Hancock Middle School: November 7-11

MIDDLE SCHOOL NOTES

FIRST TRIMESTER ASSESSMENTS

The past few weeks have been tumultuous, and we believe that we can best achieve a sense of normalcy by continuing with our rigorous instruction and providing a predictable structure. As we regroup from the disruption caused by Hurricane Matthew, the middle school team has decided to forgo the previously scheduled first trimester exams/summative projects. Eliminating the trimester exams will allow our teachers and students to maximize instructional time and conclude the trimester in a meaningful way, without spending days reviewing for and taking comprehensive exams. This change preserves the scope of our curriculum, and our students will still be provided with ample opportunities for reflection and assessment.

As a result of this decision, Thursday, November 10th, and Friday, November 11th will be full instructional days rather than the half days previously noted on our school calendar.

This decision is one that was reached after significant discussion and careful consideration of the needs of our students. We still believe in the educational value of the trimester exams, and we will give them at the end of T2 and T3. A schedule for those assessments can be found by clicking HERE.

As always, we are grateful for your continued support of Hancock Day School. We look forward to seeing many of you at conferences on Thursday.

8th GRADE FUNDRAISING FOR WASHINGTON, D.C. TRIP

The 8th grade parents and students are holding two BABYSITTING NIGHTS to raise funds for their DC trip. These nights are scheduled for Friday, November 11 and Friday, December 9th. Children can be dropped off beginning at 6:30 and picked up between 9:00 and 9:30. Pizza is on the menu and Aladdin will be the movie shown on November 11th!! For complete details including cost and payment click HERE.

. Pre registration is required! What a great way to enjoy an evening out or get a jump start on your holiday shopping!!

8th grade families - both adult (12 needed) and student (16 needed) volunteers are required for this night to happen. Look for an email from the fundraising committee to request your assistance.

ANNUAL FOOD DRIVE FOR SECOND HARVEST - AND KICK OFF DANCE

We will hold our annual food drive to stock the shelves of Second Harvest beginning with a kick off dance on November 4th. The dance is from 7:00 - 9:00. Admission is 5 can goods or dried food items (pasta, etc.).

On Tuesday, November 22nd, the entire middle school will visit Second Harvest and Fort Jackson for our school-wide community service day. We are looking forward to this field trip, and we need parental support in order to facilitate the awesome opportunity for our students. Because we’ll be visiting two different locations, we need drivers to stay with us from 8:15-12. If you can be with us that morning, please contact Mrs. Chandler as soon as possible (351-4500 Ext 315 for achandler@hancockdayschool.org).

ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITY

Students can volunteer at Second Harvest Community Food Bank on Saturday morning, 11/19. Volunteers are needed to pack bags of food for elderly persons in our community. The packing begins at 7:45am, and volunteers must wear closed-toe shoes.

NOTES FROM 8th GRADE

8th Grade Algebra 1 Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Algebra 1 we will continue in chapter 4 by learning more ways to graph linear equations. We will take a look at slope and rate of change in order to graph using slope-intercept form. On Thursday, we will review for the Chapter 4 test that will take place on Friday, November 11.

8th Grade Geometry Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will complete Chapter 4 by learning about reflections and rotations (4.8) on Monday, then having a day of review and our Chapter 4 test on Wednesday. We will then begin learning many properties of triangles starting with the Midsegment Theorem (5.1). Mrs. Blake will be a substitute teacher on Monday.

8th Grade Advanced Algebra Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will complete Chapter 11. There will be a quiz on sections 11.1 - 11.2 on Monday. We will then have 2 days of review and then the Chapter 11 test covering sections 11.1 - 11.2 on Thursday. We will then begin learning how to solve radical equations (11.3). Mrs. Blake will be a substitute teacher on Monday.

8th Grade Language Arts Mrs. O’Connor

Students are currently wrapping up their campaign projects and To Kill a Mockingbird as we prepare for the conclusion of the trimester. Next week the entire school will view our campaign commercials and vote on a name for our school’s mascot. We we also be discussing the conclusion of To Kill a Mockingbird and reviewing the entire novel. Students will take a test on Thursday over all of To Kill a Mockingbird.

8th Grade History Mrs. English

This week in American History we will complete our election project on Monday and facilitate the voting process on Tuesday. What will the mascot name be? Spirit (incumbent)? Eddie? Maverick? Or Golden? Posters are due on Monday. We will do an electoral college writing assignment on Monday. Then we will continue studying the Gilded Age in Chapter 18.

8th Grade Physical Science Mrs. Huennekens

We are learning so much about waves! The Chapter test on Waves is Tuesday, November 8th. I have given the students an OPTIONAL homework assignment to complete this weekend. They are to make a Kahoot! They all love playing Kahoot. All the information is posted on Google Classroom. I went over it with them in class. We will move into Sound waves, Chapter 17, on Wednesday. When we start concentrating on Sound and Light waves, the kids will most certainly enjoy the addition of some Life Science to our studies. We will study in more detail the ear and eye. Students are encouraged to check Google Classroom on a daily basis, come see me for extra help and to review material covered in class nightly.

8th Grade Spanish Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class, the 8th grade will continue to work with the grammar and vocabulary from Chapter 3A. Students will learn about different communities in Spanish-speaking countries and describe the cultural characteristics of the barrios in Argentina. There will be a graded listening activity midweek and the grammar quiz is on Thursday, November 10th. The students are also creating their own communities and will present them on Friday, November 11th.

NOTES FROM 7th GRADE

7th Grade Algebra 1 Mrs. Reardon

7th Grade Pre-Algebra Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will complete the first part of Chapter 4 by having a quiz on Monday (4.1 - 4.3). We will then learn how to find the Least Common Multiple (LCM) of numbers and monomials (4.4). We will then have a day of review and then our test on Friday. Mrs. Blake will be a substitute teacher on Monday.

7th Grade Language Arts Mrs. Hannah

We are halfway through reading Johnny Tremain, and students have a calendar that outlines nightly reading assignments, discussion days, and assessments.

Please remember that Reading Log minutes are due by 14 November. Students are expected to read 360 minutes each trimester, and this does count as a project grade. Have a great weekend!

7th Grade History Mrs. English

This week we will continue studying slavery in the colonies in Chapter 4.3. We will take our last quiz of the trimester on Wednesday, November 9th over Ch. 4.1 & 3. We will finish the week by looking at the events leading to the Revolutionary War.

7th Grade Spanish Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class, the 7th grade will continue to work with the grammar and vocabulary from Chapter 7A. We will discuss traditional clothing and currency in different Spanish-speaking countries. Students will begin their “desfile de moda” or fashion show project as well. There will be a graded listening activity midweek and the grammar quiz will be Friday, November 11th.

7th Grade Life Science Mrs. Heyward

The students had lots of fun this week working with plasma membranes (bubble solution). Next week, we will continue our discussion and discovery of the various structure and functions of cells. We will begin developing a working knowledge of how all of the structures work together. We will continue our practice of identifying the organelles within eukaryotic (plant and animal) and prokaryotic cells (bacteria). We will have a test on Wednesday, November 9 and a PPT project due on Thursday, November 10. On Friday, we will work on creating edible cells! Enjoy your weekend!

NOTES FROM 6th GRADE

6th Grade Accelerated Math 7 Mrs. Reardon

Next week we will continue in Chapter 4 by comparing and ordering fractions, as well as turning mixed numbers into improper fractions and vice versa. On Wednesday, we will review for the chapter 4.5-4.6 quiz that will take place on Thursday, November 10. On Friday, we will play a friendly game of fractional BINGO!

6th Pre-Algebra Mr. Lanfear

6th Grade Language Arts Mrs. Guggenheim

Week of November 7, 2016

Our test for The Outsiders is scheduled for November 9th. We will be reviewing in class on Monday and Tuesday. Please remember to complete your reading log minutes by November 11th. As stated in my syllabus, it is a project grade.

6th Grade Ancient Civilizations Mrs. Hannah

We will have a test over the first half of Egypt on Monday 7 November, which will count toward trimester one. Afterward, we will begin to study the Middle and New Kingdoms of Egypt, focusing on economy, government, and social classes.

6th Grade Earth Science Mrs. Huennekens

Students are scheduled to have test over “Views of Earth” Chapter 6, on Tuesday, November 8th. We are then moving on to Plate Tectonics. This is always fun because we have some cool lab explorations that involve food! Students are encouraged to check Google Classroom on a daily basis, come see me for extra help and to review material covered in class nightly.

6th Grade Spanish Ms. Sotomayor

This coming Tuesday, we will have an announced quiz on translating sentences. Please see the GoogleClassroom post for more details. We will continue to practice family vocabulary as well as discuss Thanksgiving traditions and vocabulary. We will wrap up our discussion on the migration of the Monarchs and traditions in Michoacan, Mexico tied to their arrival.

Ensemble Mrs. Cookson

This week we watched a classic Pixar animation, “For the Birds,” and practiced a little story analysis. We will continue to watch short films and analyze the story in preparation for our own storytelling fun. This will carry over into next week along with more improvisation games.

Art Mrs. Cookson

The students faced new challenges this week in art.

6th - Still working with some form of perspective, students began work on designing tessellation patterns; they will finish these up next week.

7th - Diving deeper into understanding the figure, we learned about gesture drawings and practiced one- and five-minute drawings. More practice with this will lead into figure sculptures in the coming weeks.

8th - We needed to add some variation to our straw project, so this week we added our graffiti color wheel project providing an opportunity to brush up on those color blending skills.

Science Club!!!

We’ve been busy learning all sorts of delicious things!

Last week….

Candy Corn Stem Challenge winners:

David Christian and William Barnes!