April 18th - 22nd

8th Grade Parents:

If you have not submitted your photos for the graduation slideshow, please do so as soon as possible. Send them to Mrs. Chandler at achandler@hancockdayschool.org.

Thank you!

Please be on the lookout for a flyer coming home today (4/15) with information about the Middle School Community Service Day. There will also be additional information in today’s blast.

NOTES FROM 8th GRADE

8th Grade Algebra 1 Mrs. Reardon

Next week we will review the last 2 sections of Chapter 9 and take a quiz over them on Tuesday, April 19.  Starting Wednesday, students will be introduced to the last chapter that we will learn this year: quadratic equations and functions.

8th Grade Geometry Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will have our Chapter 11 Test on Tuesday (4/19).  We will also begin learning about solids and polyhedra (12.1) and how to find the surface area of prisms and cylinders (12.2).

8th Grade Advanced Algebra Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will have our Chapter 9 Test on Tuesday (4/19).  We will also begin our Algebra Review units, which covers important topics from Algebra 1 that students will need to know next year when they take Geometry in high school.  We will begin with exponent rules next week.

8th Grade Language Arts Mrs. O’Connor

Students’ persuasive research papers are almost complete!  The final draft is due on Wednesday, April 20th.  Next week we will also begin reading Romeo and Juliet, and students will take an open book quiz over the first three scenes of the play on Friday, April 22nd.

8th Grade History Mrs. English

This week we will continue our study of World War II in Chapter 24.3 & 4. For homework students should be working on their research tri-fold that is due on Friday.  Students need to turn in their note cards, tri-fold, and question sheet on Friday.  Looking forward to a great week!

8th Grade Physical Science Mrs. Huennekens

We are studying the different types of friction and how it works.  Students will be doing a couple of different experiments to see how friction works.

8th Grade Spanish Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class, the 8th grade will continue working with the negative tú commands and the impersonal se.  Students will also invent a recipe for a healthy prepared food with a catchy name using the vocabulary from Chapter 7A. The vocabulary quiz will be Tuesday, April 19th and the grammar quiz will be Friday, April 22nd.

NOTES FROM 7th GRADE

7th Grade Algebra 1 Mrs. Reardon

Next week we will review the last 2 sections of Chapter 9 and take a quiz over them on Tuesday, April 19.  Starting Wednesday, students will be introduced to the last chapter that we will learn this year: quadratic equations and functions.

7th Grade Pre-Algebra Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will have a day of review of the 2nd part of Chapter 8 (8.7 - 8.9) and then the test covering those sections on Tuesday (4/19).  We will then begin learning about simplifying square roots (9.2).

7th Grade Language Arts Mrs. Hannah

We have begun our final grammatical unit of study on pronouns! Students will learn five types of pronouns: personal, possessive, indefinite, demonstrative, and interrogative. We are also identifying character motivation and growth in The Hobbit, and will compare Bilbo’s journey to Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey”.  Seventh grade will have a quiz over chapters 1-4 of The Hobbit on Tuesday

7th Grade History Mrs. English

This week we will begin our study of the Age of Jackson and Indian Removal in Chapter 10. For homework students should be working on their research tri-fold that is due on Friday.  Students need to turn in their note cards, tri-fold, and question sheet on Friday.  Looking forward to a great week!

7th Grade Spanish Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class, the 7th grade will continue working with verbs that use indirect object pronouns as well as the verb acabar. Students will begin writing their short film and present in Spanish using the vocabulary from Chapter 9A. The vocabulary quiz will be Tuesday, April 19th and the grammar quiz will be Friday, April 22nd.

7th Grade Life Science Mrs. Huennekens

The frog was a lot of fun and educational too!  See the photos below!  Next week, we are studying mammals and then moving into our study of the human body.

Students found 2 crayfish inside the frog’s stomach!

NOTES FROM 6th GRADE

6th Grade Earth Science Mrs. Reardon

Next week we will begin the study of the Earth, moon, and sun system.  We will begin by discussing the properties of Earth, our changing seasons, and the moon phases.  Students should expect a brief quiz on Friday, April 22.

6th Grade Math Mrs. Reardon

Next week we will wrap up chapter 9 by learning how to calculate discounts, markups, sales tax, and tips -- a few very important real-world applications!  We will review on Wednesday and students will take their chapter 9 test on Friday, April 22.

6th Pre-Algebra Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will have a day of review of the 2nd part of Chapter 8 (8.7 - 8.9) and then the test covering those sections on Tuesday (4/19).  We will then begin learning about simplifying square roots (9.2).

6th Grade Language Arts Mrs. Guggenheim

We will finish our reading of The Diary of Anne Frank. I will give the final directions for the Timeline Project at the end of the week. It will be due on Wednesday, April 27. We will have some time in class to work on it. The unit test for The Diary of Anne Frank will be on April 28. Vocabulary List 11 was introduced today. The quiz is Wednesday, April 20. Please encourage your child to read and record their minutes in their reading log; there are still a number of students who have not given me any minutes this trimester. If you would like to know how many minutes I have recorded for your child, please email me.

6th Grade Ancient Civilizations Mrs. Hannah

We have begun our final project of the year: an ABC book that covers ancient Greece and Rome! Students worked Thursday and Friday with their groups to begin planning and researching, and will have several more days to work in class before the due date of 5 May. On Monday, we will review for the test over ancient Greece. This will cover all material we have studied so far, including the map of Greece. We will have a test over our unit on Greece Tuesday 19 April! On Wednesday, we will begin our final unit of study: ancient Rome!

6th Grade Earth Science Mrs. Huennekens

Space Probe building was a huge hit! The kids really got into the building of the probe. Check out this video: https://drive.google.com/a/hancockdayschool.org/file/d/0ByiGsiupgVFBYkxwa3hyVWg5X3M/view?usp=sharing

Next week, we will begin the study of the Earth, moon, and sun.  We will begin by discussing the properties of Earth, our changing seasons, and the moon phases.  For our lab this week, we will compare the size of the Earth to the moon. Students should expect a brief quiz on Friday, April 22.

6th Grade Spanish Ms. Sotomayor

Next week History and Spanish will collide in the curriculum as the students will learn about Ancient Rome in Ancient Civ and then learn how Spain and the Spanish culture was born as a result of the Roman Empire! We will also continue discussion on “Por” vs “Para”, will begin learning about direct object nouns and pronouns, and be working on our last test which is in the form of a very cool project! Please check out Google Classroom for more details. This project-style test is due on Tuesday, April 26th. And finally, next week the students will have a quiz which will be on “Por” vs “Para” on Thursday, April 21st.

April 11th - 15th

8th Grade Parents:

If you have not submitted your photos for the graduation slideshow, please do so as soon as possible. Send them to Mrs. Chandler at achandler@hancockdayschool.org.

Thank you!

Reminder: ERBs will take place Monday - Thursday mornings next week.  Please see Mrs. Pearle’s letter to parents in today’s blast for details.

NOTES FROM 8th GRADE

8th Grade Algebra 1 Mrs. Reardon

Next week we will finish out the last two sections in Chapter 9 by factoring special products and factoring polynomials completely.  Students will take a brief quiz over these two sections on Tuesday, April 19. No assessments next week.

8th Grade Geometry Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will continue Chapter 11 and learn about perimeters and areas of similar figures (11.3), circumference, area, and sectors of circles (11.4-11.5), and finding the area of regular polygons (11.6).  We will review on Friday and there will be a Chapter 11 Test next Monday (4/18).

8th Grade Advanced Algebra Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will continue learning how to find the volume of various solids including cylinders (9.4), pyramids and cones (9.5), as well as finding the surface area and volume of spheres (9.6).  We will review on Friday and there will be a Chapter 9 Test next Monday (4/18).

8th Grade Language Arts Mrs. O’Connor

Students’ persuasive research papers are coming together, and by the end of next week rough drafts should be complete.  Students are also working on composing entries for the Savannah Jewish Federation’s annual Holocaust writing and art contest.  The contest’s theme of remembrance connects beautifully to the concepts students have been studying in both Language Arts and History this year.  Contest submissions should be turned in no later than Tuesday.  No tests or quizzes next week.

8th Grade History Mrs. English

This week we will work on our World War II research topics. Students will have class time to complete their research cards and source cards. Research cards and source cards are due on Friday April 15th.  Looking ahead, students will turn in their research project trifolds on Thursday, April 21st. Please tell your parents in advance that you need a trifold for your project.

The 8th grade sharing their D.C. scrapbooks with the 2nd grade students.

8th Grade Physical Science Mrs. Huennekens

During the week of ERB’s, the 8th grade will continue their study of Newton’s Laws of Motion. There will be no tests or quizzes for the week of April 11th.

8th Grade Spanish Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class, the 8th grade will begin Chapter 7A. This chapter will talk about cooking instructions and advice, recipes and kitchen safety, and give information on popular dishes from Spanish-speaking countries. We will also begin learning about the impersonal se and negative tú commands.

NOTES FROM 7th GRADE

7th Grade Algebra 1 Mrs. Reardon

Next week we will finish out the last two sections in Chapter 9 by factoring special products and factoring polynomials completely.  Students will take a brief quiz over these two sections on Tuesday, April 19. No assessments next week.

7th Grade Pre-Algebra Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will finish Chapter 8 by learning about function notation (8.7), solving systems of linear equations (8.8), and graphing linear inequalities (8.9).  There will be a test on the 2nd part of Chapter 8 next Tuesday (4/19).

7th Grade Language Arts Mrs. Hannah

Seventh grade has finished the research paper! They did a marvelous job of breaking the process down into individual steps, and then combining their hard work into a well planned, cohesive paper.

This week, we will begin our final novel of seventh grade: The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Considering the fact that ERB testing is this week as well, students will have four days to read the first chapter, which is only 27 pages long. Students will receive a pacing calendar that outlines reading expectations, along with a packet with vocabulary, comprehension questions, and activities to help students understand deeper meaning and character growth throughout the novel. The activities for each reading assignment are due on the day we discuss those chapters- e.g. when we discuss assignment one on Thursday, the questions and vocabulary for assignment one are due Thursday at the beginning of class.

We are well into the third trimester, and there are already students who have well exceeded the six hour requirement! However, there are still a number of students who have not given me any minutes this trimester. Please encourage your child to read and record their minutes in their reading log. If you would like to know how many minutes I have recorded for your child, please email me.

7th Grade History Mrs. English

This week we will work on American Indian research topics. Students will be given a Native American group to research. They will have time in class to complete their research cards and source cards. Research cards and source cards are due on Friday April 15th.  Looking ahead, students will turn in research project trifolds on Thursday, April 21st. Please tell your parents in advance that you need a trifold for your project.

7th Grade Spanish Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class, the 7th grade will begin Chapter 9A. This chapter will describe movies and television programs, expression opinions about entertainment, and learn about some famous Spanish-speaking programs. We will also begin discussing gustar-type verbs and the verb acabar.

7th Grade Life Science Mrs. Huennekens

Next week, students will be working on dissecting the frog.  Be on the look-out for pIctures the following week! They will use their class time to study the different systems and complete classwork. There will not be any quizzes or test this week.

NOTES FROM 6th GRADE

6th Grade Earth Science Mrs. Reardon

Students will work with their lab partners next week to design a space probe.  They will have paper clips, straws, pipe cleaners, rubber bands, and aluminum foil to create their probe.  There will be a rubric that students will follow.  No assessments next week.

6th Grade Math Mrs. Reardon

Next week we will continue in Chapter 9 by learning the percent equation, circle graphs, and percent of increase and decrease.  Students will be creating their own circle graphs on the chromebooks based on a survey they give in class.  No assessments next week.

6th grade math students reviewing for their quiz by competing against each other in Jeopardy!

6th Pre-Algebra Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will finish Chapter 8 by learning about function notation (8.7), solving systems of linear equations (8.8), and graphing linear inequalities (8.9).  There will be a test on the 2nd part of Chapter 8 next Tuesday (4/19).

6th Grade Language Arts Mrs. Guggenheim

We will continue our reading of The Diary of Anne Frank. During the unit we are working on a Timeline Project; I’ve asked the students to complete two entries a week in order to keep up with the project. Please encourage your child to read and record their minutes in their reading log; there are still a number of students who have not given me any minutes this trimester. If you would like to know how many minutes I have recorded for your child, please email me.

6th Grade Ancient Civilizations Mrs. Hannah

We are finishing up ancient Greece this week by learning about the Peloponnesian War and the fall of Athens. We will analyze the rise of Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age, and the importance of the city of Alexandria. We will have a test over our unit on Greece Tuesday 19 April!

6th Grade Earth Science Mrs. Huennekens

Students will continue their study of space by designing a space probe during our ERB test week. There is not a quiz or a test this week.

6th Grade Spanish Ms. Sotomayor

We’ve had a great month of putting our conversation skills to work! As we continue to apply verbal communication, we will focus a little more these next 2 weeks on our reading and writing skills, discussing the importance and use of accent marks in the Spanish language, the 2 different words in relation to “for” which are “por” and “para”, and an intro to direct objects and pronouns. Also, we will take advantage of the Hispanic influence in Savannah that is going on at our local grocery store, Kroger! The theme this next week in Kroger is “Taste of Spain”. Students will be working on translating recipe cards and learning how geography influences the taste of a country’s cuisine. Please be sure to always check Google Classroom for assignment reminders, class notes, and great learning opportunities.

April 4th - 8th

8th Grade Parents:

If you have not submitted your photos for the graduation slideshow, please do so as soon as possible. Send them to Mrs. Chandler at achandler@hancockdayschool.org.

Thank you!

NOTES FROM 8th GRADE

8th Grade Physical Science Mrs. Huennekens

Students explored their creative side by creating marble launchers on Thursday in class.  This lab was an experiment on speed and motion. On Friday, the students created marshmallow launchers to explore force. For the week of April 4th, the students will study Force and Newton’s Laws.

8th Grade Algebra 1 Mrs. Reardon

Next week we will finish up chapter 9 by factoring special products.  We will take 2 days to review this chapter since it is so content rich.  Students will take their Chapter 9 test on Friday (4/8).

8th Grade Geometry Mr. Lanfear

Next week there will be a test on Chapter 10 (10.1 - 10.6).  Then, we will begin Chapter 11 and begin learning about finding the area of different quadrilaterals (11.1 - 11.2).

8th Grade Advanced Algebra Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will continue learning about surface area by discovering the formulas for pyramids and cones (9.3).  There will be a day of review and then a quiz towards the end of the week covering 9.1 - 9.3.

8th Grade Language Arts Mrs. O’Connor

The 8th graders have been diligently working through the research process.  On Monday students are expected to have copies of at least five sources and source cards in MLA format for each source.  We will spend class time on Monday working on turning this research into a working outline, and later in the week students will begin composing their rough drafts.  Additionally, we will also spend some class time exploring background information on William Shakespeare as we prepare to start reading Romeo and Juliet.

8th Grade History Mrs. English

This week we will continue our World War II unit. Readings and homework will come from Chapter 24.2. Students will receive their World War II research topics on Monday. Students will take a short quiz on Tuesday.  We will take a mid-unit test on Friday over Chapter 24.1 & 2.

8th Grade Spanish Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class, the 8th grade will discuss and write about sports medicine and international health organizations. Students will also create their own public information campaign using the vocabulary and grammar from Chapter 5B. The chapter test will be Thursday, April 7th.

NOTES FROM 7th GRADE

7th Grade Algebra 1 Mrs. Reardon

Next week we will finish up chapter 9 by factoring special products.  We will take 2 days to review this chapter since it is so content rich.  Students will take their Chapter 9 test on Friday (4/8).

7th Grade Pre-Algebra Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will continue working on linear equations and learn how to write them given certain information (8.6).  There will be a day of review and then a test covering 8.1 - 8.6 towards the end of the week.

7th Grade Language Arts Mrs. Hannah

We are in the final stages of research paper writing! Monday and Tuesday, students will use all the steps we have completed so far to write a rough draft of their paper. Wednesday will be dedicated to peer review and editing, while Thursday and Friday will be an opportunity to revise the rough draft. The final draft of their paper will be both printed out and submitted via Google Classroom by the end of class on Friday 8 April. Seventh grade has done a phenomenal job so far, and I’m excited to see students improving their writing style by using a wider variety of sentence structures and word choice.

We are well into the third trimester, and there are already students who have well exceeded the six hour requirement! However, there are still a number of students who have not given me any minutes this trimester. Please encourage your child to read and record their minutes in their reading log. If you would like to know how many minutes I have recorded for your child, please email me.

7th Grade History Mrs. English

This week we will finish up our Chapter 9 study by discussing the war of 1812.  Students will have a short take-home quiz on Chapter 9.3 on Monday and a Chapter 9.2, 3, & 4 test on Thursday. Readings and homework will come from Chapter 9.4.  Looking forward to a good week!

7th Grade Spanish Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class, the 7th grade will continue to discuss ways to help in the community. Each student chose a charity to research and they will present their charity to the class in Spanish. There will be a graded listening on Monday and they Chapter 8B test will be Wednesday, April 6th.

7th Grade Life Science Mrs. Huennekens

The students dissected a fish in class on Wednesday.  We are preparing for the frog dissections which will take place soon. Our current focus is on Reptiles and Birds.

     

NOTES FROM 6th GRADE

6th Grade Earth Science Mrs. Reardon

Next week we will wrap up our chapter on Exploring Space with discussing our current and future space missions and will take a test over it towards the end of the week.  Students will know if the test will be on Thursday (4/7) or Friday (4/8) by the end of class today (Friday 4/1).

6th Grade Math Mrs. Reardon

Next week we begin chapter 9 by learning how to convert percents to fractions, decimals, and putting them into a proportion.  On Thursday, we will review for a quiz over sections 1 through 3.

6th Pre-Algebra Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will continue working on linear equations and learn how to write them given certain information (8.6).  There will be a day of review and then a test covering 8.1 - 8.6 towards the end of the week.

6th Grade Language Arts Mrs. Guggenheim

We will continue our reading of The Diary of Anne Frank. During the unit we are working on a Timeline Project; I’ve asked the students to complete two entries a week in order to keep up with the project. In grammar we will finish discussing and reviewing prepositional phrases. The test on prep phrases will be on Friday, April 8. Please encourage your child to read and record their minutes in their reading log; there are still a number of students who have not given me any minutes this trimester. If you would like to know how many minutes I have recorded for your child, please email me.

6th Grade Ancient Civilizations Mrs. Hannah

Ancient Greek theatre is coming to life in class on Monday, as students will be presenting the fables they created with a group. They will be ‘in character’ as early Greek actors with masks they created  to represent their roles. We will learn about prominent Greek thinkers on Tuesday and review Wednesday for the first quiz, which will take place Thursday 7 April.The quiz will cover everything we have learned so far, including the notes from class, the foldable comparing Athens and Sparta, and the notes over Chapter 8, Section 3.

6th Grade Earth Science Mrs. Huennekens

Students really seem to enjoy learning about Space. I shared with them NASA’s 50 Years of Exploration video and they were intrigued by the different designs of spacesuits and space crafts.  Some even said they’d like to become astronauts!  Perhaps they will do so and be able to go to Mars!  Our test will be Friday, April 8th.

6th Grade Spanish Ms. Sotomayor

It’s been a great week! We are learning to use verbs such as “pedir” (to order or ask for), “poder” (to be able to), “querer” (to want to), and “ir [a]” (to go [to]). We’ve also discussed new vocabulary words such as names of common places within our community and surrounding areas. We have done a lot of group work creating conversations and practicing dialogue. We are off with our second group to Latin Chicks Restaurant today! Yesterday, the first group wowed the chef with their Spanish. I’ve no doubt this group will also! Next Thursday and Friday we will have our oral test.