December 9th-13th, 2013

WORDS FROM THE MIDDLE SCHOOL DIRECTOR

SEMESTER COMING TO A CLOSE!

Most teachers will be closing grades this Friday for the second quarter in preparation for the end of the semester. Students who owe work should make sure they are caught up by the 13^th!  It is a busy week in classes as we are all finishing up units. There will be many quizzes, tests and papers due.  Please be keep an eye on the schedule to ensure a balanced workload.

5^th GRADE OPEN HOUSE/INFORMATION NIGHT

It is that time of year when families are making decisions about where their children will attend middle school for the 2014-15 school year, and of course we hope that will be Hancock!  To assist families in that decision, the Middle School team is going to hold an open house/information night on Thursday, December 12^th. At this event we will present our academic curriculum, extracurricular programs, daily schedule and give everyone a flavor of what life at the Middle School of Hancock Day School is all about. The evening will begin with a general information session followed by “mini” classes to meet each of our Middle School team. The program will begin at 6:30 and conclude by 8:00. I hope you will be able to attend as a family to experience our new Middle School. Should this time frame not work for your family, please contact me (351-4500 or hcrawford@hancockdayschool.org) and I will schedule a tour for you. I look forward to seeing everyone on Thursday, December 12^th at 6:30.

You should also receive a formal invitation in the mail within the next few days.

6TH GRADE NEWS

6th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. O'Connor

Sixth grade students are concluding our study of The Giver, and our test over this novel is scheduled for Tuesday, December 10^th.  Students should spend time over the weekend reviewing their study guide for this; we will review in class on Monday as well.  Students can also expect a short quiz over the most recent grammatical concepts we’ve been working with (adverbial prepositional phrases and appositives) on Monday. By the middle of next week we will begin reviewing for our cumulative semester exam.

Math 6 with Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Math 6 we will finish up with Chapter 6. We will talk about distributive property as well as the coordinate plane. On Wednesday (12/11), students will take a chapter quiz over lessons 6.4-6.8. Thursday and Friday we will begin to review for exams. We will take 2 chapters at a time and review them in depth. The students will receive study guides for each of the chapters. The exam will cover Chapters 1-6.

6th Earth Science with Mr. Crawford

This week we will finish up our exploration of weather.  Monday we will discuss clouds.  Homework – Questions #4 & 6 in handout.  Tuesday - Fronts.  Homework – Read 45 – 469;  Questions 12, 14, 15, 17, 18.  Wednesday - Severe Weather.  Homework – Read 470-471;  Study for quiz on Weather and Fronts.  Thursday – Weather forecasts.  Homework – Study for test on Weather unit.  Friday – exam on Weather.

6th Earth Science with Mrs. Blake

The sixth graders will have a busy week as they head into exams. The students have had their last chapter test of the semester over earthquakes.  They will spend next week learning about volcanoes and the link between earthquakes and volcanoes. There will be a quiz over this one section next Thursday. The classes will receive the exam study guide next week, also. This guide lists the chapters that we have covered since the first of the year. The best way to prepare for the science exam is to study the old quizzes and tests.   Please take a moment to look at this guide.  The class will spend some time at the end of the week going over the best way to break down their study times into manageable segments. This is especially important for the sixth graders since they have not had exams before and the preparation for a cumulative exam is different from that of smaller chapter tests.

6th Spanish with Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class, the 6^th graders will finish up “ser” vs “estar” and begin reviewing for their exams. Students should start to organize their binders and make sure they have all of the vocabulary sheets from each of the 5 chapters. It is crucial that all students sign up for extra help if they do not understand a specific topic that we have covered this semester.

6th World Civilizations with Mrs. English

This week we will be taking a test on Egypt Chapter 4 Lessons 1-3 on Tuesday December 10th.  We will also be finishing our Egyptian project brochures which will be due on Friday December 13^th. Begin sorting your semester notes because we will also start review for semester exams.

7TH GRADE NEWS

7th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. O'Connor

Seventh grade students will conclude our study of A Christmas Carol in the week ahead.  Our test over the play in its entirety will take place on Friday, December 13^th.  Students can also expect a quiz over the most recent grammatical concepts that we’ve been working with (participles, and infinitives) on Monday, December 9^th.  By the middle of next week we will also begin reviewing for our cumulative semester exam.

Pre-Algebra with Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Pre-Algebra we will continue in Chapter 6 learning about similar and congruent figures using proportions. On Wednesday (12/11), students will take a chapter quiz over lesson 6.3-6.5. Thursday and Friday we will begin to review for exams. We will take 2 chapters at a time and review them in depth.  The students will receive study guides for each of the chapters. The exam will cover Chapters 1-6.

7th-8th Algebra with Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Mr. Lanfear’s Algebra class, we will finish our exploration of scatter plots and lines of fit by applying them to real world situations. We will have a quiz on Tuesday and then begin our exam review for the rest of the week.

7th Grade Life Science with Mrs. Blake

The seventh graders will have a busy week as they gear up for exams. We have been talking about Gregor Mendel and the huge impact his work had on our understanding of how traits are passed from generation to generation. They are now working on different types of inheritance such as incomplete dominance. They will have their last chapter test before exams next Thursday. Also, the class will receive the exam study guide at the end of the week. This guide lists all the chapters that we have covered since the first of the year. The best way to prepare for the science exam is to study the old quizzes and tests. The classes will spend some time next week going over the best way to break down their study times into manageable segments.

7th Spanish with Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class, the 7^th graders will finish up their projects. They will present these projects on Tuesday, December 10^th. We will also begin reviewing for exams.  Students should start to organize their binders over the weekend. It is crucial that all students sign up for extra help if they do not understand a specific topic that we have covered this semester.

7th American History with Mrs. English

This week we will be taking a test on the American Colonies Chapter 4- Sections 1-3 on Tuesday December 10^th.  We will also allot some time for working on our class timeline projects.  Finally please begin sorting your semester notes because we will also start review for semester exams.  

8TH GRADE NEWS

8th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. O'Connor

Eighth grade students are in the midst of studying several short pieces of fiction and nonfiction thematically related to To Kill a Mockingbird.  We will take a short test over these pieces on Wednesday, December 11^th.  By the middle of next week we will also begin reviewing for our cumulative semester exam.

8th Grade Physical Science with Mrs. Blake

The eighth graders will be busy as they gear up for exams. We will be talking about physical properties and the difference between size-dependent and size-independent properties. Next week we will focus most of our attention on density. The students will perform two labs on density in order to see that density can be used to identify unknown materials and that the density of a substance is maintained regardless of the size of the sample. There will be a quiz on this material next Thursday. Also, the class will receive the exam study guide at the end of the week. This guide lists all the chapters that we have covered since the first of the year. The best way to study for the science exam is to study the old quizzes and tests.      

7th-8th Algebra with Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Mr. Lanfear’s Algebra class, we will finish our exploration of scatter plots and lines of fit by applying them to real world situations. We will have a quiz on Tuesday and then begin our exam review for the rest of the week.

8th Advanced Algebra with Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Mr. Lanfear’s Advanced Algebra/Introduction to Geometry, we will start our review for the semester exam.

8th Spanish with Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class the 8^th graders will have a quiz over the Imperfect tense on Tuesday, December 10^th. We will also begin reviewing for exams. Students should start to organize their binders and make sure they have all of their vocabulary sheets from each of the 5 chapters we have covered this semester. Any students needing extra help should set up a time to see me next week. 

8th American Government with Mrs. English

This week we will be taking a test on the American Presidency on Tuesday December 10^th.  We will also be discussing the role of the president in current events like foreign affairs and domestic problems. Please begin sorting your semester notes because we will also start review for semester exams.