Friday, August 28, 2015

August 31-September 4




Please stop by The Middle School to see this beautiful tribute to HDS former student Gray Solana titled 'Gray's Reef'. This piece was constructed by our 2015 graduates and was inspired by Gray's 2014 performance as Neptune in Greeks on Stage.


NOTES FROM THE HEAD OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL

Our first full week of school was exciting and exhausting!  I know everyone is looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday!  Next week, things begin to crank up with our sports team in action throughout the week.

FOOTBALL
Coach Gilpin and the Hancock Eagles open on Monday, August 31st at St. James.  The game begins at 6:00pm.  


VOLLEYBALL
New this year will be a JV team coached by Mrs. Royal and Mrs. Hannah.  The JV team opens up on Monday, August 31st at St.Andrews, game time 6pm.  They play again on Thursday, September 3rd at St. James beginning at 5:00.  The Varsity, under new head coaches Ms. Hughes and Ms. Roberts, begins on Thursday, September 3rd at St. James. That game will begin immediately after the Junior Varsity game.
PLEASE COME SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS!


WHITE ZONE CARPOOL
With each passing day our carpool lines are moving smoother and quicker.  We can do one thing that will ensure cars continue to move with ease.  Please DO NOT line up in the White Zone carpool line until 3:10.  When we arrive and line up before 3:10 it prevents efficient access for Gold Zone parents to go through their line. If you arrive early, please take a marked parking spot.  Do not park in the turnaround area. At 3:10, I will stop traffic and get you into line.

****SPEED
Please use extreme caution moving through the carpool lanes as students pop out from between cars. 10 mph is our MAXIMUM speed, AND LESS IS BEST!


6TH GRADE NEWS

6th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. Guggenheim
Next week in ELA we'll be discussing the elements of nonfiction and beginning to read nonfiction texts. We've been discussing and practicing "purposeful annotations" and will continue to utilize that skill as we move into nonfiction.We are also going to add to our list of Reading Reasons. Please encourage your child to contribute to the list of reading reasons in our online Google Classroom post. The quiz for List One Greek/Latin roots is on Tuesday, Sept. 1. We are also going to begin using our writer's notebook (can't wait!). You may also want to ask your child to show you their "Glog" book project for our summer reading book, El Deafo, as well as invite you to read the online conversations they've been having about the second book they read. I am so impressed with their comments and musings. Have a great weekend! We will begin List 2 Vocab on Wednesday.

6th Math with Mrs. Reardon
Next week in Math 6, we will continue in Chapter 1 by discussing order of operations, equations, and perimeter and area.  We will also learn some strategies to mental math.  On Friday (9/4), students will take a brief chapter quiz over lessons 4 – 6 and will do an activity involving area and perimeter.

6th-7th Pre-Algebra with Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will be completing Chapter 1 by learning about multiplying and dividing integers (Chapter 1.7) as well as basic graphing on the coordinate plane (Chapter 1.8).  We will have a day of review on Thursday and then the Chapter 1 test on Friday.

6th Earth Science with Mrs. Reardon
Next week in Earth Science, we will continue in Chapter 1 by discussing observations and inferences.  Students learned this week that drawing a conclusion was the end result of the scientific method, so we will elaborate on how a conclusion should be written.  They will use this skill at the end of the week when we perform a “rate of reaction” lab.

6th Earth Science with Mrs. Huennekens
What a productive week!  We have been getting into the nitty gritty of the Scientific Method.  We performed our first lab in which the students had to construct their experiment using all that they have learned so far.  The test was which paper towel is the strongest.  They did a great job being scientists!  
Next week, we will be studying Scientific Enterprise which is still in Chapter 1.  The students will test on Chapter 1 on Wednesday, September 9th.

6th Spanish with Ms. Sotomayor
Dear parents. There has been wonderful, full class participation in speaking Spanish this week! We are wrapping up greetings in the Spanish-speaking world along with numbers and classroom commands. Next week we will discuss nouns, articles, and using the word "Hay". Please send notecards with your child as we will be working on vocabulary flash cards next week
6th Ancient Civilizations with Mrs. Hannah
We have had a great week learning about early humans! We will have our Chapter One quiz on Monday 31 August (originally scheduled for Friday 28 August). Next week, we will discuss how permanent settlements rose into complex societies and discuss economy in early societies. Students will participate in a bartering activity to better understand economic principles. I will be in my room at 7:45 each morning for extra help and to answer questions.

TH GRADE NEWS

7th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. Hannah
We have begun to apply the elements of plot to short stories in our textbook, and map out stories using graphic organizers. Students will have a quiz over “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” and “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” next week. We will also begin discussing how to write a short story and start the planning process, focusing on plot and characterization.  In vocabulary, we are studying the bases in lesson one and will have a quiz at the end of next week. Check Google Classroom for a fun vocab activity!  I will be in my room at 7:45 each morning for extra help and to answer questions.

7th-8th Algebra I with Mrs. Reardon
Next week in Algebra I, we will wrap up Chapter 1 by representing functions as rules and tables, as well as graphing these functions.  Students will have an opportunity to use the graphing calculators in class.  Wednesday, we will review for their first test that will take place on Thursday (9/3).  Friday we will do a hands-on activity involving order of operations.

6th-7th Grade Pre-Algebra with Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will be completing Chapter 1 by learning about multiplying and dividing integers (Chapter 1.7) as well as basic graphing on the coordinate plane (Chapter 1.8).  We will have a day of review on Thursday and then the Chapter 1 test on Friday.

7th Grade Life Science with Mrs. Huennekens
We will continue to use our mad science skills that we learned last week on the Scientific Method as we conduct labs over the school year. This week we are focusing our attention on Classification.  There will be a Chapter 1 test on Thursday, September 3rd.

7th Spanish with Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish class, the 7th grade will continue working with the grammar and vocabulary from Chapter 5A. This includes possessive adjectives, the verb tener, and diminutives.  Student will practice their reading comprehension skills and learn about a “miniteca”.The chapter test will be Friday, September 5th.


7th American History Part I with Mrs. English
This week we will continue our study in Chapter 1-Section 4. This section deals with European Heritage that is passed along in the colonization of the Americas.  Homework and readings will come from that section.  We will also have a test on Thursday, September 3rd over Chapter 1- Sections 1, 3, & 4.  Looking forward to a great week!

8TH GRADE NEWS


8th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. O'Connor/Ms. Churchill
We will begin our examination of short fiction with “Charles” and “Flowers for Algernon” focusing on comprehension, context clues, and point of view.  Guided reading and discussion will be followed by a graded assessment late in the week.  Continuing our study of Latin and Greek roots, students will complete Unit 12 exercises in  the vocabulary text.    

7th-8th Algebra I with Mrs. Reardon
Next week in Algebra I, we will wrap up Chapter 1 by representing functions as rules and tables, as well as graphing these functions.  Students will have an opportunity to use the graphing calculators in class.  Wednesday, we will review for their first test that will take place on Thursday (9/3).  Friday we will do a hands-on activity involving order of operations.

8th Advanced Algebra with Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will complete Chapter 9 by learning about factoring quadratic equations using the AC method (9.6).  We will then have a day of review and then the Chapter 9 test at the end of the week.

8th Geometry with Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will complete Chapter 1 by reviewing and then having the Chapter 1 test in the middle of the week.  We will then begin looking at Chapter 2, which involves different reasoning methods (2.1) and examining conditional statements (2.2).

8th Grade Physical Science with Mrs. Huennekens
We have been busy refreshing our memories of the Scientific Method and all things measurement. Our measurement study is all about SI units (International System). We will test on Measurement on Thursday, September 3rd.

8th Spanish with Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish class, the 8th grade will continue working with the grammar and vocabulary from Chapter 1A. There will be a grammar quiz on Tuesday, September 1st over negative and affirmative words as well as stem-changing verbs. The chapter test will be Friday, September 5th.

8th American History Part II with Mrs. English

Next week in American History class we will continue our study of the Civil War in Chapter 15.2 and 15.3. On Friday, September 7th we will have a quiz on Chapter 15.1-3.  On Thursday, students will bring in their Civil War dishes so we can taste different foods from the Civil War era. If you have a recipe that has been in your family since the Civil War please encourage your student to make that and bring it in.  If not please look up recipes on the websites I provided on the Civil War Recipe doc.  Your child MUST include the ingredients and recipe with the dish due to allergies and specific dietary needs.  If you have questions please email me.  Looking forward to a fun week!

May 21st - May 25th

NOTES FROM MR. CRAWFORD Important Dates for all Families! All middle school students were provided information regarding end of ye...