Introduction
This year we have the opportunity to have a 4+1 student joining us from Clarke University, Mr. Bryan McCray. He is a licensed teacher who is completing his Master’s Degree. (He is not a student teacher.) He will be working with us as a teacher (I will serve in more of a mentor role) as he completes his Master’s and gains a year of experience in the classroom as a certified educational professional. He will be your primary contact as the year progresses. Please welcome him to our Wash family!!
Mrs. Gurdak Background
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as one of your co-teachers for 8th grade social studies for the 2015-2016 school year. I am extremely excited to be starting my sixteenth year of teaching with you and my seventh year in the district. As someone who grew up in the Dubuque area and school system, I am honored to be a part of the Washington staff and am looking forward to a wonderful school year. I previously taught at Bondurant-Farrar for five years and Oskaloosa for four years. I have completed my master’s degree and my endorsement in social studies and science, in addition to my original degree in language arts 5-12. I will also serve as an educational manager in the building this year while hosting a 4+1 Clarke student. In addition to the aforementioned, I will also lead the building as the Social Studies Content Leader. I bring knowledge, experience, and a passion for learning with me to my classroom! I hope you are all ready for another full year of learning and wonderful memories! I look forward to meeting and working with all of you this year!!
Mr. McCray Background
I would first like to take the opportunity to thank Mrs. Gurdak for inviting me into her classroom this year. I am very excited to be beginning my teaching career at Washington with all of you. I graduated from Clarke University with a degree in secondary education and history and am now working to complete my master’s degree in education. I also have endorsements in middle school social studies and language arts. I will bring many things to the classroom, including enthusiasm, knowledge, and passion for teaching. I look forward to a year working with all of you!
Classroom purpose We each have a different purpose for being in this class. Your purpose is to do the best you can to learn, and my purpose is to help you learn; we do share the same goal and this is your education. There may be some of you that need help to achieve your purpose and a goal, because of these people we have simple rules to bring about a good positive learning environment so everyone can reach their goal.
Rules-Love and Logic
1. Feel free to do anything that does not cause a problem for anyone else.
2. I teach when there are no distractions or other problems.
3. I listen to students who raise their hand.
4. I listen to one person at a time.
5. Please treat me with the same respect I treat you.
6. If someone causes a problem, I will do something.
7. What I do will depend on what happened and what the person is willing to do to solve the problem.
*Classroom Procedures: House wide expectations
-Late / make-up work (addressed further below)
-You will get two late passes to use for each class, these are your responsibility, if you lose them, they will not be replaced
-After you use your late passes, you will receive half credit of your earned score
-For assessments, you will have 10% taken off, again, up to two weeks
-Make up work; you have two days for each day missed, after that it will be considered late
Passes
-Please try to utilize the restroom between classes. If need be, you may use a pass, but try to go during work time. One person allowed out of the room at a time.
-You will not be allowed to go to your locker for any reason. We have supplies in the room you can borrow if need be. If it becomes a habit, we will call home.
Materials
-You are expected to have your textbook (unless you use on-line version), folder, spiral notebook/paper, pen, pencil, and earbuds. BRING these EVERYDAY.
-If you forget something, you can borrow something from a peer or from our “supplies” area. Do not ask to borrow it, you know where it is. Leave an ID or something of value until you are done using our materials. To ensure we get them back. This must be done before the bell rings, as well as, sharpening your pencil!
There is good news!
We understand that human beings need motivation at times to keep them working at their best. I need motivation as a teacher and you need motivation as a student. To help you stay on task and to do your best to complete your purpose, we have instilled bonus coupons (Gurdak Green) to be used towards rewards.
How to earn Gurdak Green! ·
-Doing well on a test/quiz or homework assignment, better than average work
-Excellent class participation
-Showing improvement in grades and/or behavior
-Random act of kindness
-Good display of character
- Having perfect attendance
-Winning a partner/group/ or class competition
- Excelling in extracurricular activities
You can use your money to “purchase” anything from the shopping list. What you can “buy” is located on the money itself.
ocial Studies Grading for Students/Parents/Guardians
Goal: Measuring learning is the focus of our philosophy. Accordingly, practice work or measures that are collected leading up to a formal measure of learning will be worth a minimal amount (weight) of a student’s grade.
Assessments (weighted @ 65%-75%): Assessments are tied directly to the standards, benchmarks, and grade-level expectations which have been vetted time and time again. So, we make every attempt to make sure our assessments are aligned!
Projects/Activities (weighted @ 25%-35%): Again, the goal is to measure student learning and there are times when the 21st Century student does a project or activity in or out of the class. These are culminating tasks which are measures of previously learned information from lessons in class.
Homework/Formative Checks (weighted @ 0%-10%*): These scores could be indicated in the gradebook as either collected (indicated by a check-mark in the grade-book), or missing in an effort to communicate if the student is keeping up on classwork. If they do receive a point value it will be weighted as a small percentage of the total grade. You will generally not have homework (besides reading) unless you do not use your classroom well. Then, you could have more than anticipated.
Performance Character: With the continued implementation of Common Ground (GWMS Values) and Performance Character traits, how your student is doing with regards to the “soft-skills” of being a student can be found here. Performance Character traits being: Effective Communicator, Productive Learner, Responsible Citizen, Critical Thinker, and Creative Thinker.
Extra Credit: Extra credit will only be offered to students who have all other obligations (homework, assignments, etc.) completed in the grade-book. The only way to get extra credit is through Gurdak Green. We would rather you do your work correctly or re-do it to get a better grade.
Assessment Retakes: Students can retake only to the level of proficiency (70-75%). Similar to extra credit, this will only be in the instance they have all other obligations accounted for. Students may be asked to do some supplemental work to show learning and effort before doing the retake.
How can you be successful in this class?
In order to do well in this class, you need to come prepared. We expect attentiveness and participation from each individual. We always say you should not have more than 15 minutes of homework in this class. If you do, 1) you did not use your class time wisely (often the main reason for homework loads) or 2) you do not understand the material (if this is the case, you are advised to get help ahead of time, not two minutes before the assignment is due). Our goal in this classroom is to give each of you a positive learning experience and environment. While we feel it is important to monitor student’s progress, we do not believe in piling on the homework to do so.
This class will be activity-based and includes a lot of hands-on experience. You will learn best when you are part of the education process and are given the opportunity to show what you know through various activities and projects. In order for this to occur, we have to know we can depend on you to be here and have your assignment done. (Much like a future employer will consider regular attendance and dependability a must.) Attendance regularly in class will aid in you doing well. We have found that those who attend class regularly are those who experience the most success.
If you have questions at any time that have not been answered in class, we would be more than happy to answer them before or after school at an arranged time. We am here to aid in your education, but you also have to be willing to put forth your best effort.
This year we have the opportunity to have a 4+1 student joining us from Clarke University, Mr. Bryan McCray. He is a licensed teacher who is completing his Master’s Degree. (He is not a student teacher.) He will be working with us as a teacher (I will serve in more of a mentor role) as he completes his Master’s and gains a year of experience in the classroom as a certified educational professional. He will be your primary contact as the year progresses. Please welcome him to our Wash family!!
Mrs. Gurdak Background
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as one of your co-teachers for 8th grade social studies for the 2015-2016 school year. I am extremely excited to be starting my sixteenth year of teaching with you and my seventh year in the district. As someone who grew up in the Dubuque area and school system, I am honored to be a part of the Washington staff and am looking forward to a wonderful school year. I previously taught at Bondurant-Farrar for five years and Oskaloosa for four years. I have completed my master’s degree and my endorsement in social studies and science, in addition to my original degree in language arts 5-12. I will also serve as an educational manager in the building this year while hosting a 4+1 Clarke student. In addition to the aforementioned, I will also lead the building as the Social Studies Content Leader. I bring knowledge, experience, and a passion for learning with me to my classroom! I hope you are all ready for another full year of learning and wonderful memories! I look forward to meeting and working with all of you this year!!
Mr. McCray Background
I would first like to take the opportunity to thank Mrs. Gurdak for inviting me into her classroom this year. I am very excited to be beginning my teaching career at Washington with all of you. I graduated from Clarke University with a degree in secondary education and history and am now working to complete my master’s degree in education. I also have endorsements in middle school social studies and language arts. I will bring many things to the classroom, including enthusiasm, knowledge, and passion for teaching. I look forward to a year working with all of you!
Classroom purpose We each have a different purpose for being in this class. Your purpose is to do the best you can to learn, and my purpose is to help you learn; we do share the same goal and this is your education. There may be some of you that need help to achieve your purpose and a goal, because of these people we have simple rules to bring about a good positive learning environment so everyone can reach their goal.
Rules-Love and Logic
1. Feel free to do anything that does not cause a problem for anyone else.
2. I teach when there are no distractions or other problems.
3. I listen to students who raise their hand.
4. I listen to one person at a time.
5. Please treat me with the same respect I treat you.
6. If someone causes a problem, I will do something.
7. What I do will depend on what happened and what the person is willing to do to solve the problem.
*Classroom Procedures: House wide expectations
-Late / make-up work (addressed further below)
-You will get two late passes to use for each class, these are your responsibility, if you lose them, they will not be replaced
-After you use your late passes, you will receive half credit of your earned score
-For assessments, you will have 10% taken off, again, up to two weeks
-Make up work; you have two days for each day missed, after that it will be considered late
Passes
-Please try to utilize the restroom between classes. If need be, you may use a pass, but try to go during work time. One person allowed out of the room at a time.
-You will not be allowed to go to your locker for any reason. We have supplies in the room you can borrow if need be. If it becomes a habit, we will call home.
Materials
-You are expected to have your textbook (unless you use on-line version), folder, spiral notebook/paper, pen, pencil, and earbuds. BRING these EVERYDAY.
-If you forget something, you can borrow something from a peer or from our “supplies” area. Do not ask to borrow it, you know where it is. Leave an ID or something of value until you are done using our materials. To ensure we get them back. This must be done before the bell rings, as well as, sharpening your pencil!
There is good news!
We understand that human beings need motivation at times to keep them working at their best. I need motivation as a teacher and you need motivation as a student. To help you stay on task and to do your best to complete your purpose, we have instilled bonus coupons (Gurdak Green) to be used towards rewards.
How to earn Gurdak Green! ·
-Doing well on a test/quiz or homework assignment, better than average work
-Excellent class participation
-Showing improvement in grades and/or behavior
-Random act of kindness
-Good display of character
- Having perfect attendance
-Winning a partner/group/ or class competition
- Excelling in extracurricular activities
You can use your money to “purchase” anything from the shopping list. What you can “buy” is located on the money itself.
ocial Studies Grading for Students/Parents/Guardians
Goal: Measuring learning is the focus of our philosophy. Accordingly, practice work or measures that are collected leading up to a formal measure of learning will be worth a minimal amount (weight) of a student’s grade.
Assessments (weighted @ 65%-75%): Assessments are tied directly to the standards, benchmarks, and grade-level expectations which have been vetted time and time again. So, we make every attempt to make sure our assessments are aligned!
Projects/Activities (weighted @ 25%-35%): Again, the goal is to measure student learning and there are times when the 21st Century student does a project or activity in or out of the class. These are culminating tasks which are measures of previously learned information from lessons in class.
Homework/Formative Checks (weighted @ 0%-10%*): These scores could be indicated in the gradebook as either collected (indicated by a check-mark in the grade-book), or missing in an effort to communicate if the student is keeping up on classwork. If they do receive a point value it will be weighted as a small percentage of the total grade. You will generally not have homework (besides reading) unless you do not use your classroom well. Then, you could have more than anticipated.
Performance Character: With the continued implementation of Common Ground (GWMS Values) and Performance Character traits, how your student is doing with regards to the “soft-skills” of being a student can be found here. Performance Character traits being: Effective Communicator, Productive Learner, Responsible Citizen, Critical Thinker, and Creative Thinker.
Extra Credit: Extra credit will only be offered to students who have all other obligations (homework, assignments, etc.) completed in the grade-book. The only way to get extra credit is through Gurdak Green. We would rather you do your work correctly or re-do it to get a better grade.
Assessment Retakes: Students can retake only to the level of proficiency (70-75%). Similar to extra credit, this will only be in the instance they have all other obligations accounted for. Students may be asked to do some supplemental work to show learning and effort before doing the retake.
How can you be successful in this class?
In order to do well in this class, you need to come prepared. We expect attentiveness and participation from each individual. We always say you should not have more than 15 minutes of homework in this class. If you do, 1) you did not use your class time wisely (often the main reason for homework loads) or 2) you do not understand the material (if this is the case, you are advised to get help ahead of time, not two minutes before the assignment is due). Our goal in this classroom is to give each of you a positive learning experience and environment. While we feel it is important to monitor student’s progress, we do not believe in piling on the homework to do so.
This class will be activity-based and includes a lot of hands-on experience. You will learn best when you are part of the education process and are given the opportunity to show what you know through various activities and projects. In order for this to occur, we have to know we can depend on you to be here and have your assignment done. (Much like a future employer will consider regular attendance and dependability a must.) Attendance regularly in class will aid in you doing well. We have found that those who attend class regularly are those who experience the most success.
If you have questions at any time that have not been answered in class, we would be more than happy to answer them before or after school at an arranged time. We am here to aid in your education, but you also have to be willing to put forth your best effort.