Switzerland Point Middle School Home of the Raiders!

1. Switzerland Point Middle SchoolHome of the Raiders!

2. Introductions Principal Lisa Kunze Assistant Principal Allyson Breger Curriculum Coordinator Melissa Lime Counselor, 6th & 7th A-J Barbara Seaton Counselor, 7th K-Z & 8th Tanya Moseley

3. Middle School in General The State of Florida requires the following for promotion each year: • Pass Language Arts • Pass Math • Pass Science • Pass Social Studies Additional requirements: • Intensive Reading if FCAT Reading is Level 1 or 2 • Intensive Math if FCAT Math is Level 1 or 2

4. Schedule • Swiss Point students take 7 courses on an alternating day schedule. • Silver Day – 3 classes • Black Day – 3 different classes • “Skinny” at the beginning of the day – 1st period • Block classes are 90 minutes in length, “Skinny” is 48 minutes. • Wednesday – 1pm dismissal

5. Core Courses (Required) • Language Arts 2* – standard or advanced • Math 2 (standard or advanced) or higher level math • Comprehensive Science 2* – standard or advanced • Social Studies* (Civics) – standard or advanced * Indicates courses that parents and students may choose to take as standard or advanced based on 2014 FCAT Reading scores and final 6th grade course grades. • Our recommendation is…….. If 2014 FCAT Reading Level is a 3, only take 1 advanced course If 2014 FCAT Reading Level is a 4, only take 2 advanced courses If 2014 FCAT Reading Level is a 5, then you can choose to take all 3 advanced courses

6. Math Students are PLACED in math based on their 2014 FCAT Math level and current course grades. If 2014 FCAT Math is Level 1 or 2 – students will be placed in Math 2 standard blocked with Intensive Math, so they have math every day for 90 minutes. If 2014 FCAT Math is Level 3 – students will be placed in Math 2 standard. If 2014 FCAT Math is Level 4 or 5 – students will be placed in Math 2 Advanced. If 2014 FCAT Math is Level 5 AND course grades in Math 1 Adv were As & Bs AND an 80% or higher is scored on the district’s Algebra 1 Honors placement exam - students will be placed in Algebra 1 Honors.

7. Math Progression

8. Non-core Courses 3 non-core courses are taken each year. In 7th grade, ALL students take….. • Physical Education (year-long) • Computer Applications in Business 1 & Career Planning paired with Computer Applications in Business 2 (year-long) Choice in the 3rd non-core course…. - Band 1 or 2 ($135 fair share fee & instrument purchase or rental required.) - semester of Drama paired with semester of Art - Chorus 1 - MS Beginning Spanish 1

9. Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Services…Students with an IEP To help students who are mainstreamed and will earn a regular diploma in high school, we will offer the following: • Reading support with ESE Co-Teacher in Civics and Intensive Reading for all level 1 & 2 students. • Math support with ESE Co-Teacher in Math 2 blocked w/Intensive Math • Math support facilitation with ESE teacher in Math 2 • Reading support facilitation with ESE teacher in standard Civics • Consultation

10. Intensive Reading & Intensive Math • Students scoring Level 1 or 2 on 2014 FCAT Reading MUST take Intensive Reading. • Students scoring Level 1 or 2 on 2014 FCAT Math MUST take Intensive Math. If 1 intensive course is required, student takes intensive course in lieu of choice non-core. If two intensive courses are required, student takes intensive courses in lieu of choice non-core and PE. All students will take Computers.

11. Gifted Services • EP written at end of 5th grade and is good through middle school. • Gifted students take all 3 advanced classes – Language Arts, Science & Social Studies - UNLESS you tell us otherwise. • Teachers have gifted endorsement or are obtaining the endorsement. • Students are placed together in 2 blended sections.

12. 2014-2015 Senate Bill 736 states that in 2014-2015 Florida will…. • Be standards-based • Every course will have an exam at the end (EOC) that will measure how much the student has learned. The score will count towards the student’s grade and will count towards 50% of the teacher’s evaluation • Students will take the ?? in Reading and Math starting in 2014-2015 • FCAT 2.0 will exist only for Science in 8th grade

13. What does Standards-based mean? • Teachers are teaching the content-area academic standards outlined by the State or Common Core. • Teachers have broken the standards into learning goals or objectives that state what the student must be able to know or do to demonstrate knowledge of the standard. • Students and teachers know exactly what standards a student has met and what still needs to be learned. • Grades correlate to what a student truly knows.

14. 3 Tiers of EOCs • 1st Tier - State EOCs – Algebra*, Geometry, Biology, US History, & Civics (Middle School) *Must be passed to earn HS diploma. All EOCs count as 30% of overall course grade. Must pass for scholar diploma designation. MS Civics EOC will count as 30% of final course grade. • 2nd Tier - District EOCs – created for all other courses using a test bank provided by the State. • 3rd Tier – District Consortium developed EOCs for courses with smaller numbers (mostly electives).

15. Cognitive Complexity • Low-complexity items rely heavily on recall and recognition. • Moderate-complexity items require more flexible thinking and may require informal reasoning or problem solving. • High-complexity items are written to elicit analysis and abstract reasoning.

16. Percentage of Points by Cognitive Complexity FCAT 2.0 Reading FCAT 2.0 Math FCAT 2.0 Science

17. Example of Low Cognitively Complex Question You are investigating whether robins prefer one type of bird seed over any other type. Your independent variable is the type of bird seed used. What should be your dependent variable? • The amount of bird seed in your feeder. • The number of birds visiting your feeder. • The number of robins visiting your feeder. • The cost of the different types of bird seed. The SI unit of time is the ________. a. Second b. Minute c. Hour d. Day

18. Example of Moderate Complexity Question Bill wants to find which laundry detergent is the best at getting food stains out of clothes. He sets up an experiment to test 2 detergents. He spills spaghetti sauce on 2 identical shirts, making sure that the stain on each shirt is the same size. He uses the same temperature and amount of water in the washing machine. The only thing he changes is the kind of detergent. He uses Brand X on one shirt & Brand Y on the other. Is this a fair test? • Yes, he tested all the variables at once in each test. • Yes, he changed only one variable in each test. • No, he tested all the variables at once in each test. • No, he changed only one variable in each test.

19. Example of High Complexity Question Mr. Brink’s physical science class has been challenged to find the density of a rock. The class divides into 4 teams but the teams share the same rock so their data can be compared. They know they need to first find the mass and the volume of the rock. Then they can calculate density. The teams each record their results in a table. Analyze the data from Mr. Brink’s science class in a complete paragraph.

20. Students entering 9th gr 2013-2014 *HOPE=Health Opportunities through Physical Education

21. REQUIRED Vaccinations • To enter 7th grade students MUST have a Tdap vaccination. • Proof of the vaccination MUST be on a FL 680 Form – Certificate of Immunization • The certificate MUST be signed, dated & stamped. • Students will NOT be allowed to attend classes in August until we receive proof of the vaccination on the correct form.

22. Questions