November 24-28

NOTES FROM THE HEAD OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL

FOOD DRIVE WRAPS UP

Tuesday we will be delivering our collected food to Second Harvest.  Food will be loaded into trucks at 8:30 Tuesday.  Half of the Middle School will travel directly to Second Harvest to deliver the food and work until 10:15.  The other students will go to the Colonial Park Cemetery to explore the significance of this Savannah burial ground with Mrs. English.  An alternative rainy day activity is being planned if needed for the Cemetery tour.  At 10:15 we will swap locations.  Everyone will return to HDS at noon for our Thanksgiving Feast.

EARLY DISMISSAL TUESDAY

Students will be dismissed after the Thanksgiving Feast to enjoy the holiday weekend.  Pick up will be at 1:30.  Students may remain until 3:00 if that is more convenient for families.  The Middle School Team will have structured activities between 1:30 and 3:00 for students who remain.

Following regular carpool policy, IF YOUR CHILD WILL BE PICKED UP BY SOMEONE OTHER THAN HIS/HER PARENTS, WE MUST BE NOTIFIED VIA A NOTED FROM HOME.

MIDDLE SCHOOL CONCERT AND MALL PERFORMANCE 

On Friday, December 5^th, the Middle School will present its holiday concert.  The festivities will begin at 8:30.  Following the concert the students will travel to the Savannah Mall to sing in the food court. Students will need money to enjoy lunch at the Mall.

DRIVERS ARE STILL NEEDED FOR THE MALL TRIP.  We will depart for the Mall at 10:30 and return at approximately 1:30.  Please call or email Melissa Gordon (mgordon@hancockdayschool.org) to volunteer.

DECEMBER!

December will be a busy time finishing up our first semester work.  There will be lots to cover and many assessments during this time.  ATTENDANCE THESE THREE WEEKS IS CRITICAL!  There will many review sessions preparing for quizzes, exams and the culminating first semester final examinations.  Those missing school will be at a distinct disadvantage.  The final day of exams will be Friday, December 19^th.  Again, it is critical to be here until the final “bell” to have the best opportunity to succeed.  Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, December 17^th, 18^th and 19^th are half days of school.

NO ASSIGNMENT BLOG THIS WEEK.  LOOK FOR THE NEXT BLOG ON MONDAY DECEMBER 1^ST

The holiday season is upon us.  A time to relax and enjoy family AND a time to plan for the conclusion of the first semester!

November 17-21

NOTES FROM THE HEAD OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL

8^TH GRADE HIGH SCHOOL VISITATION

The 8^th grade will continue its visitation of area high schools on Monday.  This week, the class will visit the Habersham School.  The timing of this visit is slightly different from our other trips.  Students will leave HDS at 11:45 and return by 2:00.  They will have lunch with their Habersham hosts.  This will conclude our fall visitation of high schools.

Savannah Arts Academy has still not opened up its admission process for the 2014-15 school year.  When this happens, we will try and schedule a visit, but that will not happen until January.  I encourage all families interested in applying for the upcoming year to keep a vigilant eye on the SAA admissions schedule.

HELISE SANDLER TO SPEAK TO PARENTS

Helise Sandler from Savannah Educational Consultants will speak to HDS families on Wednesday, December 3^rd, at 6:30.  Mrs. Sandler is an educational consultant that works with families helping to plan educational choices for both high school and college.  Several HDS families take advantage of her services.  All are welcome and encouraged to this hear her presentation.

HIGH SCHOOL OPEN HOUSES

Savannah Christian Preparatory School on Chatham Parkway will be hosting an open house for families on Monday, November 17^th at 7:00.  Please note that this is a time change from the material students were given when they visited the school.

Benedictine Military School has an open house this Sunday, November 16^th beginning at 2:00.  The school has also scheduled its admission test for Saturday, December 6^th at 8:00.

FOOD DRIVE COLLECTIONS GOING WELL!

Week one has been a HUGE success in our quest to collect 2014 pounds of can goods for Second Harvest.  One week remaining in this very worthwhile community service project.  Please keep this drive in mind when shopping this weekend! 

The Middle School is going to visit Second Harvest on Tuesday, November 25^th to drop off our food and help stock shelves.  We will return to HDS at 12:30 to celebrate all that we are fortunate to have with our annual Thanksgiving Feast.  Dismissal for the MIDDLE SCHOOL ONLY will be at 1:30.  To accommodate families we will provide structured activities for those students who cannot be picked up until 3:00.  More information on our special day coming your way next week.

SAVANNAH COUNTRY DAY SALSA PROGRAM TO PREFORM

Students from the Savannah Country Day School SALSA program will be visiting the Middle School on Friday, November 21.  They will make a presentation to our 8^th graders about making the choice to be substance free in high school.  This presentation was a huge success last year.

Internationally known artist Tony Troy did a demonstration of portrait drawing for the 7^th Grade art classes on Thursday.  He spoke to the students about how he started drawing portraits on the street in London to becoming a highly regarded and commissioned portrait painter and book illustrator.  Cole Kitchens and Lily Horton were lucky enough to be chosen to have a quick, 10 minute portrait draw!  Art Matters at HDS!

We are well on our way to reaching our goal of 2014 pounds of non-perishable foods to donate to Second Harvest! 

6TH GRADE NEWS

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

Next week the sixth graders will wrap up their study of short stories.  Students have a test over the material we have covered this unit on Tuesday, November 18^th.  In preparation for this test students should review their notes as well as the outline that was distributed in class on Thursday.  After our test we will finish revising our creative short stories; this composition is due on Thursday, November 20^th.  We will also take a Wordly Wise Quiz over lesson four on Friday, November 21^st.  

  

6th Math with Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Math 6, we will continue in Chapter 5 by adding, subtracting, and multiplying mixed numbers and fractions.  On Wednesday, we will review for a Chapter quiz over sections 1 – 3.  On Thursday, November 20, students will take their quiz over lessons 1-3 and on Friday we will play a fun game of fraction bingo.

6th-7th Pre-Algebra with Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will continue exploring exponents and their properties.  Students will discover what negative exponents mean and what a zero exponent means (4.6).  We will have a quiz on exponents (4.5 – 4.6) on Wednesday.  We will then learn about scientific notation and its uses in the world (4.7).

6th Earth Science with Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Earth Science, we will take a deeper look at the Earth’s layers, as well as wrap up plate tectonics by discussing the plate boundaries and what natural disasters occur at each of the boundaries.  On Thursday, we will review for the Chapter 10 test that will take place on Friday, November 21.

6th Earth Science with Mrs. Blake

The sixth graders are finishing their chapter on plate tectonics next week.  The students will have an activity on the layers of the Earth that will be helpful with this chapter and the next two on earthquakes and volcanoes.   They will have their test on this chapter next Friday.

6th Spanish with Ms. Dixon

Next week, we’ll finish up Capítulo 2B and prepare for our test on Friday, November 21^st. Our test will cover classroom objects, location words, and conjugation. Thursday will be a review day. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

6th Ancient Civilizations with Mrs. Hannah
 We have completed our study of Ancient Egypt, and we will be taking a quiz over the Middle and New Kingdoms on Tuesday. The test over Ancient Egypt will take place on Thursday, and students will correct their graded tests on Friday. I will be in my room each morning at 7:45 to answer questions or for extra help!

7TH GRADE NEWS

7th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. Hannah
We will continue our focus on the various types of phrases by studying the difference in participial, infinitive, and gerund phrases this week. There will be a quiz on Friday over the three different types of phrases. I will be in my room each morning at 7:45 to answer questions or for extra help!

6th-7th Grade Pre-Algebra with Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will continue exploring exponents and their properties.  Students will discover what negative exponents mean and what a zero exponent means (4.6).  We will have a quiz on exponents (4.5 – 4.6) on Wednesday.  We will then learn about scientific notation and its uses in the world (4.7).

7th Grade Life Science with Mrs. Blake

The seventh graders will finish their study of the mitosis, meiosis and DNA next week.  They will learn about meiosis which is a specialized process that produces only germ cells.  The culmination of this chapter is a lab in which the students construct a 3-D model of DNA.  Their test on this chapter will be Friday of next week.  

7th-8th Algebra I with Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Algebra I, we will continue in Chapter 5 by using linear equations in slope-intercept form as well as writing linear equations in point-slope form.  On Wednesday, we will review for a Chapter quiz over sections 1 – 3.  Thursday, November 20, students will take their quiz over lessons 1-3 and on Friday we will use the graphing calculators in investigate slope-intercept form in depth.

7th Spanish with Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class the 7^th grade will finish up Chapter 8A. Students will have several writing and reading assignments throughout the week. The test will be Thursday, November 20^th. On Friday students will receive a rubric for their travel project. Each student will be assigned a Spanish-speaking country to research and present.

7th American History with Mrs. English
This week in American History we will continue our study of the effects of the French and Indian War and see how the British began taxing the American colonists.  Students will understand how these events are examples of “cause and effect” history.  Students will create a timeline of events leading to the American Revolution.  We will have a quiz on the Top Ten of the French Revolution and Chapter 5-Section 2 at the end of the week.  Lastly, students will receive a rubric for a group project on the events leading to the American Revolution.  

8TH GRADE NEWS

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

 Eighth grade students will finish reading and discussing The Hound of the Baskervilles in the week ahead.  Students have a quiz over chapters 9-13 on Tuesday, November 18^th and a test over the entire novel on Friday, November 21^st.  I strongly encourage students to come see me for extra help before or after school if they are struggling.  We will also continue to work on finishing up our 20% projects.  Remember that these are due on Tuesday, December 2^nd.  All students should have copies of their rubrics with clear expectations for how the project will be graded.

8th Grade Physical Science with Mrs. Blake

The eighth graders are looking at matter in its different phases.  The students are learning how energy transfer influences each particular state.   They will perform a lab which looks at the energy needed to change water from a solid to a gas.  They will have a quiz on Wednesday of next week.  

7th-8th Algebra I with Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Algebra I, we will continue in Chapter 5 by using linear equations in slope-intercept form as well as writing linear equations in point-slope form.  On Wednesday, we will review for a Chapter quiz over sections 1 – 3.  Thursday, November 20, students will take their quiz over lessons 1-3 and on Friday we will use the graphing calculators in investigate slope-intercept form in depth.

8th Advanced Algebra with Mr. Lanfear 

Next week students will discover the mathematics behind extraneous solutions in radical equations and practice solving them (11.3).  Students will begin exploring the Pythagorean Theorem (11.4) and have a quiz on Thursday covering radical equations and the basic uses of the Pythagorean Theorem.

8th Geometry with Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will have our Chapter 4 Test on Tuesday.  We will then continue exploring triangles and theorems involving them, including the Midsegment Theorem (5.1) and perpendicular bisectors (5.2).

8th Spanish with Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class the 8^th grade will continue working with the imperfect tense through writing and reading assignments. We will also review indirect objects pronouns and how we use them in Spanish. There will be a graded listening as well as the chapter test on Friday, November 21^st.

8th American Government with Mrs. English

This week in American History we will continue to look at the grassroots and government progressive reforms  in the early 1900s.  We will see what changes the Progressive Movement brought to America.  Lastly, we will take a look at the Progressive Presidents of America.  Students will understand how these men changed America and increased the size of the national government.  

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November 10-14

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 17^th 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 3^rd 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 7^th) 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 25^th.  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 1^st and league play concludes during the week of February 9^th.  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!

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 18^th.  

6th Math with Mrs. Reardon

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 14^th, 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!

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

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 7^th 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 14^th.

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 12^th.  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 12^th, 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).

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 8^th 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 14^th.

8th American Government with Mrs. English
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 12^th.  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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