Grades & Report Cards

HOMEWORK Homework for each day is posted on Canvas before 3:30 pm. Homework in the Middle School is meant to be meaningful and purposeful, allowing students to practice skills and deepen understanding. Each Middle School student has a Friends’ Central email address, Canvas Account, and Google Drive account. w FCS Email: Students should check email regularly for any timely messages from teachers. Each student’s email account will be through Gmail, but the address itself will be an @friendscentral.org address that is managed by our

Technology department. w Canvas: Canvas is our classroom management and workflow program used by teachers and students. Parents/ caregivers also have their own Canvas account where they can view their Students’ assignments and access other community resources and information. If you are having trouble with Canvas, please view our helpful blogs under IT

Help on the Parent Page of the website. w Google Drive: Google Drive is the place where students produce much of their work. It allows students to create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more. This work is stored in the cloud, so students can access it from any device connected to the internet.

We provide both letter grades and narrative comments on our report card in the Middle School. We are currently on a semester system, so you will receive report cards in late January and early June. Between the report cards, we do write mid-semester reports in which teachers provide brief progress reports for your child. The mid-semester report for the first semester is discussed face-to-face during the November 4 Conference Day. The face-to-face parent/caregiver-teacher conferences enable advisors to share observations about the beginning of the school year and to allow parents to help us know your child better. Our Getting-to-Know-You Conference Days will be on Thursday, September 1 and Tuesday, September 6. Parents/ caregivers will be able to schedule a 20-minute in-person or video conference with their child’s advisor. Your child’s advisor will look forward to getting to know more about your child and your family, as well as sharing information about what to expect from your child in the first weeks of school. Our fall Conference Day for 2022 will be Friday, November 4. You will be able to sign up electronically via Veracross for your conference time a few weeks before the Conference Day. ADVISORY We find that most students have a very smooth transition to FCS, one that is supported by caring teachers, small classes, and welcoming students. The advisory system is an important component of the transition to Middle School.

w Your child’s advisor is their homeroom teacher. Their advisor will be their point person, advocate, and cheerleader! Advisors are charged with overseeing your child’s overall progress and social-emotional well-being. The advisor is also meant to be a point person for parents/caregivers to answer questions and to connect you to the School. w There is an advisory period for 30 minutes every day. This gives your child time to work on homework, to seek help from teachers, or to work on group projects. w During their advisory period, students may also participate in Chorus, Orchestra, or Jazz Band.