Rm 13 and 14 – Seventh and Eighth Grade
 Brenda Mayer mayerb@bcsd.com |
 Cherie Payne paynec@bcsd.com |
Welcome to the 2008-2009 school year at Downtown School. We look forward to working with you to achieve our shared goal of helping your child achieve his/her potential in a setting that is motivating and challenging.
To start the school year off right let’s encourage our students to come to school on time. Please note that class starts at 7:44. It is very important that students are in school every day on time. Students that enter the instructional area after class has begun disrupt others and may miss out on very important morning assignments.
Graduation
We know it seems a little early to think about it, but graduation planning for eighth graders begins now. In order for a student to participate in graduation exercises he/she must do two things: maintain a 2.0 cumulative G.P.A. for the entire school year and pass the Constitution Exam. Students who are unable to fill these requirements will not attend graduation rehearsals or ceremonies per Bakersfield City School District policies.
Mrs. Mayer and Mrs. Payne and will be setting up meetings with parents of students who had less than a 2.0 G.P.A. to work out a plan to ensure that students have all the tools they need to graduate.
Graduation is a very special event—we hope that all eighth graders will be able to participate.
Supplies
The school district supplies most of the items your child will need to do their work in class. However, We are requiring students to have a three ring binder that includes pocket dividers for six subjects. Flash drives are also necessary so that students can work on assignment from various computers- in class, library and home. It is not necessary to buy a flash drive with a lot of memory, 512 MB is plenty. Colored pencils are hard to come by; therefore your student may want to bring some from home. Students will not have cubbies or lockers so all of their materials will need to be kept in their backpacks. Personal items should be labeled clearly to prevent confusion with other students’ supplies.
Student Planners
All students have received a planner to record assignments in. Students will be given time to write assignments in planners. Parents should check planners nightly. This is the best communication about how your child is doing in class.
Mrs. Mayer and Ms. Payne will be communicating in planners every day. Mrs. Mayer will stamp whether their homework was completed, incomplete, or not done. For the majority of the time Mrs. Payne will not collect assignments on the day they are given. All students finish at different times so if it was assigned that day, it should be in their possession- completed or not.
Work Policy
Students are expected to turn in work when the work is due. Mrs. Mayer and Ms. Payne will not be accepting late work. If an assignment is incomplete, students should still turn in what they have, and then they can receive partial credit if they finish the incomplete portion of the assignment. If a student is absent he/she will have 48 hours to turn in their assignments.
Students who receive a low grade on an assignment in Mrs. Mayer’s class may earn back partial points by re-doing the incorrect problems and turning them back in. Assignments may only be re-done within a 48-hour period of when it was returned to the students.
8th Grade Trip
Eighth graders and their families are invited to accompany Mrs. Mayer on a trip to our nation’s capital as well as New York City.
We will be departing June 1st and returning June 5th. Our destinations include Washington D.C., Colonial Williamsburg, and New York City. In order to guarantee we are able to visit all of these places we will need to have 35 people signed up for the trips.
Talk to Us
Both Mrs. Mayer and Ms. Payne are anxious to stay in communication with you. One of the best ways for us to do this is through e-mail. We would appreciate you e-mailing us with your name and your child’s name so that we can add you to our contact list. Mrs. Mayer’s e-mail is mayerb@bcsd.com and Ms. Payne’s e-mail is paynec@bcsd.com.
If we have your e-mail address we can also e-mail you the newsletter because we know that often you don’t receive the newsletter because it gets buried in your child’s backpack.
Dismissal Procedures
School is out for 7th and 8th grade at 2:07 p.m. At the end of the day, Mrs. Mayer and Ms. Payne will walk non-daycare students through the front gates and into the cafeteria. For the safety of the students we are not allowed to release the students at any other location. Parents are required to sign out their students in the cafeteria on a daily basis. Please do not try to pick up your student at a different location even if you are in a hurry. If you need your child before dismissal time you can go to the Office or Daycare Office and they will page your child to come to the office so you can get them in a timely manner.
Students left more than 15 minutes will be dropped into Daycare and charged a $15.00 fee.
Students at Downtown Elementary are expected to be on time and prepared to work. Class begins at 7:44 a.m. and dismissal is at 2:07 p.m. Please help your child by getting them here on time and by checking their planners nightly.
Sincerely,
Brenda Mayer
mayerb@bcsd.com
and
Cherie Payne
paynec@bcsd.com