6th GRADE AT PMHS Pittsfield School District 2020-2021 Welcome and - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

6th GRADE AT PMHS

Pittsfield School District 2020-2021

Welcome and Introductions

• John Freeman, Superintendent of Schools
• Danielle Harvey, Dean of Instruction
• Derek Hamilton, Dean of Operations
• Jessica Bickford, Director of Student Services
• Melissa Brown, Director of Career Readiness
• Kathy LeMay, Director of Interventions and Title I Manager

Goals

1. To familiarize students and families with the 6th grade routines 2. To introduce students and families to 6th grade courses and programs 3. To give students and families the opportunity to ask questions and provide input on content to be included in the fall orientation program

Bell Schedule

• Students will gather in one 6th grade classroom and/or the cafeteria between

7:30 and 7:50 in the morning

• The PMHS school day runs on bells

○ First bell rings at 7:50; expected to be in first period class by 7:57 ○ Sixth graders will ignore the bells and run on their own schedule so that passing in the hall is different from grades 7-12 ○ Students are dismissed at 2:46

• The Wednesday schedule is different than other days of the week; we

dismiss at 1:15

Advisory Program

• The role of the advisor is to support the social, emotional, and academic

growth of each advisee by building and sustaining relationships with the advisees and their families

• Advisory meets daily as morning meeting did at PES.
• All sixth graders will be assigned to an advisory group, which will be their

homeroom to start the day.

Advisory Schedule

The four components of Responsive Advisory Meeting are: 1. Arrival welcome – The teacher welcomes each student by name as they enter. 2. Announcements – In advance, the teacher writes an interactive message and displays it where it can be easily seen and read by all students. 3. Acknowledgments – In pairs or small groups, students share their responses to a prompt in the announcements message, a piece of news about themselves, or ideas about a topic related to their studies or interests. 4. Activity – The whole group does a fun, lively activity that’s focused on the specific purpose of the meeting

Curriculum & Instruction

• 6th Grade - split into 3 homerooms

○ The group will travel together as a class to have math, science, ELA and back to homeroom for writing/extended ELA

• Google Classroom

○ Teachers will set up Google classrooms for much of their content, which students can log into to share with their families

Courses

• Advisory Morning Meeting
• Core Content Classes

○ English and SS - Mr. Patsos (all teachers will support writing in their advisory groups) ○ Math - Mrs. Jean-Gilles ○ Science - Mrs. Rautio

• Unified Arts Classes

○ Students currently in band are encouraged to stay in band ○ Students will have the same UA every day for a third of the year ○ Rotate through PE, Art, Learning Commons

Co-curricular Opportunities

• School Clubs - we offer 9 different school clubs; examples include:

○ Drama Club ○ Environmental Club ○ Gaming Club

• School Organizations - for auditing participation during 6th grade year; by

application or class election 7th-12th ○ Justice Committee ○ Site Council ○ Student Council

Transition Plans

• Zoom with Mrs. Harvey last week
• Students with special education needs are making regular visits to middle

school (ongoing)

• Sixth Grade Orientation (in August)

○ Locker assignments ○ Building tour ○ Schedule walkthroughs ○ Lunch walkthrough

Fifth Grade Promotion

• The Fifth Grade Promotion Ceremony will be on Zoom June 9th at 6:00 p.m.
• Students will be recognized for academic achievements and all students will

receive a promotion certificate

• Families can pick up packets with materials, including class t-shirts, for the

ceremony on June 4 between 9:00-2:00 p.m.

Topic Review / Questions & Answers

• Advisory
• Curriculum / Instruction
• Courses
• Co-curricular Opportunities
• Transition Plans
• Questions on other topics?
• FAQ