2 of 20

Expectations & Updates:

Students need to have all materials

Especially chromebooks (charged!) & student agenda, in addition to other supplies requested by each teacher

High School Fair (Wednesday, 10/04/2023)
CPS High School Admission Test: 8th grade (Wednesday, 10/11/2023)

Accommodations window 10/11-13/2023

3 of 20

WIN-Flex Period

Daily opportunities to work on assignments, projects, science/history fair, Pathways to Success (8th grade), etc.

Monday- ~10:00 to 10:30 am
Tuesday- ~10:00 to 10:30 am
Wednesday- ~10:00 to 10:30 am
Thursday- ~10:00 to 10:30 am

4 of 20

Late Work Policy

School-wide late work policy

If students turn in work on time, they can improve their grade
If students turn work in late, they may not redo it
Assignments will not be accepted 1 week after they are due
No “zero work”; students will write a reflection for not doing their work

5 of 20

Aspen Codes

A number represents a student’s score on an assignment

Look to the side to see the total possible for that assignment

Msg- missing and counts as a zero; will be updated to a (50%) at end of quarter
M- missing but does not count as zero
Inc- incomplete- does not impact grade
Exc- excused- does not impact grade

6 of 20

1st Quarter Ends: Friday, 10/20/2023

Parent-Teacher Conferences: Thursday, 10/26/2023

8th Grade Graduation: Friday, 06/07/2024 (8:30 A.M.) on the West Field

7 of 20

FIELD TRIPS

8th Grade: Graduation Trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Monday, June 3, 2024)

Information will be sent out later in the school year

7th Grade: Washington, D.C. (Thursday/Friday, April 11 & 12, 2024)

Informational meeting will be held virtually in September

There will be several field trips for 7th & 8th grade throughout the school year! Information will be communicated to parents closer to the field trip dates.

8 of 20

Mr. Alvarez- Overview

Co-Teach 8th Science with Mr. Mackie

and Social Studies with Mr. Coughlin (1st Block)

Teach 7th/8th Math (2nd Block)

Co-Teach 8th Science with Mr. Mackie

and Social Studies with Mr. Coughlin (3rd Block)

Contact: ajalvarez1@cps.edu

9 of 20

Mrs. Hanauer - Overview

5th-8th Grade

Math MTSS Specialist

with Ms. Lee and Mr. Loza

& Ms. Kelsey and Ms. Alper

Contact: ccorrigan@cps.edu

10 of 20

Mrs. Paulson - Overview

Co-teach 7th Grade Language Arts

with Ms. Newby

ELPT: English Language Program Teacher

7/8 and 5/6 Girls’ Volleyball Coach

Contact: swartan@cps.edu

11 of 20

Ms. Gow - Overview

Co-teach 7th Grade

Language Arts with Ms. Newby

Math with Mr. Loza

Science with Mr. Mackie

Social Studies with Mr. Coughlin

After school programs: Battle of the Books (Fall)

& Ballroom Dance (Spring)

Contact: kcgow@cps.edu

12 of 20

Ms. Lee 7th and 8th Math

Mr. Loza 7th and 8th Math

Courses:

7th Grade Pre-Algebra
8th Grade High School Algebra

Breakdown of Grades:

Formative 50%

Classwork
Khan Academy
Projects

Summative 40%

Unit Test
Quizzes

Participation/Notebook: 10%

Participating in Class discussions.

Classwork Activities

Whole Class Instruction and modeling various methods.
Guided Instruction
Group Practice
Independent Practice

Khan Academy Lesson tied to concepts being covered in class.

Projects will occur every 2-3 weeks

On those days students will work in small groups to achieve a common task

Quizzes and Test

Quizzes should be no longer than 20-30 minutes and are there to guide instruction in coming weeks as we wrap up unit.
Test will at the end of each Chapter/Unit

Courses:

7th Grade Algebra
8th Grade Algebra (Co-Taught with Mrs. Carter)
8th Grade High School Geometry

13 of 20

Mr. Coughlin (Social Studies, Homeroom 302)

Email: vcoughlin@cps.edu

Cross Country and Track & Field coach

7th Grade topics
Original 13 Colonies
American Revolution
Forming the Government
HISTORY FAIR (PBL Project)
U.S. Constitution (and test)
Book: My Brother Sam Is Dead

8th Grade topics
IL Constitution (and test)
Civics
Launching the Nation
HISTORY FAIR (PBL Project)
Divided Nation (pre-Civil War)
Civil War
Reconstruction (post-Civil War)
Book: Frederick Douglass (autobiography)

Types of Assignments/Assessments:
Notes
Quizzes
Individual, partner, and group work and small projects
In-class presentations
DBQs and other writing
Primary & Secondary sources
History Fair project (Theme: Turning Points in History)

*History Fair Parent Preview Night: mid-February ? (5:30PM-6:30PM)

*Thorp History Fair: mid-February ? (during the school day)

14 of 20

Mr. Coughlin - Providing Feedback and Grades

Frequency of assignments:

Assignments will be given every week consisting of in-class work, quizzes, homework, etc. All work be introduced or worked on in class, with any work not completed becoming homework.

Due Dates:

All work assigned is expected to be completed by the due dates communicated. They are communicated both in class and on Google Classroom.

Gradebook Categories:

Formative Assessments: 50%
Summative Assessments: 40%
Notes: 10%

Turn around time for grades/feedback:

Assignments will be graded typically within one week of the due date. Some may take longer depending on the complexity of the assignment, but hopefully less than two weeks.

Late Work:

Work is considered late when the due date has passed and I have graded and entered the scores into ASPEN for the class
70% of credit for late assignments turned in
Anything missing after one week will be entered as 50%

Any questions can be emailed to: vcoughlin@cps.edu

15 of 20

7th & 8th Grade LA

Google Classroom
Class Materials

2 composition notebooks

OR one five subject notebook

1 personal reading book
1 folder or expandable folder
Writing supplies (pouch)
Highlighters (multiple colors)
Post-its (multiple colors)
Chromebook and charger
Agenda/Planner
Textbook and/or novel

All grades at Thorp are using a new curriculum this year for reading / writing / language arts. We will be working through units of our new textbook, Into Literature, as well as reading a couple of novels as a class. Each quarter will focus on one literature unit that centers on a specific theme. We are excited to explore our new curriculum with our students this year!

Contacts: Tracy Blair tblair3@cps.edu

Jessica Newby jnewby4@cps.edu

5-8th Cross Country (Fall) and Track and Field (Spring) Coach

16 of 20

7th & 8th LA- Providing feedback and grades

Learning Breakdown:

Silent Reading- 20 minutes MON-THURS
Grammar & mechanics- throughout each unit
Vocabulary- throughout each unit
Literature study- daily
Writing- alongside each literature unit

Due dates will be assigned on Google Classroom

Turn around time for grades:

Vary by assignment type
Aspen will be updated weekly
Typically 1-2 assignments entered per week

ABSENCES: If a student is absent, they should email teachers to let them know and complete the work that they missed

17 of 20

Mr. Mackie-307

Courses

Science 7th--Chemistry of Materials
Science 8th--Energy
Science Fair: 2x/week during WIN

Thursday, Dec. 14th (Family Preview Night 5:30-6:30)
Friday, Dec. 15th (during school–in person)

Assignments:

Graded Assignments through Google Classroom

Lab Reports, Analysis Questions, Papers

Science Journal (evidence of your science work @ school)
Science Fair Calendar has due dates and assignments.

Contact

temackie@cps.edu

18 of 20

Mr. Mackie-

feedback and grades

Structure of assignments:

All lessons have powerpoint presentations & are accessible on google classroom.
The lab-aids textbook is online & all students have access
There will be time for review each meeting & homework time devoted ‘in class’ to reduce the amount of homework.
Taking NOTES is very important. Please check your child’s science journal and ask to see the notes section. This area should be filled with writing.

Due Dates:

All work assigned will have due dates in Google Classroom.
Writing Assignments will be due ~1 week from assignment date
Weekly Science Fair work posted in GC (see calendar)

Turn around time for grades:

Generally, assignments will be assessed and graded within one week; however, it may be longer depending on assignment complexity. Please check Aspen frequently.

Please note -Work will NOT be accepted if more than ONE WEEK past the due date.

19 of 20

Counseling Program at a Glance

School-Wide Tier 1

Culture and Climate Committee

PBIS Committee

Second Step

SEL/Depression prevention

Sex Ed

Middle School Tier 1

Depression Prevention

High School Applications

High School Fair

Career Day

Student Council l

Leadership

School-Wide Tier 2

Rainbows

Art Therapy/Stress Management

Mentorship programming

Targeted Group Programming

Check in-Check Out

Student Conflict Resolution

Distressed student support

Crisis Interventions

Parent Conferences

DCFS and S.A.S. Support

School-Wide Tier 3: Referrals to outside resources

Please email us if you need support in any of these areas

Ms. Daly - SDaly3@cps.edu

Google Voice: 312-834-3602

Ms. Rodriguez - mrodriguez27@cps.edu

Google Voice: 312-436-1632

20 of 20

Counselor and Related Service Providers

Sofia Daly (Counselor)- sdaly3@cps.edu
Grace Kuliberda (Social Worker) - gaciszek@cps.edu
Mark Freeman (Social Worker) - mfreeman30@cps.edu
Teresa Bergmann (Psychologist) - tbergmann@cps.edu
Cailin D’Souza (Speech Pathologist) - cmdsouza@cps.edu
Michelle Duda-Loveday (Occupational Therapist) - mtduda@cps.edu
Lauren Duffy (Occupational Therapist) - lduffy3@cps.edu
Jenson Joseph (Physical Therapist) - jcjoseph3@cps.edu
Genevieve Kelley (Nurse) - gkelley@cps.edu
Rocio Campos (Nurse) - rcampos17@cps.edu

→ RSP website - https://sites.google.com/cps.edu/thorp-clinicians/home