Welcome to 6th Grade

• When will my child receive his/her schedule for the 2008-2009 school year?

• When will I be able to get my locker number and combination?

• What materials should my sixth grader have on the first day of middle school?

• What can I do to help my sixth grader transition into middle school?

• What will my student’s schedule look like for next year?

• Since there are A Days and B Days, should I set up two different binders (one for each day) to help my student be organized?

• What occurs in homeroom?

• Whom should I turn to if I need a question answered or need help for my student?

• What should I do if my student is absent from school?

• My student is not in any classes with their friends or he/she didn’t get the teacher we were hoping that they’d get!

• What are some extra curricular activities that my student can participate in and what is the Peer Buddy program?

• Will my 6th grader get to experience Outdoor Education at LKMS? When will it be and where will it be?

• Does EVERYONE get to go on Outdoor Education?

• When will students bring home the information regarding Outdoor Education?

• How may I sign up to chaperone for Outdoor Education?

• You’ve answered many of my questions, but not all! Who can I contact if you haven’t answered everything I need to know?

• What is Core Plus, and how will my child be impacted if he/she is in band? 

When will my child receive his/her schedule for the 2008-2009 school year?

We are very excited to be able to provide LKMS incoming sixth grade students with their schedules during the summer orientation on Thursday, August 21st, 1:45-3:00.  Incoming sixth grade students will report to their homerooms (homeroom assignments will be mailed to you over the summer), listen and watch announcements from our Lime Kiln Leopard television studio, meet their homeroom teachers, receive their schedules, and most importantly walk through their schedules BEFORE our first day of school!  Your student will get to see each teacher’s classroom and meet the sixth grade teachers so please make every effort to join us! 

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When will I be able to get my locker number and combination?

Since this is SO important to all incoming sixth graders, we will be providing our students with their locker numbers and combinations at the end of our class rotation with our Related Arts teachers during our summer orientation session!  All sixth graders will return to homeroom after completing a walk-through of their schedule to receive instructions regarding their lockers and get to practice opening them!  Feel free to bring whatever you’d like to put inside your locker (mirrors, book shelves, etc.).  The sixth grade team is hoping that this will relieve any stress students have about getting those precious lockers. Our sixth graders will be middle school “pros” on the first day of school! Back to Top

What materials should my sixth grader have on the first day of middle school?

The sixth grade team creates a list of the materials needed for most of the year.  This list is available on the table in the front hallway and will also be mailed home with our orientation information.  For the first day of school, you would help your sixth grader if they were set up with the following: (these are items that should be in the binder everyday)

1. A 2” zipper binder (3”  is too big – won’t fit in desks, 1½” not quite big enough)
2. Your student’s schedule in the plastic page protector provided on orientation day by their homeroom teacher.  This should stay in the FRONT of their binder always.
3. Tabbed dividers set up in binder for EACH class:
4. Math
   Science
   Social Studies
   Reading
   English
   Related Art
5. Pencils and Pens, highlighter, colored pencils, glue stick, ruler
6. Please bring 2 boxes of tissue to give to your homeroom teacher
7. To show your homeroom teacher how much you APPRECIATE the fact that they gave you your locker BEFORE the first day of school, bring back your SIGNED emergency procedure cards ON the second day of school!
8. ***We strongly discourage having an "A"day and a "B" day binder. One 2"binder is sufficient.
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What can I do to help my sixth grader transition into middle school?

There are several things that parents can do to help their sixth graders transition well into middle school.   Organization and completion of homework are truly important and more than half the battle for a successful middle school experience.  Even if your student seems to be both organized and responsible, I cannot encourage you enough to be proactive the first month of school.  Here is the routine you could establish with your student for the first month of school.  Once you feel confident that he/she is able to work independently, at that time you can allow your student to have that earned freedom.  Remember, periodic checks are always a good idea.

NIGHTLY ROUTINE

1. Check nightly to see that all papers are placed in order in the appropriate subject section of the student’s binder.  If not, show your student how to get organized.  As adults with these acquired skills, we incorrectly assume that our children automatically know how to organize.  Keep in mind that your child now has six (6) teachers and not 1 or 2!

From a teacher’s perspective, there are more students who need help with organization than those who do not!

2.Insist that your student faithfully write down homework for each class every day.  Even if a teacher does not assign homework, the student should write NONE.  Homework is also posted NIGHTLY on the LKMS teacher web page (www.teacherweb.com).

3.Insist that your student SHOW you the completed homework, even if it has been “done” at school.  This gives you a chance to have an open communication with your child, to offer praise for a job well done, to offer constructive help, or to ask that the assignment be redone if not acceptable.  Do not accept the following phrase, “I completed that assignment in school during Core Plus.”  Make sure that your student has placed completed homework in the appropriate section of the binder.

4.Before your student settles in for the night, help him/her pack up all the materials that will be needed for school the next day.  All of our mornings are incredibly hectic and as a result, many times students leave materials that they need for school at home.  It would be a shame to receive a zero when the work has been done!

5. Routinely check TeacherEase to monitor your student's grade in each class. You can also view a list of missing work for each class.

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What will my student’s schedule look like for next year?

On the chart below is our sample sixth grade schedule.  Don’t worry too much about it.  The students learn their schedules must faster than ANY adult in the building!

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Since there are A Days and B Days, should I set up two different binders (one for each day) to help my student be organized?

It is recommended that you NOT encourage your student to have an A day binder and a B day binder.  It’s too much for the students to keep track of what binder for what day.  Students many times have the wrong binders after a snow day or holiday.  Students who try this system often switch back to just one binder because they tend to forget which binder to bring to school.  Keep everything together in one place…both you and your student will be less stressed! Back to Top

What occurs in homeroom?

Homeroom is an extremely busy time.  This is where students report as soon as they arrive in school.  Teachers take attendance, collect forms, distribute forms etc.  It is so very important that students arrive at school on time so they are not marked tardy or absent.  Homeroom is also where students watch the morning announcements and hear about the events occurring at school! Back to Top

Whom should I turn to if I need a question answered or need help for my student?

Your child’s homeroom teacher is a great place to start.  You may contact that teacher through email (most efficient) or by calling or sending in a note.  The homeroom teacher serves as your student’s advisor.  If he/she is having a problem, the homeroom teacher can provide guidance or help solve a problem.  Should you need help or guidance, your child’s homeroom teacher will most likely be able to provide assistance or minimally direct you to the individual who can help!  Always feel comfortable contacting your student’s teacher if a question or concern pertains to a particular class.

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What should I do if my student is absent from school?

Please send a note with a reason for the absence in with your student on the next day of their return.  These notes are collected by the homeroom teacher and sent to the guidance office for recording keeping.  Students are considered illegally absent without that note. Back to Top

My student is not in any classes with their friends or he/she didn’t get the teacher we were hoping that they’d get!

We are aware that this is an anxious time since so many situations will be new for your student, but it isn’t a good idea to place “friends” in the same class.  Besides, this is a WONDERFUL opportunity for your child to expand their base of friends and make NEW friends as well!  Chances are the students considered friends at the beginning of sixth grade will change by the end of sixth grade.

It is our general policy not to honor schedule changes based on:

Friends in the class
Specific teacher requests by parents

However, if you do feel your student has specific needs, please feel free to address those problems with our guidance counselor , Ms. Lucas.  They will be sure to make the appropriate placement for your child.

Student schedules are determined based on articulation from the elementary schools, various testing information provided to us, and past academic performance.  Every effort is made to make sure that your student is appropriately placed in his/her classes.  If you feel an error has been made and it does not involve the two issues listed above, please contact the guidance department directly. Back to Top

What are some extra curricular activities that my student can participate in and what is the Peer Buddy program?

The staff at LKMS provides a myriad of activities after school for our LKMS students.  Just a few of the activities this year involved dance team, art club,flag football, drama club, drum group, soccer, basketball, Aqua Havens, Extreme Machines, International Club, Drum group, Art club, Book club, Newspaper, TV crew(2nd semester), and Softball.

A program called Peer Buddies is conducted during our Core Plus time.  Students may sign up to volunteer to work along with the students and teachers at Cedar Lane for a wonderful, meaningful, and educational experience.  All hours working in the Peer Buddy program count towards a student’s service learning hours.  Ms. Mel Preston at Cedar Lane coordinates this program. Back to Top

Will my 6th grader get to experience Outdoor Education at LKMS, when will it be, and where will it be?

The sixth grade team is extremely excited that YES we will be taking our students on Outdoor Education.  This experience will happen in May at  Camp Letts in Edgewater, Maryland.  There are so many wonderful opportunities for our students to experience.  Just to name a few: archery, seining, canoeing, challenge course, high ropes, pirate treasure hunt, zoo plankton tow, low ropes, art, seaperch submarines …this list goes on and on!  All of these activities take place overlooking a beautiful inlet just off the Chesapeake Bay. Back to Top

Does EVERYONE get to go on Outdoor Education?

The sixth grade team certainly hopes and expects that EVERY sixth grader will attend Outdoor Education.  It is VERY important to understand that this trip is a privilege and not a right, so each student needs to earn the right to attend.  Good school citizenship (treating your peers and teachers respectfully), good grades and effort in your school work, and excellent Leopard behavior will get you there! Back to Top

When will students bring home the information regarding Outdoor Education?

We are hoping to get the information home to parents in the late Fall of this school year. Back to Top

How may I sign up to chaperone for Outdoor Education?

LKMS staff welcomes our parents to help as chaperones.  This trip wouldn’t be possible without you!  Information for chaperones will be in that Fall packet! Back to Top

You’ve answered many of my questions, but not all! Who can I contact if you haven’t answered everything I need to know?

      Email Robert Glaze Robert_Glaze@hcpss.org or call 410-880-5988 and leave a message and I will return your call as soon as possible! Back to Top

What is Core Plus, and how will my child be impacted if he/she is in band? 

Core Plus is a period that all LKMS students have each day.  For sixth graders, this period occurs right after their everyday class.  What is great about this period is that it rotates. Meaning, teachers get an extra period a week to work with their classes.

The Core Plus schedule is as follows:

Mondays              1 A
Tuesdays              1 B
Wednesdays         2 A
Thursdays            2 B
Fridays                3A/B

Core Plus can be used in multiple ways by the sixth grade teachers.  It can be used as an enrichment period, tutorial for students needing help, sustained silent reading time, a time to make up tests etc. from days absent, a time to work on homework, or it may be used as 6th grade team time where the teachers meet with the entire sixth grade for assemblies, field trip planning and such.

Work completed in Core Plus may NOT be used as a class work grade or impact a student’s grade for that class.  The reason for this is that this is a time when band, drum groups, support groups pull sixth graders.  While band students may miss enrichment activities, this in no way can impact their grade.  If a student is in band and needs to make up work or to see a teacher for additional help, Mr. Jackowski (our band teacher) is very flexible and with advance notice will allow band students to seek out the help they need. Back to Top