August 29th - September 2nd

 

Friday, September 2, 2022

Dear Parents, 

It was so nice to see so many of you at our Back To School Night on Tuesday. In my remarks, I commented on the strength of our HDS community and highlighted the fact that we are in this together. After all, we want the same things that you want for your children - the best possible learning environment where your children can thrive academically, emotionally, socially, and as artists and athletes. 

The home-school relationship is an important component of exceptional education, and it is our endeavor to partner with you, the parents, to ensure that your children are supported through their educational journey at HDS. It is inevitable that your student will experience some challenging times this year, whether in the classroom, in extracurriculars, or during unstructured times like recess and lunch. Your support from home is critical, and here are a few tips to keep the lines of communication open:

• Contact your child’s teacher directly if you have any questions or concerns. Going directly to the source eliminates miscommunication and frustration.

• Presume positive intent, and remember that everyone (teachers, students, and parents) are doing their best every day… even on the days when we miss the mark, we are doing the best we can at that time.

• Focus on effort and strategies not on the outcome. We can’t always control the outcome, but we can always control our effort and the strategies we choose to employ. 

• Learning is a process not an event like a test or quiz grade, and reflecting on the learning process is a valuable exercise.

• Always remember that we are in this together.

We look forward to a productive, positive year of learning, growth, and fun. The faculty is energized. The students are energized. And we are excited to take this journey together.

Kind regards,

Jack Cargile

Head of Middle School

 

Dear Parents of 6th Graders,

 

I'm inviting you to join me for a presentation entitled, "A Parent's Guide to Making the Transition into 6th Grade" on September 14 at 6:00 in Hancock Hall. During the conversation, I will offer a look into the machinations of middle school as well as tips and strategies to help you support your 6th grader. I hope you will join me on the 14th; working together we can make this a great year for your middle schooler.

 

 

ASSESSMENTS AND PROJECTS CALENDAR

Parents and students have an easy way to look at upcoming assessments and projects.  THIS LINK leads to a Google Sheet that will have the next 2 weeks of assessments.  The link below will lead to the 6th grade assessments, but by using the tabs in the lower left corner (shown below), you can navigate to 7th grade and 8th grade assessments, as well.

Different subjects will appear in different colors:

History is black, Science is green, ELA is blue, Spanish is red, and Math is pink.

 

Please bear in mind that Middle School Assessments may be added, removed, or changed at any time.  This Sheet will always be up to date, however - once a teacher assigns or adjusts an assessment, this Sheet will reflect that change.

Each middle school student is required to complete ten hours of community service over the course of the school year.  Please remember to list hours worked on a daily basis, do not log the total sum of hours worked over an extended period of time.  See below for a few upcoming service opportunities.  Click HERE for a log form.

As Learning Coach, I work with students, parents, and teachers to offer support and strategies throughout the year. Please reach out to me if I can be of any assistance to you and your child/ren. I will share ideas and strategies often in this space. My email is: tguggenheim@hancockdayschool.org. My phone extension is 327. 

I look forward to working with you! 

Tricia Guggenheim

Tip # 3: How Should You Begin Homework?

When you first sit down to do homework, take two minutes to put loose papers into the proper folders. Use the next eight minutes to reread notes and/or handouts from school. These 10 minutes will save you hours of searching and studying. You will quickly get into the habit of putting assignments where they belong. Reviewing your notes transfers information to long-term memory, saving hours of study time when test time comes around.

As we all struggle to adjust to school routines, it is particularly important to invest some time in developing healthy sleep habits for your middle schooler. Lack of appropriate sleep can lead to physical, academic, and emotional difficulties. 

Research continues to indicate that technology before bed has an impact on the quality of sleep. However, this is complicated by the fact that students depend on technology for homework and studying. Consider speaking with your child and helping them incorporate strategies to move towards limiting computer and phone screens before bed. Starting homework a bit earlier, charging phones outside of the bedroom and brainstorming other activities to do the hour before bed may be a good place to start.

Here is a recent article highlighting some of the sleep difficulty that can arise with technology:  Screen Time and Insomnia: What it Means for Teens 

Please feel free to get in touch with me at amaher@hancockdayschool.org if you have any questions or concerns.

ALGEBRA 1 - Mrs. Taylor

Students will finish up Chapter 2 (still review). We will take a test on 1.1-1.4/2.1-2.6 on 9/8. It seems like alot of sections but it is all still review from last year. We will begin Chapter 3 when we return from the school trip the following week.

ADVANCED ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Advanced Algebra, begin Chapter 10 by learning how to graph quadratic functions (10.1), find the vertex and axis of symmetry of parabolas (10.2), and solving equations by graphing (10.3).  Students NEED a graphing calculator before next week!!.

GEOMETRY - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Geometry, we will continue Chapter 2 by learning about the Law of Detachment and Law of Syllogism (2.3), using postulates and diagrams (2.4), and have an introduction to our first proofs (2.5-2.6)!  There will be a short quiz covering 2.1-2.3 on Thursday.

ELA - Mrs. Boyer

Welcome to 8th grade ELA! I am so very excited to have all of our wonderful kiddos for their last year at HDS. :) This year will be challenging, but this year will prepare them for their 9th grade courses. It is critical that your child put their whole heart into this class, especially as the high school entrance exams are on the horizon. 

Before we venture off to NOC, we are going to take a few days to ask ourselves: Why do we read? Why is it important to see other perspectives? To open our minds to new worlds? Students will engage in journaling activities, discussions of identity, and creative thinking exercises. 

We will begin The Westing Game when we return from NOC. :)

**Students are currently writing in an ELA specific journal. This journal will be a critical piece throughout the year. I would highly encourage students to take very good care of this journal as it will be extremely helpful as they venture on to high school.**

Summer Reading Grades should be in FACTS by Tuesday morning :)

**As students mature into their 8th grade year, it is imperative that they keep up with their reading, annotate their novels, and come in for extra help. The foundation of this class is heavily based on discussion and the sharing of ideas; students will need to participate to be able to engage with the material in a productive manner.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE - Ms. Hallman

This week we are beginning our first official unit of Chemistry!! We just wrapped up our mini-unit on Lab Safety, Glassware, and Measurements with a quiz on Monday. Students will be given the opportunity to do quiz corrections for this quiz to improve their grade. Their quizzes will be handed back Friday and corrections will be due Monday. No late corrections accepted. We have shifted focus to the foundations of chemistry that will be the building blocks for the units to come. Friday, we will be doing a Whodunnit lab where the class will have to identify an unknown substance based on its chemical and physical properties. Following the NOC trip, we will have a test on 9/23 to allow for a week of wrapping things up in this first unit and reviewing. 

US HISTORY - Mr. Gauthier

The first speeches are due 9/6 and 9/7.  We will be finishing up the connection of the Civil War to the breakdown of Constitutional principles ending with a class project.

SPANISH - Ms. Crocker

This week we will get our second vocabulary list. There is a quiz September 9th on List #1 and #2! We will discuss the verb estar and learn useful language describing where we are in the school and describing where items are located. Students should be reviewing vocabulary 10-15 minutes every night-especially in this short week!

ADVANCED SPANISH - Ms. Brown
¡Ponte las pilas! We have made it through our first quiz and find ourselves on what I call, “the cusp of understanding,” which means that the true foundational/grammatical concepts that are NECESSARY to master in order to not fall behind in this course are in our midst… and some of our amazing 7th graders are latching onto this information fast (they have their pilas in)! Our first grammatical quiz will occur this week. Encourage your students that they got this!!

ADVANCED SPANISH - Ms. Crocker

This week we will get our second vocabulary list. There is a quiz September 9th on List #1 and #2! We will discuss the verb estar and learn useful language describing where we are in the school. Students should be reviewing vocabulary 10-15 minutes every night-especially in this short week! See pictures below from a time quiz game as well as an obra corta (mini skit)

ALGEBRA 1 - Mrs. Taylor

Students will finish up Chapter 2 (still review). We will take a test on 1.1-1.4/2.1-2.6 on 9/7. It seems like alot of sections but it is all still review from last year. We will begin Chapter 3 when we return from the school trip the following week.

PRE-ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will complete Chapter 1 by learning how to plot points on the coordinate plane (1.8).  There will be a day of review before the test and then the Chapter 1 test on Friday.

ELA - Mrs. Buchner & Mrs. Boyer

Next week, students will begin the project over The Hero’s Guidebook. This project will be a storyboard in which students will use the  information learned about the hero’s journey in The Hero’s Guidebook and apply it to their own personal hero.  This will be completed using a Google Slide presentation. Students will receive the project guidelines at the beginning of the week of September 5th through Google Classroom, so they can begin working on it on Labor Day, if they wish. They will have each class period to work on this the week of 9/6-9/10, but should be working at home as well. The project is due Sunday 9/11 at 5 p.m. 

When we return from our Nantahala trip, we will begin reading The Hobbit. In this unit, students will learn how Bilbo exemplifies the hero archetype and how his archetypal journey is the perfect example of a hero’s journey. This unit will involve exit tickets (reading checks), journal entries, small projects, quizzes, and will culminate in an analytical essay over the book. 

Reading Schedule Outside of Class: 

*Upcoming Assessments/Projects:

• Test over A Hero’s Guidebook-Friday 9/2

• Hero Storyboard Project- Due Sunday 9/4

Every 70 minute block, students will be completing ELA skill-building activities titled This or That or Journaling. This bell ringer assignment will count toward a weekly classwork grade of 100 points. Any bell ringer that a student is unable to complete in class will become homework for that day. This assignment is in Google Classroom and will be completed digitally each day.

Students are highly encouraged to come in for extra help if they are having any difficulty with any assignment. Mrs. Buchner and Mrs. Boyer are available weekday mornings from 7:45 am to 8:15 am.

Strategies for Home: 

-Students should be working on their Hero Storyboard at home, as well as in the classroom.  

-All homework assignments are in Google Calendar and Our Weekly Google Slide Presentation.

-Students should be coming in from 7:45-8:15 am to review/ask questions/work on their homework. 

**As students continue into their 7th grade year, it is imperative that they keep up with their reading, annotate their novels, and come in for extra help. The foundation of this class is heavily based on student reading and the sharing of ideas; students will need to participate to be able to engage with the material in a productive manner. All class activities are based on the reading completed prior to class time. 

LIFE SCIENCE - Mrs. DuRant

Next week in Life Science, we will be examining the 6 Kingdoms in which all organisms are classified. We will explore binomial nomenclature, and use dichotomous keys to discover the binomial nomenclature of various organisms. Students will also create their own dichotomous key. They will have a quiz on Chapter 1 vocabulary on Thursday. Please remind your student to check the Google Classroom daily for announcements, assignments, and study materials. 

US HISTORY - Mr. Gauthier. Next week we will finish up analyzing primary and secondary sources.  Quiz next week

US HISTORY - Mr. O’Hayer

Next week in American History students will continue their study of the Age of Exploration. Our focus this week will be Christopher Columbus and the “Consequences of Discovery” and the impacts the Age of Exploration had on Native peoples.

ACCELERATED MATH - Mrs. Taylor

We will be reviewing 9/6 (F block) or 9/7 (C block) for the test on 9/8. We will not start new material until after the 6th grade trip.

PRE-ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will complete Chapter 1 by learning how to plot points on the coordinate plane (1.8).  There will be a day of review before the test and then the Chapter 1 test on Friday.

EARTH SCIENCE - Mrs. DuRant

Next week in Earth Science, we will wrap up our mini unit on States of Matter by adding an investigation into the 4th State of Matter: Plasma.  Students will conduct a mini lab using the plasma ball. They will have a test on Lab Equipment, Density, and States of Matter on Wednesday. We will then begin with an overview of Heat Transfer: Conduction, Convection, and Radiation. Students will begin an in-class project on creating a Heat Transfer booklet. Please have your student check the Google Classroom daily for announcements,assignments, and study materials. 

EARTH SCIENCE - Ms. Hallman

Our 6th grade class just finished up our mini unit on measurements and lab safety with a quiz on Tuesday. Next we will move into our next mini-units: States of Matter. This will be finished early next week and then we will begin reviewing Heat Transfer. Here is a photo of the students hard at work on density from Monday! 

ELA - Mrs. Buchner

We have spent this past week reviewing how to write well-constructed topic sentences for fiction and informational text responses. Students seem to have really enjoyed this portion of our writing unit. Students have been given Composition Books, as well as a set of green, red, and blue pens. They are responsible for keeping up with their pens. If they should lose or misplace them, they should make a plan to purchase more. We will continue to use these pens as we launch into writing Constructed Response paragraphs, using the Schaffer Method of Writing. This brain-based writing unit reinforces the different parts of a paragraph, so that students focus their ideas in an organized, well-thought out fashion, as well as understand what each part of a paragraph lends to the overall topic. 

 Please check with them each day to see if they finished their Constructed Response (paragraph) for that day. Also, please have your student bring their copy of Restart by Gordon Korman beginning next week, Tuesday September 6th. This is the book they read over the summer. We will be using the book to construct our paragraphs with in-text citations.

Every 70 minute block, students will be completing ELA skill-building activities titled This or That or journaling in their Composition Book. This bell ringer assignment will count toward a weekly classwork grade of 100 points. Any bell ringer that a student is unable to complete in class will become homework for that day. This assignment is in Google Classroom and will be completed digitally each day.

Homework assignments can be found in your student’s Google Calendar, as well as the weekly Google Slide Presentation in their ELA Google Classroom. Our Constructed Response quiz will be moved to after the Nantahala Trip, so we can spend more time on our writing unit. 

Students are highly encouraged to come in for help in the mornings from 7:45-8:15 a.m.  I am unavailable on Wednesdays from 7:45 to 8:00 a.m. due to carpool duty. If your student prefers to work with me in the afternoon, I am available until 4:15 Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 3:45 to 4:15 most afternoons. Please have them check with me first before staying for help or you can email me. 

Upcoming Assessments/Projects:

• Constructed Response Quiz-Friday 9/23

• Hidden Figures novel unit- Monday 9/26-10/31

INTRO SPANISH - Ms. Brown

¡Sí se puede! As promised, here is the update on our lovely 6th graders’ first experience with C.I. (Comprehensible Input) Story time for Spanish class! Allow me to provide you with some quotes for the mouths of babes: 

“Maestra Brown, like, at first it was too hard but when I saw pictures, it made sense!” 

“I didn’t notice it was all in Spanish; I get it!” 

Clearly, the majority of them found themselves right where they needed to be! As their teacher, I am very proud of their coachable nature and hope to continue to instill some more grit in them when it comes to not giving up when things aren’t 100% comprehensible the first time. Our goal is the same (to function in Spanish) and we will all get there in our own way :) 

Their first formal quiz is upon them, and based on their participation in review sessions, the scores are promising! Update on their first summative assessment coming at you next week!!

WORLD HISTORY - Mr. O’Hayer

Next week in World History students will move on to our investigation of ancient Athens (no, not the one in Georgia where the current defending national champs reside :-)

We will dive deep into the development, rise and fall of Athens. Students will continue to work on their first project- a slideshow presentation of an ancient god/goddess. 

ART - Mrs. Byrne

Good Day HDS community!  Meeting you at Back to School night was so enjoyable and fun.  I look forward to seeing you again at future events. The week of observation of local palms and plants in Savannah has given students the opportunity to see how lines can be used to consider space in their composition.  Students applied their knowledge of value with color and shading.   Lines will lead us in lessons of symmetry in collaborative and individual works of art. I am working on Artsonia Parents, here is code to HDS class portal NNNY-YPFY so you can catch a glimpse of student work!