Summer Messages

Summer Messages 18

This did not turning out as great as I had hoped it would. I only have 34 of you signed up and that is parents and students combined. I don't know if the 5th grade teachers forgot to hand out the slips to sign up or if students lost them. No matter, I have you for an audience. If you know of another family and don’t see their email address listed, feel free to forward and ask them if they want to received information to email me directly and I will add them to the list. This is not the official first message, but a test message to see if I made any typos and they come back.

I am your Math teacher! You are receiving this message through the crosspointe gradebook program from the district. This is the email you gave the school district at some pont in time.

I was able to obtain most of the new to Pine View students’ emails and about 35 returning PV students. I have been sending out information all summer long since there is not a 6^th grade orientation.

I will include all of them at the end of this message. What you need to know now is that parent Eric Shen created and will host a closed group facebook page to exchange information and keep in touch. There is information there now for 3 picnics. The group is called PV2018. If you are good friends with someone that is on the gold team, you may forward this information to them as well. I just don’t have access to their emails.

If you have received all my summer messages, you may stop reading now.

Welcome to Pine View Middle School #1

This welcome is going out to all 71 of the currently registered new to Pine View students/families and 34 families that attended Pine View last year and signed up to receive these emails. My goal is to give you as much information as I can on how to be successful in middle school and ease your anxiety of attending a new school. Returning students will find that middle school operates differently, so it will be like attending a new school for you too.

I am the lead 6^th grade Math teacher, which I have been doing for over 2 decades. My name is Cathy Hollar. I was born in Goshen, Indiana and my family moved to Florida when I was 4. I attended Brentwood, McIntosh, Brookside, and graduated from Riverview. Go Rams! Sorry, had to say that. I received my AA degree from Stephens College, Columia, Missour, my Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of South Florida, Tampa, and my Master’s degree in Religious Studies from Liberty University, in Virginia. I am the oldest of 4, 2 of which have passed away from cancer. Both of my parents are still living in Sarasota at age 86. My husband and I have a second home in Deming, New Mexico. He is already retired and will be there most of the time. I plan to teach 1 more year and retire, making you my last class of students. Then I will spend more time in New Mexico. (Note: I am in New Mexico now and will not return until August 4^th.)

I am a active member of the Daughters of the American (DAR.) My great, great, great, great, great grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary War out of Pennsylvania. The DAR has an essay contest every year. I have been the chairperson for the last 4 years and will be again next year. Your language arts teachers will assign it. So, if you want to get a head start on it by researching and writing a draft, then when she assigns it you are miles ahead of your peers I will send the directions in another email when the topic is release in July. The prize is $100 in cash. I have given it to 4 Pine View students the last 4 years.

You can respond to these eblasts with comments or questions. I will get them and answer when I can, remember I am on vacation too.

My first tip! Unless you are moving to Sarasota County from another county or state, you already have an iReady account. You are able to access it all summer. I want to encourage you to do as many math lessons as possible. I will explain why.

Most of you will be taking Course 1 Advanced. The textbook has 15 chapters. The first 10 are all of the 6^th grade standards. The last 5 are the first half of the 7^th grade standards. The school district will require us to give 3 benchmarks, one at the beginning of the year, one mid-year, and the last one at the end of the year. That benchmark will tell you if your math skills are early 6^th grade, mid 6^th grade, or late 6^th grade. You want to be in the best place possible before taking the benchmark at the start of the year in insure you have the skills to master the material we will be covering. A few of you will be double accelerated and taking Course 2 Advanced. Your textbook also has 15 chapters, the first 10 are all of the 8^th grade standards and the last 5 are the second half of the 7^th grade. Those students will be skipping 2 years of math. The teacher of that class is aware of that and will supplement to fill in the gaps. Students in this course must maintain a 90% to stay in this class. It only makes sense. If a student can’t make an A working 2 years ahead, they should be working one year ahead and making an A.

How do you know which math class you will have? Pine View 5^th graders took a placement test at the end of the year and new students if they were registered in time took a test after school was out. If you qualify to be in the double advanced class you will be notified by the school. If you missed both of these tests, don’t worry. The first week of school, we give a couple inventories to make sure you are placed in the correct math class.

#2 June 24, 2018

Directions for these Summer Messages: Student should read it, then read it out loud to one of their parents, then read it again to themselves and think about what they need to remember. Parents should quiz them on information while you are driving or idle time. The more the parents know about what is going on the better support they will be able to be to their child.

What will the first day/week be like? By the end of the day/week your head will be spinning. Every teacher will be giving you a document called Course Expectations. This document has been approved by administration and are on file in the front office. It will cover such topics as textbooks, required materials, organizational & homework policy & expectations, policy on cell phones, information on assessments, what to do for makeup work and absences, grading categories and weights, directions for parents to communicate with teachers, appropriate behavior, and Honor Code, etc. There will be a for tear off portion for parents and students to date and sign this document and return to the teacher that gave it to you. They are kept on file, because from that time on you are responsible for meeting those expectations.

Here is what the 6^th grade Math Grading will be:

Tests 60% Quizzes 20% Homework/Classwork 10% Math Fluency 10%

What is the difference between a test and a quiz? A quiz is usually half way through the chapter and assesses a smaller chunk of material. If you get a low grade on a quiz you have time to regroup and learn what you need to for the test at the end of the chapter. Some chapters only have 4 lessons and there will not be a quiz on those chapters.

What is Math Fluency? Timings on basic facts of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and county benchmark tests of minimum computation skills.

Teachers will also be giving important information about where depending on the location of that class and what to do for the 4 different types of drills: fire, severe weather, lock down, and danger on campus.

What is your goal? It should be to qualify for National Junior Honor Society, NJHS. You will be invited to join at the beginning of 7^th grade based upon your 6^th grade final report card. You must have a 3.5 grade point average, usually referred to as GPA, in your 4 core subjects of Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Math. World Language is considered an elective and not calculated in your GPA for membership. It is calculated in your GPA to remain at Pine View. Students must maintain a 2.5 to stay at Pine View. NJHS members must do 9 hours of community service each semester. Many of my former students from last year will be making themselves available for tutoring at lunch in my classroom to fulfill that obligation/duty.

#3 Tips June 25, 2018

Summer Curriculum Confusion: We have a new person posting this information and the system was changed resulting in some confusion for the Social Studies. There are 3 things asked of you for Grade 6 this summer. For your Language Arts you found the book Wednesday Wars to read. Under Social Studies for Grade 6 it says to see Jenna Molinaro…..wrong, ignore this. Scroll on down past supply lists, past 2018 Summer Curriculum, past elementary to secondary. In that list is Grade 6 Social Studies, click on that for your assignment. Right under it is the Grade 6 Math. It is in 3 documents: a letter of directions, the practice worksheets, and the answers.

How to have neat looking work: Numbers should not touch and should be made correctly taking up most of the space between lines. Ones should not have a flag or platform, nines need to be closed at the top, fours should look like a small capitol L with a stick or a right triangle with a stick. Only one number per line. See attachment. If I can’t tell on an test answer, it will be marked incorrect!

How to be a great math student: Do your homework, correct your errors on homework, and ask questions. You can learn better and faster correcting one problem, than doing 10 correctly.

How to score well on a test: Put your name on it, otherwise it will cost you 5 points, read the directions, always, always reduce to lowest terms, make sure you have a label for all story problem answers, double check computations with the opposite operation, make sure you look on the front and the back, the top, the bottom, the left side and the right side of every sheet given to you to make sure you have answered every question. Yes, I know a sheet of paper is only 0.004 inch thick and there is no way a problem could be on the top, bottom, left or right, but that is over exaggeration to make a point. So make sure you look at all sides, because there is no coming back at lunch or the next day, you will not get any points for skipped problems.

Message #4 Textbook, Homework & Calculators July 1, 2018

Let’s get the calculator business out of the way right off the bat. You will not be using a calculator until after you take the FSA in the spring. The reason why, 6^th graders do not use calculators on the FSA, and as soon as students start using calculators they stop thinking for themselves. So, we don’t want you to get calculator addicted before the FSA. Exceptions: On your homework, if you find you have a wrong answer and you are trying to detect your error and want to check your computations on a calculator, fine, but that won’t be happening in class.

Our textbook is by Big Ideas and our level is Course I Advanced. We have 15 chapters, with each chapter having anywhere from 4 to 8 lessons. Chapters 1 – 10 are 6^th grade standards. Chapters 11 – 15 are the first half of the 7^th grade standards. (Note: When you are in 7^th grade your text will have 15 chapters as well, 1-10 all of the 8^th grade standards, and 11-15 all of the 7^th grade standards. The following year you will take Algebra.)

You will be issued a hardback textbook and a softcover workbook in the media center the first week of school. Neither of them will ever be at school!! We have class sets of books and you will tear out the chapter we are working on from your workbook and keep in your 3 ring binder.

90% of your homework will be online. You will always have to have a hard copy for all homework assignments. The online component acts like a teacher sitting beside you and after each problem you work you are told if it is correct. If it is incorrect most of the problems have short tutorials and you can try again. The next day I look at the class report to see which problems were most missed and I can go over those with you.

After the lesson the homework section usually has up to 60 problems. The first 3 to 7 are vocabulary from the lesson. The next 20 or so are straight computation of that skill, then about 20 story problems applying that skill, and finishing off with 4 to 10 review problems. From the 60 problems there are 3 strands: basic, average, and advanced. We are a gifted school, so guess which strand we will be doing. All three strands include the vocabulary, and review problems. The advanced strand has fewer computation practice and more application story problems. Please Note: Some of these problems get very challenging and you are not going to be able to “get” every problem. Don’t worry! You are gifted and I am supposed to push you and challenge you. Your homework grade is on effort not accuracy. Homework is practice. You learn more from correcting a wrong problem than doing 10 correctly. If you have questions, ask!!!!!! That is how good math students learn.

Important things to know about your homework: There are never any “naked” answers. You must show the numbers you are computing, in other words copy the problem and show your work. This doesn’t mean copy the story problem, just the numbers you are calculating. There is no such thing as scratch paper or doing you work on another sheet of paper and leaving it at home and just having a list of answers. If it is important enough to write down, it needs to be with your problem and answer. Please don’t erase your work, and leave the answer. If it is a multiple choice question it still needs work to show which one it the correct choice. Otherwise we would call it multiple guess.

Each teacher handles homework differently. If you attempt every problem assigned you get !00%. No late work is accepted! Unless there are extenuating circumstances and then you must have a note from your parents stating so. That will give you an extra day. Signatures are given half credit one day late. The other exception will be if you are absent. That is a whole different situation and I will talk more in detail about that in another message.

Keep enjoying your summer and working on iReady!

Message #5 Gifted and Tutors July 6, 2018

I hope you had a wonderful 4^th! I was not going to address this now, but I already received a parent email requesting help in getting a math tutor for their child.

Being gifted means you have a high IQ and that means you learn things more quickly than most students. There are 7 areas of gifted, and not everyone is gifted in all areas. That being said, the subject I teach, which is Math, just might be your weakest area. So, you may want or need a little support. There are many options, which I am going to explain now.

Pine View is a gifted school and all the students here are gifted. If you are new to Pine View, you might be intimidated, scared in thinking that you are supposed to know everything and can’t ask a question, because the other students will think you are dumb. That is a common attitude with new students. Please get over it. Your first strategy is to ask a question when I am introducing the skill/concept.

If you can’t manage that, when I turn you loose to do your team task, ask your shoulder partner or someone else at your table. If they can’t help you, you can always come up to me and ask a question while the others are working.

Once you get home and start your homework you have even more options. The textbook has tutorials for 90% of the problems that you can watch and try the problem again. Your parents or older siblings might be able to give you some assistance.

Finally, when we go over the homework the next day and you still are not clear, ASK A QUESTION. I am not a mind reader and students are real good at sending out body language, shaking their heads or acting like this is so easy, etc. until they get a poor grade on an assessment.

Every Tuesday and Thursday there is tutoring in my classroom. * The National Jr. Honor Society students are required to complete 9 hours of community service every semester and this is an easy way for them to do it. I direct and supervise it, and if there are not enough tutors, I step in and do it too. You can’t come in and say “ I want tutoring.” or “My mom said I had to come.” You have to say, “I need help with…………,” and be specific.

Then we can go to other tutoring. There is a program called Scholars for Scholars, which are high school students. In theory is it great, but in my book, it doesn’t work. I must recommend the student and submit an application. They match you up with someone. This can take up to a month. Then once you have a tutor, they are free to cancel any time due to their work/test load.

You have 4 options to “hire” a tutor. 1) There are hig school students that need the hours for community service and they are more reliable than the Scholars for Scholars. You don’t pay them, they are getting community service hours. 2) You can hire a high school student. The going rate is about $20 an hour and if they are old enough to drive and you give them an extra $5 for gas they will drive to your house. It could also be set up at school during their lunch or at a public place like the library. Or 3) You can hire a Pine View teacher. The going rate is $50 to $60 per hour. Most of the math department does tutor for hire and many of the other teachers do as well. Their advantage is they get to see the assessments from your child and go over them in more detail. 4) You can hire a tutor outside. You are on your own there. Please note: Teachers can’t tutor their own students for hire. So, if you know you child is going to struggle with math and you want to secure a tutor, you have to wait until they get their schedules to see who their math teacher is before getting a tutor, unless you want to go with a teacher that doesn’t teach 6^th grade math, then you could go ahead.

Here are some names of Math Department teachers that want to tutor if you want option #3:

Kelly Vest 6^th grade

Josh Michalojko, Hali Flahaven, Kim DeMicheili, Summer Grantham, Karen Congero, Steve Folts, Math teachers and Hali Flahaven and Flo Ames, Science teachers, but do a great job with math, just to name a few. . You can call school and ask them to pass on your contact information, or go to the Pine View website, scroll down to their name and send a email to their school account. Most of us keep up with those over the summer.

If you want my help with option #1 or #2, please be specific in what you are looking for and where you live, and I will try to match you up.

*All periods are 55 minutes going from periods 1 thru 9. High school students start 1^st period. Middle school and elementary start 3^rd period. So, third period is our first class of the day. 4^th period is when all 6^th graders have their elective class. 7^th period is lunch. That means we eat at 1:00. Most students bring snacks and eat them as they walk between classes. Some teachers allow students to eat in their class during class, I do Not! At 1:30 the aides blow a whistle and they are escorted to the fields, or they may go to the media center and start homework, or go to teachers’ classrooms for tutoring or make up work from being absent. They need to have a pass to go to a classroom. I give out passes to all of my students good for the whole year.

Message #6 Homework July 12, 2018

There are all kinds of rumors floating out there about Pine View, especially about tons of homework. One of the first questions we are asked is how much homework is there. That is a difficult question to answer, but I am going to try.

You will have 6 classes, one of them is your elective and you don’t get a grade, just a pass/fail and no homework. The other 5 classes are your core classes and their grade does calculate into your GPA. (Grade Point Average) (Note: Remember your world language grade does not calculate in for membership into the National Jr. Honor Society.)

In Math, I will teach a lesson, we will practice one or two together, then I will give your table a team task. When that is complete you may start your homework in class. The assignment usually has 20 to 25 problems. The thing you have to be aware of is that on a test of 20 questions, I will have students finish in 25 minutes, and I will have students take 50 minutes. Fluency, speed, and focus play a large part in how much time it will take you. That will be the norm, but don’t expect that to happen the first 2 weeks of school. Students will be coming off of summer vacation where they were maybe staying up later than normal and sleeping in, not having a demanding schedule, etc. It will take them an adjustment period to get things figured out. If after 3 weeks your evenings are not smooth, please contact me.

As far as the other subjects go……Social Studies has lots of projects. You need to learn to break it into steps and make a schedule for yourself to do parts each night. Language Arts has many components, vocabulary quizzes every week, reading class novels, and lots of writing. Science has reading, answering questions, and labs. All your teachers will give you pointers on organizing your work load.

We have an electronic test calendar. When a teacher wants to give a test, we have to go to the calendar and reserve the date. Our rule is no more than 2 tests a day. You may have one quiz with 2 tests, and weekly vocabulary assessments don’t count as tests. At least you know you won’t ever have 5 tests on one day.

Until next message……….keep doing iReady!!!

Message #7 Schedules July 22, 2018

Oh, my! It has been 10 Days since I sent a message. I had 2 sets of company and totally ignored my computer. I have 12 days left here in New Mexico before I head home and I have 5 more messages, so they will be coming at you fast. I hope you are doing lots of iReady!!!!!!!!

Very soon you should be receiving your schedule in the mail with a supply list. You look to see the teacher’s name and purchase what they want for their class. I hope they send you a school map as well. When you are trying to locate rooms, it is helpful if you know that MCL or Mobil Learning Cottage is a portable. The even numbers are on the south side of the campus and the odd numbers are on the north side. All of the middle school math teachers will be in the orange building with numbers in the 400’s.

Our combined faculty and staff is about 180. You will not need to know all of them, but I will give you some pointers.

We have one principal, Dr. Covert. You will have little contact with him as he has 4 assistant principals. Ms. Rini oversees grades 2-5, so you will not have any contact with her at all. Ms. Fair is in charge of grades 6-8, she is the one we will all be working with. Mrs. Spielman will oversee grades 9-12, so again, you won’t have contact with her for a few more years. The fourth assistant principal is Ms. Allen. She will be in charge of curriculum for the whole school. She visits all teachers and gives up feedback on improvement.

We have 4 guidance counselors, again each on is assigned to specific grades. Our counselor is Kelly Hawking. She does the WEB (Where Everyone Belongs) the Friday morning before school starts for the new to Pine View students. Also, the first few days she comes into every classroom so the teachers can introduce her to you.

Middle School has teams, Blue, Gold, and Python. A snake!!! That is because our school colors are blue and gold and our school mascot it the python. I have heard our numbers for this year so I am not sure there will be a python team. I am listing the teams with teachers below as I know it from the past and what I have heard, but things always change over the summer. If you have all the teachers in one column that is the team you are on. If you have teachers from different columns you are cross teamed.* That happens, it is no big deal. The difference comes in on supplies and organizational systems. The Blue team does the binder, and the Gold team does folders.

BLUE GOLD Python ???

MATH Mrs. Hollar (that is me!!) Mr. O’Connors Mrs. Vest

Sci Mr. Dacey ????? Mr. Glitz

LA Mrs. Squires** Mrs. Lyons Mrs. Wise

Social Studies Ms. Lazareva Mrs. Molinaro** ????

**These teachers are the team leaders.

*I know this is going to come up and it is a sensitive topic/situation. All of the 6^th graders will be taking Math 6 Advanced. This is one level above what they would be taking at their district school. There is one class that is 2 years ahead, taught by Mrs. Vest. It used to be called 6A, now they call it pre-Algebra, which is the same class as the 7^th graders take, but they must have a 90% average to stay in the class. It only makes sense, if you can’t make an A working 2 years ahead, work one year ahead and make an A. Here is the touchy part. Almost every Pine View parent thinks their child is the brightest in the world and should be in 6A. Some scream, yell, demand, etc….that their child be put in 6A. Rest assured the first week of school the 6^th grade math teachers give inventories to make sure your child has been placed in the correct math class. If we feel they should be moved out of our class, we will do it.

Back to supplies…… Since there is not a 6^th grade orientation, students bring everything on the supply list to school the first day, because nobody told you anything. The poor students are dragging around bags of stuff all day. Last year I tried something new. I told all my students they could come to Pine View the Friday before school started at noon which was when the WEB was over and bring all of their supplies and I would collect all the things other teachers want them to bring, (boxes of tissues, glue sticks, etc.) and instruct them on how to set up their notebook (blue team), and what they needed for the first day. It was very successful, so I will do it again this year. Parents come in and help. It takes less than an hour. This is a great way for new to PV parents to get to know each other as well. I would encourage you to pack a lunch, make a new friend and go have a picnic somewhere or go to a restaurant. I know many of you work and it is impossible to come at that time, I can only do what I can do. I will send out a memo with a few directions so your child doesn’t bring everything the first day.

Message # 8 Philosophies Thursday, July 26, 2018

There are 2 basic philosophies with your child entering middle school. I will call the first one Hands Off. It may come from the parents thinking you did a great job in elementary school, you got into Pine View, you are so mature and grown up, so go for it and let me know if you need anything. Or it may come from the student. Look Mom and Dad, I am in middle school now. I am not a baby, I can do this on my own so leave me alone.

The other one I call the Safety Net. When you child turns of age, you don’t throw them the car keys and say have fun. There are steps towards that independence. Your child has never been to middle school and may not have been at Pine View before. There are some safety nets that I have built in to force us all to be on the same page and do everything possible to make this a positive learning experience. Please discuss these philosophies with your child and that I expect everyone to embrace the Safety Net.

On the first day of school in your first class of the day, (also called homeroom) every student, grades 2 through 12 will be given an agenda book paid for and provided by our wonderful PVA.(Pine View Association: All parents should join, as it helps our ratings.)

You are not allowed to “loose” it and replace it with a store bought version. You will be required to purchase one from school. You may not remove the spiral binding, or pages as you finish them. I will teach you how to use it properly and require one of your parents to sign it each night until the first progress report. (That is 4.5 weeks into the quarter.) If at that time you have all A’s and B’s. I will push you out of the nest and let you go one your own. Parents should continue to check each night until report cards. Then if they have all A’s and B’s, parents can stop checking. It is easier to back off when things are going well, than to dig yourself out of a deep hole. I know it is going to be a little inconvenient for the parents, but the time invested now will set them on the correct path for the rest of their educational career.

Parents when you sign the agenda book, that means you have looked at every assignment and helped your child prioritize what should be done first, second, etc. If it is a long term assignment, help them chunk it up and what will they do each night towards the end product. If they come to class without an assignment and your signature is on the agenda, I will contact you to make sure you understand what I need you to be doing to help them be on the right path. They should be doing their hardest subject first, when they are the freshest. Another strategy is to do the assignments for classes before lunch first, then if you run out of time they could do the assignments for the last 2 periods of the day at lunch.

Students get a whole period for lunch, 55 minutes. Most students finish eating in 15 minutes. They are free to go to the media center, a teachers’ classroom for help or to make up work, or go to the fields.

Message # 9 Lockers Thursday, July 26, 2018

For the 2018 - 2019 school year 6^th graders will not have lockers. Many students have rolling backpacks, which are allowed. Some students get carried away with what they think they have to have with them and those backpacks get way too heavy. I instruct them on what they should and should not have. To avoid back problems down the road, experts say backpacks should be 15% or less of the weight of your child. That means a 100 lb. child should not have a backpack more than 15 lbs.

Message #10 Schedules Mailed Thursday, July 26, 2018

I received an email today telling me schedules have been mailed, but teachers will not have access to our class lists until Monday, July 30^th. Make sure you get wide rule loose leaf paper and not college. I will not accept college rule paper and will take points off if you do use it for my class. I think Mrs. Squires required college rule. Please make sure you know the difference and have some of both for both of our classes.

Extra Message July 26, 2018

I am sure the new to Pine View Students are anxious to meet their new classmates. 2 summers ago I send out word for all new students that were in town and available to meet me at Siesta Beach and bring a bag lunch. I invited returning students as well if they wanted to welcome their new classmates. I gave a few remarks and splilt them into groups by where you live, Sarasota, Venice/Osprey/Nokomis, and North Port. This was not to be a drop you kid off event. Parent(s) had to come also. It is important for parents to get to know other parents so they have someone they can call to ask questions, know parents so you feel comfortable organizing play dates, study groups, party invitations, etc. I am not in town, so administration didn’t want me to organize a picnic, bu that does not mean one of you can’t. You may notice I am not sending a copy of this to administration, so someone can pick a date, time and place, reply all and get together on your own. I would also suggest each child bring their schedule and have a mock practice by designating a place for each of the core teachers, and one area for world languages, call out period 3 and see who is there that will be in your first class of the day, skip period 4 as that is your elective, go on to 5, and 6, skip 7 as that is your lunch period, then 8 and 9.

More than one person can organize a picnic. Not everyone is going to be able to attend, but it might reduce stress for some of the students. (and parents lol)

Remember you are on your own, I know nothing!

Note: Our school has 9 periods. High School starts 7:15, or period 1, then period 2. Then period 3 is the first class for middle and elementary.

Message #11 WEB and Supplies

Tomorrow is the big day!!! For those of you new to Pine View, you will be coming to PV at 10, going to the gym and having your WEB (Where Everyone Belongs). When it is over at noon, all 6^th graders are allowed/invited to come to my Mobile Learning Cottage (MLC) #35 if you can find it with your parent(s) and all of your supplies. I don’t care what team you are on, you are welcome. I will help the Blue Team with some instructions on how to set up their notebook AND help students and parents get to know those that live near you for carpooling, play dates, sleepovers, study groups, etc.

Now there have been some developments. I told you in an earlier message that our guidance counselor for grade 6 and 7 got married this summer. Well, she did and her husband accepted a job out of state and they moved. Ms. Fair and her team have been interviewing this week, but no one has been hired yet. Ms. McManus, the elementary guidance counselor, stepped in and trained the WEB leaders (high school studsents). Mrs. Gullick and I will be supervising these activities. Hope to see many of you tomorrow.

Message #12 Notebook Set Up

I am exhausted from setting up my room, meetings, etc., but I am so pumped and excited after meeting so many of you darling, sweet, adorable, polite, helpful students today. The day was perfect until the pizza, but we worked around that and got our goals achieved. I hope you and your parents got to know some new parents and that you can get together with a new friend this weekend and see a movie, go to the beach or something. Bonding is the most important thing to get into the inner circle at PV. Now that you have actually been on campus and see other students, a few teachers, the fear factor shoud go way down. Now it is a challenge, not a major panic. There are lots of adults around ready to help you, so ask.

Many of you were here today with your supplies. We collected glue sticks for Lazareva and Molinaro, tissues for Squires and Lyons, and assorted other teachers requesting those items. For Gold and Python teams what you need for Monday is 2 pencils already sharpend, and paper. One spiral notebook for social studies. As you go to all of your classes each teacher will tell you what they want from you.

Blue team: You will have the binder system. Mrs. Squires requested a one inch binder which will stay in her room always as your portfolio. The 2 inch binder will house all of your subjects. Take your dividers out of the package and put them in your binder. To label them go by your schedule. Your first class should be your first divider, second tab your second class. You won’t need one for your elective, just Math, LA, SS, Science, and maybe French, Spanish, or Chinese. Your world language teacher may require something else. Next open your wide rule paper and put about 25 sheets behind each divider. Keep the rest at home and refill as needed. Open your package of pencils, sharpen 4 and put in your pencil pouch and/or machanical pencils. About pencil pouches. Many students have 2. One that has 3 holes in it and goes inside your binder and then another one not inside the binder. There are times you only need a pencil like when you will be taking a test and won’t need to unpack your notebook. 2 red correcting pens, 2 blue or black ink pens, and your highlighters, and reinforcements also go in. The rest should stay at home and replenish as needed. Put about 5 sheet protectors at the back of everything, keep rest at home. You don’t carry everything you own to school. If your teachers want anything else to be in class they will let you know.

Rolling backpack are great, but when it rains, don’t drag it through puddles. Water will get inside and ruin everthing inside. Pick it up a carry it over the puddle. You might want to get a small umbrella to carry as some of your classes are in mobile learning cottages (that is what we call portables).

Enjoy your weekend and I will see you Monday!!!!!

Communication

Go to my new website. hollarc.educatorpages.com I have posted the homework for the year, (always subject to change) our tentative schedule for the first quarter (also subject to change), and course expectations. Also all the messages I sent out this summer in case you missed them. My old website which had the ability for me to eblast all of you will be deleted soon. The way I will be sending out messages will be through our gradebook called Crosspointe. You will be able to see you child’s grades in all classes, and set it up to notify when you child gets a zero or is marked absent. You have to go into the parent portal to set this up. I will be posting a link on my website to a document with directions with pictures to set this up. Currently there are only 2 or 3 parents that have set up this email option. You may have given an email address for contact, however your email needs to be given in a specific box to allow me to group email. I hope to have that posted Friday, so please check my website this weekend and get your family set up for information from me. By doing this once will allow all of your child’s teachers to send out messages.

Students were issued their math textbook and workbook Monday. They should be home and NOT in their locker. They are to stay at home. I have a class set for in school and the media center has about 15 on reserve for students that want to work on homework at lunch. I am asking students to carefully tear out Ch. 1 workbook pages and put in their binder. If you would please supervise and assist as those pages are easy to rip.

If you have received all my summer messages, you may stop reading now.

August 9, 2018 WEB & Supplies

Tomorrow is the big day!!! For those of you new to Pine View, you will be coming to PV at 10, going to the gym and having your WEB (Where Everyone Belongs). When it is over at noon, all 6^th graders are allowed/invited to come to my room #407 in the orange building if you can find it with your parent(s) and all of your supplies. I don’t care what team you are on, you are welcome. I will help the Blue Team with some instructions on how to set up their notebook AND help students and parents get to know those that live near you for carpooling, play dates, sleepovers, study groups, etc.

There is not a 6^th grade orientation so students bring everything on the supply list the first day and drag them around all day not knowing any different.

I will collect all the glue sticks, tissues, hand sanitizer, paper towels, etc. requested by teachers. IF you are not able to come Friday and drop off all this stuff, don’t bring all of it on Monday. Just bring one thing each day and turn it in to that teacher. IF you get to school early enough take it to them before school starts so you don’t have to carry it all day.

For Gold and Python teams what you need for Monday is 2 pencils already sharpend, and paper. One spiral notebook for social studies. As you go to all of your classes each teacher will tell you what they want from you.

Blue team: You will have the binder system. Unfortunately the system for generating the supply list changed and 2 items were left off. All Blue team members will need a 2 inch binder and set of 5 dividers. Mrs. Squires requested a one inch binder which will stay in her room always as your portfolio. That portfolio one inch notebook can be dropped off on Firday, just make sure you name is on it and the period you have her. The 2 inch binder will house all of your subjects. Take your dividers out of the package and put them in your binder. To label them go by your schedule. Your first class should be your first divider, second tab your second class. You won’t need one for your elective, just Math, LA, SS, Science, and maybe French, Spanish, or Chinese. Your world language teacher may require something else. Next open your wide rule paper and put about 25 sheets behind the math divider. Put 25 sheets behind the Language Arts divider. Keep the rest at home and refill as needed. You should ask Mr. Dacey and Ms. Lazereva which they prefer and put that kind of paper behind their divider. Open your package of pencils, sharpen 4 and put in your pencil pouch and/or machanical pencils. About pencil pouches. Many students have 2. One that has 3 holes in it and goes inside your binder and then another one not inside the binder. There are times you only need a pencil like when you will be taking a test and won’t need to unpack your notebook. 2 red correcting pens, 2 blue or black ink pens, and your highlighters, and reinforcements also go in. The rest should stay at home and replenish as needed. Put about 5 sheet protectors at the back of everything, keep rest at home. You don’t carry everything you own to school. If your teachers want anything else to be in class they will let you know.

Rolling backpacks are great for keeping the weight off your backs and shoulders, but when it rains, don’t drag it through puddles. Water will get inside and ruin everthing inside. Pick it up a carry it over the puddle. You might want to get a small umbrella to carry as most of your classes are in mobile learning cottages (portables).

Saturday, August 11, 2018 First Day and Picnic

I am exhausted from setting up my room, meetings, etc., but I am so pumped and excited after meeting so many of you darling, sweet, adorable, polite, helpful students Friday. I hope you and your parents got to know some new parents and that you can get together with a new friend this weekend and can attend the picnic the parents have planned. (Details at end.) Bonding is the most important thing to get into the inner circle at PV. Now that you have actually been on campus and see other students, a few teachers, the fear factor shoud go way down. Now it is a challenge, not a major panic. There are lots of adults around ready to help you, so ask.

Blue team have your binder and pencil pouch.

I encourage every student and parent to register for Remind.com by texting @pineviewsc to 81010 (standard text rates apply). It is a free service and it is one of the ways that the school sends important information home to families.

Some Tips for First Day

Have your schedule memorized.

Have an small umbrella it always rains.

Have a snack you can eat while walking to your next class between 4 and 5 or 5 and 6, as we have a late lunch (1:00).

Know how you are getting home!!!! IF it is a bus, write the bus number on the back of your hand in ink. You don’t want to have to open your backpack, dig out your binder to find your bus number.

Course Expectations are on my website. They are the same ones for Mr. O’Connors. Give your self a headstart and read them this weekend, because Monday night you will have 5 other course expectations to read. Monday you will receive a hard copy from me with a signature page saying you have read and understand them. The Acedemic Honesty Code is a large component. Parents, please have a family discussion about cheating. Let them know you would rather them take a zero on an assignment, then to try and copy from a friend and get caught. Either way, you get a zero, but caught cheating has other consequences.

If you will usually ride bus to and from school, do it the first day. Some families think oh, I will drive you the first day. Bad idea. Trust me on that one. IF their bus is late, it is excused, if you are stuck in traffic, and they are late, unexcused. I am sure they won’t be strick about that the first day, but do the normal routine so you/school can work out the kinks.

I have done everything in my power to make sure you have a comfortable experience the first day. Get a good nights rest and come ready to learn the ropes.

Picnic Info: All 6^th Grade Families Invited! Due to ongoing red tide - the meetup Saturday, August 11th at 3:30 pm will be at Laurel Park, Nokomis (there is a Laurel Park in Sarasota - NOT that one!). The address of Laurel pPark in nokomis is 509 Collins Rd, but we will meet under the covered pavilion off the Forrest entrance.

Please bring what you'd like to be self sufficient for your family. I am also new to PV this year so am hoping others can help me to “run” this meetup! We will start by splitting up into homeroom groups so the kids can see who is in their first class of the day.

Thanks everybody!

Jen Carlson

941-726-2326