NOTES FROM MR. CRAWFORD
Hancock Sports
Any student playing on a Hancock team needs to have a current (within 12 months) physical on file at the school. The student can bring a note from his/her physician clearly stating that he/she is cleared to play without reservation or he/she can get a sports physical at school. Physicals for the 2018 fall season are being given on Monday, May 14th. To participate each student needs a signed sports physical form. These were distributed earlier this week. A copy of the form can be found HERE.
Important Dates for all Families!
All middle school students were provided information regarding end of year events with dates and times in Homeroom on Friday, April 19th. 6th and 7th grade information can be found HERE. 8th grade information can be found HERE.
Lunch with Ms. Pedrick
7th grade boys lunch groups will continue next week - Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.
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 review the remaining sections in Chapter 10 in preparation for the students’ last Chapter test of the year on Tuesday, May 15. We will then begin reviewing for exams! The end is in sight! :)
8th grade Advanced Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will complete factoring and solving quadratic equations. We will have a day of review on Monday and the test on Tuesday. We will then begin exam review.
8th grade Geometry - Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will complete Chapter 12 by having a day of review on Monday and the Chapter 12 test on Tuesday. We will then begin exam review.
8th grade Physical Science - Mr. Cooper
Next week students will take the Electricity and Magnetism test on Monday. They will then receive the Electric Vehicle project and rubric. Students will be provided with several main components of this project in school and will need to bring in a few supplies from home. This can be an individual project or partner project depending on what students choose. We will end with a race on Wednesday, May 23rd.
8th grade English Language Arts - Mrs. O’Connor
This week students worked diligently to create outlines for their research papers, conference with me about their individual progress, and compose their rough drafts. Rough drafts will (hopefully) be complete by the time students leave class today, and we’ll spend early next week editing and revising. Final drafts of research papers are due on Wednesday, May 16th. Once the paper is behind us, we will begin reviewing for our final exam! I can’t believe the year is almost over!
Reading Logs for T3 are due May 17th.
8th grade History & Gov’t II - Mrs. English
This week in American history we will have our final quiz on African geography on Tuesday, May 15th. Also, we will begin our summative assessment, which is an interview and ancestry research project. Look for an email and further details coming home with your students this weekend. Lastly, we will hopefully wrap up our yarn WWII memorial project. Feel free to help your student as them make the final push to finish their canvases. Looking forward to a great week!
8th grade Spanish - Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish the 8th grade will present their cooking projects and share the dishes they prepared. Students will also begin organizing their binders for the third trimester exam review. The listening portion will be Monday, May 21st and the speaking portion will be Tuesday, May 22nd and Wednesday May 23rd.
7TH GRADE ASSIGNMENTS
7th grade Algebra 1 - Mrs. Reardon
Next week in Algebra, we will review the remaining sections in Chapter 10 in preparation for the students’ last Chapter test of the year on Tuesday, May 15. We will then begin reviewing for exams! The end is in sight! :)
7th grade Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will complete Chapter 10 by having a day of review on Monday and the Chapter 10.1-10.4 test on Tuesday (7th grade) or Wednesday (6th grade). We will then begin exam review.
7th grade History & Gov’t I - Mrs. English
This week in American history we will have our final test on Ch. 11.1-3 on Tuesday, May 15th. Also, we will begin our summative assessment, which is an interview and ancestry research project. Look for an email and further details coming home with your students this weekend. Looking forward to a great week!
7th grade Spanish - Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish class, the 7th grade will present their skits using the future tense and current vocabulary. Students will also begin organizing their binders for the third trimester exam review. The listening portion will be Monday, May 21st and the speaking portion will be Tuesday, May 22nd and Wednesday May 23rd.
7th Grade ELA - Mrs. Boyer
Next week:
The Animal Farm Final Novel test date has been moved to 5/16!This is the final move! This will be over character analysis, theme, literary devices, critical thinking and writing skills. Students have an extra study opportunity posted on Google Classroom.
Quizzes and writing assignments will be used to analyze the students progress in regards to critical thinking. Students need to be prepared for 8th grade next year and this new way of learning is a strategy which will prepare them for next year’s ELA class.
Students need to be prepared for class everyday, which means bringing their novel, journal and a writing utensil.
Reading Logs for T3 are due May 17th.
7th grade Life Science - Ms. Hoffman
Students looked at the actual skins of a snake and alligator to help learn about the four groups of reptiles we have been studying. These are the turtles/ tortoises, snakes, crocodile/ alligators, and lizards. They also worked with a partner on an activity called Soaking Up Those Rays to better understand how ectotherms (cold-blooded) animals react to the environment. Next we are finishing up the Chordate/ Vertebrate Phyla of organisms with our last two groups; birds and mammals. Students will compare these more advanced animals and use their science knowledge to complete a science report project using the book Animal Farm, which they have been reading in English/ Language Arts Class. The rubric went home today (5/10) and is posted on Google Classroom. The project will count as a test and two homework grades. One homework grade will be a progress check Thursday, May 16th and the other will be when the report is due, Monday, May 21st.
6TH GRADE ASSIGNMENTS
6th grade Accelerated Math 7 - Mrs. Reardon
Next week in Accelerated Math 7, we will wrap up our year by learning how to use formulas to solve for the area of parallelograms, trapezoids, and triangles. We will review on Wednesday and students will take their last test of the year of Thursday, May 17. We will then begin reviewing for their exam.
6th grade Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will complete Chapter 10 by having a day of review on Monday and the Chapter 10.1-10.4 test on Tuesday (7th grade) or Wednesday (6th grade). We will then begin exam review.
6th grade ELA - Mrs. Guggenheim
Literature: Unit Test over Anne Frank 5/15. Begin in-class exam project on Anne Frank
Grammar: Review for proofreading and homonym quiz 5/17. Study with “Fix the Sentences” and Homonym packets. IXL also has skills practice.
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
Our Egg Drop competition was a big success! Students built a descent module to protect their “egg” astronaut by only using copy paper, masking tape and staples. First we dropped them from the ceiling of the classroom onto “sand” (a thick blanket). Then we created “hard ground” by removing the blanket and dropped them again. Finally, the final test for only one very durable module in my period 4 class, was to try and drop onto “rocks.” We did this by throwing the module across our classroom where it hit one (or more) of our tables before hitting the floor. All groups listed below passed the “sand” test, but only one group (with the *) passed the other two scenarios and survived it all! The winners were as follows:
Period 2 Jake Dyches, Wilkes Albert, Madeline Brainard
Nathan Scarbrough, Julianna Jones, Emiline Baxter
Period 3 Aiden Dean, Corbett Salandi, Hayden Anderson
Crawford Nelson, Greer Hollis, Jack Owen Myers
William Whitfield., Whit Watson, Jacqueline Bunger
Period 4 *Brooke Coulter, Mary Tippens Solana, Ava Grace Harris, Harper Silva
AB Smith, Skylar Quante, William Shearouse
Anna Loren Dekle, Athon Herrin, Charlie Moody
After learning about satellites, early space exploration and comets, meteoroids and asteroids, we have turned our focus to our sun and all the planets, including dwarf planets, of our solar system. We discussed and modeled the order and approximate location of each planet in our solar system. (See pictures below.) Students will also complete an at-home project over this information by making solar system trading cards. A rubric was handed out and is also posted on Google Classroom. There will be a homework progress check next Wednesday, 5/16 and students need to have 8 of the 15 cards completed. The final set of cards is due Monday, 5/21 and will count as a test grade and second homework grade. Next week we will also discuss other stars, galaxies, and black holes.
The order and distance between planets
on a paper model.
Outside modeling the location of each planet.
Conducting research for our solar system cards
6th Grade Ancient Civ - Mrs. Boyer
Students will be working on one last large assignment: review questions. Students will be answering, to their best ability with two weeks to complete the questions, the review questions for Chapter 12-14. These questions will make the students think critically about the ideas which were generated during this important time in history. It will also allow them to practice time management and grammar skills as they must edit their work as they go. Students will not have any other homework other than this assignment and they will have class time as well.
Over the next week, we will be focusing on the purpose of religion and how it restructured the Roman government dynamic.
**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:
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 will be working on a monsters project integrating body parts, food and activities. We will also continue learning about the history of Latinos in America. Their last test will be on Thursday May 17, then we will start reviewing for their Exam which is in the morning of May 24. They will do the listening portion of the exam prior to the written portion.
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
Art
“If I could say it in words there would be no reason to paint.” - Edward Hopper
8th grade: Will work on a surprise challenge. Be prepared.
7th grade: Will finish up the faux stained glass.
6th grade: Will continue to work on Restricted Sculpture.
CLUBS
Science Club
The reaction of coke and mentos is actually a physical change caused by something called nucleation. This is where the carbon dioxide bubbles want to adhere to the surface of the mentos causing many, many bubbles and fizz to form. This is forced out of the bottle causing a simulation of a geyser. Students looked for the largest height of this fizzy coke geyser as they compared different bottles of soda and number of mentos candies. Some of the “winners” were: Lemon Lime beat Root beer; regular Big K cola beat Diet Big K cola, more mentos beat less mentos and it was about even for the name brand Diet Coke and Big K cola. We were, however, not able to conduct multiple tests for each comparison. There were some also difference in dropping the mentos into the bottles, even though each student used a cardboard holder to help stack them and to minimize dropping them on the ground. See below for some photos. Next week will be the last Club Day of the school year.
