NOTES FROM MR. CRAWFORD
SCHEDULE CHANGE - TAKE NOTE!
Middle School T2 Exams
The Middle School TEAM feels it is important to make up valuable instructional class time lost to both Irma and Snowmageddon. Therefore, we are going to cancel the second trimester exams and use this time for regular instruction. This adjustment will allow our teachers to conclude the trimester in a meaningful way and ensure that our students have ample time to complete all their assignments. Therefore,
- Thursday, March 1st, originally a half day dedicated to exams will now be a FULL DAY of regular classes.
- Friday, March 2nd, originally a half day dedicated to exams will STILL BE A HALF DAY, but we will hold regular classes. Teachers will have an inservice day in the afternoon to close out the second trimester.
Thank you for adjusting your schedules to support the education of your children.
8TH GRADE GRADUATION IS HERE….ALMOST
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
8th Grade Graduation Slideshow
Eighth grade families: please submit FIVE of your favorite pictures, from birth to now, for the graduation slideshow to mross@hancockdayschool.org by Friday, March 9th. Please make sure the pictures are DIGITAL.
NEW! SOCIAL MEDIA PART TWO!
HANDS ON WORKSHOP - YOUR CHILD & SOCIAL MEDIA!
February 28th Parent.Edu 6:00 - 7:00 Hancock Hall
Social Media is always changing, and our kids are always the first ones to utilize new platforms. In this workshop, Jillian Stafford, CEO of Stafford Media Group, will guide you through the process of keeping your kids safe online. We’ll go over each of the platforms that kids are using to communicate, and look at how to monitor your child’s activities, and how to make sure your kids aren’t using it in a way that could be dangerous. We’ll take a look at how every member of the family can utilize privacy settings to keep your sensitive information and private family moments out of the wrong hands. The goal of this workshop is to empower parents with the tools to navigate the ever changing world of digital communication with confidence and, most importantly, keep our children safe. Jillian Stafford has been in a social media professional for about as long as it has been a job title. Her agency works with some of Savannah’s iconic brands including Parker’s Convenience Stores, Jalapeños Mexican Grill, Optim Healthcare, Mike Hostilo, and more. In addition to running a full service agency, she is also a mother. THIS IS A HANDS ON LIVE COMPUTER BASED WORKSHOP! TO ENROLL, EMAIL OR CALL MADISON ROSS AT mross@hancockdayschool.org or 912-351-4500 ext 315
March Parent.Edu already scheduled!
March 28th Parent.Edu - Emotional Coaching 6:00 - 7:00 Hancock Hall
Do you struggle as a parent to communicate with your child? Do you have difficulty identifying their emotions and understanding the why behind their behaviors? The truth is that we all do. For March’s continuing education event, licensed professional counselor Whitney Owens will be addressing these concerns. Whitney will teach a new technique titled Emotional Coaching. This skill helps parents effectively listen to their children, understand their emotions, and allow for a healthy process of those emotions. Research proves that parents who use this tactic have children with better physical health and more success in their lives. These children have fewer behavior problems and score higher in academics. Whitney will be available to answer questions at the completion of the seminar.
Lunch Bunch Groups
Lunch Bunch continues! These will be divided up by gender and each group will meet during lunch every other week. This will give students an opportunity to get to know others in their grade and provide a space for students to discuss the ups and downs of being middle school students. If you have any questions please email Ms. Pedrick at apedrick@hancockdayschool.org or call at 912-351-4500 Ext 309.
National Junior Honor Society
Selection will take place in March. Along with academics + leadership, service is a major component in the nomination process. It is very important that all student community service hours have been submitted to Ms. Ross in the MS Office.
Volleyball Camps
Bob Bertucci Volleyball Camps are being held at St. Vincent’s Academy from July 26-28, 2018. For more information about the camps and registration CLICK HERE
Community Service
Hancock Day School has encouraged student involvement in serving the community since it was founded. The Community Service Program at HDS was established to prepare our students for a lifetime of service to others. We hope to provide them with the opportunity to experience firsthand the pleasure of helping others while developing their communication, leadership, and decision making skills. Middle School Students are expected to complete a minimum of 10 hours of community service each school year. Please document service hours on the HDS Community Service Log and submit to Madison Ross in the MS office.
8TH GRADE ASSIGNMENTS
8th grade Algebra 1 - Mrs. Reardon
Next week in Algebra we will finish out Chapter 7 by solving systems of linear inequalities. We will take 2 days to review the Chapter and then students should expect the Chapter 7 test on Thursday, March 1. Challenge problem due on Tuesday, February 27.
8th grade Advanced Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will complete our exploration of angle relationships by learning about the difference angles formed by 2 parallel lines and a transversal (3.4). We will have a day of review on Tuesday and a quiz on angle relationships on Wednesday.
8th grade Geometry - Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will complete Chapter 9 by learning about the composition of transformations (9.5), identifying symmetry (9.6), and performing dilations in the coordinate plane (9.7). There will be a day of review on Wednesday and the Chapter 9 test on Thursday.
8th grade Physical Science - Mr. Cooper
Next week we will continue our unit on waves. We will focus on sound waves this week. Students can expect to cover a chapter roughly each week with several hands-on lab activities and a short quiz at the end of each. There will be a Unit test at the end of this unit. There can be a pop quiz as well!
8th grade English Language Arts - Mrs. O’Connor
Students will spend the early part of the week finalizing their public service announcements. We will share our finished products with the class on Thursday, March 1st. Additionally, students will be composing written responses to the public service announcements created by their peers.
8th grade History & Gov’t II - Mrs. English
This week we will finish our Silent Film Projects and present them. Students will have class to work on the films Monday and Tuesday. The films will be presented on Friday, March 2. We will also introduce the years leading up to World War Two in Europe. Looking forward to a great week!
8th grade Spanish - Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish the 8th grade will continue to work with the preterite and the imperfect tense through a series of speaking, listening, reading and writing activities. The Chapter 4B test will be Thursday, March 1st.
7TH GRADE ASSIGNMENTS
7th grade Algebra 1 - Mrs. Reardon
Next week in Algebra we will finish out Chapter 7 by solving systems of linear inequalities. We will take 2 days to review the Chapter and then students should expect the Chapter 7 test on Thursday, March 1. Challenge problem due on Tuesday, February 27.
7th grade Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will complete Chapter 7 by having a day of review on Monday and the Chapter 7 test on Tuesday. We will then begin Chapter 8 by learning about relations and functions (8.1), as well as beginning to explore linear equations in two variables (8.2).
7th grade History & Gov’t I - Mrs. English
This week in American history we will complete our President Projects. Projects are due Tuesday, February 27th. We will then continue our discussion of the early republic and the first political parties.
7th grade Spanish - Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish the 7th grade will discuss opportunities for volunteering and read an article about Habitat for Humanity. Students will also discuss volunteer work they have done in the past using the preterite verb and indirect object pronouns. The Chapter 8B test will be Thursday, March 1st.
7th Grade ELA - Mrs./ Boyer
Students will be working on a character analysis project, which incorporates text evidence, writing, and a creative element. Students will be creating a Facebook for a character in The Count of Monte Cristo. Students will be working on this in class for the next week; the final project will be due on March 5th. Students will be presenting their work in class. The Brainstorming for the project will be tomorrow at the end of class. Students will have had over two hours in class to work on the brainstorm.
Chapters 41-50 are due on Tuesday.
There is a Chapter 1-40 Test on Tuesday. We will be reviewing and brainstorming for the essay questions on Monday. The possible essays are in GC and are listed as follows:
1. What is the father/son dynamic for Edmond and Louis Dantes versus Villefort and Nortier?
2. How is Edmond Dantes represented as a Christ-like figure?
3. How does social class determine your relationships with other people?
4. After all the acts that Dantes is planning to put into play, is he still an honorable man?
5. Is revenge 'okay' when justice needs to be served?
I highly suggest that students work on their study guide as they read; this will help them engage in the text and question their comprehension. We will be studying the novel chapter by chapter, character by character. The point of reading this novel is to teach the students HOW to read a dense novel with multiple characters in a historical setting. I will be guiding them through this journey, but it is the student’s responsibility to keep up with the reading and the comprehension activities. If the student does not understand the material and needs extra help, please send them to me sooner rather than later. There is a chapter by chapter summary powerpoint that I created from multiple sources. DO NOT READ THE SUMMARY BEFORE READING THE CHAPTERS PLEASE. All students have a paper copy of the reading schedule and the expectations for this novel. The reading schedule is posted on Google Classroom. Secondly, if your student is struggling with grammar material, I highly suggest that they use the resources and extra practice in the about section of google classroom. I have posted IXL links for them to use at home or in study hall. Reading Logs for 7th ELA, this trimester, will not be required.
7th grade Life Science - Ms. Hoffman
Finishing up our information on the skin last Friday, students learned about whorls, arches and loops in our Fingerprint Lab...see photos below. We also have taken our quiz on muscles and the skin. To learn about the digestive system, students are working with partners to create a 10 slide google slides presentation. This will highlight the pathway food takes as it is digested, while describing the 5 main structures from the mouth to large intestine and additional digestive organs such as the salivary glands, pancreas and liver. Students will present their slide show next Monday, 2/26. We will then begin to learn about the respiratory system, including creating a health flyer focusing on ways to keep our lungs healthy.
6TH GRADE ASSIGNMENTS
6th grade Accelerated Math 7 - Mrs. Reardon
Next week in accelerated math 7 we will finish out Chapter 7 on Monday by solving and graphing inequalities. We will review the chapter on Tuesday and students will take their Chapter 7 test on Wednesday, February 28. Challenge problem is due on Tuesday, February 27.
6th grade Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will complete Chapter 7 by having a day of review on Monday and the Chapter 7 test on Tuesday. We will then begin Chapter 8 by learning about relations and functions (8.1), as well as beginning to explore linear equations in two variables (8.2).
6th grade ELA - Mrs. Guggenheim
Literature: Projects were finished early (yay!), so presentations began Thursday. We should be finished with them by Monday. We will then begin reading our next novel, The Giver.
Grammar: After spring break, we will begin a unit on pronouns.
Writing: Students will be writing journal entries in response to their reading in The Giver.
Vocabulary: List 2 from The Giver will be distributed on 2/27. Quiz on 3/8.
Reading Log: Reading for the reading log begins for Trimester Three will begin on Feb 28th. 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. Reading log minutes for 6th grade are due Friday, May 18th.
6th grade Earth Science - Ms. Hoffman
Last Friday, students worked together in groups to simulate a seismograph, an instrument used to measure earthquakes. They also used straws, tape, and tissue paper to build and then modify a “wall” that can withstand earthquake destruction. (See pictures below.) We have also been learning about volcanoes, including the different types of volcanoes and eruptions that can occur. Each student was given the name of a specific volcano and eruption date to begin their volcano poster project. During class, they completed their mapping activity locating a variety of earthquakes and volcanoes around the world and on Friday, 2/23 conducted research on their particular volcano to gather information to put on their poster. We will also use Monday, 2/26 for our research, but the poster, itself, needs to be completed at home and will be due on Thursday 3/1, with presentation to be done during our ½ day 3/2. (Students received the rubric on Thursday, 2/22 and it is also posted on google classroom.) Our Unit Test on earthquakes and volcanoes will also be on Thursday 3/1.
6th Grade Ancient Civ - Mrs. Boyer
Students are going to be completing the journey into Ancient China. We will be watching a BBC video about the mysteries of the Terra Cotta Army on Friday, we will be reviewing on Monday, and the test will be on Tuesday. The test on 2/27 is a unit test; therefore, all of the material will be covered. Students have already been advised as to what one of the essay questions will be (The Silk Road). For the remainder of the week the students will be working on a multicultural report where they can pick topics regarding Ancient Egypt, India or China. This will be the first grade of the third trimester.
Heads up! : We will be venturing into Ancient Greece and Rome for the rest of the school year!! Dates will be extremely important and will be required for assessments.
6th Grade Spanish - Ms. Dubick
Hello Parents and Students! The sixth graders will continue with weather next week, culminating in a test on Thursday 3/1
EXTRA HELP: I am changing my extra help days to: Every MONDAY and WEDNESDAY morning before school. I’ll be doing extra help sessions to reinforce what we are covering, any students who feel they could use the additional support are welcome to come. I also hold study sessions the morning before any assessment. STUDENTS SHOULD EMAIL IF THEY ARE PLANNING TO ATTEND.
MS Art - Mrs. Cookson
Moving on…
8th grade: Will pick back up on our painting techniques.
7th grade: Will work on either analog or digital versions of their posters.
6th grade: Felting, felting, felting...this is a long one.
CLUBS
Science Club
We are still working on building our water bottle rockets. As fins and ballast are being added some groups are modifying their designs. Some students have also been absent or working with student government and unable to attend our most recent meeting. We hope to have the rockets completed at our next meeting which is at the end of the month. Then we will compare our different designs during our rocket launch.
