NOTES FROM MR. CRAWFORD
Grandparents’ Day in the Middle School
The Middle School has traditionally not been an integral part of Grandparents’ Day. The primary reason for this is the size of the event. On this Grandparents’ Day, to help make up for missed time due to Irma, the Middle School will be holding shortened classes until 12:15. Students with siblings in the lower grades will be able to attend the festivities with their families. Pick up on Grandparents’ day for the Middle School is 12:15.
Digital Safety and Your Child
As part of our Parent.edu series we will have a guest speaker on Wednesday, January 31st to walk parents and students through how to be digitally safe. In the meantime, I came across a good presenter who specializes in digital awareness, Devorah Heitner. She is in the business, so her products come with a cost. I received a strong recommendation for her from other independent middle school heads in SAIS (Southern Association of Independent Schools). Find more information on her website at https://www.raisingdigitalnatives.com/. She also gave a Ted Talk which can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRQdAOrqvGg.
Woodberry Forest School to Visit HDS!
Woodberry Forest School is an exceptional boarding school community for motivated boys in grades nine through twelve. While boarding school is not a traditional choice for our graduates, several years ago, we had a Hancock graduate attend Woodberry. He is now entering his freshman year at the University of Kentucky. Woodberry will be on campus on Wednesday, October 4th, to talk with our 8th grade boys. If you would like to join the discussion, please feel free to join us.
Community Service
Please remember that students should complete ten hours of community service each school year. Service opportunities are advertised in the blog weekly. Additionally, if you know of any service opportunities that would be appropriate for our students, please feel free to send them to Ms. Ross so that they may be included here.
Completed service hours should be documented on the Community Service Form and submitted to your child’s homeroom teacher.
Brown Bag for the Elderly at Second Harvest Food Bank
Students and families can volunteer on the third Saturday morning of each month. Upcoming date is October 21st. Volunteers should wear closed-toed shoes and arrive by 7:45am. Those wishing to volunteer should contact volunteer coordinator Jason Brown (jbrown@helpendhunger.org) in advance.
NEW THIS YEAR!! Parent.edu
Parent.edu is our new initiative to get information out about topics of interest to middle school families. Each of these presentations is held on the last Wednesday of the month from 6:00-7:00pm in Hancock Hall. Presentations will be made by faculty and staff of Hancock, as well as local experts in their field. The schedule for the year:
O October 25th: Sports Wellness and Sports Injuries
All Hancock athletes, their families and coaches are strongly urged to attend this session presented by Memorial Sports Medicine. Memorial Sports Medicine works with athletes to prevent and treat sports-related injuries.
Coastal Lacrosse
Fall Ball Programs for lacrosse are starting up at Coastal Lacrosse. If you are interested in participating, look for a handout coming home with your child or click HERE for more information.
Boy Scouts
Meeting time is 1:30 to 3:00pm on Sundays. Upcoming Events:
O September 30th – meeting at Blessed Sacrament School from 8:30am-3:00pm to help with the final move in from the temporary office to the new, permanent office. There will also be a cookout and skills session after the move
O October 1st – normal meeting
O October 6th-8th – meeting at Black Creek Scout Reserve in Sylvania, Georgia. Registration for the campout is $16 per participant, plus a small amount for provisions. The food cost will be based on the number of Scouts in attendance. Registration fees and RSVP will be due on Thursday, September 28th
National Junior Honor Society
Pictures of NJHS playing multiplication math games with 3rd graders on Monday, September 25.
8TH GRADE ASSIGNMENTS
8th grade Algebra 1 - Mrs. Reardon
Next week in Algebra we will begin Chapter 3 by solving one, two, and multi-step equations. On Thursday, we will do a fun activity with tootsie rolls and skittles showing the “how and why” behind two-step equations. The challenge problem that was distributed on September 25 is due on October 2.
8th grade Advanced Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will continue the second part of Chapter 10 by learning how to solve quadratic equations using the World Famous Quadratic Formula (10.6)! We will also begin learning how to use the discriminant to determine the number and type of solutions to a quadratic equation (10.7). There will be a quiz on Tuesday on completing the square (10.5).
8th grade Geometry - Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will begin Chapter 3 by learning about the angles formed by parallel lines and a transversal (3.1-3.2) - alternate interior angles, alternate exterior angles, consecutive interior angles, consecutive exterior angles, and corresponding angles. We will also learn how to prove lines are parallel using those angles (3.3).
8th grade Physical Science - Mr. Cooper
Next week we will continue learning about balancing chemical equations. We will be making videos to review the important scientists that had a role in the Atomic Theory using IPads. We will continue to explore chemical reactions during our Thursday hands-on lab. We will have a quiz on Atomic Theory and balancing chemical equations on Thursday before our lab.
8th grade English Language Arts - Mrs. O’Connor
Students will begin writing their first major process paper next week as they reimagine one of the stories we have read from a different point of view. Specific expectations and a rubric will be distributed in class next week. We will be working on this assignment in class, though some students may find that they need additional time and have to continue working on the paper at home. The final draft will be due on Friday, October 6th. It may be handed in early if students will be out on Friday. Remember to be reading independently in your free time and logging minutes in the reading log document!
8th grade History & Gov’t II - Mrs. English
This week we will continue our study of Reconstruction as well as government concepts like how a bill becomes a law and the impeachment process. Students will complete a take home quiz over the weekend (due Tuesday). We will finish discussion of Chapter 16.3 and take a Reconstruction test on Thursday, October 5th. Students should begin reviewing notes and concepts in preparation for that test. Lastly, we will do some peer review of our Civil War Letters and begin writing the final drafts. Looking forward to a great week!
8th grade Spanish - Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish class, the 8th grade will complete Chapter 1B and the test is scheduled for Tuesday, October 3rd. On Wednesday we will begin Chapter 2A. Students will learn vocabulary describing daily routine, reflexive verbs, and getting ready for an event. We will also compare special events in the United States to those in Hispanic Countries.
7TH GRADE ASSIGNMENTS
7th grade Algebra 1 - Mrs. Reardon
Next week in Algebra we will begin Chapter 3 by solving one, two, and multi-step equations. On Thursday, we will do a fun activity with tootsie rolls and skittles showing the “how and why” behind two-step equations. The challenge problem that was distributed on September 25 is due on October 2.
7th grade Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will continue Chapter 3 by practicing solving two-step equations (3.1). We will also learn how to solve multi-step equations (3.2). There will be a Math Facts Quiz on Tuesday.
7th grade History & Gov’t I - Mrs. English
This week we will finish working on our Explorer Research Projects. Note cards, slides, and artifact are due on Wednesday, October 4th. Students will present their research on Wednesday and Thursday.
7th grade Spanish - Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish class, the 7th grade will continue to work with comparisons of inequality and superlatives. Students will finish designing and describing the ideal bedroom using the grammar and vocabulary from Chapter 6A. They will present their creations in class on Thursday, October 5th. The grammar quiz will be Wednesday, October 4th.
7th Grade ELA - Mrs. Boyer
Parents! Students are in the middle of writing their short stories. Their finalized draft will be due on October 6th at noon (it is a half-day). Your students are to share the final drafts with me (labeled as: Final Draft_StudentName_ShortStory2017ELA) and print out their FINAL edits to turn in during our shortened class periods n October 6th. We will be reviewing adjective and adverb phrases, along with verb tenses.We will be starting our journey through The Hobbit next week; I have all of their novels in my cabinet and they will be expected to begin reading next week. There will be a schedule for the pace of the reading which will be handed out later this month. First and foremost, we will be preparing our introductory notes on Tolkien, Joseph Campbell’s Hero Journey, and the setting of Middle Earth (The Shire, Arnor, Rohan, Rhovanio, and Eriador). The Hobbit notes are already posted in the About section on Google Classroom. Students will have some light reading over Fall Break.
7th grade Life Science - Ms. Hoffman
We have finished up our overview of cells and cell organelles and all their Create-a-Cell projects are due tomorrow 9/28. (Please see google classroom for an additional copy of the rubric and other information.) Students will have an additional microscope lab tomorrow to look at a variety of preserved cell examples. Thank you to Hannah B for bringing in some of her own preserved slides to share with the class! Our next unit of study will be cell transport, such as osmosis and diffusion. We will then be learning about bacteria and viruses. Pictures of microscope labs this past week:
6TH GRADE ASSIGNMENTS
6th grade Accelerated Math 7 - Mrs. Reardon
Next week in math we will complete Chapter 2 with a review of all sections on Monday followed by a test over Chapter 2 on Tuesday, October 3. On Wednesday, we will pick right up and continue into Chapter 3 by looking at different ways to display and analyze data. The challenge problem that was distributed on September 25 is due on October 2.
6th grade Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will continue Chapter 3 by practicing solving two-step equations (3.1). We will also learn how to solve multi-step equations (3.2). There will be a Math Facts Quiz on Tuesday.
6th grade ELA - Mrs. Guggenheim
Literature: Short Story Unit Test Tuesday, October 3. A study guide was distributed 9/27.
Grammar: Exploring writing with dialogue (for out short stories.)
Writing: Brainstorm packet for original short story due 10/6. The packet and rubric are posted on Google Classroom. Students may type or neatly handwrite their outline on the packet.
Vocabulary: List 4 Greek/Latin and 7 SAT words distributed 9/28. Quiz 10/5
Reading Log: Some students have been very diligent about beginning their reading logs. Others have not yet turned in any minutes. As stated in the syllabus, all middle school students are required to read 360 minutes during the course of the trimester - reading that is outside of their regular assignments. They have a form on which to keep track of their minutes, and on Mondays in class I post their minutes in a spreadsheet. They need to obtain a parent signature to verify the minutes read. This counts as a project grade. The grading scale is written in the syllabus.
6th grade Earth Science - Ms. Hoffman
Students did a wonderful job on their heat transfer quiz and I will have their heat transfer booklets graded by the end of the weekend. Look for their grade in renweb. Today we began our next fun unit of study...weather. We are starting out learning about the atmosphere, air pressure and the air around us. Thank you to Mr. Roberds for installing our schools new electronic weather station. Students will use it to help log our daily weather. We will then continue our studies with global winds, clouds and the water cycle.
6th Grade Ancient Civ - Mrs. Boyer
Parents! Next week we will be learning about Mesopotamian Achievements such as agricultural innovations, standard measurements, transportation, and cuneiform. We will be completing our final revisions for the Book of Design Description/Research portion for the Ziggurat Project. After Fall Break, students will have assigned days to work on/finalize their project portions (dates have been set on Google Classroom). Near the end of the week we will begin a conversation on the Epic of Gilgamesh. The Chapter 3 Test will be on November 2nd.
6th Grade Spanish - Ms. Dubick
Hello parents! The 6th graders have been working on their first project this week. They wrote a skit between two or three people using the topics they have learned so far, and they will be presenting them in the coming week. They’ll also have a test on Thursday October 5th covering the material from the last two quizzes: personal pronouns, estar, greetings and feeling words.
Every Tuesday and Thursday morning before school I’ll be doing review sessions, any students who feel they could use the extra help are welcome to come.
MS Ensemble - Mrs. Cookson
The 6th graders will continue building listening skills, and work on character development and presentation. The 7th graders will spend time working on tongue twisters and eye contact. The 8th graders will take a break from Ensemble to spend time in DC Seminar.
MS Art - Mrs. Cookson
Students will finish up their Adjective-Adjective-Noun drawings and move deeper into their collaborative, themed work.
CLUBS
Science Club
