For Parents

Welcome! I am delighted to be teaching your son 6th grade English. Over the course of his first Middle School year, he will be exploring many different forms of the written and spoken word.

Click here for a copy of the syllabus for the year.

Click here to read the expectations for 6th grade English students

Click here for suggestions on how to deal with online teasing or bullying.

Click here for a list of Frequently Asked Questions.

We will go over every assignment in class, and students will take thorough notes. Assignments and instructions for projects will also be posted on this website, so your son can review his memory, check his assignments, or read information he missed when absent. Most written work will be done in class. There will be regular quizzes, and periodic tests, and I will make sure your son knows about them well in advance. Your son has an assignment book and is expected to write down his assignments at the beginning of every class.

The most common homework assignment for English class will be reading. Help your son make this a regular part of his routine, and encourage him not to cut corners. He will be accountable for what he reads, by writing a letter to me once every 7-day cycle about what he is reading. He should spend half an hour on this assignment per night. Some reading will be in assigned texts, while at other times it may be self-selected. He can read anything, and he can read anywhere.

I will send a homework notice home if your son misses an assignment. This is not a punishment. It is a communication. Please sign and return the sheet so that I know you are aware of the missed assignment. An occasional missed assignment is not a major problem. However, if your son misses three homework assignments in a term, that is a pattern he needs to break. The consequence of three missed assignments is a detention. If he receives a detention for missed homework, please sign the sheet, have a talk with your son about his homework habits, and feel free to get in touch with me.

In fact, please get in touch with me any time you have a question, concern, or comment, or if you just want to check in with me and say hello. I am in Room 9 of Crosman Hall. A good time to chat in person is homeroom period, from 8:00 to 8:30. Otherwise, I suggest you e-mail me at dturner@haverford.org or leave a message at 610-642-3020. I will call, e-mail, send a note home, or talk to you in person myself if I have any comments.

About me: I have been teaching at The Haverford School since 1993. For the 2006-2007 year I am the interim English Department Chair at Haverford.

A native of the area, I attended Haverford Friends and Baldwin, and I live in Philadelphia. I'm a published writer and a nationally competitive fencer, and in 2006, in Bath, England, I won the World Championships in 50-59 women's sabre. My graduate degrees are in teaching, from the University of Pennsylvania (M.S.Ed., 1990; Ph.D., 1996).