Saint Paul Lutheran School

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Sixth Grade

Teacher: Mr. Terry Miller

Welcome!!

I would like to welcome you to the sixth grade at St. Paul Lutheran School. This is my 28th year here and most of my experience is in teaching fifth and sixth grade. I am excited about this year and look forward to working with you. Sixth grade is a big step in preparation for middle school or jr. high school and will take a lot of work and effort on everybody's part.

EXPECTATIONS

Students need to readily accept responsibility for all of their actions. I expect them to think for themselves and do the things expected of them without being told several times. Rules and assignments are two of the biggest areas in this responsibility, along with keeping their desk and classroom clean, getting to school on time and obeying all other staff members.

I expect a lot from my students and I usually get a lot from my students. The strict measures I put on homework and discipline are hard to get used to at first, but students soon learn their responsibilities and what I expect of them.

WHAT I TEACH

I teach three things in my classroom. The first is Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast." ( Ephesians 2:8-9) Everything we do should be to His glory, not ours.

The second is responsibility. It is the student's responsibility, not the parents, to make sure they have everything they need for class including books, pencils and assignments.

The third thing is academics. Students who work hard, have their work done and turned in on time, and do their best on all assignments will do well this year.

PARTICIPATION GRADE

Every subject will include a participation grade of 10 points per week. This is approximately 80 points per quarter. Points are earned by being ready for class, for example, having the correct books and materials - paper, pencil, Bible, recorder, planner, etc. It also includes being on time for class. Anybody who is more than 10 minutes tardy in the morning will loose participation points. Being tardy for any other class is an automatic minus one point. Lastly it includes behavior in class.

Every Thursday this folder will come home. It will contain the Paw Prints, any notes from me, your child's papers (all of them, good or bad), a weekly newsletter from me and your child's weekly averages for each subject. The folder is to be signed by you in the space provided and returned to me on Monday. Any papers in the pockets should be removed.

Make-up Work

If a student is absent, they have one day for each day absent to turn in their missing work. After that one day, penalties apply as per the grading policy.

Extra Credit

There will be no extra credit given. Extra credit is simply extra work. Students do not need extra credit if they are doing their work and turning it in on time.

Toys

If any toys are brought to school, they will be taken away until the end of the day. Toys include anything that students might be playing with during class.

Memory Work

We will have memory twice a week. Memory days are Wednesday and Friday. You will find memory assignments for the entire year in this book.

Homework

I make assignments in almost every subject three to five times a week. There is always time to work on the assignments in class but not always time to finish them. I expect work to be turned in the day the assignment is due - not before or after.

Assignments are posted daily on a board in the front of the room and each student is responsible for filling out his/her planner each day.There should never be an excuse for not knowing the day's assignments.

If an assignment is late or missing the student will need to sign the late/missing work book and grade deductions will be taken as stated on the grading policy which you will find in this folder. Again, it is the student's responsibility to finish and turn in the assignments on time, not the parents.

Paper Home Folder

This folder will contain all of the letters, rules, and lists that your child will need to help him or her this year. Nothing that is in the clasps of this folder is to be removed from the folder!

Book Orders

Once a month I will send home book orders. Please return your order in an envelope marked "book orders" along with your check or cash. Please, if you write a check, make it out to Terry W. Miller. That way I can send a single check to the book company.

Book Reports

Four book reports are required for each quarter. The books must be okayed by me and should be somewhere around 100 pages or longer in length. The books must also be at or above the students reading level. There is more on book reports later on in this folder.

Entering the Classroom

Once you enter the classroom in the morning there are several things you need to do. Sharpen pencils, turn in late work, answer the riddle and then be in your seat working on your morning assignment. Seat work is assigned each morning. It will be listed in a special place in the classroom and is due by 8:25.

When you are Tardy

Class starts at 8:15 a.m. If you walk into class after this time you need to have a tardy slip from the office. Please come into the classroom quietly and place the tardy slip in the same pocket as your number on the "Who's Here Today?" chart. Sit down in your assigned seat and start to work. If you missed anything, it is your responsibility to find out what it is that you missed. If you are more than 10 minutes tardy you will also loose one point of participation.