The transition to Middle School is tough on both students and their parents/guardians. Communication between home and school is extremely important during these 3 years, especially now that our students are trying to be more independent and won't always report information back home. We do want to foster more independence in our students, but we're also aware that they are still quite young and will still need a keen eye watching them. We love our students and we get to know them quite well, so we know they won't always get important information back home into the proper hands.
Communication
If it's been a while since you've received any news from the school, it's time to reach out. It's always easiest to communicate with teachers through e-mail. Phone calls are best if you can catch them, but their short planning period is usually filled with meetings, running off worksheets, or deadlines. If you e-mail teachers, they are able to e-mail back during a slow time in class or even from home. All teachers have their own wiki-page, filled with information on topics discussed during class, homework assignments, announcements, and dates for upcoming tests, quizzes, or projects. You can find each teachers' wiki-pages, along with their e-mail addresses, here:http://schools.lenoir.k12.nc.us/ebfrink/staff.htm
If you want to call teachers, you'll need to try and call them during their planning times. Planning times change from year to year. During the 2013-2014 school year, the planning times are as follows:
6th grade - 9:50-11:20
7th grade -1:20 - 2:55
8th grade - 11:20-12:55
Directed Studies - 8:00-8:55
If you call when a teacher is scheduled to be in class, please ask to be transferred to their voicemail, so as not to disturb their class
Monthly Newsletters
Frink sends out a newsletter every month with information on upcoming events, policies, tips, and general information on what's happening at Frink. Make sure your child knows that you want to look at the newsletter, and not to fold it up into an airplane and throw it on our lawn. You can view the newsletter on our website under News and Calendars. If you'd like to receive the newsletter by e-mail, send a message to [email protected] and ask to be added to our e-mailing list.
Agendas and Homework
Check your child's agenda every night! It is an important that your child knows that you will be checking up on their school work. We highly recommend that your home have an established "quiet time," when televisions, music players, and cell phones are turned off. Even if a student does not have homework that needs to be turned in, they should know that they'll still be required to work on something during "quiet time." There are always notes that can be reviewed, binders that can be organized, tests or quizzes to study for, AR books to read, or math, spelling, reading or vocabulary worksheets that can be printed from a variety of online sources. If a student thinks all they have to do is say "I don't have homework" or "I finished my homework at school" and they won't be required to do any work at home, they're more likely to use these lines often. If they know that even if they don't have homework they'll still be required to work for a set amount of time, they'll be more likely to go ahead and complete work for which they'll receive credit. I like to follow up on a "I finished my homework" with "show it to me."
Grades
Be on a lookout every 9-weeks for the report card and the progress report, which goes out at the half-way mark of each term. You can find the dates they'll be sent home on the Lenoir County Public School's calendar. In addition to this, we strongly encourage parents and guardians to check their child's performance weekly through the Parent Portal. If your child knows that you are going to be checking in on them more often, they'll be more likely to complete and turn in assignments.
Projects
Students are no longer required to complete National History Day and Science projects. Some teachers have elected to continue to work on these projects during Enrichment with students who have expressed interest in these subjects.