Meet Mrs. Moir

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PARENT'S PAGE

This is the parent homework your student will tell you about. Please print, complete, and return this "parent homework" assignment. Then, please read the rest of the page. I promise I won't make you do this very often but the first of the school year is full of information. Thank you for indulging me! J

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Twin Peaks Middle School

It takes a while to get to know close to 170 students but you can help me speed up the process by sharing your perceptions of the student you know best!  Please take a few minutes to help me get acquainted by completing this form and returning it to me.  Naturally, this information will be confidential. Thank you for your help.

What concerns do you have about seventh/eighth grade?

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I do appreciate all the responses I have received. They provide great insight. When I printed my parent letter this year, I did so on one piece of paper, to save money. However, I asked that the bottom be cut off and returned.  Since the letter does contain information that you might want to refer to during the year, I will paste it in here.  It did seem a good idea at the time.

Twin Peaks Middle School 

14640 Tierra Bonita Road, Poway, CA 92064

(858) 748-5131  Fax: (858) 679-6823

 August, 2009

Dear parents and guardians,

Several years ago Twin Peaks Middle School divided into villages.  Each village has a core of four teachers and approximately 170 students.  The village concept works well since it breaks a school of more than 1200 students into smaller groups.  Friendships come more easily when students see the same faces in more than one class while teachers enjoy planning together as well as being able share student concerns and scheduling conferences while a problem is still small! Village teachers meet formally at least once a month, during collaboration times, but talk informally more often.

Our village, the Thunderbolts, has both seventh and eighth grade students. Most of my English students will have Ms. Toretto or Mr. May for science and Mr. Jackson for math while social studies will be taught  by Mr. Delaney. Because we are a village, we can coordinate projects and we try to arrange it so that students don’t feel too much stress.  Additionally, due dates will be staggered or in different quarters and large assignments will be broken down into manageable parts. I am  available during RAM time for extra help. This is also a good time to make up tests, etc.

Be sure to keep track of your child’s progress by checking assignments and grades on Learning Point.  So that I can be sure this is happening, I ask for signed print outs and reading logs every two weeks. These dates are posted in the room. I have my own website, www.moir.org/mrsmoir, where all assignments and grades are posted.  You can also reach it by going to the Twin Peaks web site, click on staff, and click on my name.

Twin Peaks has a policy that states that late work receives half credit. This may seem harsh but strict consequences cause students to be more responsible. In order for parents to stay current with student achievement, I ask that students print-out their grades every  two weeks.  Self advocacy is another part of growing up and I ask that if a student has a question or concern, you should encourage him/her to ask me or send me an email with the question. This shows that you believe in them and that they are capable. Obviously, parents can also contact me but encourage your child to “take charge!” Email is a good way  to reach me but remember that my days are spent with students so it may be 24 – 36 hours before you receive a response. My school email is emoir@powayusd.com while home is emoir@moir.org.

The Planner spells out expectations for all Twin Peaks students.  Be sure to read this carefully and go over it with your student.  All villages at Twin Peaks honor the six pillars:  respect, responsibility, caring, citizenship, trustworthiness, and fairness and I ask that you support these same traits at home. In addition to the school wide rules, my expectations are:

§  Discipline.  I expect my students to behave in an appropriate manner at all times but should a student make a poor choice by chewing gum, being tardy, repeatedly missing assignments, being disrespectful, or disrupting the learning process, a 25-minute lunch detention will be assigned.  Should a student miss a lunch detention, it becomes two lunch detentions.  If these are missed, the child is referred to the assistant principal.

§  Absences.  When a student is absent, the work must be made up in a timely fashion  within a week or less unless special arrangements are made.  A missed quiz or test needs to be made up during RAM time . Work that is not made up during the allotted time will receive a zero.

§  RAM time is a time for silent sustained reading. Students should complete their reading log each time they read. This will allow them to see how much they are reading and these will be collected every two weeks,on the same day as the signed print out. During the second half of RAM, students can work on homework, see a teacher to make up work and get some help, or, of course, continue reading. Students are expected to work or read quietly all during RAM.

§  Extra credit is available on a regular basis, by completing reading journals. The form to use is found on both the 7th and 8th grade language arts section. Please print it out or use binder paper to complete each requested response. These are due every two weeks (dates are posted in the room) and can earn a maximum of twenty points.

§  Cursive.  I  require my students to write in cursive, using ink. Learning and using cursive (handwriting) is part of the California State Standards for third grade.  Traditionally, after learning cursive, students were expected to use it.  This is no longer the case and many of our students have a terrible time with note taking because they are laboriously printing every letter.  I want my students to have the tools to be successful in high school and beyond. This includes taking notes quickly, with connected letters.  I will not be grading on penmanship but will be looking for connected letters!

I  look forward to a wonderful year.  Please keep me up-to-date on any factors that might affect your child’s schoolwork.  These include the death of a family member or pet, a close friend moving away, an injury or surgery, change in family status, or anything else you think is important.  I care about my students and want to do whatever we can to ensure a very successful year!  Back-to-School Night is Wednesday, September 2. I hope to see you then.

I know by working together we will greatly increase the chance of your child having a great year!

Sincerely,

Ellen Moir

Please sign and return to me by Thursday, August 27, 2008

                                                                               Date _____________

My student, ___________________________, and I have reviewed Mrs. Moir’s letter and understand it.

_______________________________________ . Parent signature

***********************************************************************  Handouts remain a luxury during these lean times.  Last year our publications budget was about $2.50 per child which meant that we could run off about 80 copies per student per class but this amount has been  reduced to about $.55 per student this  year. Last year I was very fortunate that some parents helped out with cash donations.  Writing a check to Twin Peaks Middle School and asking that it be applied to my pubs budget is a huge help! 

Please be sure to check grades on-line regularly.  I post almost every week and this is my way to communicate with parents. I hope to obtain an email address for every parent so that I can send out little bits of news now and again.  We'll see if this plan works out.

Parents of gifted children are interested in their social and emotional needs, as well as characteristics, terminology,  and how best their needs can be met.  More information is available from the California Association for the Gifted (CAG) and the National Association for the Gifted Children (NAGC)

As teachers, we occasionally receive emails and/or phone calls from parents who are angry that they haven't been notified about a missing assignment or told that their child isn't doing well.  In a perfect world that would probably not happen but the world isn't perfect! 

With students, curriculum to prepare, papers to grade, and meetings to attend, we attempt to communicate through technology.  The reason for this website is to keep you informed about what is happening in my classroom and to make grades available to you.  It is my presumption that I am communicating and that interested parents will look regularly.  If you do not have internet access, your child can always print out grades at school. If more detailed information is needed, the counseling office has both daily and weekly progress notices available for your child to use.

Since I post my grades almost every weekend, you should check at least every other week. A zero shows a paper that was not turned in or did not have a name on it while an E means the students was excused from that assignment, usually due to an absence. These assignments should be made up within a week or the grade turns to a zero.   Late work, if accepted, receives half credit. While this seems like a stiff penalty but when consequences are meaningful, more care is taken to follow the rules. If your student is struggling, help is available daily during RAM time.  Twin Peaks also has a lunch time "Homework Success Club" for students who have not completed homework but I have little if any authority when a student chooses not to complete an assignment.

This is a chance for me to beg, unabashedly, for contributions to my publications budget, etc. Unfortunately, this was not a class offered in my credential program (and I wasn't even proficient at selling Girl Scout cookies!) so I tend to get tongue-tied and blush while I attempt to beg.  Any/all donations to TPMS with a teacher name can be used for our publications budget and will be greatly appreciated! Every $5.00 is 100 copies so you can see how this thing works!

Here are some answers to certain parental concerns that come up every year:

• Students seem reluctant to follow directions.  Please encourage your child to do exactly what is asked, using the format, materials, due date, etc.  This can be as simple as writing in pen and using the correct heading.

• Students are not completing assignments on time and are still expecting to receive full credit. Late assignments will be recorded at half the earned points and in some cases, will not be accepted at all.  For example, when I allow students to rewrite an essay, I give a date that is the LAST date I will take rewrites. I do enforce this rule.

• When a student is absent most work must be made up. This should be done within a week, unless other arrangements have been made, or the scores will be recorded as zero. 

• Big assignments are due on the specified date whether the child is at school or not. Should your child be sick, please make arrangements to get the project to me.

• No-name papers receive half credit. Students are always reminded to be sure their paper has their name on it before passing them forward and by middle school this concept should be familiar.

• While some of these rules may seem harsh we are trying hard to prepare your student for the years ahead.  Responsibility is a learned trait and middle school students are ready for these requirements. No rule is carved in stone of course, and there might be an exception, but it doesn't happen very often.

  Many students find the adjustment to middle school takes some time.  Some ideas that have helped other students in the past include:

  • Checking the student's planner to be sure all assignments have been written down.  Then ask your child to show you the completed assignment and then check it off. 

  • If the planner is incomplete, require your child to have each teacher initial what has been written down.  This allows the teacher to be sure that the student is clear on the assignment.

  • Use my "This Week" and other teacher's Learning Point as a back-up in case the student is absent or confused.

  • Help develop a homework plan.  Since students have classes every other day, decide whether homework will be completed the day it is assigned or the day before it is due.  With two nights to complete assignments it is frustrating to hear a child say, "I didn't have time."

  • Check on-line grades frequently and discuss missing assignments and other patterns you might see.

  • Try to make the student responsible for learning.

  • Contact teachers with concerns.

  While I don't want to be full of "gloom and doom," money is very tight so students needing copies of class notes will need to borrow some and copy them..  We find ourselves unable to replace some supplies so please be sure your student has paper, pens, pencils, and tissue for a runny nose. I continue to furnish hard copies of things I think are necessary but my annual budget quickly disappears. 

  Useful Information

  If you get a newspaper or a news magazine, have your child read it regularly and discuss the news with you.  Let them be aware of what is happening in the community, the state, and the world. Discuss the fight against terrorism, the situation in Iraq, the latest professional athletes using steroids, the Olympics, the Presidential election, and current local issues. Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan are not as important!  Ask your student to form opinions and back them up with facts -- this is a very important skill.  Talk about mundane things--how much a carton of milk costs, what the energy crisis is about, how far you can drive on a gallon of $4.00 gas.  Kids don't always know some things that we presume they should -- such as how much it costs to mail a letter.

  In order to help students be successful, I post all my assignments for the week in this website as well as on the whiteboard in the classroom.  Students are asked to write down all homework assignments in their planner and parents are asked to review the assignments and due dates with their student.   

  Encourage homework completion and make time everyday to share, visit, and laugh with your child. You can contact me by email to ellen@moir.org or emoir@powayusd.com or leave me voice mail through the campus phone system.

On the lighter side, I think you might find this enjoyable: