Communications
Tips for Parents
First
- When giving directions or information, make eye contact with your child.
- Have your child say back to you what s/he heard.
- When giving directions, have child do it with you — don’t just tell or show.
- Break multi-step information into small, sequential pieces — first this, then this, next this, lastly this.
Second
- Rules and expectations must be clear and consistent.
- Consequences for inappropriate behavior must be immediate and proportional.
- Adults should anticipate problems and set guidelines — don’t wait for a problem to occur and then get mad.
Third
- Don’t give up if you’ve “said something ten times and s/he still doesn’t do it,” The more you talk, the less your child listens, so provide reinforcement/practice without a lot of your words.
Fourth
- Switches in schedules, surprise parties, vacations without prior information are all unsettling. Talk to your child and have them help plan/anticipate changes in routine.
Lastly
- Tell them they have 2 choices — this or that — and keep it simple, but always let them know they have 2 choices.
Quarterly Reports
Except in cases of emergency, Report Cards are not sent home with students. Report card distribution is scheduled to coincide with PTSO meetings. Please check the calendar for the report card dates for this year. The final report card of the year is distributed to most students on the last day of school. Graduating eighth graders will receive their June report card on the night of graduation. The ninth grade report cards will be mailed home.
Academic grades are given in both a letter grade (which shows a range), and a number grade (which shows the exact level of mastery achieved). Next to these two grades, you will also see an effort grade, showing the level of effort your child is putting into his/her work. Effort grades range from 1 (outstanding) to 4 (little or no effort has been shown).
Along with academic grades, Hope Hall also rates students on their character development and behavior. Check marks indicate a need for improvement. “I” indicates excellent progress. A blank indicates satisfactory development in that area.
It is crucial that you sign your child’s report card, make any comments that you like, and return it to your child’s homeroom teacher within two days. Because these are legal documents, it is important that they be kept in the school until June. At the end of the school year, report cards will be sent home for you to keep.
Progress Reports
Every 5 weeks (mid-quarter) a Five-Week Progress Report will be sent home. This Progress Report will be a summary of your child’s averages for each class. The number grade given is the average of all your child’s quiz grades, daily class work, projects, and homework for the first five weeks of each quarter.
The Progress Reports for first and third quarters will give detailed information of both strengths and weaknesses for each academic and social/emotional area. Progress Reports for second and fourth quarter will be less detailed and are primarily for those students experiencing difficulty.
Any grade lower than 80% should be an indication to you that something is wrong and needs to be changed.
If on the weekly grade sheets, you notice that your child has not completed an assignment, or has not taken a quiz, please work with the teacher to help insure that the assignment/quiz gets “made-up.”
Each student who fails a quiz or misses an assignment will be given the opportunity to make up the work, learn the material and improve his/her grade.
Please write comments on the Progress Reports and return them to your child’s homeroom teacher. If a child has not achieved mastery in an area, or if there are some different approaches that need to be taken in order to work with your child, the remaining 5 weeks of each quarter gives all of us the opportunity to make those changes before the official report cards are given.
Supply List
Folders and spiral notebooks:
| Subject | Color | Style of notebook |
| Science | Green | One subject |
| Math | Red | One subject |
| Social Studies | Yellow or Black | One subject |
| Language Arts | Navy Blue | One subject |
| Spanish | Purple | One subject |
ALL STUDENTS also need the following:
| Bookbag or Backpack, 1 large | Marble composition book, 2 needed |
| Pencils #2, 2 pkg. (10 pencils) | Crayons, 8 pack or more |
| Ball Point Pens, 6 black or Blue Ink | Narrow Color Markers, 8 pack |
| Zippered pencil case; | Highlighter, Yellow (others too dark ) |
| Paper 4-100 sheet packs of 3 hole, wide rule (1 for home,3 for school) | 2 Large Boxes of Kleenex |
| Glue Sticks | 2 Large Rolls of Paper Towels |
| Key Lock for Gym class | 2 Packs Index cards (100 each) 3” x 5” |
| Index Card Filebox |
STUDENTS IN GRADES 7 through 12:
- Two (2) 3″ three ring binder (math and language arts)
- 200 extra sheets loose-leaf notebook paper (math and language arts)
- 2 sets of tab dividers
- 2 extra packages of index cards (4 total)
- Colored pencils – 12 pack or more or crayons a box of 16 or more
Put student’s name on everything!
No trapper keepers for any grades. Please!
Students who take medicine in school need to bring paper cups, 2 boxes of 100, 3 oz.