Middle School Handbook - Home - Bancroft School



Middle School Handbook

Table of Contents

2009 - 2010

Page

I. Middle School Mission Statement 2

II. Academics

a. Honor Rolls 2

b. Effort Categories 3

c. Grading Scale 4

d. Acceptable Use Policy 5

e. Academic Honesty 6

f. Study Tips 6

III. Discipline and Dress Code 8

IV. Community Service Philosophy 10

V. Resources

a. Wellness Resources

1. Hotline numbers 11

b. Miscellaneous

a. Forum requirements 12

b. Library resources 14

c. Research guidelines 16

VI. Student Council

1. Mission Statement 17

2. Roles 17

3. Election Process 18

Middle School Handbook

Middle School Mission Statement

The Bancroft Middle School strives to develop confident learners who are well prepared to address the challenges in our Upper School and in life. In a safe, rigorous, and experiential learning environment, dedicated teachers promote independent organizational skills and manage each student’s transition to more abstract and inferential thinking. Students are steeped in a culture of compassion and respect. Through our community service program and a curriculum that celebrates world cultures, they learn to think beyond themselves and to embrace their roles as global citizens.

Academics

HONOR ROLLS

The Middle School recognizes three honor rolls: high honors, honors, and effort honors. The honor rolls are determined at the end of the year and announced at the Middle School Closing Ceremony.

High Honors

Students must have an academic average of A- with no grade below C, including physical education, in order to attain High Honors.

Honors

Students must have an academic average of B+ with no grade below C, including physical education, in order to attain Honors.

Honor Roll of Outstanding Effort

The Honor Roll of Outstanding Effort is comprised of those students – who in the opinion of the faculty – have shown outstanding effort in all classes in the areas of class participation, homework preparation, test preparation, class notes, and have also shown a high level of intellectual curiosity that is the hallmark of every learner.

Effort Categories

The following effort categories will be used on trimester comments:

Excellent

Excellent effort is demonstrated when the student either has excellent intellectual curiosity as shown by the pursuit of knowledge for reasons beyond getting good grades, or the student demonstrates outstanding effort that is above and beyond expectations.

Very Good

Effort that is characterized as “very good” means that the student participates in class discussions by asking and answering questions. Homework is consistently prepared with thought and care. Class notes are an accurate record and the student’s binder is well organized. The student is a respectful participant in group projects. Tests and announced quizzes are prepared for with thought and care. The student seeks extra help when needed. The student’s behavior in class is consistently supportive of the learning environment.

Good

Good effort is demonstrated when the student follows the class discussion and is able to answer questions but may not always ask questions for extension or clarification. Homework is generally prepared with thought and care. The student seeks extra help but may need to be reminded by the teacher. The student is a productive member of group activities. Class notes are a reasonable reflection of the material covered in class. There is clear evidence that the student has studied for tests and announced quizzes.

Needs Improvement

The student that demonstrates effort that “needs improvement” is not able to participate in the class discussion on a regular basis. Homework is prepared, but it does not show sufficient detail and may be sloppy. Little effort is made to make up missing assignments. The student comes for extra help only after repeated requests from the teacher. The subject binder is messy and disorganized.

Insufficient

Effort that is “insufficient” means that the student is rarely able to participate in the class discussion. The student is frequently not focused on the class discussion. Homework is frequently not completed on time or with sufficient care. The student does not come for extra help and demonstrates little concern that his/her grades do not reflect the student’s ability.

Grading Scale

A 93-100

A- 90-92

B+ 87-89

B 83-86

B- 80-82

Acceptable Use Policy

Each student is required to sign the School’s Acceptable Use Policy. While the School is constantly trying to promote the use of technology, computers should only be used for academic purposes. You are not allowed to use the computers unless you are working on an assignment or you have the permission of a teacher. Specifically, you should not:

• download music or games,

• use the internet to check your personal email account, or

• use the internet to play games.

Additionally, the information that is stored in your student folder should only be information that is required for your classes. You should never provide another student with your password.

Academic Honesty

“Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people.”

Spencer Johnson

Academic honesty is telling the truth about what you know on your homework, your quizzes, your tests, and your projects. The information that you give must be based on your knowledge. While it is obviously impossible to list every form of academic dishonesty, you should never:

• copy another student’s homework, or provide homework for someone to copy;

• receive or give information about a quiz/test; or

• talk to another student or look at another student’s paper during a test or quiz.

Sometimes you may not be sure if it is appropriate to share your work. Can you work with another student on a homework assignment or copy someone’s class notes? When you are not certain, you should always check with a teacher.

Plagiarism is a specific form of academic dishonesty where one presents the work of someone else as his or her own. Plagiarism prevents you from learning the information. When you are using outside resources to support a research paper you should always:

• cite (author, title, internet address, etc.) the resource if you use the ideas of someone else;

• if you have a short quote where you use the exact words from someone else, you should put the words in quotation marks and cite the resource; and

• if you use a direct quote that is longer than a sentence, you should indent the words and cite the source.

Specific techniques on how to cite a source are provided by the librarian and your classroom teachers.

Incidents of academic dishonesty can result in failing the assignment and an automatic detention.

Study Tips

Learning what methods to use to help understand and remember information is one of the most important things you will do in the Middle School. The following guidelines will be useful in any grade.

Studying at Home

(Find an area that is well lit and free from distractions.

(Find a place to store your school materials.

(As soon as you complete your work, put your work and books in your book bag.

Organizing Yourself

(Prioritize your work – you may decide to do your hardest assignment first and then do the easiest last as a reward.

(Check off your assignments as you do them – this will give you a sense of accomplishment.

(Choose one day every week to clean out your book bag and go through your notebooks. Reorganize anything that’s not in order.

(Break long-term projects down into manageable steps and write them in your plan book. This will allow you to get your work done on time and without stress.

Preparing for Tests, Quizzes and Exams

(Study actively – list ideas, recite information out loud, write questions you think might be asked, have someone quiz you on important facts.

(Use old tests and quizzes to study from – analyze the type of questions missed.

(Space out review to avoid last minute cramming of information.

Stress

(Remember: the more prepared you are, the more confident you will be. At times you may be faced with a stressor in your life. Here are a few ways people have found to cope with stress:

(Work out – get some physical exercise.

(Tell someone how you feel – talking about your feelings can help you feel better.

(Take a break from the pressure – take a look at your schedule and see if you can make some changes to make life a little easier.

(Analyze your thinking – change negative thoughts into positive ones.

Discipline Section

The goal of our discipline system is to support your ability to make independent and responsible decisions. Ideally, you will be making good decisions because you have thought about the values of your parents, the values of the school, and most importantly, your values. We also recognize that you may not always make good decisions, so we have different consequences to address poor decisions. The School’s Code of Conduct and Discipline Policy are further outlined in Part IV (the Parent/Student Handbook) of the Bancroft School Directory.

Infraction

An infraction is a written warning. It is a reminder that your behavior was inappropriate. Infractions need to be signed by your parent and returned to your advisor. Lateness – students who arrive in their advisories after 7:50 a.m. will be marked late. If you are late three times in one trimester you will be given an infraction. If you have three infractions in three months, you need to serve a detention.

Citation

A citation is a written warning that you are not prepared for class. Generally, they are written when your homework is incomplete or not done. They can also be written if you have forgotten required materials for class. Citations need to be signed by your parent and returned with the completed assignment to the teacher issuing the citation. If you get two citations that are not signed with the work returned in one week you will have an Academic Detention on Friday afternoon. If you get three citations in one week – regardless of the work being completed and the citation being signed – you will have an Academic Detention on Friday afternoon.

Detention

Detentions are served on Friday afternoon from 3 PM-4 PM. Any faculty member or administrator may issue a detention. Your parents will be notified of the assigned date by a written notice or phone call. You must receive permission from Mr. Jones if you need to change the date of your detention. During the detention you will quietly write a reflective essay detailing:

• a description of the infractions – just the facts;

• an explanation of why the action is a problem in the eyes of the school; and

• what you will do to ensure that the behavior will not happen again.

You will take the essay home and have it signed by your parents. It should be returned to the Discipline Dean who will then forward it to Mr. Jones.

Dress Code

The purpose of a dress code is to encourage students to be neat and clean, modest, and well groomed. Concern for personal appearance is an indication of self-respect and courtesy for others. Each student is expected to dress accordingly. Dress should be appropriate and not distracting to other students or teachers. The following regulations aim to cultivate a sense of appropriateness. Interpretation of the dress code is made by the Head of Middle School.

General Guidelines

• Students must wear neat, clean, properly fitted clothing that is not ripped, torn, revealing or frayed. Students’ shoulders must be covered.

• Hair should be neat, clean, and of a natural hair color.

• Jewelry and other accessories must not be garish or distracting.

• Piercing any part of one’s body other than the ear is not permitted. No visible tattoos are permitted.

• Hats may be worn to school, but they should be kept in your locker during the school day.

Boys may wear:

• pants or walking shorts.

• a collared or non-collared shirt.

Shirts must not have any writing or pictures (beyond small brand-name insignias) on them.

Undershirts should not hang below dress code compliant outerwear.

• a sweater or Bancroft sweatshirt.

• shoes, sneakers, or sandals (although sandals are not recommended in science labs).

Girls may wear any of the above. In addition, they may wear

• a skirt or a dress. Skirts must reach a point midway between the fingertips and the knee. Shorts must have a five inch inseam. These guidelines apply to dress down days, dances and other school functions.

• a blouse.

On dress up days, boys will wear dress slacks, shirt, tie, and dress shoes. Boys will wear jackets at the Academic Awards and the Closing Ceremonies. Girls will wear dresses, skirts, or dress pants and blouses and dress shoes.

Not permitted: Athletic gear, warm-up suits, sweat pants, blue denim or anything that resembles blue denim, painters’ or work pants, halters, military clothing, beach wear, undershirts as outerwear, tie-dyed shirts or blouses.

Community Service Philosophy

"Service learning is about helping our young people grow up to understand the connection between living and learning, what it means to be an adult, what it means to live as a citizen in a free and ‘civil’ society, and what it means to live as a truly compassionate and caring human being."

~ Carol Kinsley, Director of the Community Service Learning Center

In order to accomplish these goals and bring our curriculum to life, students will have a number of experiences performing community service in their middle school years. Service projects are a natural extension of the sixth grade Worcester-based US History class, the seventh grade English and advisory theme of tolerance, and even the annual eighth grade play. Bancroft is also the regional host of the annual March of Dimes walkathon. Around the winter holidays, advisories shop for an adopted family provided by local agencies and conduct an extensive toy drive. Along with teachers and parent volunteers, all students also devote at least nine hours each year to community service in a small, mixed-grade group at one of fifteen local agencies.

Wellness Resources

Hotline Numbers

AIDS Project Worcester 1-508-755-3773

Alateen 1-757-563-1600

America’s Crisis Pregnancy Helpline 1-800-672-2296

National Gay & Lesbian Youth Hotline 1-800-347-TEEN

National Hopeline Network- Suicide Prevention 1-800-SUICIDE

National Institute of Mental Health 1-800-421-4211

 

Worcester Youth Guidance Center 1-508-791-3261

Massachusetts Substance Abuse

Information & Education Helpline 1-800-327-5050

Parental Stress Line (stress from parents) 1-800-632-8188

24 Hour Alcohol & Drug Treatment 1-888-304-9797

Referral

STEP ONE: GET ORGANIZED

• create a schedule of due dates and transfer them into your plan book

• review Forum Evaluation form

STEP TWO: WRITE IT!

General

• 3-5 minutes long (minimum 3 pages double-spaced)

• stay within a single theme

• consider your audience; parents, faculty and students will be listening

Writing Process

1. Brainstorm topic ideas with advisor.

2. Outline your speech to show your advisor.

3. Write first draft.

a. Introduction

i. Hook your audience: ask a question, tell a funny story, state an attention-grabbing fact that relates to your topic.

ii. Next, state the purpose/general topic of your Forum.

b. Body

i. Keep transitions clear--make sure your audience can follow the flow of your speech.

c. Conclusion

i. Leave your audience with a “take home” point; it could be a quote, a general thought, advice, etc. (It’s just like the “so what” at the end of an English essay.)

ii. Thank your audience.

4. Write second draft.

STEP THREE: TECHNOLOGY?

Decide whether a power point or short film will add value to your talk. If yes, then…

• keep number of slides to a minimum; too many may detract from your speech

• limit text on slides: your audience cannot read and truly listen at the same time

• time the slide switches effectively--slides should correlate with your words

• maximum of 2 pictures per slide

STEP FOUR: PRACTICE YOUR DELIVERY!!

• rehearse, rehearse, rehearse: do not go “off script” at any point

• practice eye contact by reading your Forum in front of a mirror—making eye contact involves your audience

• record your speech to hear how you sound

• avoid lots of body movement, for example, swaying, tapping, playing with your locks

• enunciate and s-l-o-w d-o-w-n; the audience is hearing your Forum for the first time

• speak with enthusiasm; if you sound bored, your audience certainly will be!

Library Resources

GARFIELD LIBRARY

The Garfield Library, located on the second floor of the Upper School building, serves both the Middle and Upper Schools. Available to you for your research and recreational reading needs, the Library on campus offers a traditional collection of books, magazines, videos/DVDs, and audio books, while the Library’s Web site offers access to online resources whether you are at school or at home. We are always happy to help you with your research or the selection of reading materials.

Ms. Knowles, Library Director x245

cknowles@

HOURS DURING THE ACADEMIC YEAR

Monday - Thursday, 7:45 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Friday, 7:45 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

BORROWING MATERIALS

All students are issued a library ID number that is used to checkout out books and other materials. Checking out materials is based on a self-serve system. Each student is responsible for returning on time, or renewing, any materials checked out on his/her Library ID number.

Borrowing Privileges Include:

□ Books, videos, audio books and magazines/journals

□ MS Students can borrow up to five books at a time for a period of three weeks

□ Materials can be renewed unless previously reserved by another individual

MY LIBRARY # IS _______________________________________

RETURN POLICY

Books and other materials may be returned either at the Library, or in the MS BOOK DROP box, which can be found in the Middle School lobby.

OVERDUES

The library issues overdue notices that are distributed to students by their advisors. If items(s) are not returned after the second notice, a letter is sent home notifying the parents/guardians of the overdue materials. The School will bill the family $25 per item at the end of the trimester if the material(s) have not been returned. Reimbursement is available upon the return of the borrowed item(s).

RESOURCES

□ 22,000 Books

□ 95 Newspapers/Magazines

□ Audio-visual materials

□ 16 computers

□ Six Laptops

□ Three Study Rooms

VIRTUAL RESOURCES

The Library Web page serves as a gateway to a vast array of online resources including the library catalog, periodical indexes, full-text subscription databases, and links to many useful Web sites. Many are online sources that are fundamental starting points for research projects and other class assignments.

Access From Home

Below are usernames and passwords that will permit access to the Library’s databases from home. Please note that usernames/passwords are case sensitive and are only for the use of Bancroft School students and faculty.

The following databases use the same username and password:

Username: _______________________ Password: _____________________________

• Britannica Online

• Ebscohost

• Gale Virtual Reference Library

• Grove Dictionary of Art

• Grove Dictionary of Music

• Historical New York Times (1857-2002)

• InfoTrac Databases

• Newsbank

• Oxford Reference Online

The following databases require a unique username and password:

• GROLIER ONLINE

Username: _______________________ Password: ____________________________

• NoodleBib

Username:_______________________ Password: _____________________________

BANCROFT SCHOOL

GRADES 6-12 RESEARCH GUIDELINES

1. PLAN & PREPARE PRELIMINARY TOPIC

• Select Preliminary Topic

• Write what you know about the topic

• Brainstorm and list key words

• Read a variety of sources to build background knowledge

• List research questions: what do you want to learn?

• Create preliminary outline, concept map or graphic organizer

• State preliminary topic, statement of purpose, thesis statement or hypothesis

2. DISCOVER & GATHER RESOURCES

• Locate and gather resources

• Evaluate sources

• Prepare Annotated Bibliography

3. READ & TAKE NOTES

• Read

• Take notes

• List facts, paraphrase, and quote

4. ORGANIZE & REFINE

• Refine outline, concept map or graphic organizer

• Organize notes based on outline, graphic organizer or concept map

• Refine preliminary topic, statement of purpose, thesis statement or hypothesis

5. SYNTHESIZE & CREATE

• Write rough draft,

• Revise, edit, peer edit for final draft or final product

• Prepare final Works Cited or Bibliography

• Evaluate projects through rubrics or project requirements

6. PRESENT FINAL PRODUCT

• Present, display or publish

Student Council Section

MISSION STATEMENT

The Student Council was created to represent the voice of the middle school students. As elected student leaders of the community, we listen to ideas and concerns, and see that they are properly addressed. We are responsible for organizing social events; in collaboration with other Bancroft groups including the administration, faculty, and PFA. It is also our responsibility to raise awareness around a specified charity each year. Through initiative, collaboration, and leadership, we strive to enhance the spirit of the middle school community.

ROLES

President:

• Facilitates all student council meetings.

• Opens weekly assembly.

• Coordinates activities and delegates responsibility.

• Acts as role model for student body.

Vice President:

• Collaborates with President in all duties.

• Steps in for absent president at all meetings and assemblies.

• Maintains all organizational aspects of social events.

• Acts as role model for student body.

Secretary

• Compiles agenda for meetings in conjunction with executive board.

• Records and posts minutes from each meeting.

• Photocopies and distributes all student council memoranda.

• Collects proposals and presents them to the Student Council.

• Acts as role model for student body.

Treasurer:

• Maintains schedule for canteen operation.

• Monitors status of the canteen moneybox.

• Serves as point person for money collection at social events.

• Acts as role model for student body.

Faculty Advisors:

• Facilitates executive board meetings.

• Mediates discussions at student council meetings (if necessary).

• Coordinates interaction between the student council and the administration, faculty, and PFA.

Grade representatives:

• Attend all meetings.

• Contribute to meetings with ideas, suggestions and adjustments.

• Support executive board by conducting research and performing necessary tasks at student council events.

• Attend all student council events.

• Act as role models for student body.

ELECTION PROCESS

The election process is broken down into two phases. Executive board elections will be held in May before the upcoming year, while class representative elections will be held in September of the new school year, thus creating Spring and Fall elections.

Spring Elections

Any 7th grader who is interested in running for President or Secretary, and any 6th grader who is interested in running for Secretary or Treasurer may do so by submitting his/her name to the student council faculty advisors by an appointed date. After this is done, the candidates may begin hanging campaign posters in the specified areas of the middle school hallway.

As a candidate, you are required to give a 1-2 minute speech outlining your platform. This includes the position you are running for (President, Secretary, or Treasurer), why you are a viable candidate for the position you are running for, and your goals if elected. (Note: the second place finisher for President will become the Vice President.) Candidates will give their speeches ahead of time to the Student Council advisor who will give them feedback. After a period of campaigning, the speeches are given to the student body. The election occurs immediately after the speeches in advisories.

Fall Elections

In the fall, elections are held for grade level representatives. Each grade level has four representatives. All students interested in running for these positions must submit their names to the student council faculty advisors by an appointed date. Following the submission of names, the candidates may begin hanging campaign posters in the middle school. Candidates are required to present their speech to the faculty advisors in a closed environment. Speeches are given by candidates to their respective class during flex block.

Inappropriate Campaigning

Inappropriate campaigning may result in disciplinary action. The distribution of gifts of any kind during a campaign is illegal. If there is any doubt or confusion with this issue, please contact a student council faculty advisor.

Run offs

Run off elections are held at the discretion of the student council faculty advisors and the Middle School Head.

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C+ 77-79

C 73-76

C- 70-72

D+ 67-69

D 60-66

F ................
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