Bondurant Middle School
2015 6th Grade Handbook
http://www.franklin.kyschools.us/BMS6thGradeTeam.aspx
Introduction
This handbook is meant to be a guide to policies and procedures for the 6th grade. While each team in the school
follows all district and school guidelines, we all have procedures of our own as well. The 6th grade team of
teachers hopes you find this document helpful.
Teachers’ Contact Information
Contact between the school and home is critical to a student’s success. We try to make sure that all students and
their families are informed, but sometimes questions arise. If you need to contact a teacher, email is always the
most efficient way. Below you will find an alphabetical listing of your student’s core teachers along with their
subjects.
Mr. Clay Coburn (Math and Language Arts) – clay.coburn2@franklin.kyschools.us
Ms. Bobbie Fryman (Math) – bobbie.fryman@franklin.kyschools.us
Ms. Ashley Gary (Math and Language Arts) – ashley.gary@franklin.kyschools.us
Ms. Aimee Graham (Social Studies) – aimee.graham@franklin.kyschools.us
Ms. Katie Lee (Social Studies) – katie.lee@franklin.kyschools.us
Ms. Lenora Moore (Language Arts) – lenora.moore@franklin.kyschools.us
Ms. Elaine Penn (Math) – elaine.penn@franklin.kyschools.us
Ms. Stella Pollard (Science) – stella.pollard@franklin.kyschools.us
Mr. Nathan Shephard (Science) – nathaniel.shephard@franklin.kyschools.us
Ms. Kristy Standifer (Language Arts) – kristy.standifer@franklin.kyschools.us
Remind
Remind is a free one-way communication system that many teachers use to communicate directly with parents
and students. Most teachers use Remind as a way to make sure deadlines of major projects are met and test
dates are known. While this is an extremely useful tool, we recommend you and your child rely on the agenda
(see agenda section) for daily homework reminders.
Please see the BMS 6th grade webpage for the document containing all the Remind information for the each
teacher that uses it (right side of page under “documents”). Please also go to www.remind.com for more
information on how the system works.
Agenda
Students are required to have their agenda with them at all times (except for lunch). Most teachers have students
record the daily focus, homework assignment, and or learning target for each class in their agenda book as
directed by the teacher. Teachers may communicate with parents through the agenda book. It is the students’
responsibility to keep up with their agenda. Agendas that are deemed unusable by any teacher or administrator
(many pages torn out, no cover, all pages folded, no hall pass page, etcetera) must be thrown away and a new
one purchased for $5 from the front office. Half of the student’s hall passes for that trimester must be marked
out in the new agenda.
Hallways/Hallpasses
Students should walk on the right side of the hallway during class changes so that everyone can keep moving.
Horseplay is not tolerated in any area of the building including the hallways.
Students may be in the hallways during class (but not the first ten minutes or last ten minutes of a class) ONLY if
they have a signed agenda with them. There are two sets of hall passes in the student agenda: one for restroom,
one for the nurse and the library. The first set of hall passes is found on page 16 of the agenda. Each student has
sixteen hall passes per trimester for bathroom emergencies. The second set is on the very last double-sided page
of the agenda. These passes are to be used only to see the nurse or to go to the library. Any hall pass is given at
the teacher’s discretion.
Please contact the school nurse if there is a medical need in regards to bathroom use.
Restrooms
There is ample time between classes for students to use the restroom. However, if the need arises, a student may
go during class with a signed agenda. The student must first follow that teacher’s procedure for asking to use the
restroom, obtain that teacher’s signature, and then sign out of the classroom. Students are expected to sign back
into the classroom upon their return. The sign out sheet is a safety precaution. Students may not leave during the
first ten minutes or last ten minutes of a class because it is during these times that the most important instruction
is going on; this is called the 10/10 rule.
Students also use the restroom either before or after lunch with their lunch class, with the teacher’s discretion.
If there is any vandalism or horseplay in the restrooms, teachers will restrict bathroom use to just between
classes.
Again, please contact the school nurse if there is a medical need in regards to restroom use.
Tardies
Students are expected to be in class on time. Because there are no bells, “on time” means the student AND their
belongings must be inside the classroom door before the teacher closes the door. If a student is late (not in class
with their belongings when the teacher closes the door), they will be written up for a d-hall.
A student is tardy to school if they are not inside their first class with their belongings when the tardy bell rings at
8:40am. Students who are tardy to school must go to the office to check in and receive a tardy note. Please refer
to the student handbook in the front of your child’s agenda for more detailed information.
D-hall
D-hall, or detention, is on Tuesdays from 3:30-4:30 in a designated teacher’s classroom. Each d-hall usually is
separated by grade level or by number of students who have d-hall in the school for that day. Students must have
a ride here by 4:30 pm. Failure to serve d-hall or two d-halls assigned in one week will result in a Friday school.
Friday School
Friday school is an extended detention served on Friday afternoons from 3:30-5:30pm. Students must have a ride
here by 5:30 pm. Friday school is assigned when a student misses d-hall or if a student misbehaves for a substitute
among other infractions.
General Discipline
In general these are the guidelines that teachers follow for infractions in the classroom. Of course, for repeat or
more severe offenses early steps of “warning” and “taking points” may be skipped.
 Verbal Warning, if behavior continues….
 Take points, if behavior continues…
 Classroom Timeout, if behavior continues…..
 Team Timeout (the student go to another classroom of same subject (if available), Time-Out
student will need the Time Out Form and work from your class to complete while in Time Out.
Work will go back to teacher.)
 Office Referral. If a student is removed from TTO, it is an automatic referral.
Please remember that these are general guidelines, and an automatic referral to the office is sometimes
warranted. Please refer to the BMS behavior matrix on pages 6-8 of your student’s agenda for a full explainer of
behavior guidelines and consequences.
Braves
Braves is an incentive and reward program for all of BMS. Bondurant is a Positive Behavior Interventions and
Supports (PBIS) school. The main idea behind this is to intercept negative behaviors by directly teaching students
the desired behavior and recognizing positive actions. For more information on this initiative, please go to
www.pbis.org (original work, a national site) or to the state initiative (which BMS works closely with)
www.kycid.org.
Our guide in this initiative is the Braves creed:
B – be prepared
R – respect others
A – act responsibly
V – value self
E – encourage everyone
S – show pride
Students are given a “Braves sheet” worth 100 points at the beginning of the three week Braves period. Students
will earn points through positive behaviors (turning in box tops, showing school spirit, being a good citizen,
following the Braves creed) and lose points for negative behaviors (talking out in class, forgetting items in their
lockers, etcetera).
A student must maintain 90 points during a three week Braves period in order to attend or receive the reward.
Students also earn Braves passes by accumulating Braves points. These passes can be used in a variety of ways:
extra bathroom passes, hat passes, turning in homework late (teacher discretion), aide for a class period (teacher
discretion), sit with your friends at lunch or in the theater, reading morning announcements, AND more!!
Phones
Students may use the phones in the classrooms only to contact home for emergencies only. SICK STUDENTS WILL
BE SENT TO THE NURSE TO CALL HOME. Students can NOT use cell phones from the time they enter the building
until ‘all remaining’. The general rule is that all portable electronics including phones should be “unpowered and
unseen” from the time the student enter the building until after 3:30 (or ‘all remaining’). Use of or sighting of a
cell phone will result in a d-hall AND confiscation of the phone. See page 11 in Agenda for additional details.
Homework
Per Bondurant SBDM guidelines, sixth grade students should have no more than 80 minutes of homework a night
(20 minutes per core subject). Homework may not count more than 10% of a student’s total grade in each core
class in 6th grade.
Make-up Work
Students who are absent have the number of school days they are absent plus one school day to make up the
work. Weekends count in this equation. For example, a student who is absent on Wednesday and Thursday will
have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to make up the work which is due on Monday. Each teacher has a similar
system for students to claim missing assignments – IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE STUDENT TO INITIATE THIS
PROCESS. Late work (without absence) is rarely accepted. On occasion, teachers may take late work with a Braves
pass. If late work is accepted, points will be deducted from that assignment, usually one letter grade or 10%.
Arrival to School
Between 7:40 and 8:10, students should be dropped off in the front of the building and enter the front cafeteria
door. After 8:10, car riders should enter through the side car rider door. Bus riders will be dropped off in the front
of the building. ALL 6TH GRADERS SHOULD PROCEED TO THE THEATER upon arrival after 8:10 (with one exception
– students going to eat breakfast should eat in the cafeteria BEFORE going to the theater). All students will sit in
the rows marked with their homeroom teacher’s name. Students will stay in the theater until dismissed by the
supervising teacher.
Students are tardy to school if they are not in their first period with their belongings when the tardy bell rings. The
student must go to the office to obtain a note. Even if they are already in the building, the student will be counted
as tardy to school.
Dismissal
The school day ends at 3:20. HOWEVER, students will not leave their classrooms or go to their lockers until
dismissed. Car riders are dismissed first and will exit at the car rider door leading to the side parking lot. Busses
are called next, usually in groups of 5-8 busses at a time. “All remaining” students will be called at 3:30, when all
remaining bus riders will go to their lockers and report to the cafeteria to continue dismissal. Walkers are also free
to go to their lockers and exit the building at this time. Any student involved with sports or clubs after school
should report to their designated area at ‘all remaining’ as well.
Parent Conferences
As a rule, all of a student’s core teachers attend a parent conference. We have found that when all parties are
involved, there are better outcomes for the student. Please contact Aimee Graham at
aimee.graham@franklin.kyschools.us to schedule a meeting with your student’s teachers.
General Questions
Athletics – Michael Gearhart michael.gearhart@franklin.kyschools.us
Attendance – Rebecca Roberts rebecca.roberts@franklin.kyschools.us
Counseling – Ashlee Artman ashlee.artman@franklin.kyschools.us
Discipline – Adam Nance adam.nance@franklin.kyschools.us
Library – Leigh Kuhn leigh.kuhn@franklin.kyschools.us
General – Kim Shannon kim.shannon@franklin.kyschools.us
Safe Snacking
Sixth grade eats lunch between 12:40 and 1:20pm on a rolling schedule. Because this is the latest lunch time for
the school, the 6th grade teachers have elected to have and optional snack time during the last part of second
period (between 10:30 and 10:50am). The school does not provide the snacks, students must bring their own. The
snack cannot exceed the size of a regular Ziploc sandwich bag (no quart or gallon size bags, or full sized bags of
chips); while the snack itself does not have to be inside a sandwich bag, it cannot exceed sandwich bag size.
We have many students in our building who have life-threatening ingestion and contact allergies to certain foods.
While these students are good self-advocates and will not ingest something without reading the label, they
cannot control if the allergen is on a surface. If these students touch the allergen they will have a reaction that
could be life-threatening.
To keep these students safe, we ask that you follow our safe snacking guidelines – please do not send your
student to school with a snack that contains peanuts or tree nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts,
pistachios, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, etcetera). This request does not apply to packed lunches as the
cafeteria tables are wiped down after each use and all food is thrown away in the cafeteria.
Here are a few safe snacks to pack for your student:
When choosing a peanut free snack for your student,
it is important to ALWAYS check the label on the
-fresh fruit, not processed
-fresh veggies, not processed
package to make sure it is free of peanuts and nuts of
-raisins or other dried fruit
all kinds. This list is only to serve as a resource. It is in
-String cheese
no way complete and is subject to manufacturer
-cheese cubes
recalls and mislabeling.
-Cheez-its
Please also only purchase the brand listed.
-Wheat thins
-Doritos
Manufacturers may have changed their equipment or
-Teddy Grahams
product line and method since you last purchased an
-Annie’s Bunnies
item from this list.
-Goldfish
-Chex cereal
READING LABELS: Some manufacturers clearly state if
-Plain Cheerios (NOT Honey Nut or Frosted)
a product has peanut or nuts in it while others, it is
-Fig Newtons
almost hidden. PLEASE READ THE LABELS, each time
-Utz Pretzels
you purchase. Do not purchase items with the allergy
-Rold Gold Pretzels
and ingredient alert such as:
-Popcorn (Pop Secret; no microwaves in rooms)
-Kellogg’s Brand Rice Krispie Treats (original)
“May Contain Peanut or Tree Nuts”
-Cheetos
-Fritos
“Processed on shared equipment with Peanuts or Tree
-Pringles
Nuts”
-Sun Chips
-Tostidos
“Manufactured in a plant with Peanut or Tree Nuts”
-Bugles
“Contains Peanut or Tree Nut Ingredients”
-Oreos (regular or golden)
-Sunbutter Sandwich
-Kellogg’s pop-tarts
-Barnum Animal Crackers
Thank you for taking the time to read the labels!
-Honey Maid Graham Crackers
Your diligence is keeping several children safe at
-Triscuits (plain)
school.
-Lays (Plain, BBQ)
-Applesauce cups
-Mandarin orange cups
-Pear or Peach cups
-Fruit Snacks (Betty Crocker Brand, Target , Annies Organic or Meijer Brand only -NOT KELLOGG’S)
One good resource for finding peanut and tree-nut free foods is www.snacksafely.com. This website continuously
updates and generates the most up-to-date list of nut-free foods every time you visit.