On September 7, all families of my classes received the following email. I sent it for those parents who would be unable to make Back-To-School Night. As an added convenience, if you were unable to attend, below is that email, which contains most of what I presented during Back-To-School Night.

 

Dear Parent/Guardian,

My name is Joe ODonnell, and I am honored to be your child’s Language Arts teacher this year. The Language Arts program at Sayreville Middle School plays a major role in your child’s overall development. Reading and writing are not just subjects but are also processes that impact every area of your child’s education.

 

Here are some of the major goals that have been established for this year:

1. You can expect your child to gain a new or enhanced appreciation of literature through a combination of high-interest fiction and non-fiction stories, articles, and other reading vehicles, both from their textbook and online.
2. You can look for improvement in both reading and writing because they’re taught as reciprocal skills. Each facilitates the learning of the other.
3. You can be sure that your child will be as ready as possible for the standardized tests that measure reading and writing ability.

 

The reading materials mentioned, should help your child master topics which include:

active reading strategies             imagery                       dialogue                             conflict

mood                                              tone                             allusion                              characterization

theme                                             plot                              point of view                     figurative language

setting                                            dialect                          poetry                                 many more literary elements

     

In addition, the writing process will be addressed through introduction or reinforcement of the following:

paragraph structure                       essay structure              parts of speech                          grammar

punctuation                                     persuasive essays          expository (how-to) essays      narrative essays

argumentative essays                    vocabulary       

 

Your child’s grade will be based on the following elements:

1. Tests, Writing Assignments, Projects – 40%
2. Reading Assessments, such as quizzes – 40%
3. Completion/accuracy of homework and classwork – 5%
4. Quarterly Assessment – 15%

 

Finally, some important things you can do to help your child.

1. If you have yet to get the items from my Suggested Supply List (emailed in late August), please try and do so. Ask your child if they have completed their summer reading. If not, get them started on it ASAP. Their 6th grade teacher provided them with all the information this past June, however, you can access it online via the school website.
2.  Their first graded assessment will be based on their reading choice, so it is vital to their performance that they read one of the selections.
3. Please also be aware that Back-To-School Night this year will be done in person on Monday, September 16^th.
4. I urge you to frequently visit the Oncourse system, which will allow you to follow your child’s progress on a daily basis and react immediately and accordingly, as well as my teacher web page, whose link can be found on the Middle School website, so you can track homework that is due each day.

I am very happy to have your child in my class this year and am looking forward to a year of growth and achievement. If you have any questions about your child’s progress, please feel free to email me at [email protected].

      Sincerely,

                   Joe ODonnell

                   Language Arts Teacher