Calendar Reminders:
Friday, February 3 – Minimum Day dismissal NOON
Friday, February 10 – Minimum Day dismissal NOON
Monday-Friday, February 20-24 – NO SCHOOL, February Break
Announcements:
Outdoor Ed March 20-23, 2023
NatureBridge payments are due! Second down payment of $70 for each person was due on Wednesday, January 18th. Third down payment of $70 due Wednesday, February 8. Payment plan is attached to this email.
ABSENCES and TARDIES
Daily Attendance is expected: If your student will be absent, or tardy, please call the office at 925-755-1252, or email Middle School aca2middle@
Counselor’s Corner
On Thursday, February 9th I will be facilitating a Parenting Support Group for ACA2 parents on Zoom. The meeting will start at 7:00 pm and will last approximately an hour. The purpose of this group is to provide a space for ACA2 parents to share their parenting successes and frustrations, and engage with a supportive parenting community in a safe environment. Since this is the initial meeting, parents who attend will have a voice in molding this group to suit ACA2 Parenting Group needs in the future. The group will be co-facilitated by my fellow staff member Ms Deena who will be sharing her unique experience/expertise in many difficult parenting situations. Any ACA2 parent/guardian is welcome and invited to join.
Best,
Mr Theodore
Topic: ACA2 Parenting Support Group
Time: Feb 9, 2023 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 898 5597 3899
Passcode: 058903
ACA2 School Counseling Website (accessible through a school email account)
School Counseling Informed Consent
Dtheodore@
Homework
Reading (Monday-Thursday)
Page Tracker: Students should have read 814 pages by this Friday 2/3
Book Talk/Review schedule for trimester #2: This Thursday 2/2, 3/2
MobyMax (Tuesday-Thursday)
Do 10 minutes of Language practice daily for a total of 40 minutes this week. To get to language practice, students need to select the language course from the books tab. Practice should automatically be assigned.
*MobyMax time will not be accepted any later than Sunday.
Language Arts (Monday)
AOW #7 Teens and the Vote
Read AYPH Ch. 8 p. 1-6 stop at “The Conquest of California”
Language Arts (Tuesday)
Establishing a Claim assignment
Language Arts (Wednesday)
Elements of Argument Writing assignment
Social Studies (Thursday)
Indian School Project
(Friday)
Catch up on anything not finished this week. Have a great weekend!
Science
2 edpuzzle videos, assigned in Google Classroom. We will complete an in-class lab to investigate the properties of gases produced by running electricity through water . Students will write a Claim, Evidence, Reasoning statement.
Math
Did you know there are 4 different math classes in Middle School? Most in-class and all homework assignments will be posted in each math class Google Classroom. Paper assignments may be turned into the classroom and do not need to be attached to Google Classroom. In general, all students will have:
*a daily in class assignment, to be done in class, Monday to Thursday
*a daily homework assignment, due the next day, assigned Monday to Thursday
*20 minutes of Fact Fluency practice per week. Mrs. McCutcheon recommends doing it for 5 minutes per day.
*weekly or every other week quizzes
earns by first seeing a pattern, then practicing that pattern until it becomes routine enough for you to perform. Math classes are set up to give students an opportunity to see patterns (lesson videos and activities), practice patterns (in class and homework), and finally perform (concept quizzes).
PATTERN: Each Monday through Thursday, students will have a classwork assignment which counts toward 20% of the overall math grade. Students who have done their personal best and focused during class time can stop working on an assignment, even if they have not finished all of the assigned problems. Students will get full credit for doing their personal best on the assignment. It will generally be turned in at the end of class, but there will be days that the teacher decides to spend a second day on the assignment.
PRACTICE: Each Monday through Thursday, students will also have a math homework assignment. My expectation is that students spend around 30 minutes on each of these daily homework assignments. They can stop working after 30 minutes and count the assignment as complete, or if they finish in less time than 30 minutes they can turn it in. Homework turned in on time will be given full credit. Late work (unrelated to absences) will be marked down by 10% each week it is late, but will never be given less than 5 out of 10 points. Homework will count toward 20% of the overall math grade.
PERFORM: Most Thursday afternoons or Fridays, students will take concept quizzes. These quizzes show the teacher and the student what the student knows about a concept, if they need more practice, or if they have mastered a skill. In their binder and on google classroom, students have a Concept Quiz Recording Sheet to track their progress over time on each concept for their math class. Students will have the opportunity to improve their grade on any concept quiz by taking a similar quiz on a future quiz day. The best score for each concept will go into the gradebook. Quizzes count for 60% of the overall math grade.
Note about one weekly math assignment that is separate from the practice described above. Math Facts:
Students will be assigned Math Fact practice WEEKLY to make sure they are fluent with math facts. This should be done daily, for a maximum of 20 minutes for the week.