HOME OF THE BULLDOGS!

Dear Students and Families,

You are an Official Bethel Middle School Bulldog!!!

We are a school of high academic and behavioral expectations, dedicated to your growth in all aspects of middle school life. We use the Bulldog Way, which is being respectful, responsible, courageous, and hard-working to achieve great success in developing character, confidence, and college readiness.

At Bethel Middle School, we take students’ academics, behavior, attendance, and safety very seriously. Our entire staff is committed to helping you achieve your potential to become the best person you can be. We share this responsibility with you and your parents to help you succeed academically, socially, and behaviorally. You will be challenged to do your best every day that you are at Bethel Middle School. We expect excellence from all of our students and will support you along the way.

We teach everyone in our building the Bulldog Way, and it is how we expect to conduct ourselves at all times. As part of the Bulldog Way, we also expect you to attend school each day. We expect you to learn and complete your classwork on time. We expect you to follow school-wide expectations. Advisory period is used every day to facilitate learning, guide academic success, and help build your career and college readiness. Extra help is available to assist you as needed. Students are recognized daily for demonstrating the Bulldog Way.

Please use this handbook as a guide and a resource throughout the year to help you succeed. This handbook is not all-inclusive of district and school rules and policies. If you have any questions about anything in this handbook, please call our school. 

Thank you for joining our Bulldog Team, and have a GREAT year!

 

Required Core & Exploratory Courses

SIXTH GRADE	SEVENTH GRADE	EIGHTH GRADE
Core Required Classes ●    2-hour Humanities Block: Communication Arts & Ancient Civilizations ●    Math ●    Science ●    PE	Core Required Classes ●    2-hour Humanities Block: Communication Arts & Washington State History ●    Math ●    Science	Core Required Classes ●    Communication Arts ●    U.S. History ●    Math ●    Science
Other Courses ●    Band, Choir, Orchestra are year-round courses	Other Courses ●    Band, Choir, Orchestra are year-round courses	Other Courses ●    Band, Choir, Orchestra are year-round courses
OR	OR	OR
●    Exploratory Rotation (may include: General Music, Robotics, STEM, or Art)	●    Exploratory Rotation (may include: General Music, Robotics, STEM, PE, or Art)	●    Exploratory Rotation (may include: General Music, Robotics, STEM, PE, or Art)

Daily Classwork

Classwork due dates are assigned by the teacher. Please refer to the class syllabus that each teacher provides at the beginning of the school year/trimester for details about classwork, curriculum, and assignments.

 

Late Work

Late work will not be accepted if the trimester in which the assignment or assessment was due has passed. The assessment of late work is determined by the teacher. It is the responsibility of the student to obtain, complete, and submit the late work in the allotted time determined by the teacher. Students may have points deducted for late work.

 

Re-Do Policy

Formative and Summative Assessments are eligible for “Re-Do” if the student meets the following criteria:

❏ The student makes a reasonable effort to complete the assessment the first time, as determined by the teacher and recorded in the course syllabus.

❏ A “Re-Do” assessment must be completed within a maximum of two weeks from the date the original, graded assessment was returned to the student. Based on the needs of the assessment, teachers may choose to shorten this window of time.

❏ Teachers may assign additional lessons or tasks prior to the redo or retake assessment.

At Bethel Middle School, students are to consistently attend classes. Daily attendance is vital to each student’s educational success, and to be successful, Bethel Bulldogs must be actively engaged and continuously involved in each of their classes on a daily basis. Late arrivals and absences are governed by the following guidelines:

 

Late or Absence

A parent/guardian note or phone call is required to excuse an absence. Students who return from an absence need to report to the Attendance Office prior to the start of school. Only valid reasons for an absence or tardy will be accepted. See “Excused Absences” for the list of excused absence situations.

Homework Requests

If the absence is for more than three days, assignments can be collected upon request. Requested make-up work may be collected the following day after 1:30 p.m. Please allow 24 hours for homework to be collected from teachers.

Planned Absence

A parent/guardian note is required for pre-arranged absences. Assignments may be requested ahead of the absence. The principal may, upon request by a parent, grant permission in advance for a student’s absence, providing such absence does not adversely affect the student’s education. Only board-approved reasons will be granted an excused absence.

Excused Absence

Regular school attendance is necessary for mastery of the educational program provided to students of our district. At times, it may be appropriate for students to be absent from class. Students are responsible for making up and submitting any missed work.

 

The following situations will result in an “excused absence”:

• Illness or health condition.
• Religious observance when requested by a student’s parents.
• School-approved activities.
• Family emergencies.
• Doctor’s appointment or professional appointment with a note from their office.

Leaving Early

If students need to leave school early, they must bring a note from home, and turn it into the attendance office in the morning to receive an early dismissal pass. Parents must come into the office to sign a student out.

Bus Pass

To receive a bus pass, students must bring a note from their parent/guardian to the attendance office before school or during their lunch. Because it is difficult to verify this information over the phone, only signed notes or emails from parents will be accepted. Please email the attendance clerk before 1 p.m. of the day the bus pass is needed.

Emergency Dismissal

In the event of a sustained power failure or other emergencies, it may be necessary to dismiss school early. Buses may not be available. You should decide as a family what your plan for getting home is, and have it on file with attendance or the health clerk.