Hello, we wanted to make sure you are aware of all things happening on STEAM. First, our Parent Night will be on September 11th. Your child will be bringing home information today regarding the times of the event. However, if you are unable to come, we are planning on having a video that will inform you on all things STEAM. We hope to see you there!
We are finally up and running with Infinite Campus. If you are not able to log-in to IC then please go to the WJMS website and follow the Infinite Campus Parent Portal directions. If you run into any problems please let us know, and we can send you to the right person for help. Infinite Campus will help us communicate grades and missing assignments as well. If you see an M placed in the gradebook, then your child still has the opportunity to turn in the assignment, however, the late grade will be applied. Please feel free to email us with any questions.
We are working on our first event night unit. We had a mystery class with Mr. Kilgore and we will be having a class with Mrs. Harrell this week as well. Both are introducing us to “mysterious music” to help us with the mystery soundtrack we will record for the night of the event. Students have been working diligently every Wednesday (also known as our IA Day) to prepare for this night. Students do not need to work on this at home, unless it is to bring in any supplies, or to continue working with their partners to continue planning. They have plenty of time in class, as long as they are using the time wisely. However, this should not be extra homework for our students!
Speaking of homework, we are working on STUDY SKILLS! We have noticed a substantial struggle with our student's ability to study. We have been dedicating time and resources to help them with this, but it will take some work on your part. Please have your child go over their planner with you every night. We take precious time out of our class to have students use this resource. We want them to take it out when they get home and go over the events happening along with the due dates that are approaching. If you can form a routine then you will stay informed and they will stay up-to-date.
We will be using Canvas this year instead of Google Classroom. Canvas has a great parent piece that Google Classroom does not have. We will us it to help us communicate with you in a more frequent manner. We are currently using the student portal, in October, the county will open up the Parent Portal for us to begin using. The portal will provide you with your student’s progress, work samples, due dates, and any resources you all may need. Please be patient, as this is a new system. We want to make sure we have all the bugs worked out before unleashing the beast.
Please ask any questions you may have and know that we are trying our very best to communicate with you. We are extremely busy creating amazing learning experiences for your children and sometime we miss things. We try and keep an open line of communication, but we need you to be an open line of communication as well. Please email or text us so we can answer your questions or provide you with any needed information.
Please try and use the planners as a way for you and your child to communicate about upcoming events, tests, and quizzes. You should see homework assignments, as well as, other details listed. If you don’t, PLEASE let us know and we will work to remedy the situation. As you know, this is a LIFELONG skill needed to create a successful young adult!
Daily Homework: Read 30 minutes (MAP IT Journal if it was not done in class) Math Questions (a few typically) Finish Classwork (only students who may miss for a sporting event or just did not finish in class) STUDY (10-15 mins.) - student’s should always have something to study!
We hope that you and your child will see the benefits of this year and understand the tremendous amount of work it takes to create the STEAM program. We will continue to try and email each week to keep you up-to-date. Thanks for all you do, Mrs. Diers and Mrs. Konarski