/ Team EXCEL
2013-2014

Ms. Ashley Billmyer ~ Ms. Jackie Hofer ~ Mr. Blake Hunter~ Ms. Sarah Kankelberg

Liberty Middle School / 1612 NE Garfield Street / Camas, WA 98607

Phone: 360.833.5850

Please bookmark this site for easy access!

Dear Students & Families:

Welcome to the 2013-14 school year! We are excited about the prospect of working with you and your student. Our goal this year is to provide the highest quality educational experience for each individual learner in our classrooms. In striving to reach that goal, we believe the following components are essential in creating the necessary safe learning environment that fosters and serves our educational needs:

  • Students should be treated with dignity and respect by peers and teachers alike.
  • Students should demonstrate self-responsibility with their academics, citizenship, and communication with parents, teachers, and peers.
  • The teacher should provide instruction within a relevant and meaningful context.
  • The teacher should provide a well planned, academically challenging learning environment that addresses individual student needs.
  • The parent should be an active participant in the learning process, working in partnership with the student and teachers to achieve predetermined goals and outcomes.

Team Mission

With regard to overall curriculum, our goal as a team is to provide meaningful instruction, activities, and projects that challenge students to learn and EXCEL. We desire to see all students work to solve problems and learn to work cooperatively. Throughout the year students will be given a variety of opportunities and options to demonstrate their knowledge, growth, and learning. As a team we work to provide a setting in which all students can find success and thrive.

Please support our efforts in the classroom by taking a few moments to review the enclosed information with your student. Please fill in the last page, detach and returnto your science teacher by Friday, September 6, 2013. Having these in on time will help us to ensure quick, reliable, and relevant communication with your family. This information is essential in order for Team EXCEL to send out our bi-weekly newsletter, which updates your family about events, deadlines, and points of interest.

If you have any questions regarding this letter, assignments, or your student’s progress, please feel free to contact us at school via phone or e-mail. We are looking forward to working with you and your child this year to create a successful learning experience.

Sincerely,

Ashley BillmyerJackie HoferBlake HunterSarah Kankelberg

Homework

Homework is a tool in the teaching and learning process when it has purpose and meaning as an extension of the learning in the classroom. Studying at home enhances student achievement, helping to develop self-discipline and good work and study habits. While we do not expect hours of work outside the school day, some homework should be expected in all of your classes. Students are expected to schedule time each day to do work outside of school.

Late Work

The question of latework comes up every year with parents and students. In order to give timely feedback and support life skills that honor deadlines late work is not desired. Each of us have policies in which students are given multiple days, opportunities and outside of school support to complete work at the highest level. It is our hope to help students learn boundaries for late work that help them to THRIVE in future scholastic efforts. Because formative learning is necessary to do in order to build a skill that is needed for summative work, it is very difficult for students to LEARN if they do not complete learning activities on time. The bottom line is this: Work done on time receives full credit and valuable feedback; work done later builds character. While we value both, completing learning activities at the time they are given allows students to keep on target with their learning goals.

Communication

Communication is a key part of any successful learning relationship. As a team, we commit to a weekly e-newsletter that comes home on the first day of the week via e-mail. If for any reason you are not able to receive e-mail communication, please make a note of it on the attached form and we will send a hard copy home with your student. In this newsletter we make a note of time sensitive deadlines, tests, due dates, and other Liberty events. If you need to contact one of us for any reason, you are welcome to do so. If you would like to meet regarding your student, we meet as a team with all of our families in order to provide a well rounded view of your student and his or her progress.

Additional Help

We offer additional help, support, and one on one assistance to our students each day during lunch and after school. If your student needs a place, support or additional help, please have them check in with one of us and let us know they are coming. While all of us are generally here after school until at least 3:30 it is always best to double check.

Parental Involvement

We encourage parents and guardians to play an active role in their child’s education. With your cooperation and support, we are that much closer as a team to providing our students with the best possible chance for success!

You can help your student:

set aside a time and a quiet place at home to study and do homework

set goals and deadlines for work to be completed and take small steps on large projects

build a daily habit of reading, writing, and completing homework

You can also:

Take advantage of opportunities,including open house and school sporting events, to learn about your student’s world away from home

Check your student’s Liberty Assignment Planner on a daily basis

Monitor your student’s progress using tools including newsletters, assignment webpages, and Skyward

Allow your child to be accountable for his/her actions, or lack of action.

Contact Information & Times

We meet as a team with all families who request a conference to discuss their student’s progress. This allows for an effective use of time and full, holistic picture of the student and his/her performance. Please feel free to e-mail any one of us to set up a needed conference regarding a student and we will ensure that the entire team is present to participate.

We meet with families for conferences each day from 12:30 -1:15 ~ feel free to make an appointment as needed.

Teacher / Subjects / Phone Ext. / E-Mail
Ashley Billmyer / LA/Social Studies / 75760 /
Jackie Hofer / LA/Social Studies / 78154 /
Blake Hunter / Math / 78186 /
Sarah Kankelberg / Science / 78191 /

Team Excel Website Information

From this site you can access detailed assignment information for all of your student’s Core classes. We have tried to make it an easy, one stop shopping location for you to check in on class details for all courses.