Newsletter #7

December 19, 2011

Parents and Guardians: We care for our students here at Bache, and know Middle Schoolers need guidance to make good decisions. Please talk with your child about appropriate actions and behavior. Please, please, make sure they do not bring anything unsafe to school---poor decisions can have dire consequences for them and others!

Have a wonderful and restful Winter Break. Stay safe and we will see you on Tuesday, January 3, 2012!

DATE for Closing Exercises: Mark your calendars! Eighth Grade Closing Exercises (Graduation) will be held on Wednesday, June 13^th 2012. Time and place will be decided soon.

****Please ask your child about the new Interactive Notebook they are using in Math class. It will be a great organizational and study tool for them.

FIELD TRIPS: ++++We have an upcoming trip in January to see Freedom Train—a musical about Harriet Tubman presented by TheaterWorksUSA at the Irvine Auditorium at Penn. (see new link at upper right) Trip slips are coming soon, but we will only be taking 25-30 eighth graders, so spaces will be given out on a first come, first served basis. Please remind your child that in order to go on a field trip, students must exhibit proper and responsible behavior in school.

READING AND WRITING—All students should be reading a book or magazine of their choice for twenty minutes each night. Students also have several ongoing writing project that they should be working on at least several times a week.

LAST CALL!!!! EIGHTH GRADE PARTICIPATION LETTERS: (SIGNATURES PAST DUE) Your child has brought home a letter that explains the conduct and behavior that is expected of them in order to be included in all eighth grade culminating activities and Closing Exercises. These behaviors are simply the expectations we have of all our students at Bache-Martin. Please review the letter with your child and return the separate signature sheet ASAP.

Kristin Luebbert: krluebbert@philasd.org

Trina Allen: tdallen@philasd.org

Newsletter #6

December 5, 2011

NEWSLETTER # 6

Eighth Grade Ice Skating Party This Saturday, December 10: Parent Ms. Stephens has arranged a great event—Ice Skating at the U of P Class of 1923 Ice Rink from 5:00-8:00 PM. Only $2.00! Eighth Graders—come out and have some fun! The rink is located at 3130 Walnut Street.

Report Card Conferences Last Week: Conferences went well, if you did not pick up your child’s report card, please call the office to arrange a time to come in for a conference.

****Please ask your child about the new Interactive Notebook they are using in Math class. It will be a great organizational and study tool for them.

FIELD TRIPS: ++++We have an upcoming trip in January to see Freedom Train—a musical about Harriet Tubman presented by TheaterWorksUSA at the Irvine Auditorium at Penn. (see new link at upper right) Trip slips are coming soon, but we will only be taking 25-30 eighth graders, so spaces will be given out on a first come, first served basis. Please remind your child that in order to go on a field trip, students must exhibit proper and responsible behavior in school.

READING—All students should be reading a book or magazine of their choice for twenty minutes each night.

EIGHTH GRADE PARTICIPATION LETTERS: (SIGNATURES PAST DUE)

Your child has brought home a letter that explains the conduct and behavior that is expected of them in order to be included in all eighth grade culminating activities and Closing Exercises. These behaviors are simply the expectations we have of all our students at Bache-Martin. Please review the letter with your child and return the separate signature sheet ASAP.

Kristin Luebbert: krluebbert@philasd.org

Trina Allen: tdallen@philasd.org

Newsletter #5

November 28, 2011

NEWSLETTER # 5

Report Card Conferences This Week: Wednesday, 11-30-11 from 1:00 to 3:00 PM Thursday, 12-1-11 from 1:00 to 3:00 PM and again from 5:00-7:00 PM. Please adhere to your scheduled time. Your child should have brought home a conferencing scheduling letter last week. Conference times have been assigned. If your child did not give you a conference letter, please write a note to Mrs. Luebbert or Ms. Allen to request a time. Students will be dismissed at 12:09 on Wednesday and Thursday—conferences will start at 1:10. NO students will be given their report card without a conference. It is important that we discuss your child’s educational progress with you.

****Please ask your child about the new Interactive Notebook they are using in Math class. It will be a great organizational and study tool for them.

FIELD TRIPS: We had a wonderful time at the Franklin Institute seeing and participating in ‘The CSI Experience’—ask your child how he/she helped solve the case!

++++We have an upcoming trip in January to see Freedom Train—a musical about Harriet Tubman presented by TheaterWorksUSA at the Irvine Auditorium at Penn: (see newly added link-upper right)

Trip slips are coming soon, but we will only be taking 25-30 eighth graders, so spaces will be given out on a first come, first served basis. Please remind your child that in order to go on a field trip, students must exhibit proper and responsible behavior in school.

READING—All students should be reading a book or magazine of their choice for twenty minutes each night.

EIGHTH GRADE PARTICIPATION LETTERS: (SIGNATURES PAST DUE)

Your child has brought home a letter that explains the conduct and behavior that is expected of them in order to be included in all eighth grade culminating activities and Closing Exercises. These behaviors are simply the expectations we have of all our students at Bache-Martin. Please review the letter with your child and return the separate signature sheet ASAP.

November 7, 2011 Newsletter #4

Remember Parents: Students have no school on Tuesday, November 8^th (election day) or Friday, November 11 (Veterans’ Day).

Franklin Institute Trip: The trip is November 17, and will cost $20.00. The Students who were invited to go on the trip were given trip slips last tuesday. Please remember that trips are a privilege, and safe and appropriate behavior is required to attend a trip.

***This is a walking trip, students will need a bagged lunch for the trip.

URGENT: EIGHTH GRADE PARTICIPATION LETTERS: (SIGNATURES DUE NOW) Your child has brought home a letter that explains the conduct and behavior that is expected of them in order to be included in all eighth grade culminating activities and Closing Exercises. These behaviors are simply the expectations we have of all our students at Bache-Martin. Please review the letter with your child and return the separate signature sheet ASAP. Remember, students MAY NOT participate in trips and other events until we have the signed letter. Thank you.

Report Card Conferences: Conferences are November 30 and December 1, 2011. Letters will be sent home this week to ask you to choose from a list of times.

“EXTRA CREDIT”—as the marking period comes to a close, it might be useful to explain what ‘extra credit’ means: It is for the VERY RARE times when a student has tried his/her best every day, but still needs a little EXTRA work to pass a class, OR it is awarded when a student has done something BEYOND what is expected. IT IS NOT for a student who has neglected to do homework, or work in class, or projects, and is therefore failing the class. Extra credit WILL NOT be given to students who are missing regular assignments. Please discuss with your child the importance of giving his/her effort every day in school. Thank you.

If you are reading this on paper, please see the blog online at

http://bmgrade8.blogspot.com/

The blog has many useful links for you to explore.

October 31, 2011 Newsletter #3

IMPORTANT: The School District of Philadelphia has a policy on Academic Honesty and Integrity (read it here: http://www.phila.k12.pa.us/students/index.html#code). Aside from being morally and ethically wrong, any and all cheating will result in a grade of zero and a negative discipline report (pink slip). Please do not risk your academic future and reputation by cheating. Cheating includes copying homework, looking at others’ test papers, and plagiarizing essays and reports.

Franklin Institute Trip: The trip is November 17, and will cost $20.00. Students will be given trip slips on tuesday. Please remember that trips are a privilege, and safe and appropriate behavior is required to attend a trip.

INTERIM REPORTS: Students have been issued interim reports by Ms. Allen and Mrs. Luebbert. Please ask your child to see his/her reports.

HIGH SCHOOL APPLICATIONS: Your Public High School applications should have been turned in to Mrs. Frank by Friday, October 28^th. As for CHARTER SCHOOLS, different schools have various due dates, please be pro-active in investigating this if you think your child will need to consider the option of Charter High Schools. Refer to the Philadelphia Public School Notebook Fall Guide for info on Charter Schools. (http://www.thenotebook.org/fall-guide-2010/102812/choosing-high-school)

EIGHTH GRADE PARTICIPATION LETTERS: (SIGNATURES DUE NOW)

Your child has brought home a letter that explains the conduct and behavior that is expected of them in order to be included in all eighth grade culminating activities and Closing Exercises. These behaviors are simply the expectations we have of all our students at Bache-Martin. Please review the letter with your child and return the separate signature sheet ASAP.

Grade Eight Newsletter #2

October 17, 2011

Please Note: Wednesday, October 19 is a half-day for

students. Dismissal at 12:09.

Field Trip News: Our trip to hear Markus Zusak at the Free Library was a great success. The students were very well-behaved. I believe the students really enjoyed hearing him speak.

****The school-wide field trip is to the Kimmel Center on Wednesday, October 26th, 2011 to see DRUMLine Live!.
We are taking buses provided by the Kimmel Center at NO COST!!!! The ticket is discounted for our students at $5.00 There are 272 student tickets and 28 chaperone tickets reserved for Bache-Martin for the trip. Tickets are going to go on a first come first serve basis: Completed trip form must be accompanied by the $5 discounted ticket money to reserve a spot.

Franklin Institute Trip: The final cost for our Franklin Institute Trip is $20.00.

The trip is November 17, 2011. The trip slips will be given out next week.

UPCOMING DUE DATES!!! Remember, High School Applications are due On October 28, 2011. The High School Fair is at 440 North Broad Street on October 22 &23—please plan to visit.

*****the grade participation letters were sent home last week, the signature page is due back ASAP.

Please note that new links have been added to the blog. These links are to various information and resources the District has to offer. Please check them out.

Grade Eight Newsletter #1

Parents/Guardians and Students: Please read for important information and upcoming events for our eighth grade students.

Upcoming Trips: Thirty eighth-graders will be attending an author book talk and signing at the main branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia on October 17^th at 1:00 PM. We will hear The Book Thief author Markus Zusak talk about his award-winning book. This is a free trip and students have already received their copy of The Book Thief. Please return all permission slips ASAP.

****Franklin Institute trip: We have arranged a trip to the Franklin Institute to see and participate in CSI: The Experience for November 17, 2011. The cost of this trip will be between $18.00 and $20.00, and the permission slip will be sent home soon. This will be a walking trip and students will need to bring lunch that day.

*******Please discuss with your child the fact that to be included on a field trip, he/she must exhibit safe and responsible behavior in school every day.

EIGHTH GRADE PARTICIPATION LETTERS:

By the end of this week, your child will be bringing home a letter that explains the conduct and behavior that is expected of them in order to be included in all eighth grade culminating activities and Closing Exercises. These behaviors are simply the expectations we have of all our students at Bache-Martin. Please review the letter with your child and return the separate signature sheet ASAP.

EIGHTH GRADE CULMINATING ACTIVITIES:

In addition to Closing Exercises, we would like to plan a “big” trip for our eighth graders. If we choose to travel to New York or Baltimore, for example, the trip would cost upwards of $60.00 per student. Please let us know your opinions. We will keep you advised of all plans and costs as early as possible so students and families have a chance to plan ahead for expenses.

Best, Ms. Allen (tdallen@philasd.org) & Mrs. Luebbert (krluebbert@philasd.org)