Classroom Policies

Attendance:  Students may enter the homeroom at 7:40 am.  Students are expected to be in homeroom no later than 7:55. Prayer begins at 8:00 and the teaching day starts at 8:05. If your child is not in homeroom at 8:00 am, he/she will be marked tardy.   The time from 7:45-8:00 is used for class meeting time, planning and community building, and class responsibilities. 
Homework and Student Assignment Books:  Grade 7 students generally have homework each night. The average time spent should be between 90 to 120 minutes (including reading, studying, short and long term assignments).  The school provides a planner for each student and are instructed to record assignments throughout the day.  In addition, assignments are posted in the classroom and they can also be found on Google classroom site for each subject.
Textbooks, notebooks, folders and binders:  Textbooks must remain covered all year for protection of the book and for easy identification if the book is left behind in any classroom.  Each student has a cubby space for storing belongings.  All of the students’ belongings should be marked with their first and last name.
Snack and Water Bottles:  All students are encouraged to bring a water bottle to school to help cut down on the number of trips to the water fountain. Snack time for the upper grades is about 9:35 am, after second period.  Snacks are permitted as long as they are neat, quick, and do not interfere with the class.  Be advised that there are allergies in the classroom.
Bathroom Breaks:  One student at a time is allowed to use the restroom provided they sign out in the class bathroom book when they leave and when they return.  Students are encouraged to use homeroom time, transition time, and lunch time to use the bathroom to limit the amount of class time that is missed.
Dismissal Procedures and Notes:  The walkers and bus riders are dismissed at the conclusion of prayer, usually no later than 2:30.  The car riders are dismissed when all the buses have left the lot.  If a student is to be dismissed in a matter different than usual, she or he must bring a note with written permission.  In order for a student to be dismissed early, a parent or guardian must go to the office to sign the student out. 
Holly Ball:  It is a tradition at St. Mary's for students to celebrate at the Holly Ball a week before Christmas Break. It is a great social opportunity for the Seventh and Eighth Grade to come together and celebrate with a little pizza, dancing and dessert.  As the date draws closer, more information will be provided.
Jobs and Service Projects:  Grade 7 is responsible for a number of different jobs both for the classroom as well as the school.  These include, but are not limited to placing the playground barriers into the parking lot in the morning, raising and lowering the flag each day, and various tasks to maintain the classroom.  These responsibilities rotate as needed.  The seventh grade also does a number of service projects during the course of the school year.  Our first project is weekly recycling for the school and parish.  In the late fall the Seventh Grade sponsors a Coat Drive. In addition, the class assists Monsignor Mike by replacing the missals and song books in Church as needed. I am continually searching for ways for our students to be of service, if you have any ideas for other projects the students can facilitate or assist with please let me know.
Communication:  Connect-Ed communication is sent out to administration twice weekly to advise parents of what is happening in our school community, Mondays and Wednesdays. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me, I will do my best to answer any questions you might have.   The best way to contact me about any questions or concerns is via email at michael.moakley@stmarysparish.org .