December 11, 2010

Dear Parent / Guardian:

The next book report is due on the last day of January, 2011. If students wish to earn extra credit in Language Arts before the end of the second quarter, the book report should be turned in on the first week back from the Christmas break.
A FEW REMINDERS:
-Extra credit means: when ALL required academic work has been completed and turned in, the student wishes to do EXTRA work to help further reinforce skills. That is, extra credit means extra work; extra credit work cannot and will NOT replace required work!
-When a student resist in acquiring a routine of working on daily homework, the learning process is seriously interrupted and delayed causing a "dominoes effect" of total academic confusion for the student. Please continue to help your child by frequently checking his/her grades and homework online and encouraging and closely supervising his/her home-studies.
-When a parent states that the child has been working in his/her room daily for hours and is confounded by the fact that the child has earned a well below-average grade in a subject-area or two, my question is: what has the child been exactly working on for hours and hours in the room? Homework or on the computer games or on other types of internet connections???
-In regards to projects (Social Studies): the art-work is worth 20/100 AND the research work and report are worth 80/100. If you have observed your child working (w/classmates) on the Art for hours and days, does this mean that the child has earned an "A" grade? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Again, the art-work is worth 20% of the total grade. Please CHECK the project file folder containing the many fascinating pages of handwritten and printed-out notes & information, drafts of the report, drawings & sketches, written outline of the speech, the bibliography, and the final typewritten research report!
Happy Holidays & Good Wishes for 2011!
Mrs. Sharon Owyang-Lee
Grade 7 Homeroom Teacher
Mission Dolores School