Room F-1 – Kennedy Middle School – Mr. Heinz
“To read a writer is for me not merely to get an idea of what he says,
but to go off with him and travel in his company.”
–Andre Gide
Dear Students and Parents,
Welcome to 6th grade Language Arts and Social Studies! My name is Mr. Heinz. I’m looking forward to working with all of you to create an exciting, safe and positive educational environment for this class.
Below you will find a few details about what I have planned for this course, as well as some expectations and information I have for my students. Please look this sheet over and let me know if you have any questions, comments or concerns.
I would like students and parents to sign their paper copy of this sheet and return it to me by the beginning of the second week of school. Thanks very much and I look forward to working with all of you!
Sincerely,
Mr. Heinz
Email: heinz_n@4j.lane.edu
Attendance and Participation
Attendance is required in my classes, and it is my hope that all students can make positive contributions to class. Students may only make up missed work if their absence(s) are excused with the main office. Also, excused late work must be turned in within one to three weeks of the day the student returns to class (the exact amount of time will depend on the severity of the illness or other circumstance that caused them to miss class in the first place).
Behavior
Room F-1 is a safe and positive learning environment. I would like my students to maintain this kind of environment by being positive, respecting others, being prepared to learn, following instructions and doing their best.
Materials
In this class, we’ll mainly be using the Prentice Hall Literature 6th grade textbook for language arts and History Alive: The Ancient World for social studies. We have a class set of these books that we will be sharing with another one of my 6th grade block classes. The textbooks are not to be taken out of the room without permission. Students will each need their own composition book, which we will use as “freewrite” and “warm-up” journals at the beginning of most class periods. They each cost only about 50 cents to $1.00 at Wal-Mart.
What We’ll Be Covering
In this class, we’ll be reading selected fiction, nonfiction, short stories, poetry and drama from the 6th grade Prentice Hall Literature textbook. We may, as time allows, also be reading selected books or novels from the school library and other sources both printed and electronic.
During this class, we’ll also practice various methods of writing, including but not limited to: narrative, expository and persuasive writing.
Finally in Social Studies we will be covering historical events from the ancient world and early civilizations. We will also be looking at geography, mapping, current events, etc.
Grading
Assignments in my classes are divided into four categories. Here are the categories and the percentages of the final overall grade that they are worth:
Homework/General Assignments: 25%
Participation and Journals: 15%
Tests and Quizzes: 30%
Projects: 30%
I try to grade assignments and essays as fast as possible. I post updated grades regularly in my classroom. I can also print out grade updates for individual students at the request of a parent. Here is how the percentages break down in my grading scale:
100%-90% A
89%-80% B
79%-70% C
69%-60% D
59% or lower F
Communication
I always welcome communication from parents and students. Please feel free to contact me at work by calling Kennedy Middle School (541-790-5500) and asking for Mr. Heinz. Also, contact me anytime by email (I check this at home and at work regularly) heinz_n@4j.lane.edu. I am available for individual conferences if you would like to set one up.
