8th Grade Newsletter

The start to the 2020-2021 school year will be unlike any other, and hopefully it will be a once in a lifetime kind school year!

Please know that our emphasis during the first 3 days of school will be to ensure that students have access to technology and Google Classrooms while also taking time for teachers and students to get to know one another. We will begin our focus on curriculum on Monday, August 17.

You may have heard from a few of your child's teachers, but I've asked that we hold off on the emails this week as it will result in parents receiving 7-8 emails; instead, our school website is under construction and being updated with teacher bios, we are working on staff introduction videos for Fall Open House, and we are sending grade level newsletters with information from our core area departments.

In this 8th grade newsletter you will find the following information:

• Information about what to do today in order to prepare for the first day of school
• The "Week at a Glance" (WAG) for our first 3 days of school https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HnjK7UfgbORgqj5bS3BjY0PAcyToOuxurq64jiG1vUY/edit?usp=sharing
• A message from each subject area/grade level team
• Our Schedule & Updated School Calendar (New Student Holidays/Teacher Professional Development Days added)
  
• Family Hot Spot Internet Access
  
• Student Daily Attendance and Accessing Instructional Materials
  
• Parent’s Guide to the First Four Weeks of School
  
• Free & reduced meal applications
  
• Curbside Meal Pickup Information (August 12 through September 4)
  

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• TODAY, students should use their Renner Chromebook to access Webdesk (http://webdesk.pisd.edu) and ensure that they can log in. For login and use information, please go to https://www.pisd.edu/site/Default.aspx?PageID=17316

• TODAY, please have your student follow the directions linked below in order to join their teachers’ Google Classrooms. On Monday, teachers created links through the Webdesk BACKPACK app in order to make classroom codes viewable on today.

  https://docs.google.com/document/d/179ozvUh39iQyU8iGokBeA1NO9dZHC51dVs_lJuSYgec/edit?usp=sharing

• Student schedules are now viewable through parent portal. It's a great idea to check the parent portal schedule against your Google Classroom listings through the Backpack App. (https://parentportal.pisd.edu/Login.aspx)

• Students must login to Webdesk (http://webdesk.pisd.edu) and be ready to work in their first period class by 8:25 every school day. (Attendance details further down in this newsletter)

• Students will follow the bell schedule that is linked and pictured below.

• Every secondary student now has a student email through the district. This is how students should communicate with their teachers and other school officials. Please make sure that you check your email regularly. To gain access to this email, follow these steps on this site. https://www.pisd.edu/studentemail

ENGLISH:

Welcome back ‘Stangs!

This week students will begin getting familiar with their interactive notebook located in their google classroom. We will be allowing time for students to become familiar with (and hopefully experts) at Google Meets. Based on students' progress and proficiency of the aforementioned tasks, we will probably be able to dip into the curriculum which begins with “Characters: Inside and Out.”

Please tell your student that we are going to be patient, want to help during this transition, and look forward to a great year. We are in this TOGETHER!

LOTE:

Welcome back to the Renner Languages Other than English (LOTE) department! The first week of school (Wednesday through Friday) we will be focusing on Social Emotional Learning including getting to know each other, team building, and setting norms.

In 8th grade Spanish and French, the second week of school we will begin our unit with both reviewing and adding to talking about our daily routines from morning to night.

We look forward to engaging in the language with your child!

Math:

On behalf of the staff of Renner Middle School, the math department is happy to welcome you to the 2020-21 school year! We are looking forward to a productive partnership with you to ensure your children can achieve their highest potential. During the first week of school your students will become familiar with the various pieces of technology that we will be using this year and verify that each student has received their math textbook. We will discuss expectations for their math class as well as how to access their online textbook. Beginning the 2nd week of school we will begin to introduce the math curriculum in Math 8, Algebra 1 Honors, Geometry, and Math Rocks classes. We are looking forward to a wonderful and successful year with your child.

SCIENCE:

Hello Science parents!! Welcome back!!

During our short week, time will be spent getting to know your students and practicing logins for various platforms that will be used this year.

Science will begin week #2 by reviewing lab safety before jumping into our Chemistry Unit where students will explore more about elements and their placement on the periodic table.

Our honors classes will hear more about Science Fair in weeks 2-3.

We are excited to get started!!

SOCIAL STUDIES:

Welcome Back Mustangs!!

This week will spend time getting to know each other and making sure that everyone can log on and access Google Meets and Google Classroom.

Beginning in week 2 , we will review our remote learning class expectations and begin on the first unit Colonization.

We are so excited for what this year will bring!!!

Students will follow the campus bell schedule (below) as they would on a typical day at school. The first 3 days of school, students will join each class live via the link found in each teacher’s Google Classroom. Beginning on August 17, students’ schedules will alternate between synchronous and asynchronous classes.

Schedule for 1st 3 Days: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11cPCNvFWStdQvqrHnWhTYdZKet-dzO3dW5PIJkDzQLk/edit?usp=sharing

Schedule for August 12 - September 4: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E2fNEJjiXv_UtgAxZ-8eAD41V2MzGAb0BQlqU0SQ1kI/edit?usp=sharing

Link to updated school calendar: https://www.pisd.edu/calendar#calendar1/20200811/month

***Changes to calendar (No School For Students):

Monday, August 24 - Student Holiday/Staff Development/Teacher Workday

Tuesday, September 8 - Student Holiday/Staff Development/Teacher Workday

If your family is experiencing difficulty with home internet access, please complete this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSft7BsF4-KA5T-gh0wBrsttWlQM5SqAuAMC1FWXPM9J3DTtEg/viewform

As we begin the 2020 school year, we start in a virtual setting and it is imperative that we follow state guidelines in regards to acquiring accurate attendance reporting. When students are in a virtual instructional setting, students who login into the Plano ISD WebDesk each day and engage in teacher-assigned learning apps (including but not limited to Google Classroom) are considered “present” and will not be marked absent. Students who have not logged in by 3:00 p.m. each school day will be marked absent. This absence can be resolved if the student engages in daily learning assigned by their teachers via the Plano ISD WebDesk by 11:59 p.m. that same day.

Parents and students will receive absence notifications via School Messenger after 6:00 p.m. each day and will be reminded of the opportunity to resolve that day’s absence if the student engages in learning before 11:59 p.m. of the same day via Plano ISD WebDesk. (Notifications may be controlled by parents via Parent Portal.)

Any absences recorded but resolved by the student before 11:59 p.m. on the same day will be reconciled based on login records of the Plano ISD WebDesk. Reconciliation will not appear right away and could take a couple of days to become visible to parents.

Webdesk link can be found here.

Plano ISD has prepared a comprehensive Parent's Guide to the First Four Weeks of School. Please take a moment to review this guide to learn about student expectations, attendance requirements and to view sample daily schedules.

Parent’s Guide to the First Four Weeks of School

Free and reduced meal applications are now available at www.schoolcafe.com/pisd.

Student eligibility status from the 2019-2020 school year will roll over only for the first 30 operating days of school or until a new application has been processed. It is important that households complete an application for the 2020-2021 school year as soon as possible.

We encourage households to fill out an application online, however, if a household requests a paper application, we have them available for campuses to print out here. If the parent/guardian completes the paper application at the campus, you can place it in interoffice mail to FANS.

If the parent/guardian takes the application home to complete, they will need to drop off or mail the completed application to: Meal Application Processor; 6600 Alma Drive Suite B, Plano, TX 75023. Households should allow 10 business day for application processing.

Beginning August 12 through September 4, meals will be served Monday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Students purchasing meals will receive a lunch for the day and a breakfast for the following day. Meals will no longer be free of charge for all students as provided during the spring remote learning and the summer feeding program. Free and reduced priced meals are available for qualifying students.

Learn more here about curbside meal procedures, locations, etc.

Website: www.pisd.edu/renner
Location: 5701 W Parker Rd, Plano, TX 75093
Phone: 469-752-5800