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| The middle school dance was a hit! |
WORDS FROM THE MIDDLE SCHOOL DIRECTOR
WE
ARE THE CHAMPIONS!
On
Thursday evening our 5th grade boys' basketball team avenged an earlier
loss to Savannah Country Day with a 14 – 13 victory in the SPAL league
tournament. We look forward to the men
of the 5th grade joining the Middle School next year!
OPPORTUNITY!
As
I mentioned in an earlier blog, the Middle School office gets publicity about activities
that are presented seeking “nominations” from our school. While some of these offerings are or appear
to be of a high quality, with the exception of the Duke TIP program we do not
endorse any particular program. I do
want to use the blog to make families aware that these opportunities
exist. The latest invitation we received
is from the Junior National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D. C. The literature indicates that it is
appropriate for students in the 5th, 6th or 7th
grade. If you would like more
information, contact Ms. Edie. I do have
to submit the names of potential participants by February 21st. Participating families are responsible for
tuition, fees and chaperoning and all other possible liability. Beyond the submission of names, HDS does not
endorse or support these opportunities.
3RD
QUARTER AT MID POINT!
We
are at the mid point of the 3rd quarter. It is hard to believe the year is passing so
quickly. This is a good time to check
progress on Power School and make any needed adjustments. If you would like to discuss anything with
the Middle School Team we are always available. Call Ms. Edie to make an appointment.
6TH GRADE NEWS
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| From the collaborative fiber arts project with Katherine Sandoz |
6th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. O'Connor
Next week the sixth graders will finish up their essays over
“staying gold” in The Outsiders. By now all students should have
completed their rough drafts and received feedback from me. Typed, final
drafts of this assignment are due on Wednesday, February 12th.
Students also have another quiz over sentence structure coming up on Thursday,
February 13th. We will also take our Wordly Wise Quiz over
lesson six on Friday, February 14th.
Math 6 with Mrs. Reardon
Next week in Math 6, we will continue in chapter 8 learning
how to describe slopes of lines. This
concept stems from ratios, as slope is rise to run. We will also begin writing and solving
proportions. On Wednesday, we will
review for a chapter quiz over sections 8.1 – 8.4. Thursday, students will take their chapter
quiz. Friday we will use the laptops to
work on a math skills website called “Ten Marks”.
6th Earth Science with Mr. Crawford
We had a great week completing a project on
earthquakes. Oral presentations and our
“poster hanging” will be on Monday.
Homework over the weekend is to prepare for oral presentations. Next week we will explore volcanoes. The reading will come from two handouts,
“Volcanic Eruptions” and “Volcanic Activity.” Monday’s homework is to complete
questions 1,3 and 5 in “Volcanic Activity.”
Tuesday we will discuss hot spots and discuss how volcanic activity
relates to the tectonic plates we have been discussing. Homework for Wednesday will be to read
“Volcanic Eruptions.” We will spend
Thursday and Friday discussing volcanoes.
On Friday there will be a quiz on the week’s work. Students will have specific assignments in
their Planner each night.
6th Earth Science with Mrs. Blake
Next week the sixth grade will finish their chapter on space
exploration. We spent a good deal of
time on Projects Mercury, Gemini, & Apollo and our race to the moon. They
also learned about John Glenn and his shuttle flight at age 77. Monday they will briefly look at the
possibility of future space missions. The sixth graders will have their test on this chapter next Wednesday.
6th Spanish with Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish class, the 6th grade will
continue to work with the vocabulary from Chapter 4A. There will be a
vocabulary quiz on Tuesday, February 11th. Students will also learn
the simple future tense using the “ir+ a + infinitive” formula along with
places in the community.
6th World Civilizations with Mrs. English
This week in World Civilizations we will continue our study on the gifts that the Greeks gave to the world. These gifts included theater, architecture, science, advanced arithmetic, arts, sculptures, and the Olympic Games. We will see how great wealth and achievement also brought about war in ancient Greece between the Athenians and the Spartans. We will take notes on Chapter 9-Lesson 3. Students should expect a quiz on Chapter 9-Lesson 1 & 2 on Tuesday February 11th.
This week in World Civilizations we will continue our study on the gifts that the Greeks gave to the world. These gifts included theater, architecture, science, advanced arithmetic, arts, sculptures, and the Olympic Games. We will see how great wealth and achievement also brought about war in ancient Greece between the Athenians and the Spartans. We will take notes on Chapter 9-Lesson 3. Students should expect a quiz on Chapter 9-Lesson 1 & 2 on Tuesday February 11th.
7TH GRADE NEWS
7th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. O'Connor
Seventh grade students have just started working on a
creative assignment pertaining to The Hobbit. Students selected
what they would like to create for this individual project, and students will
have the majority of class time next week to work on this task. This
assignment is due on Friday, February 14th and will count as a
project grade. We will also examine adjective and adverb clauses in the
week ahead.
Pre-Algebra with Mrs. Reardon
Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will venture further into
chapter 8 learning about slopes of lines, as well as slope-intercept form. On Wednesday, we will review for a chapter
quiz over sections 8.4 – 8.5. Thursday,
students will take their chapter quiz.
Friday we will use the laptops to work on a math skills website called
“Ten Marks”.
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| From the collaborative fiber arts project with Katherine Sandoz |
Next week in Mr. Lanfear’s Intro to Geometry class, we will
be finishing our exploration of areas of different shapes. We will learn
how to find the area and circumference of a circle. We will also use
central angles to find the area of only a portion of the circle, not just the
entire object (8.7). We will have a review session for Chapter 8 on
Wednesday and the Chapter 8 Test on Thursday. On Friday, we will start
revving our engines for the next unit, Trigonometry!!
7th Grade Life Science with Mrs. Blake
The seventh graders continue their study of invertebrates. This week they were introduced to a more complex
group of invertebrates. Next week, they
will look at arthropods, the largest of all animal phyla, and echinoderms, the
most advanced invertebrate phylum. Their
test over this chapter will be on February 20.
7th Spanish with Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish class the 7th grade will
complete Chapter 9A and take the chapter test on Tuesday, February 11th.
On Thursday, February 13th, the 7th grade will be taking
a field trip to the Jepson Center for the Spanish Sojourns
exhibit. After the exhibit, we will walk to Carlito’s Mexican Grill where the
students will order their lunch completely in Spanish. Each student should
bring $10.00 in cash which will cover their lunch, beverage, and tip. Please
contact me with any questions.
7th American History with Mrs. English
This week in American history we
will discuss the major events in the Revolutionary War. Students will
discover how the colonies defeated the greatest military in the world.
Students will also learn how the Revolutionary War set a foundation for life in
America. Homework and discussions will come from Chapter 6-Section
2. Students should expect a quiz on Friday February 14th on Chapter 6-Section
2.
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| From the collaborative fiber arts project with Katherine Sandoz |
8TH GRADE NEWS
8th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. O'Connor
Eighth grade students are finishing up a major paper
analyzing how mood is established in The Hound of the Baskervilles. Final
drafts of this paper are due on Tuesday, February 11th. Our
next major unit pertains to writing a persuasive research paper, so students
will begin selecting topics and examining sources during the latter portion of
next week. Students also have a short quiz over sentence structure
scheduled for Wednesday, February 12th.
8th Grade Physical Science with Mrs. Blake
The eighth graders have started a new chapter on chemical
reactions. The class spent the end of
this week reviewing chemical formulas. They
will review the Law of Conservation of Mass and the need for balanced chemical
equations. They will spend next week
working on balancing equations and will have a quiz on Friday.
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| From the collaborative fiber arts project with Katherine Sandoz |
Next week in Mr. Lanfear’s Intro to Geometry class, we will
be finishing our exploration of areas of different shapes. We will learn
how to find the area and circumference of a circle. We will also use
central angles to find the area of only a portion of the circle, not just the
entire object (8.7). We will have a review session for Chapter 8 on
Wednesday and the Chapter 8 Test on Thursday. On Friday, we will start
revving our engines for the next unit, Trigonometry!!
8th Advanced Algebra with Mr. Lanfear
Next week in Mr. Lanfear’s Algebra class (Grades 7/8), we
will begin the lengthy Chapter 7 by looking at systems of linear
equations. There are a plethora of methods to solve these, but we will
begin with the simplest: finding the intersection point of the lines
(7.1). We will then move on to the Substitution Method (7.2) and have a
quiz on Friday (7.1 – 7.2).
8th Spanish with Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish class, the 8th grade will
complete Chapter 4B and take the chapter test on Tuesday, February 11th.
We will also begin a new unit discussing natural disasters, weather extremes,
and newsworthy events. Students will continue to work with the imperfect and
preterite tenses.
8th American Government with Mrs. English
After the snow days and sicknesses going around…we have almost caught up on our president’s presentations. This week we will finish those with the final four on Monday and Tuesday. The Final President debate will be on Friday. Each student will be responsible for contributing to the debate and will be graded on their participation. The president that wins will be crowned the greatest president award (*according the Mrs. English’s 8th grade government class). We will also be learning how campaigns are conducted in the U.S. All of Chapter 12 is preparing students for our major election project starting at the end of the month.
After the snow days and sicknesses going around…we have almost caught up on our president’s presentations. This week we will finish those with the final four on Monday and Tuesday. The Final President debate will be on Friday. Each student will be responsible for contributing to the debate and will be graded on their participation. The president that wins will be crowned the greatest president award (*according the Mrs. English’s 8th grade government class). We will also be learning how campaigns are conducted in the U.S. All of Chapter 12 is preparing students for our major election project starting at the end of the month.
