NOTES FROM MR. CRAWFORD
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 begin in Chapter 9 by adding, subtracting, and multiplying polynomials. Students will be taking an in-class, open notes/text assessment mid-week to ensure that they have grasped the beginning polynomial concepts. Towards the end of the week, students will be taking a diagnostics quiz in IXL.com to see where their strengths and weaknesses lie in Algebra.
8th grade Advanced Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will begin our Algebra 1 review of some topics seen in Algebra 1. We will begin by reviewing exponent rules such as the product, quotient, and power of a power rules. We will also explore negative and zero exponents. Students will prepare a presentation on the various rules in class. We will also begin exploring linear functions by reviewing slope and slope-intercept form of linear equations.
8th grade Geometry - Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will continue Chapter 11 by learning how to find the area of trapezoids and rhombuses (11.2). We will spend the rest of the week reviewing topics from Algebra 1 such as FOIL, solving quadratic equations using the quadratic formula, and factoring by a variety of methods.
8th grade Physical Science - Mr. Cooper
This week we will begin finish covering Chapter 19 (Light, Mirrors, Lenses) in our textbooks. The students will work through a Study Guide for chapters 16-19. There will be a Unit Test on Waves (Ch 16-19) on Tuesday, April 17th.
8th grade English Language Arts - Mrs. O’Connor
We are gearing up for ERB testing next week and our classwork will be light. Students will finish reading Romeo and Juliet and if time allows we will even begin watching a film version of the story. Students will not have any assessments next week.
8th grade History & Gov’t II - Mrs. English
This week we will begin working on our World War II research project. Students will pick a minimum of three topics to research. They will take this research to write three mini-research papers that will be displayed with our World War II casualties artwork. We are also continuing to work on our casualties cross-curricular group project. See photos below!
8th grade Spanish - Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish the 8th grade will begin Chapter 5B. In this chapter students will learn some medical terminology, talk about injuries and medical treatment, and continue to work with the imperfect and preterite tenses. Students will also use the new grammar and vocabulary to describe what happened at the scene of an accident.
7TH GRADE ASSIGNMENTS
7th grade Algebra 1 - Mrs. Reardon
Next week in Algebra, we will begin in Chapter 9 by adding, subtracting, and multiplying polynomials. Students will be taking an in-class, open notes/text assessment mid-week to ensure that they have grasped the beginning polynomial concepts. Towards the end of the week, students will be taking a diagnostics quiz in IXL.com to see where their strengths and weaknesses lie in Algebra.
7th grade Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will continue the second part of Chapter 8 by learning how to solve systems of linear equations by graphing and finding the intersection point between two lines (8.8). We will also explore graphing linear inequalities in two variables (8.9).
7th grade History & Gov’t I - Mrs. English
This week students will begin their government research project. Students will explore different types of government and form an argument. This research will be used in conjunction with their Animal Farm reading in ELA. Next, students will take their research and use it in ELA to write a research paper. Looking forward to a great week!
7th grade Spanish - Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish the 7th grade will begin Chapter 9B. This chapter focuses on technology and communication in the Spanish-speaking world. Students will learn the difference between the verbs saber and conocer , review some stem-changing verbs, and discuss the importance of cibercafes for travelers.
7th Grade ELA - Mrs./ Boyer
Students will be starting Animal Farm this week! We will be working through the novel study a bit differently this trimester; all students will be put into book club groups where they will create their own reading schedule based on book club meeting dates, activities, and assessments. Students will be journaling five nights a week in order to thoroughly respond and participate in discussions and activities.
Students will be coming home with a ‘Book Club Contract’ which will explain everything; parents need to sign this and return Monday/Tuesday. We will begin with our first Book Club activity on Monday. We will be looking at the themes of Orwell’s thought process while writing Animal Farm and his views of society.
Students will also be working on multiple IXL activities in class in order to better prepare them for the ELA section on the ERB (discovering word meanings through context, analyzing informational text, picking out the thesis statement/main idea in a story or paper, etc.)
Throughout next week students will be working through the vocabulary in Animal Farm and diving into introduction activities regarding Orwell and Chapter 1 & 2.
Reading Logs for T3 are due May 17th. Students will have about two to three class period which will be designated for independent reading. Students may not read any class assigned material, but they may bring something from home (magazines, novels, short stories, etc.) If they do not come to class prepared for independent reading, they may check a book out of the classroom library.
Students need to be prepared for class everyday, which means bringing their novel, journal and a writing utensil.
7th grade Life Science - Ms. Hoffman
We are continuing our study of invertebrates with chapter 13 in our textbook. The first groups to explore are the mollusks (snails, clams, octopus) and annelids (segmented worms, earthworms). We will continue next week with a quick overview of arthropods (insects, spiders, crustaceans), and then learn about echinoderms (sea stars, sand dollars, sea urchins). Our Invertebrate Unit Test will be on Thursday, April 20th.
6TH GRADE ASSIGNMENTS
6th grade Accelerated Math 7 - Mrs. Reardon
Next week in Accelerated Math 7, we will continue working in chapter 9 learning the percent equation and how to create circle graphs. Students will be collecting data from their classmates in order to produce their own circle graphs in Google Sheets. No assessments next week.
6th grade Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will continue the second part of Chapter 8 by learning how to solve systems of linear equations by graphing and finding the intersection point between two lines (8.8). We will also explore graphing linear inequalities in two variables (8.9).
6th grade ELA - Mrs. Guggenheim
Literature: Work with a partner on in-class Utopia project. Due Friday 4/13. (Note change of due date)
Grammar: Continue pronoun unit. We will continue to work on run-on sentences and comma splices. Pronoun test is scheduled for 4/16. Concepts include: subject, object, possessive, indefinite, reflexive, intensive, and vague pronouns as well as change in shift. Their handouts are their study guide as well as slide presentations in GC and IXL practice.
Writing: Paragraph writing as part of the Utopia project
Vocabulary: Anne Frank 21-word project - 7 words a week for three weeks. Each set of seven is due on the next three Mondays. Working on one word a night will make it stress free!
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 17th.
6th grade Earth Science - Ms. Hoffman
Students have been learning about the different zones in the ocean, such as the intertidal, neritic and open ocean zones. We have also begun studying the three categories of marine animals: plankton, nekton and benthos. Next week, we will take all of the information we have been learning about (ocean features, zones and animals) and create an ocean floor diorama. Students will also make an original film about their diorama. This will be either a “tour” of this unique habitat or “interviews” with some of the organisms that live there. We hope to have these ready to share during our upcoming Film Festival afternoon. *Note: We have a new test date for our Oceans Unit Test for chapters 18 and 19. It will be on Thursday, 4/19 (NOT Fri 4/20.)
6th Grade Ancient Civ - Mrs. Boyer
This week we will be studying Chapter 9 in the textbook. There will be multiple class activities throughout the week. Students will be reading Antigone and The Odyssey as well as learning about famous Greek philosophers.
Quiz grades will be out early next week! :)
**Students should begin studying new material every night for five to seven minutes in order to prepare for these assessments. If a student is studying every night for five to seven minutes (something as little as discussing what they learned at the dinner table), they have a better chance at comprehending the content for a test. A student should never JUST start studying for an assessment two to three days before. Studying is an on-going process.
Study strategies: Create flash-cards, create a graphic organizer, create an outline, create a quizlet, brainstorm the essays beforehand, have a study party with friends, create your own quiz/test and take it without your notes, USE THE FILL IN THE BLANK NOTES TO QUIZ YOURSELF ON WHAT YOU KNOW AND WHAT YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT, come in for extra help with SPECIFIC questions.
All materials will be on GC.
Assessment Dates:
4/18: Ch. 8 L3 and L4 and Chapter 9 quiz
4/19-4/24: Project
4/25: Greek Unit Test
5/10: Rome Quiz
5/18: Rome Unit Test
The Exam for Ancient Civ has been changed to an activity.
6th Grade Spanish - Ms. Dubick
Hello Parents and Students! The sixth graders have done so well with conjugating regular verbs! Next we’ll be doing the verb Gustar with activities and with food.
4/17 Quiz
4/24 Test
EXTRA HELP:
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
All grades will have studio time in order to finish up outstanding challenges. It will be a nice break from the rigor of ERB testing. For those who have completed all work, we will spend time working on quick-brain challenges.
CLUBS
Science Club
Students continued testing variations affecting flight by creating a paper twirling helicopter. After all students making the same basic design, the challenge was to use the engineering process to modify it and test the results. Some of the changes students determined included shortening the blades, increasing the number of blades and adding weight to various locations. The results included increased or decreased blade rotation, flipping over during descent and a change in descent speed.
