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.
Middle School Dress Down Day
Students can pay $2.00 to dress down on Wednesday, February 14.
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.
Yearbook Baby Pictures
Eighth grade families: please submit ONE high resolution (300 dpi) baby picture, preferably under 2 years of age, to yearbook@hancockdayschool.org by Friday, February 23rd. Please make sure the picture is DIGITAL.
Mathlete Competition
We are very excited to announce that our Mathletes will be competing in this year’s MathCOUNTS chapter competition. On Thursday, 2/15, Mr. Lanfear will be accompanying 4 students from our Mathletes Club to Savannah Country Day School. We will depart Hancock around 11:30 and parents will pick up their children from Savannah Country Day School around 4:30.
NEW! SOCIAL MEDIA PART TWO!
HANDS ON WORKSHOP - YOUR CHILD & SOCIAL MEDIA!
February 28th Parent.Edu - Social Media Workshop 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.
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 jump right into Chapter 7 solving linear systems by graphing and by substitution. On Thursday, students will have a quiz over sections 1 & 2. Friday, students will get the opportunity to use the graphing calculators to graph linear systems. Challenge problem is due on Monday, February 12.
8th grade Advanced Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will complete Chapter 7 by having a day of review on Monday and a quiz covering 7.1-7.5 on Tuesday. We will then begin learning right triangle trigonometry and the ratios sine, cosine, and tangent.
8th grade Geometry - Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will complete Chapter 8 by learning about trapezoids, kites and their respective properties (8.5). We will also learn how to identify special quadrilaterals (8.6). We will have a day of review on Wednesday and then the Chapter 8 test on Thursday. We will then begin Chapter 9 by learning about translations on the coordinate plane and vectors (9.1).
8th grade English Language Arts - Mrs. O’Connor
8th grade Physical Science - Mr. Cooper
Next week we will finish Chapter 11 in our textbooks. The students will go over sections play a review game on Tuesday. We will have the Chapter 11 test on Wednesday. The students will complete an in class project showing their understanding of Newton’s 3 laws of motion on Thursday and Friday.
News: Mara Jane Cooper was born on Thursday night (3 ½ weeks early). She and mom are healthy and doing great!
8th grade English Language Arts - Mrs. O’Connor
This week we finished reading Night, and students’ test over the book will be on Wednesday, February 14th. Next students will begin working in groups to create public service announcements that clearly present a central call to action to their audience. More details for this assignment will be provided in class after the Night test.
8th grade History & Gov’t II - Mrs. English
This week we will continue our Great Depression unit by studying the government programs created by FDR. We will have a quiz on February 14th over Chapter 22.4 and 23.1-2. Readings and homework will come from Ch. 23.2-4.
8th grade Spanish - Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish the 8th grade will finish up Chapter 4A. We will review Monday and the test will be Tuesday, February 13th. This will cover vocabulary, the imperfect tense and vocabulary. We will also begin Chapter 4B which discusses family celebrations, reciprocal actions and the difference between the preterite and imperfect tense.
7TH GRADE ASSIGNMENTS
7th grade Algebra 1 - Mrs. Reardon
Next week in Algebra we will jump right into Chapter 7 solving linear systems by graphing and by substitution. On Thursday, students will have a quiz over sections 1 & 2. Friday, students will get the opportunity to use the graphing calculators to graph linear systems. Challenge problem is due on Monday, February 12.
7th grade Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
Next week we will begin Chapter 7 by learning about percents as well as converting them to and from fractions and decimals (7.1, 7.3). We will then learn how to solve percent problems using proportions (7.2) and the percent equation (7.4). We will have a quiz on sections 7.1-7.4 on Thursday and then we will learn how to calculate percent of change (7.5).
7th grade History & Gov’t I - Mrs. English
This week we will continue our study of the early government with readings and homework from Chapter 7.3-4. Students will see how the government was formed under the Constitution and the forming of the first political parties. We will also explore the conflict between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Students will have a test on (Chapter 7) Thursday, February 15th.
7th grade Spanish - Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish the 7th grade will finish Chapter 8A and the test will be Wednesday, February 14th. We will also begin Chapter 8B. In this chapter students will discuss volunteer work and ways to protect the environment. They will also learn some new irregular verbs in the preterite tense and how to use indirect object pronouns in Spanish.
7th Grade ELA - Mrs./ Boyer
This week students will be reviewing Chapters 18-28. Every day there will be in-class activities that require taking notes and reflecting on the characters themselves. Students wrote a five paragraph essay about their thoughts on the character development of Edmond Dantes throughout chapters 1-17; the essays were peer edited and revised for homework and this week students will be completing the final edits before turning these essays in for a project grade. Students will be taking a quiz over Ch. 1-27 on February 14th; the original quiz over 1-17 was combined with chapter 18-28 because of the 7th grade field trip. Students will also be diving into noun and pronoun clauses! 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
We have begun our study of the major body systems. First up...the skeleton. With the help of Mr. Skeleton Man, students are learning the function of the skeletal system, as well as, the types of joints and bones found in our bodies. They are also learning to identify several of the major bones in our body. We will have a quiz Friday 2/9 on this material. Next up... is the muscular system and then the skin.
6TH GRADE ASSIGNMENTS
6th grade Accelerated Math 7 - Mrs. Reardon
Next week in accelerated math 7, we will jump right into Chapter 7 writing and simplifying expressions and equations. On Thursday, students will take a quiz over sections 1 & 2. Friday, students will create their own expression and equation for their classmates to simplify and solve. Challenge problem is due on Monday, February 12.
6th grade Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
Last week we performed a fun experiment involving flipping water bottles and probabilities to discover what the ideal water level would be to get a successful flip (some pictures are below). Next week we will begin Chapter 7 by learning about percents as well as converting them to and from fractions and decimals (7.1, 7.3). We will then learn how to solve percent problems using proportions (7.2) and the percent equation (7.4). We will have a quiz on sections 7.1-7.4 on Thursday and then we will learn how to calculate percent of change (7.5).
6th grade ELA - Mrs. Guggenheim
Literature: We will continue to work on a research project that focuses on reading the Pros/Cons of a student chosen topic (from a list of topics). Students will complete a Works Cited page, notecards, and a presentation. While there may be some work at home, a lot of time will be given in class to research the topics. There are resources posted in the About Section of my ELA Google Classroom for students to use.
Grammar:
Writing: Note-taking skills
Vocabulary: List 1 from The Giver, our next Lit book. Quiz on 2/21
Reading Log: Reading for the reading log begins for Trimester Two this weekend. 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 Wednesday, February 21.
6th grade Earth Science - Ms. Hoffman
Last week students learned about sand and minerals by participating in two different labs. For the first one, they analyzed different sands from around the world and looked at their composition, grain size, and shape. The second one involved identifying various mineral samples by testing for different properties such as hardness, streak, and luster. (See the photos below.) This week we have been learning about the three types of rock (igneous,metamorphic and sedimentary), as well as the rock cycle. We have also created a rock tri-fold flyer on rocks and minerals. Next week we will continue learning about the earth with earthquakes.
6th Grade Ancient Civ - Mrs. Boyer
This week students will be continuing to learn about Ancient China, dynasties included are the Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin and Han Dynasty. Students will be engaging in note taking, writing activities, and creative group activities. All maps and study material has been posted on GC. There will be an Ancient China Part 1 quiz on February 15th (Geography, Xia/Shang/Zhou Dynasty) and a map quiz on February 16th (or if we compete in the SPAL Championship, February 21st). There will be an Ancient China Part 2 quiz on February 22 (Qin/Han Dynasty). The final assessment will be a Unit Test on February 27th.
6th Grade Spanish - Ms. Dubick
Hello parents! The 6th graders did great on their quiz last week. This week we will work on possessive adjectives and using de to show possession in conjunction with classroom vocab. Their test covering the unit will be on Wednesday the 14th. It will include:
-Using “hay”
-when to use ser/estar
-using estar with prepositions
-indefinite and definite articles
-classroom vocab
-possessive adjectives
-translating the possessive ‘s into spanish using “de”
-history of latinos in america, from the pbs documentary we watched
GOOGLE CLASSROOM/ABSENCES: All work from the day and any homework will be posted on Google Classroom. Students are responsible for checking Google Classroom and scheduling a time to come and see me to discuss anything missed during an absence.
EXTRA HELP: Every Wednesday and Friday 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.
GRADING: This semester, graded homeworks and classworks are 50 points, and homework checks will be 25 points. Any pop quiz will be a classwork grade.
MS Art - Mrs. Cookson
This week will see a few changes in the art room.
8th grade: Will study investigate a few new painting techniques before moving onto canvas painting.
7th grade: Will step into the digital realm after some research into the graphic design of concert posters.
6th grade: Will continue on the felting journey.
CLUBS
Science Club
Construction continues this week on our awesome water bottle rockets! Students added their fins and perfected their nosecones. Next week we will finish building and plan to launch them on our last meeting for the semester on Monday, 2/26/18.
