Student Life
Bell schedules for all grades.
Information on our music programs.
Counseling program—available to all students and families.
Food & Nutrition
Berkeley Unified School District’s School Lunch Initiative has two primary goals:
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Serve nutritious and delicious, freshly prepared meals using locally grown food to all of our students
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Educate children in kitchen, garden, and academic classrooms about their food choices and the impact those choices have on their health, the community, and the environment.
There are no processed foods, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, refined sugars, refined flour, chemicals, dyes, additives, and nitrates in BUSD school lunches. Regional organic milk is served at lunch, and local and/or organic fruits and vegetables are used as much as possible.
You can help support the School Lunch Initiative by purchasing school lunch for your child.
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Visit BUSD Nutritional Services for more information on BUSD food policies.
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Breakfast
A free nutritious breakfast is provided to all students in their classrooms during the first period of the day (not counting zero period).
While breakfast items change every year, here are examples that have been served:
Bagels and cream cheese
Whole grain cereals
Locally made muffins
Milk and fresh fruit are always offered
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Lunch
Students eat lunch in the Dining Commons, one of the most spectacular cafeteria spaces in any public school.
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For the 2024-25 school year, all students K-12 are automatically eligible for free breakfast and free lunch every day they are in school. Read the full Free Meal policy in English or Spanish.
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Full lunch menu: https://www.berkeleyschools.net/departments/nutrition-services/school-lunch-menus/
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Nutrition Education
Sixth grade students begin their nutrition education at King with the Wheel Program class What’s on Your Plate. In this class, students examine the choices we make concerning our food through a variety of activities, films, and projects. Some of the art projects they do include scale fruit and veggie drawings and swirl line drawings. They watch videos about nutrition, digestion, and farming as well as read excerpts from the book Chew on This. They discuss where our food comes from, comparing sustainable agriculture vs. non-sustainable and organic farming vs. mono-culture farming. They also examine what is in our food, looking at fat and sugar content as well as processed vs. unprocessed foods. The Dining Commons supply tasters from the lunch menu so that students can taste and learn to appreciate new foods. Teachers also bring tastings of fresh fruits and vegetables from the farmers market.
Students continue learning to make food choices that are nutritionally sound and environmentally responsible in King’s Edible Schoolyard. In the garden, they learn the basic tenants of growing food by working with compost, propagating plants in the greenhouse, cultivating beds, and harvesting fresh vegetables, fruits, and herbs. In the kitchen classroom, students gain an understanding of the basic tools and techniques of preparing food, how to read and execute a recipe, and how to share food around the table. As the Edible Schoolyard is fully integrated in to the academic experience at King, participation also reinforces classroom learning in areas such as ancient civilizations, ecology, and life systems.
Grading Policy
Report Cards and Progress Reports
Students receive a progress report midway through each grading quarter and a report card at the end of each grading quarter.
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Two different types of grades are assigned for each class:
Habits of Work (HOW), ranging from “4 = excellent” to “1 = needs improvement.” This grade includes but is not limited to class work, homework, class participation/engagement, behavior, and punctuality. Your child’s Accelerated Reader goal may count for as much as 30% of his or her HOW grade. Work habits are a key to long-term success and brain development.
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Standards-Based Proficiency (SBP), ranging from “4 = advanced” to “1 = below.” This grade is a direct reflection of student achievement in relation to California Standards and is the best determination of whether your child is above, below, or at the expected level. The SBP grade is based on tests, assignments, projects, and quizzes.
Progress reports and report cards are mailed to home addresses on a quarterly schedule.
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Honor Roll
A student must receive a 3.3 HOW average to be eligible for the honor roll, which is posted on the bulletin boards in the main hall and acknowledged at an assembly. A 2 or 1 HOW grade makes a student ineligible for honor roll. An honor roll student who receives a 3.5 SBP average is additionally recognized as being an Academic All-Star.
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Promotion
To be promoted from sixth to seventh grade, a student must receive an SBP grade of 2 or better in twelve of the fourteen semester courses taken during the year. The twelve classes must include two semesters of English and two semesters of mathematics, all with a grade of 2 or better.
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To be promoted from seventh to eighth grade, a student must receive an SBP grade of 2 or better in ten of the twelve semester classes taken during the year. The ten classes must include two semesters of English and two semesters of mathematics, all with a grade of 2 or better.
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Graduation
To graduate, a student must receive an SBP grade of 2 or better in twenty of the twenty-four semester classes taken during seventh and eighth grades. The twenty classes must include four semesters of English and four semesters of mathematics, all with a grade of 2 or better. These requirements must be met by June for a student to participate in the promotion ceremony.
Academic Resources
You and your student can both access information on attendance records, assignment and quarter grades, independent reading progress, and more using King’s online resources. Support your student by being involved and aware.
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Join Infinite Campus!
KIng's Student and Parent Portal. Click here for more information.
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Accelerated Reader
Accelerated Reader (AR) is a web-based program that tracks students’ independent reading progress. This is a major component of King’s language arts program as students are expected to read for 30 minutes a night at home in addition to the reading at school. In the beginning of the year, students take a diagnostic test and are then assigned a points-based reading goal for the semester. When students complete books, they take quizzes in the AR system. Parents can log in to check their student’s reading progress, help student select appropriate books, and see progress towards their student’s individual points goal for the quarter.
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This website requires a username and password to access an account. A handout containing the login and password information was provided at parent-teacher conferences. This handout contains the information below and login and password information. If you did not receive the handout, please contact Ms. Jones in the school office.
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It is important that both parents and student know how to use this resource.
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Website: Renaissance
Username: student first + last name (no space)
Password: BERKELEY + student ID # (no space)
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Once in, parents should click on the tab My Completed Work under Progress in the top right corner of the page. They will then be able to view all of the books their student has read, and see the corresponding quiz scores. They can also view their student’s rating of each book.
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In order to search for new books, articles and quizzes on AR, parents can click on the magnifying glass icon labeled Reading in the top corner of the page. Various books recommended based on a student’s STAR reading score will appear.
For more information on using AR:
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for general information look at the Parents’ Guide to AR BookFinder
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you can use the AR BookFinder to looks for books that are included, what the Accelerated Reader Quiz Information details are and the quiz point value is.
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IXL
IXL is the standards-based math program being used in both 6th and 7th grade classrooms. Students may be assigned IXL as homework or as an in-class assignment.
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This web sites requires a username and password to access an account. A handout containing the login and password information was provided at parent-teacher conferences. This handout contains the information below and login and password information. If you did not receive the handout, please contact Ms. Jones in the school office.
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Website: ww.ixl.com
Username: <see handout>
Password: <see handout>
Yearbook
Don’t miss out on your chance to buy a King yearbook—a limited supply remain… Parents can buy online at www.jostens.com for $37.99 ($35 + $2.99 service charge).