NOTES FROM THE HEAD OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL
SCHOOL VISITATION
This week, the 8th grade class will be
touring St. Andrew’s on Monday. Our
final trip of the fall will be Monday, November 17th to the
Habersham School.
SAVANNAH ARTS UPDATE
I contacted the Arts Academy last week to
determine when their admission season would open. The school submitted its plan
to the Board of Education and is waiting for its approval. If the plan is approved as submitted they
will be accepting applications in January with auditions in February. They are not open for tours at this
time. This presents a problem for us
scheduling a visit for our students.
There are only 3 weeks between Thanksgiving and the end of the
semester. The students cannot miss any
class time during that period.
Therefore, when we do hear from the Arts Academy, we will attempt to
schedule a tour right after we get back from Christmas break in January.
HELISE SANDLER TO SPEAK TO HDS PARENTS
As part of our effort to support families in
selecting a high school for your child’s life after Hancock, we have arranged a
presentation by Helese Sandler of Savannah Educational Consultants. Mrs. Sandler works with families to help
explore and select high school and college placements. She will discuss the process of selecting the
appropriate high school for your child.
She will speak at 6:30 on Wednesday, December 3rd in Hancock
Hall. Her presentation is appropriate
for all grade levels and everyone is welcome to attend.
CANNED FOOD DRIVE UNDERWAY!
We kick off our annual food drive for Second
Harvest on Friday evening (November 7th) with a Western Hoe Down
Dance. Our goal this year is to collect
2014 pounds of canned and other non-perishable food in support of Savannah’s
Second Harvest. Admission to the dance
is 5 items for the drive.
The Middle School will be traveling to Second
Harvest to deliver the food and to help stock shelves on November 25th. We are a group of 89 students plus staff so
traveling is a major undertaking. If you can drive and stay with the group for
the morning (return to HDS by 12:30 for Thanksgiving Feast) please let Melissa
Gordon know at 351-4500 Ext #1 or mgordon@hancockdayschool.org.
SPORTS BANQUET
This Thursday, we will gather in Hancock Hall
to honor our fall athletic teams: football, cheer, volleyball and cross
country. The festivities begin at 6:00.
Please come and support our students!
BASKETBALL SEASON IS HERE!
HDS will have 8 teams playing this
winter. The season gets underway on
December 1st and league play concludes during the week of February 9th. Hancock will host over 70 games! Hosting gives us a chance to show off our
wonderful facilities and make a little money to support our sports teams. Please consider volunteering to sell tickets
or at the concession stand. SUPPORT THE
EAGLES!
Local Savannah artist Jose Ray
has arrived on the HDS campus this week to join Mrs. Oosterhoudt for the next 3
months in the Middle School art room. The students enjoyed getting to
know him this week along with getting to see a power point presentation of the
kind of work he does. Jose lead the students in a drawing game and we
discussed the two painted murals that we will be creating at HDS in the next 3
months!
Mrs. Hannah's 6th grade Ancient Civilizations class learned about mummification in Ancient Egypt, and even practiced on a chicken!
Marla Worrill, 6th grade, presenting her donation from the October 30th dress down day to Lora Reese, director of the Telfair Pavilion and Marti Barrow of the St. Joseph's/Candler Foundation. She was also featured as a WTOC Student Spotlight!
Local Savannah artist Jose Ray
has arrived on the HDS campus this week to join Mrs. Oosterhoudt for the next 3
months in the Middle School art room. The students enjoyed getting to
know him this week along with getting to see a power point presentation of the
kind of work he does. Jose lead the students in a drawing game and we
discussed the two painted murals that we will be creating at HDS in the next 3
months!
6TH GRADE NEWS
6th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. O'Connor
Next week the sixth graders will compose their own creative
short stories demonstrating their understanding of plot structure and character
development. Students will also practice identifying adjectival
prepositional phrases and begin work on lesson four in Wordly Wise. We
will take a test over the elements of short stories on Tuesday, November 18th.
6th Math with Mrs. Reardon
6th-7th Pre-Algebra with Mr. Lanfear
Next week in Math 6, we will review for the Chapter 4 test
on Monday and students will take the test on Tuesday, November 11. On Wednesday, we will color a hundreds grid
in any pattern that the student chooses.
They will then calculate the fraction and decimal part for each color in
the grid. Thursday, we will jump into
Chapter 5 by adding and subtracting fractions.
On Friday, students will take a math facts quiz. They outline for the quiz will be distributed
on Wednesday, November 12.
6th-7th Pre-Algebra with Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will finish learning about Least Common
Multiples of monomials (4.4). We will have a review day on Wednesday and
then a Mid-Chapter Test covering sections 4.1 – 4.4 on Thursday.
6th Earth Science with Mrs. Reardon
Next week in Earth Science, we will continue learning about
plate tectonics. We will go more in
depth with Harry Hess’ theory of sea floor spreading and the evidence that
surrounds it. On Wednesday, students
will have a quiz over sections 1 and 2 from Chapter 10. The end of the week we will discuss the
composition of Earth’s plates as well as the causes of plate tectonics. We will also do a brief lab using colored
rice to demonstrate plate tectonics.
6th Earth Science with Mrs. Blake
The sixth grade will continue their chapter on plate
tectonics next week. They have been introduced to the two men whose
theories led to the adaptation of the plate tectonic theory. There will be a quiz over that information
next Wednesday. After the quiz, they
will spend time learning about the layers of the Earth that compose the plates
and the layer responsible for the plate movement.
6th Spanish with Ms. Dixon
Next week, we’ll continue to work on classroom vocabulary
and stem-changing verbs. Students will present a skit on Friday, the 14th,
covering new vocabulary from Capítulo 2B. We will wrap up the chapter the
following week.
6th Ancient Civilizations with Mrs. Hannah
We are continuing our study of
Egypt next week, and will have a quiz Tuesday over lessons 1 and 2 (The
Geography of Egypt and the Old Kingdom). We will finish discussing the Middle
Kingdom and move to the New Kingdom, where we will analyze the social structure
of Egyptian society. I am so impressed by the hard work on the booklet projects
the students completed; many went above and beyond my expectations!
7TH GRADE NEWS
7th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. Hannah
We have completed the reading of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, and will have a novel test on Tuesday 11 November. The characterization and symbolism packets that correlate with the novel will be due on Tuesday as well. We are studying phrases in grammar, and will be discussing the different types of phrases and their functions within sentences. I am in my room at 7:45 each morning for extra assistance, clarification, or study help if needed!
We have completed the reading of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, and will have a novel test on Tuesday 11 November. The characterization and symbolism packets that correlate with the novel will be due on Tuesday as well. We are studying phrases in grammar, and will be discussing the different types of phrases and their functions within sentences. I am in my room at 7:45 each morning for extra assistance, clarification, or study help if needed!
6th-7th Grade Pre-Algebra with Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will finish learning about Least Common
Multiples of monomials (4.4). We will have a review day on Wednesday and
then a Mid-Chapter Test covering sections 4.1 – 4.4 on Thursday.
7th Grade Life Science with Mrs. Blake
7th-8th Algebra I with Mrs. Reardon
Next week the seventh graders will start a new chapter
dealing with the cell cycle and nuclear division. They will spend a good bit of time looking
closely at the process of mitosis. Understanding
mitosis helps the students see how organisms grow and how the body repairs
itself after injuries. They will have a
quiz at the end of the week.
7th-8th Algebra I with Mrs. Reardon
Next week in Algebra I, we will review for the Chapter 4
test on Monday and students will take the test on Tuesday, November 11. On Wednesday, we will start into Chapter 5 by
writing linear equations and functions in slope-intercept form. Students will also graph these linear
equations and functions. On Friday, we
will take a break from our daily routine to play a round or two of graphing
BINGO!
7th Spanish with Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish class the 7th grade will
begin a new chapter covering some irregular conjugations of the preterite
tense. This chapter also includes vocabulary about travel and vacations.
Students will use this new vocabulary to talk about their favorite vacations in
the past. The vocabulary quiz will be Friday, November 14th.
7th American History with Mrs. English
This week in American History I we will continue our study of the English colonies. We will have a TEST on Chapter 3 and Chapter 4—Sections 1 & 3 on Wednesday November 12th. Our next unit will cover Chapter 5-Sections 2-4—“Road to the Revolution.” Readings and homework will come from those sections. Students will understand how the events leading to the Revolution drew colonists closer together, but also increased friction with Britain.
This week in American History I we will continue our study of the English colonies. We will have a TEST on Chapter 3 and Chapter 4—Sections 1 & 3 on Wednesday November 12th. Our next unit will cover Chapter 5-Sections 2-4—“Road to the Revolution.” Readings and homework will come from those sections. Students will understand how the events leading to the Revolution drew colonists closer together, but also increased friction with Britain.
8TH GRADE NEWS
8th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. O'Connor
Eighth grade students will read and study the next four
chapters of Hound of the Baskervilles in the week ahead. Students
will examine the role a setting plays in establishing mood. All students
have a reading calendar and questions to answer as they read. Chapter questions
will be collected on Tuesday (chapters 1-6), and Friday (chapters 7-9).
On Wednesday, November 12th, students will take a quiz over chapters
5-8. We will work on our 20% Projects on Thursday.
8th Grade Physical Science with Mrs. Blake
The eighth graders have finished their study of the periodic
table and will have a chapter test next Tuesday. At that point they will start a new chapter
on states of matter. In looking at the
different states the students must keep in mind that the particles in matter
are never still, but are always in motion.
The amount of motion, due to energy, is responsible for each particular
state. Over the next week and a half they
will perform some labs that demonstrate the transfer of energy which causes a
change in state.
7th-8th Algebra I with Mrs. Reardon
Next week in Algebra I, we will review for the Chapter 4
test on Monday and students will take the test on Tuesday, November 11. On Wednesday, we will start into Chapter 5 by
writing linear equations and functions in slope-intercept form. Students will also graph these linear
equations and functions. On Friday, we
will take a break from our daily routine to play a round or two of graphing
BINGO!
8th Advanced Algebra with Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will review the first part of Chapter 11 to prepare for the test on Wednesday covering sections 11.1 – 11.2. We will then begin learning about solving radical equations (11.3).
Next week we will review the first part of Chapter 11 to prepare for the test on Wednesday covering sections 11.1 – 11.2. We will then begin learning about solving radical equations (11.3).
8th Geometry with Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will use properties of isosceles and
equilateral triangles in proofs about triangles (4.7). We will also learn
more about transformations (4.8).
8th Spanish with Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish class the 8th grade will
begin a new chapter introducing the imperfect tense. Students will use this new
tense in order to talk and write about what they were like as a child. We will
also review indirect object pronouns. The vocabulary quiz will be Friday,
November 14th.
This week in American History II we will conclude our study of big business and the growth of American cities with a TEST on Wednesday November 12th. Our next unit of study will cover reforms during Progressive Era. Students will understand how society and politics changed during this era. We will discuss how social reformers brought positive changes to workers, women, and immigrants. Readings and homework will come from Chapter 19—Sections 1-3.
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