Dear Students and Parent/Guardian,

Welcome to a SUPER year in 7th grade!! My name is Beth Cummings, and I am your social studies teacher this year. I hope the new school year finds you as excited as I am. For weeks the excitement of this day has been building, and now, here it is! We have many things to learn this year in our study of World History. We will begin with the Age of Exploration during the 1600s and end our journey in modern day world affairs, covering nearly 400 years of history. By the time we end this year your student will be able to read and analyze historical documents, make arguments about historical events, and most importantly, understand how the past has created the world we live in today and the future that they will inherit. If you would like to view the SC Standards that we will learn, please access them at the SC Department of Education website:

A few key actions that will ensure your student’s success in my class, as well as in his/her others are:

  1. Get a good night’s rest and eat a healthy breakfast.
  2. Be prepared every single day.
  3. Come to school and be present in mind and body.
  4. Turn in all assignments when required.

In order to make your student as successful as possible as we go through the year, there are a few details for our class that I would like to make you aware of.

Homework

Your student will have some type of homework for me almost every night. Most nights they’ll be asked to read a short passage pertaining to our upcoming lesson. Some nights they may need to finish an activity that we started in class or work on one of our unit projects. Even if they get everything done in class, they can always go back over their notes and study. We cover a lot of information in this class, and this work at home will make sure that the time we spend in class is put to the best use.

Class Website

I keep copies of everything we do posted on my class website. If your student is out for any reason they can find anything they missed here. To get to the website:

  • Go to
  • Click on school staff (found on the left side under News and Events)
  • Click on my name (Cummings, Beth)

Contact Information

Please feel free to contact me any time you have a concern or question about our class.

  • Email: (This is the best way to get in contact with me!)
  • School phone: 843-782-0040 extension 22210. Please know that I may not be able to answer your call right away. If I don’t answer, please leave a message and I’ll get back to you ASAP.
  • Class Dojo: Parents will be able to keep track of how their student is doing day by day – you will receive information on how to join during the first two weeks of school.

I’m looking forward to watching all my students grow and learn during our time together.

Sincerely,

Beth Cummings

Social Studies Teacher

Team Realism

FAQs

2016 - 2017

What are the rules for this class?

  1. Follow directions the first time
  2. Respect yourself, teachers, peers, and your environment
  3. Stay in your seat
  4. Raise your hand silently to speak
  5. If it’s not yours, then don’t touch it

What are the consequences if I choose not to follow the rules?

  1. Warning
  2. Behavior Reflection and move seats
  3. Parent Contact
  4. Remove from class and a referral

What do I do at the start of class?

  1. Take your seat silently
  2. Take out your binder and turn to your Social Studies section
  3. Start working on your warm up
  4. Raise your pencil if it needs to be sharpened by Mrs. Cummings

What do I do while we are working in class?

  1. Stay on task so you can get the job done
  2. Always be prepared to share what you have done during worktime

What if I have a question?

If you are working in groups:

  1. Ask at least three people in your group
  2. If your group is not successful in figuring out a solution, raise your hand and ask Mrs. Cummings.

If you are working individually:

  1. Raise your hand and wait for teacher to come to you
  2. Do not ask a question until after the teacher completes a lesson or directions.

What if I need to leave the room?

  1. Fill out a pass in your agenda and get it signed by Mrs. Cummings
  2. Everyone gets three passes out of class every 9 weeks
  3. When you may not leave the classroom:
  4. 15/15: first 15 and last 15 minutes of class
  5. During a lesson or directions

How do I turn in work?

  1. Work should be turned in to your class basket
  2. Work left anywhere else in the room will not be collected
  3. You may turn in work on your way into class or on your way out of class

How do I get graded work back?

  1. Each class will have a crate in the back of the room where graded work will be stored
  2. Graded assignments will be in your crate to pick up before you leave class on Fridays
  3. If you have any questions about your work you may ask Mrs. Cummings after class

Are we going to have homework?

  1. You’ll have some type of homework almost every day
  2. Sorry about that

What if I miss a day of class?

  1. Mrs. Cummings will hand you your missed work when you return
  2. Get the work you missed from the website
  3. The amount of time given for missed work will be determined case by case.

What do I do if I don’t turn in an assignment?

  1. Missing assignments are put in PowerSchool as NHI (Not handed in), which counts as a 0 until you turn that assignment in to be graded.
  2. Mrs. Cummings will accept late work for each interim before interim/report cards grades are due (typically a week before you receive your report). For example, she will not accept an assignment that was due the first week of school if you turn it in the week before Christmas break. No exceptions!
  3. It is your responsibility to do your work and submit it on time. Check PowerSchool regularly to keep up with what is due and what you are missing.

What if I get a bad grade?

  1. You can correct any assignment you turn in
  2. Corrections must be done on a separate sheet of paper
  3. Staple your original work to your corrected work and turn it in
  4. You may correct your work as many times as needed to get a 100 until the end of a 9 weeks

What if I get caught cheating?

  1. You will receive a zero immediately for that assignment and Mrs. Cummings will notify your parent/guardian of this error in judgment.
  2. If you are caught cheating on a test, you will be required to write a five paragraph essay on the topic(s) that you were being tested on.

What if I want (or need) extra credit?

  1. You can earn bonus points by doing extra work beyond the requirements given in class
  2. You can also earn bonus points by saving your passes and staying in class
  3. If you are missing an assignment, Mrs. Cummings will make you complete that assignment before completing extra credit work.

How do I get to the class website?

  1. Go to ccms.colletonsd.org
  2. Click on the link that says Staff Pages. This is on the left side under News and Events
  3. Click on Cummings, Beth

What if I have a question that I don’t want to ask in class?

  1. Drop it in the Question/Comment Box and I’ll answer it during the warm up.
  2. You do not have to write your name on the question, but put your class period.
  3. If your question is personal, we will discuss it privately.

What if I need additional help with understanding the material or completing an assignment?

  1. There will be a period of 25 minutes that is built in to our schedule that will allow you to receive additional instruction.
  2. Mrs. Cummings will stay after school until 4pm every Tuesday and Wednesday if you need help.
  3. You can ask for help during lunch/recess.
  4. The most important thing to remember is to ASK for help.