Career Cruising is an Internet-based career exploration and planning tool your child will use while attending Belding Middle School to explore career and college options. Features of this program include:

• Interest & Skills Assessment – a world-renowned career assessment tool to help people identify suitable career options based on their interests and skills.
• Career Profiles – thorough and up-to-date information about hundreds of different occupations, including direct links between careers and college programs.
• Multimedia Interviews – interviews with real people in each occupation, which add depth and realism to career profiles.
• College and Financial Aid Information – comprehensive college and financial aid information.
• Electronic EDP Tool – available on-line so students can develop their education and career plans from wherever they access Career Cruising.
• Resume Building – integrated with the portfolio to help students format and print professional-looking resumes quickly and easily.

To find out more about Career Cruising, we encourage you to login using the school’s access information:

Username: belding
Password: middle

Click on “Start Career Cruising” to begin

Holt Mathematics online resources!

The online textbook brings the entire text to any internet-connected computer. Every page and every word of the print book is available online in an easy-to-navigate format—but bringing you the book is just the beginning.

Complementing the book pages are online tutorial videos. Holt authors carefully explain every example in every lesson, bringing both clarity and humor to the math learning experience. Links to the videos are right next to the examples they explain.

Holt’s online resources not only explain the math, but involve the students. Holt interactives provide opportunities to explore, review and practice skills that lead to mathematical success.

Looking for even more practice? Holt provides an online interactive practice quiz with each lesson to give students a quick read on their skills. Of course, Holt provides guidance for addressing any weak areas. Holt’s online textbook also includes printable practice problems, problem-solving exercises and notebook pages, along with interactive practice.

Having trouble with math vocabulary? Holt’s online multilingual glossary offers definitions, examples and even audio pronunciation of vocabulary words in English and in twelve additional languages.

Holt also includes learning tools, such as calculators (graphing, scientific, and statistical) algebra tiles and fraction bars for use in the classroom and at home.

Student’s access all of these resources at Holt’s online book site using an ID and password provided by their teacher. Parents can visit the web site at http://go.hrw.com (no password needed) click on Mathematics, then click on the level and then on the book title your child is using. From the list click Parent Resources. Here you will find section overviews that illustrate & explain the math concepts your child is learning.

Dear Parents:

I am sure you have noticed the Guided Independent Reading (G.I.R.) grade on your child’s report card. Just in case you have not had a chance to learn about this grade earlier in the year when the teachers sent home information, I would like to explain this grade again.

Belding Middle School made a commitment to the Accelerated Reading (AR) program several years ago. AR is a research-based program that encourages daily reading. With AR, students read books at their individual reading level, and take quizzes to assess their understanding when they are finished reading. Research on AR finds that students need to read 30-60 minutes each day, at their independent reading level to improve their reading fluency and comprehension. We set aside at least 20 minutes each day at the middle school and we use an online version of AR that gives students access to nearly 100,000 book titles and quizzes. The grade for G.I.R. is determined by three components. Each student can earn a total of 250 points each trimester marking period. Here are the three components considered in the G.I.R. grade:

1. Point Goal (100 Points). Each student has a point goal for AR that is determined by his or her reading level. Students will receive one point for each percent of their goal that they earn. For example, if Billy gets 85% percent of his point goal, he will earn 85 points out of 100.

2. Percent of Questions Correct Goal (100 points). The Percent of questions answered correctly on AR tests should average 85% for all students on every book they read. Research stresses that books must be read closely in order for students to make gains in comprehension.
85-100% of Questions Answered Correctly – 100 points
80 – 84% of Questions Answered Correctly – 80 points
75 – 79% of Questions Answered Correctly – 60 points
70 – 74% of Questions Answered Correctly – 40 points
65 – 69% of Questions Answered Correctly – 20 points
Below 65% of Questions Answered Correctly – 0 points

3. Book Level Goal (50 points). Students must read books within the range of their reading level. They will earn full points when they read at or above their prescribed level. They will receive fewer points if they choose less challenging books below their reading level.
Average at or above minimum book level – 50 points
Average .1-.5 points below minimum book level – 35 points
Average .6-1.0 points below minimum book level – 20 points
Average 1.1 – 1.5 points below minimum book level – 10 points
Average more than 1.5 points below book level – 0 points

When grades are computed, you can see that it is possible for a student to reach only 25 percent of his or her point total and still earn a C- in G.I.R. if they are meeting their goals in the other two areas. A student should be able to reach this range with minimal effort. Therefore, we feel that students who put forth a solid effort and take their AR time seriously each day should be well rewarded for their efforts.

Sincerely,

John Deiter
Principal
Belding Middle School

Encore classes are a very important part of our program at BMS. In fact, our encore classes help students meet requirements for high school graduation. For example, the state of Michigan requires all students to have an “online experience” while they are in school. This can come in middle school or high school, but it is required. All students who have Ms. Armock’s or Mrs. Hevel’s class will get this experience which may excuse them from certain classes at the high school. The State also requires students to prepare an Educational Develop Plan (EDP). EDP’s are created in Ms. Armock’s computer application class.

As a rule we try to schedule each student in computer applications and health. (Students who are in band will be less likely to have these classes, especially if they are also in choir or guitar class.) If students do not have computer applications, they will prepare their EDP in the spring so it is ready for high school.

Encore classes also help students learn about careers and Career Pathways. For example, in health class students learn about careers in the Health and Human service pathway; in Spanish they learn about careers in Human Services; in art they learn about Arts and Communication. The Career Crusing program is used in computer applications and other encores to explore post high school career and schooling options and to create EDPs.

We are fortunate to have such an extensive variety of encore classes at BMS to enrich each child’s educational experience.

Dear Parents,

It is never too soon to look ahead to high school graduation requirements. Until recently, the only state requirement was a .5 credit in civics. As you can see by the chart below, the state now requires 16 credits. These credits could be acquired through subject and integrated (mixed subject) classes, as well as, career and technical education programs. Credits obtained prior to high school will also count. Middle school students who successfully complete algebra and the final exam in the eighth grade will earn one of these high school credits.

Required credits include:

4 Cit
4 Credits Mathematics including Algebra I; Geometry, Algebra II; including one credit in senior year
4 Credits English Language Arts aligned with subject area content expectations developed by MDE
3 Credits Science including Biology; Physics or Chemistry; one additional science credit
3 Credits Social studies including .5 credit in Civics; .5 credit in Economics; U.S. History and Geography; World History and Geography
1 Credit Physical Education/Health credit guidelines to be developed by MDE
1 Credit Visual, Performing, Applied Arts credit guidelines to be developed by MDE

In addition to the credits outlined above, students must take an online course or learning experience; or have the online learning experience incorporated into each of the required credits of the Michigan Merit Curriculum. Beginning with the Class of 2016 (third graders in Fall 2006), students will need to complete two credits of a world language in grades 9-12; or have an equivalent learning experience in grades K-12. Belding Middle School students currently earn their online experience in our encore classes if they have computer applications, video productions, web design or multimedia productions.

Belding High School, like many other high schools in the county and state, recently adopted the trimester schedule design to help students meet these requirements and still take a variety of classes.

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/hs_research_doc_149897_7.pdf

Belding Middle School is known as true middle school in that we have grades 6-8 on separate schedules and in separate classes. Our content area teachers (math, science social studies, and English language arts) focus on instructing at only one grade level. Our encore teachers teach students in grades 6-8. Three of our encore teachers also teach elementary aged students through a partnership with Faith School. While the students are in their encore classes, it allows our core teachers common planning time. There is endless educational research that decrees the benefits of teacher collaboration. Perhaps the best feature of this common time is that it brings teachers out of the isolation of a classroom and allows them time to plan and implement common instructional practices with their colleagues. It also allows a time for teachers to discuss the needs of individual children and to meet with parents and other school staff regarding student needs. We are very fortunate to have this system at Belding Middle School.

Belding Middle School has adopted the trimester schedule starting in the 2007-08 school year. This means that we have three 12-week grading periods. In past years we used a semester model that had four 9-week marking periods and two 18-week semesters. The semester grade averaged two marking periods and a final exam. Under trimesters we will not have a separate grade for final exams. We feel that our district policy, which states that 50 percent of the grade in each class must be determined by assessments, puts enough emphasis on testing without mandating final exams. It will be the teachers’ decision whether or not to give a comprehensive exam. Trimesters will not be averaged together at the end of the year so each trimester will carry the same weight when grade point averages (GPAs) are calculated. Each class is worth one credit. Guided Independent Reading (G.I.R.) is worth a half credit so it does not influence the GPA as much as the regular classes. G.I.R. is not tracked for athletic eligibility.