sites we use in class, and other information will be available via these webpages throughout the year.
4. Remind
Text reminders are phenomenal for both parents AND students. You will learn about assignments, upcoming quizzes, and other important dates for my students. You can sign up for reminders via text (especially nice if you don’t have a computer) or email. You will find the information for setting up REMIND on the next page...please sign up as soon as possible!
Extra Help
Please come to talk with me if you are confused about something or feel that you need extra help! I am more than willing to figure out the best way in which to help you succeed (whether that is immediately before or after school, tutoring days, etc.) as long as you let me know in advance and I have no other schedule conflicts.
Once again, I want to welcome you to 8th grade science and I hope that we have a fantastic year! By working together and keeping the lines of communications open, I’m confident that this will happen. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns either by phone- (240)236-4421 or by email- Laura.Shearer@fcps.org.
I can’t wait to get started!
Mrs. Shearer
