Week 8 Announcements: Oct. 7-11, 2013

Early Friday morning fog settles over the middle school.

WORDS FROM THE MIDDLE SCHOOL DIRECTOR

BUSY TIME!

The end of the first quarter is Friday, October 18^th, two weeks from today.  An end of the quarter always generates a flurry of assignments. That one last project, the summary quiz and quite possibly a major examination.  Couple this with all of the activities our students participate in (sports, club cheer, club soccer, etc.) and the stress can become overwhelming.  This can be avoided with planning.  Our team tries to plan by recording all of our tests, quizzes and major projects on a board for everyone to see.  If you would like to come and review the schedule this board is located outside the science room.  Students need to plan.  With all the summary activities they need extra study time.  Planning ahead facilitates spreading study over a realistic time schedule.  Good luck to everyone with their assignments!

Just a visual representation of the busy weeks ahead! Read on for the specific details
about your child's upcoming assignments.

CHOOSING A HIGH SCHOOL

It is that time of year when families with kids in 8th grade begin thinking about high school.  We have already received requests from various high schools for our students tour.  The 8^th grade boys will be going to Benedictine and the 8^th grade girls will be visiting St. Vincent’s, both on October 24^th.  I am working with other schools in the area to arrange tours.  To begin this process, the Middle School is going to offer two opportunities to families in all grades to learn more about selecting the school that is the best fit for your child.  On Wednesday, October 16^th, Ella Yates, Assistant Director of Admissions at the Webb School in Tennessee, will be on campus in the evening to make a presentation about the boarding school option for our graduates.  Ella is from the Savannah area and attended a boarding school.  One evening in the week of October 28^th, Helese Sandler and her associate, Laurel Brady, principles in Savannah Educational Consultants, will make a presentation on making the selection process work for your family.  Both events are open to all of our families and will begin at 7:00pm.  More details in upcoming newsletters.

TICKETS, TICKETS, TICKETS

Ticket sales are picking up steam!  The sale of these tickets is critical to the support of Hancock Day School.  If you have not already done so, please consider participating in this exciting raffle.  $5,000 FIRST PRIZE!!  The drawing will be held at our 60^th anniversary and Homecoming celebration on October 24^th.  You do not have to be present to win. Remember, homerooms with 100% participation will receive an ice cream party, and the middle school homeroom with the most number of tickets sold will get to go off campus for lunch! 

SURVEYS!

If there is one thing HDS is NOT short of, it's surveys!  We thank all of those who have faithfully participated in the past.  We have one final survey that needs to be completed for our accreditation process that we are going through this year.  To make it easier for ALL to participate, this survey will be done online through Survey Monkey.  You will be receiving more information about this later next week.  Please, please, please participate.  This information is critical for our improvement as a school.

6TH GRADE NEWS

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

Next week students will continue reading Anne Frank:  Diary of a Young Girl.  Students are keeping response journals as they read the text, and I will check these for a grade on Tuesday, October 8^th.  We also have a quiz over pages 127-190, as well as some contextual vocabulary, coming up on Wednesday, October 9^th.  Students will receive the topic for their next major paper on Friday, October 11^th and will begin brainstorming over the long weekend. 

As the end of the quarter rapidly approaches, I encourage students to come see me before or after school for additional help if needed.  There is a sign- up sheet posted on the door to my classroom for scheduling help sessions.

Math 6 with Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Math 6, we will review for the Chapter 3 test on Monday and then students will take the Chapter 3 test on Tuesday (10/8).  Wednesday and Thursday, we will jump into Chapter 4 by learning prime factorization as well as finding greatest common factor.  Students will also receive an outline on Wednesday for a Math Facts Quiz that will take place on Friday (10/11).

6th Earth Science with Mr. Crawford

 We will begin the week completing our study of the structure of the Earth, motions of the Earth, time and seasons with the final topic of longitude and latitude.  Friday homework is to read pages 38 – 40 in the BLUE book.  Monday homework to complete longitude/latitude worksheet; Tuesday in class we complete longitude/latitude.  There will be a quiz Thursday on longitude/latitude.  Tuesday homework is to read in the ORANGE BOOK (we will be in the ORANGE book for the next several weeks) pages 422-425.  Wednesday we will introduce our new unit on the Atmosphere/Weather and Climate.  Homework  - complete Target Your Reading worksheet; study for quiz on longitude and latitude. Thursday – quiz.  Friday – virtual lab on the layers of the Atmosphere.

6th Earth Science with Mrs. Blake

The sixth graders are learning about the differences between compounds and mixtures. They will be introduced to the various types of bonds which form compounds, especially covalent and ionic bonds. They will study chemical formulas and also learn about the properties of matter.  They will also perform a chromatography lab. Their test on this chapter will be on Thursday, October 17.

6th Spanish with Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish the 6^th grade will continue to work with the verb “ser” and verb conjugation.  There will be a graded listening quiz on Thursday, October 9^th as well as a binder check.  Students should begin preparing for their chapter test on Thursday, October 17^th.

6^th World Civilizations with Mrs. English

Students should start studying for the Chapter 2 Test on Wednesday. We will be reviewing early settlements, early farming, and the growth of cities in preparation for our test.  We will also continue our geography by covering the last 17 states for a geography quiz on Friday. Students should expect to study Chapter 2 notes and the 50 geography states for homework.  Looking forward to a great week! 

7TH GRADE NEWS

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

Next week we will finish reading Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.  Students have a quiz over pages 86-194 coming up on Tuesday, October 8^th.  This quiz will also include the selected vocabulary words highlighted in class.  As we wrap up our study of the book and prepare for our test (Thursday, October 17^th), students will also begin working on a group project in which they will create a newspaper based around the time period and events portrayed in the novel.  Details for this assignment will be given to students late next week. 

As the end of the quarter rapidly approaches, I encourage students to come see me before or after school for additional help if needed.  There is a sign-up sheet posted on the door to my classroom for scheduling help sessions.

Pre-Algebra with Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will finish up Chapter 3 by solving multi-step inequalities.  On Tuesday, we will review for the Chapter 3 test and then students will take the Chapter 3 test on Wednesday (10/9).  On Wednesday, students will also receive an outline for the Math Facts Quiz that they will take on Friday (10/11).  Thursday we will get started in Chapter 4 learning about factors and prime factorization.

7th-8th Algebra with Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Algebra (Grades 7/8) we will start Chapter 4.  At the beginning of the week, we will review plotting points (4.1).  We will also discuss how to graph linear equations on the x-y plane (4.2) using tables  of points.  In addition, we will discuss the various domains and ranges associated with different functions.

7th Grade Life Science with Mrs. Blake

The seventh graders have finished their presentations on viral diseases and we will spend the first of the week discussing viruses in general.  They will perform one last lab using the microscope to make a wet-mount slide.  The class will review this chapter and have their test on Friday, October 11.

7th Spanish with Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish the 7^th graders will continue to work with their new vocabulary and grammar from chapter 7B. They will begin their “fashion show” project on Monday and will have a graded listening quiz on Thursday, October 9^th. Students should begin preparing for their chapter test on Thursday, October 17^th.

7^th American History with Mrs. English

We will continue our study of early explorers in North America and how European powers began fighting for control in the new world. Students should expect a quiz on Chapter 2-Section 2 on Thursday, October 10^th.  Students should continue to review their geography on the 50 American States.  

8TH GRADE NEWS

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

Next week students will continue to explore short pieces of fiction and nonfiction centered on the theme of justice and standing up for one’s beliefs.  We will take a brief quiz over several of these pieces on Wednesday, October 9^th, and students will have a test over the pieces on Thursday, October 17^th.  We also have a quiz over Lesson 3 in Wordly Wise on Friday, October 11^th. As the end of the quarter rapidly approaches, I encourage students to come see me before or after school for additional help if needed.  There is a sign-up sheet posted on the door to my classroom for scheduling help sessions.

8th Grade Physical Science with Mrs. Blake

After a thorough look at SI, or the metric system, the eighth graders will be finishing their chapter on measurement next week.  They will look at how science uses tables, charts and graphs.  The students will be constructing several graphs during the week.  They will review the chapter and have their test on Friday, October 11.

8th Spanish with Ms. Hughes

8th graders work through math problems in Study Skills. 

Next week in Spanish the 8^th graders will continue to work with their new vocabulary and grammar from chapter 2B. The will begin their “fashion spread” project on Monday and will have a graded listening quiz on Thursday, October 9^th. Students should begin preparing for their chapter test on Friday, October 18^th.

7th-8th Algebra with Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Algebra (Grades 7/8) we will start Chapter 4.  At the beginning of the week, we will review plotting points (4.1).  We will also discuss how to graph linear equations on the x-y plane (4.2) using tables  of points.  In addition, we will discuss the various domains and ranges associated with different functions.

8th Advanced Algebra with Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Advanced Algebra/Intro to Geometry (Grade 8), we will start the week by reviewing the last half of Chapter 10.  We will then have a test on Wednesday on sections 10.5, 10.6, and 10.7.  We will also begin Chapter 11 at the end of the week by discussing square root functions and their graphs.  We will continue our discussion of square root functions by simplifying radical expressions.

8^th American Government with Mrs. English 

We will continue to look at how the Articles of Confederation failed in the early years of America.  We will study who was involved in pushing for a new constitution and how upheaval characterized the early days of the states.  We will have a quiz on Chapter 2 Section 3 on Thursday, October 10^th. Students should continue to review their geography on the 50 American States. 

SPORTS EVENTS

Tuesday, Oct. 8th @ 7pm
Volleyball Game
Hancock vs. St. James at St. James

Thursday, Oct. 10th @ 7pm
Volleyball Game
Hancock vs. St. Andrews at St. Andrews