September 2017

Dear Parents/Guardians,
Welcome back to another exciting school year! We are Michelle Richter and
Danielle Ryhorchuk and are excited to be the grade 7/8 team at St. Nicholas School. We
are looking forward to working with you and your child to ensure a successful, rewarding
year. Your support and participation are incredibly valuable.

As grade 7/8 teachers, our main goals for the students are:
*Accountability
* Teamwork
* Leadership
* Empathy
These will be referred to daily through our teaching and classroom activities.

Our teaching philosophies are as follows:

WE BELIEVE:
*students deserve respect and should always be treated with fairness and patience.
*students should always feel safe at school and should never be hurt, humiliated or
embarrassed.
*in treating each child like the Christ child. We will strive to celebrate their unique
strengths and talents.
*students need to learn to be responsible for their actions and realize consequences
exist.
*all students can learn. We will meet students wherever they are at and take them to
the next level.

As classroom teachers, we are responsible for teaching the following subjects to your
children: Religion, Math, ELA, Health, Career Ed and Fully Alive.
Throughout the year, we will be doing a variety of integrated projects that will include
more than one subject area.
Other staff members teaching your child include:

Mr. Brodner Physical Education Ms. Richter Arts Education

Mrs. Ryhorchuk French Mr. Webb Science
Mrs. Treptau Social Studies
If you would like to take a closer look at the curriculum content being used for
this school year, please go to the following link:
https://www.edonline.sk.ca/webapps/moe-curriculum-BBLEARN/index.jsp

This year, each classroom has a blog that will be updated periodically. Information on
the blog will include current projects and assignments, and general classroom
information. Our preferred mode of communication will be through the Remind App as
well as email. Please see the attached paper for Remind. The sooner you sign up the
better. Students will also be strongly encouraged to sign up for Remind as well.
Please feel free to phone us or pop in at any time. In addition to the classroom
blogs, students will be creating and maintaining their own blog.

Mrs. Ryhorchuk http://ryhorchuk2017-18.weebly.com

Ms. Richter http://richter1718.weebly.com
Classroom Rules: There is only one rule in the classroom: RESPECT.
1) Respect yourself
2) Respect each other
3) Respect your teachers
4) Respect the classroom environment and materials.
During the first few days of school, we will work together on what respect looks like,
sounds like and feels like.

Consequences:
1) Verbal reminder of rule
2) Private discussion about rule
3) Behavior plan and visit to the office. Email/phone call home
*for severe conduct violations students will be sent to office immediately with an
action plan to follow.

Expectations:
Check Your Behaviour
1) Accountability is an important classroom goal for grade 7/8. Students will learn
to take accountability for their actions.
2) If a student is disruptive, off-task, blurting out or negatively affecting anothers
ability to learn, the teacher will ask him or her to check your behavior. The
student will describe their behavior, and then state what they should be doing
instead.
3) The teacher will keep tracking of checks on a clipboard. More than three checks in
one day will result in a private discussion about the behavior, an action plan to
improve behavior, a trip to the office and/or a phone call home for parent support
regarding the behavior.
Electronics: BYOT: Bring your own technology students are able to bring their own
technology in order to use for classroom assignments, activities and projects. It is
expected that the technology is locked in lockers when not in use and at recess/lunch. If
students are using phones during undesignated times, they may be taken away for the
remainder of the day. Technology integration is an important part of learning but so is
face-to-face interaction. St. Nicholas staff IS NOT responsible for lost or stolen cell
phones. It is the responsibility of the student to take care of their technology. This is
why it is essential that you do not share your locker combination with anybody.
Homework: It is not expected that your child will have homework every day. Adequate
classroom time will be given for most projects and assignments. However, sometimes
students will be required to complete work at home. Homework will be posted on our
whiteboard and through the Remind App. Students can use their agenda, take a picture
of the board, check the Remind App or on occasion check the blog or OneNote file.
There is no excuse for not knowing when an assignment is due. There will be
consequences for students who repeatedly do not hand in assignments, including
communication with parents. More severe consequences could include missing field
trips.
Monthly Email: We will be emailing a monthly update highlighting what we are studying
in each subject area, important dates to remember and any other classroom highlights.
Blogging and Digital Literacy Students will be expected to blog for assignments this
year. Each student must have permission to use the computers, tablets, surface pros or
laptops from a teacher. No food or drinks are allowed near any of these. Students will
be learning to be good Samaritans online through Digital Literacy lessons in September.
If they are not respecting technology, they will lose their privilege.
Lunchtime: If your child will be leaving the school at lunch for a specific reason, please
email us ahead of time to let us know. It is expected that students respect the lunch
rules of the school, which will be reviewed with the students.
Classroom Environment: As directed by the school division, we will be doing a lot of
project-based learning including centers and stations. Our classroom environment will
reflect this type of learning by offering flexible seating. Students will be trying out
different seating arrangements in the classroom that best facilitate their own learning.
Working in the hallway: There is a variety of opportunities to work in different learning
spaces around the school. Students must be respectful of other classrooms and
students when working in the hallways and collaborative spaces.
Washrooms: Washrooms are gender neutral and individual. Please be respectful of the
common space.
Fire drills: See school website for fire drill procedures.
Late/absent: When students are late, they must report directly to the office. If your
child is going to be absent, please phone or email the office and ourselves to let us
know.
Homework will not be given in advance if students are going to miss extended days of
school. We will ensure that students catch up on what they need to when they return. If
a student is absent one day, they can check their grey bin for handouts, check their email
or Remind or come and talk to their teachers directly.
Playground/Boot room: Students will come inside and take off their shoes in front of
their bookrack. Outdoor shoes must always come off regardless of the weather.
Lockers: Each student will have a locker assigned to them and will include a combination
lock. The teachers will have a master key as well as a list of combinations for each lock.
Students are NOT to share their locker combination with anyone. Students may not put
their own lock on their locker.
Students will keep the following in their locker: shoes, outdoor gear, Phys-Ed clothes,
lunch, backpack and binders. Students may decorate the inside of their locker with
magnets and vinyl removable stickers. They cannot use paper stickers. Nothing is to go
on the outside of their lockers.
Outdoor classroom: Students are privileged enough to have an outdoor classroom.
Because it is on the second level of the school, it is imperative that students do not lean
over or jump the rails to walk on the roof of the school. Any violation of this will result
in immediate consequence from Mr. Wahl and a possible suspension. Students should
not be out there without teacher supervision.
Behaviour in assemblies and Mass: During assemblies on the staircase, grade 7/8
students will gather along the upper railings. Procedures for getting to and from
assemblies and liturgies will be reviewed in class.

We anticipate this year to be one of growth, discovery and significance for your
child. We look forward to seeing you at many school events and functions.
Please feel free to contact us at any time, as our doors are always open.
Sincerely,

Michelle Richter m.richter@rcsd.ca Danielle Ryhorchuk d.ryhorchuk@rcsd.ca