Grade 7/7A

Welcome back to school! This is such an exciting time for all of us! We want to share with you some of our junior high procedures. We hope that you will find this information useful. We look forward to working together with you to make these last years at St. Irenaeus a happy and rewarding experience.

Service Hours:
One of St. Irenaeus' student learning expectations is to help our students become young people of faith. One way to achieve this goal is to perform Christian service for others. Our junior high students are required to perform at least 8 hours of service each year. This means at least 2 hours per quarter must be recorded, documented, and received by the teacher each quarter to meet Religion Student Learning Assessment requirements. This requirement counts as 25% of the Religion grade. A student may not receive a grade higher than a "C" if he/she does not fulfill this task. If students performed service during the summer, such as working in Bible Camp, these hours may be applied to this school year. However, we are strongly encouraging every student to continue to perform services for others each quarter, and to turn in documentation, so that hours from seventh and eighth grades may accumulate for service awards. After a student has completed a service, he/she will obtain a form in the classroom to document his/her service, and then get it signed by an adult. It is the responsibility of the student to return this form in a timely manner. The teacher will then record the student's hours and keep the documentation. It is our hope that by reaching out to others, our students will grow in the Catholic faith.

Homework:
The Junior High team of teachers will try not to give tests on the same days. Unfortunately, this is not always possible due to scheduling (we often endure assemblies, field trips, vacations, etc.).
All homework given is class related; it is either an extension of what is being taught in class, or reinforcement of the material. Therefore, it is very important that your child be present in class to complete assignments. We understand, of course, that there will be times when this is not possible. Please consider what your child might miss in classroom instruction when planning family outings or extended trips. It is very difficult to give a long-range assignment that will provide the same coverage of material taught in class.

Absence:
Each student has been assigned a "study buddy." The "study buddy" will record class assignments and save any returned papers or other pertinent information passed out on that day for his/her absent classmate. These items, along with the student's textbooks, will be taken to the office at the end of the school day. Parents, siblings, or other designated persons, may pick up the student's work in the office at the end of that day. Thus, allowing for easy access to help your student stay on top of their assignments. Please note: In the event of a cold, flu, or other minor related sickness, it is imperative to your student that their homework be picked up at the end of each day they are absent. This will allow them to keep up with their class assignments as they begin their recovery process at home.
Homework, following an absence, must be turned in within a reasonable time as determined by the teacher. Homework returned after the designated reasonable time will be considered incomplete or missing, depending on individual circumstances.

Tests:
All tests and some assignments will be sent home for the parent's signature; these must be returned on the following day. Parent's signature is an important part of our communication process. It allows the parent an opportunity to review with the student and it helps the parent stay on top of their student's progress. Please help your student by asking them nightly if they have anything they need you to sign. This will help all involved, as tests that are not signed by the second day will result in a student's detention.

Assignment Books:
In addition to all of this, students have been given an assignment book, which we strongly recommend they use, and we ask that parents oversee or monitor assignment book usage on a daily basis.

Consequences:
First of all, we promise to do our best to help your student avoid an after-school detention by informing them verbally and in writing of our expectations. If your child does choose to disobey a given expectation, they will first receive a verbal warning followed by a lunchtime detention before we result in after-school discipline. Students who do obtain more than three lunchtime detentions in a given quarter will receive after-school detentions.

In the event your child does receive an after-school detention, please know that he/she has been given school and class standards to live by. Our intention is to teach your student that poor choices result in consequences, not to hurt or humiliate your student. As a staff, we implore you to please allow your student to endure the hour of silence and please let them know what an inconvenience it is to you, your carpool, and the teachers involved.

Phone Calls/Conferences:
For parental concerns that require a telephone conference, please contact the school office to leave a message. We will return your call as soon as possible to discuss your concern or to set up a conference time. No problem is too minor to discuss as it affects your child's happiness and success in school.

We look forward to a very productive and fun year! Let's work together to make it great and to give our students the preparation they need before entering high school.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Bohm and Miss Maua