May 4-8

Our STEM Day was a huge success!!!

Notes from the Head of Middle School 

SOCCER TOURNAMENT BEGINS!

Both the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams should qualify for post season play.  Another GREAT season for HDS teams.  Thanks to all those students and families that made the commitment to play, the coaches to coach and Mr. O’Hayer for his persistence getting everything organized.  Pairings are due to be announced on Tuesday.  Watch your email for game dates, times and locations.  PLEASE SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS!

8^TH GRADE MATH COURSES

Our curriculum is designed to address each student’s mathematics ability.  Rising 6^th grade students complete an Algebra Aptitude Assessment at the end of 5^th grade.  The results of this assessment are used along with a student’s ERB scores, math grade and teacher recommendation to ensure the student is placed in the correct math sequence. 

The 7^th grade students who are taking Algebra I will be completing a Geometry Aptitude Assessment next week on Friday, May 8^th.  The results of this assessment along with ERB scores, math grades and teacher recommendation will be used to recommend math options for the 8^th grade.  A letter was sent home with each student explaining the details.  The letter can be accessed by clicking here.

Please ensure that if your child is taking this assessment on Friday that they get a good night’s rest and a good breakfast!

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM!

Beginning this Monday, there are four weeks of classes and then exams left in our school year.  After next week things will begin to ramp up to conclude our activities.  Planning is important to coordinate school expectations with outside extracurricular activities, church and family.  I will make an extra effort to get information out way ahead of time to enhance your planning.

END OF YEAR SCHEDULE

Middle School examinations are May 27, 28, and 29.  Each of those days will be a ½ day of school with dismissal at 12:00.  Beginning on Monday, June 1^st, we will have a variety of activities.

            Monday, June 1^st

8:30 – 9:30 – Honors Assembly -All families invited to attend

10:15 – 2:00 – Community service with the Savannah Tree Foundation at Hull Park.  Volunteer drivers are needed at 10:00 to transport students to Hull Park.  Students will need to bring a bag lunch.  Student pick up will be from Hull Park at 2:00.

Tuesday, June 2^nd

9:00 – 2:00 Middle School Field Day at Skidaway Island State Park.  Volunteer drivers will be needed at 9:00 to drive our students to the Park.  Student pick up will be at 2:00 at the Park.

6:30 – 8:30 Graduation Exercises and reception

Wednesday, June 3^rd

8:15 – 12:00 ½ day of classes (pass back examinations) and activities for the rising 7^th and 8^th grade.  Graduates enjoy their first day at home as 9^th graders!

S’COOL ONLY TWO WEEKS AWAY!!

The HDS annual play will be the evening of Thursday, May 14.  To facilitate our families attending, there will be minimal assignments given on the 14^th and no assessments on the 15^th.  To provide time for those assessments, we will permit them on Monday, May 18^th.

6TH GRADE NEWS

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

The sixth graders have turned in their research projects, and we still have a few more students that need to present their PowerPoints, videos, speeches, etc.  We hope to wrap up these presentations on Monday and resume our study of The Giver on Tuesday.  Students are expected to keep up with the reading calendar for the The Giver.  On Thursday, May 7^th students will take a quiz over what they have read so far.  Looking ahead, our test over the novel is scheduled for Thursday, May 14^th.

6th Math with Mrs. Johnson

6th Grade math students will take the chapter 9 test Wednesday, May 6th.  We will begin chapter 10 on "Geometric Figures" this week.

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

Next week we will be reviewing Chapter 9 (9.1 – 9.4) and the properties of square roots.  We will have our test on Wednesday before moving on to geometry at the end of the week.  We will begin learning about triangles and other polygons (Chapter 10).

6th Earth Science with Mrs. Johnson 

In Earth Science, the Chapter 25 Test will be Tuesday, May 5th.  We will begin chapter 16 on "Weather" this week.

6th Earth Science with Mrs. Blake

 The sixth graders will start next week by reviewing for their chapter test on stars & galaxies which they will take on Tuesday.   After that, they will begin their final chapter of the year on weather.   They will review the layers of the atmosphere and learn the difference between weather and climate on Wednesday and finish the week learning about the various types of clouds.

  

6th Spanish with Mrs. Dixon-Bender

6th Ancient Civilizations with Mrs. Hannah
We are analyzing daily life in ancient Rome; entertainment, city life, social classes, etc. The ABC book project is due Friday 8 May, and students will have only one more day in class to work on their section of the book. I will be in my room around 7:45 each morning for any questions or clarification!

7TH GRADE NEWS

7th Grade English Language Arts with Mrs. Hannah

We are continuing our study of Across Five Aprils by reading through chapter eight; we will have a quiz over chapters 5-8 on Friday. In grammar, students have learned about combining dependent and independent clauses to create different sentence structures, and we will begin discussing adjective vs. adverb clauses.  I will be in my room around 7:45 each morning for any questions or clarification!

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

Next week we will be reviewing Chapter 9 (9.1 – 9.4) and the properties of square roots.  We will have our test on Wednesday before moving on to geometry at the end of the week.  We will begin learning about triangles and other polygons (Chapter 10).

7th Grade Life Science with Mrs. Blake

The seventh graders will start their chapter on the circulatory system on Monday.  During the week, the students will learn about the three pathways that blood can take through the body and the structure of the heart.  At the end of the week they will do a lab on heart rates. 

7th-8th Algebra I with Mrs. Johnson

Algebra classes will learn how to factor trinomials with coefficients for a, b and c greater than one.  In addition, they will learn about special products including the difference of squares  and perfect square trinomials.  There will be a quiz over lessons 9.6 and 9.7 Thursday, May 7th.

7th Spanish with Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class, the 7^th grade will begin to learn about the future and conditional tense. Students will also receive the rubric for their final project of the school year. At this time, it is important to start organizing notes and binders for exam review coming up in a couple weeks.

7th American History with Mrs. English

This week in American History  we will finish our study of the Cherokee nation and the Trail of Tears.  We will begin looking at how the North and South took different paths in the United States. We will see how the North became industrialized during the Industrial Revolution and how the South became more reliant on the plantation system.  Readings will come from Chapter 11-Section 1 and 2.  We will have a small quiz on Thursday May 7th.  

8TH GRADE NEWS

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

Research papers are due on Friday, May 1^st.  With that behind us, we will spend the majority of our time next week studying Romeo and Juliet.  Students are expected to follow along with the reading calendar.  We have a quiz over Act 1 on Wednesday, May 6^th.  Looking ahead, our test over the play is scheduled for Wednesday, May 20^th. 

8th Grade Physical Science with Mrs. Blake

The eighth graders start next week by learning about biological compounds-proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids.  They studied these biological compounds last year in Life Science; so much of this will be a review for them. Their chapter test is on Thursday.  This will complete the chemistry portion of the text and the students will spend the last two weeks working on speed and momentum.

7th-8th Algebra I with Mrs. Johnson

Algebra classes will learn how to factor trinomials with coefficients for a, b and c greater than one.  In addition, they will learn about special products including the difference of squares  and perfect square trinomials.  There will be a quiz over lessons 9.6 and 9.7 Thursday, May 7th.

8th Advanced Algebra with Mr. Lanfear 

Next week we will continue our review of solving systems of linear equations.  We will explore different methods of solving them including the Substitution Method and the Elimination Method.  We will review on Thursday and have a quiz on Friday.

8th Geometry with Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will continue exploring finding the surface area of various solid objects like pyramids and cones (12.3).  We will have a quiz on surface area on Thursday and begin learning about volume of prisms and cylinders on Friday (12.4).

8th Spanish with Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class, the 8^th grade will begin to learn about the present perfect tense. Students will also receive the rubric for their final project of the school year. At this time, it is important to start organizing notes and binders for exam review coming up in a couple weeks.

8th American Government with Mrs. English
This week we will finish our study of the Cold War and have a test on Wednesday over Chapter 25-Sections 1, 3, & 4.  At the end of the week we will begin studying the Civil Rights Movement in Chapter 26-Section 1.