October 22nd - October 26th

NOTES FROM MR. CRAWFORD

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE EAGLE CROSS COUNTRY TEAM - SAVANNAH AREA PRIVATE SCHOOL CHAMPIONS!
On Tuesday our boys cross country team outraced 7 other schools to capture the Savannah Private School Championship.  A big shout out to the team and coaches Michelle Ippolito and Danyse Cail. Looking forward to seeing your banner hanging in the gym!  GREAT SEASON!

MIDDLE SCHOOL EXAMS - MONDAY 10/29 & TUESDAY 10/30
Next week we will continue preparing for our first trimester exams in some classes and completing a trimester capstone activity in other classes.

T1	SUBJECT	6th	7th	8th
	MATH	Activity	Exam	Exam
	SCIENCE	Exam	Activity	Exam
	SPANISH	Activity	Exam	Exam
	HISTORY	Exam	Exam	Activity
	ELA	Exam	Exam	Activity

Exams are early in the week to accommodate Halloween being on Wednesday.  Please support your child by ensuring they prepare throughout the week and do not cram the night before exams.  8th grade students should not shadow high schools on exam days. Have a good breakfast on exam days, come to school well rested and a little early to help settle in to the day’s routine.  

8TH GRADE VISITATION TO BC & SVA -  TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23rd
Individual invitations from each school were given to the students providing the details of each visit.  Click HERE to view the BC invitation.  Click HERE to view the SVA invitation. Students need to be dropped off and picked up by parents at the respective schools. If your child is not going on either of these visits, they need to arrive at HDS by 1:20 for the afternoon classes.  Due to these visits, there are no 8th grade MORNING classes at HDS on October 23rd. Lunch will be available at HDS beginning at 12:50.

HIGH SCHOOL ADMISSIONS EXPLAINED!
Information about the high school admissions process can be found  HERE.

8TH GRADE YEARBOOK AD!
Click here for information regarding ordering an 8th grade ad in the yearbook.  Last day to order these will be November 6, 2018.

DC TRIP DEPOSITS DUE!
DC DEPOSIT OF $250 WAS DUE FRIDAY, 10/12!  On September 25 we had an informational session about the upcoming 8th grade trip to Washington.  Trip details and forms can be found HERE.  

ATHLETICS SCHEDULES CHANGING!
Due to the number of athletic cancellations, schedules will be changing.  Seasons might be extended by one week to ensure all games are completed in a timely manner.  Watch for details from the coaches and the Athletic Director, Dale Mock.

GIRLS ENGINEER IT DAY
The Society of Women Engineers invites families to an afternoon of hands-on engineering activities taught by local engineers on Saturday, October 20th from 1-5:30pm.  This event will take place at Woodville-Tompkins. 7th and 8th grade science teacher Mrs. Hoffman will be present at the event. This event is free for adults and $8 for each student.  You can register online or contact Mrs. Hoffman for more information.  

COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

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 total sum of hours worked over an extended period of time.  See below for a few upcoming service opportunities.

PACK, a local nonprofit that delivers weekly bags of food to children at risk of experiencing hunger, seeks volunteers to help pack bags on the first Sunday of each month.  Upcoming dates are November 4th, December 2nd, and January 6th. More information can be found here.

The Village Library on Skidaway Island welcomes middle school volunteers to help with their upcoming Fall Festival on Saturday, October 27th from 10am-2pm.  Volunteers will be helping with face and pumpkin painting. Interested students should contact Bill Flammer at cwflammer@comcast.net.

America’s Second Harvest needs volunteers to help prepare monthly bags of food for senior citizens in our community.  Upcoming packing dates are October 20th, November 17th, and December 15th. Volunteers should arrive by 7:45 and must wear closed-toe shoes.  Contact Bryce Seuntjens at bryce@helpendhunger.org for more information.

GUIDANCE & CHARACTER EDUCATION

This month we are exploring cooperation as our virtue of the month. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact Ms. Pedrick at apedrick@hancockdayschool.org

8TH GRADE ASSIGNMENTS

Algebra 1 - Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Algebra, we will review for the Chapter 3 test on Monday.  On Tuesday, students will be touring SVA and BC. Students will take their Chapter 3 test on Wednesday, October 24. The remainder of the week will be dedicated to reviewing for their exam that will cover Chapters 1, 2, and 3.  8th grade Algebra exam will be on Tuesday, October 30. The challenge problem that students received on Monday, October 15th will be due on Monday, October 22nd.

Advanced Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will begin learning how to rationalize the denominator when there is a radical expression in the denominator of a fraction (11.2).  We will also begin reviewing for the Trimester 1 exam.

Geometry - Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will use the fact that corresponding parts of congruent triangles are congruent (CPCTC) and prove theorems about isosceles and equilateral triangles (4.6-4.7).  We will also begin reviewing for the Trimester 1 exam.

Physical Science - Ms. Hoffman

Come see our Periodic Table of the Elements on the wall of the middle school hallway. (see the photo below)  Each of the 34 eighth graders researched a different element to learn about their uses, composition and physical properties.  We have also discussed the three types of chemical bonds (covalent, ionic and metallic) and participated in a lab highlighting exothermic and endothermic reactions.  We will continue with chemical reactions and balancing chemical equations next week and have a test over this material on Thursday, 10/25. This will be in preparation for our exam the morning of Monday, 10/29.  Students will also get an overview/outline of the other material to expect on our first trimester exam. Finley, don’t forget that our October Science in Comics is due Wednesday, 10/31.

English Language Arts - Mrs. Boyer

Literature: Students will be completing To Kill a Mockingbird by October 22nd.

Writing: Students are working on a character analysis essay which has had three checkpoints so far (Body Bio, Brainstorm, Rough Draft) The final draft is due on 10/24. The students have a very detailed checklist to go by as they write. There is also an example thesis at the front of the assignment to help them as they go.  

The final test for T1 will be on 10/25 and it will be a final novel test over To Kill a Mockingbird. This test will cover all of the material regarding this novel (background knowledge, other readings, handouts, comprehension questions, etc.).

There are multitudes of study materials and students may come in at any time to discuss the novel. Students should be taking avid notes during discussion. There should never be a handout with nothing written on it. All handouts and activities will be used in the making of assessments.

Vocab: Students will be working on Unit 9 Ex. The date for the Unit 9 Vocab Quiz is 11/5.

Below are photos of excellent Body Bios created by the students.

History & Gov’t II - Mrs. English

This week in American History we will continue our study of the Second Industrial Revolution in Chapter 18.2. Topics discussed will included corporations, horizontal and vertical integration, and working conditions. We will also begin our end of the trimester writing activity. Look for guidelines and a rubric at the beginning of the week. Looking forward to a great week!  

Spanish - Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish the 8th grade will finish Chapter 2A and the test will be Wednesday, October 24th. We will also begin preparing for the first trimester exam. This will cover all of the vocabulary and grammar covered in Chapters 1A, 1B, and 2A. Students should begin organizing their binders and reviewing old tests and quizzes. I encourage students to come in for extra help if there are certain topics they struggled with this trimester.

7TH GRADE ASSIGNMENTS

Algebra 1 - Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Algebra, we will review for the Chapter 3 test on Monday.  On Tuesday, students will take their Chapter 3 test. The remainder of the week will be dedicated to reviewing for their exam that will cover Chapters 1, 2, and 3.  7th grade Algebra exam will be on Monday, October 29. The challenge problem that students received on Monday, October 15th will be due on Monday, October 22nd.

Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will begin Chapter 4 by learning about prime and composite numbers as well as monomials (4.1).  We will also learn how to perform prime factorization of a composite number (4.1). We will also begin reviewing for the Trimester 1 exam, which will count for 10% of the trimester grade.

History & Gov’t I - Mrs. English

This week in American History we will begin preparing for our first trimester exam, which will be on Tuesday, October 30th. Each day students will work through a study topic guide and make study materials in preparation for the exam. We will also have our last quiz of the trimester Thursday, October 25th over the US States and South American political geography.

Spanish - Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish the 7th grade will finish Chapter 6B and the test will be Wednesday, October 24th. We will also begin preparing for the first trimester exam. This will cover all of the vocabulary and grammar covered in Chapters 5B, 6A, and 6B. Students should organizing their binders and reviewing old tests and quizzes. I encourage students to come in for extra help if there are certain topics they struggled with this trimester.

ELA - Mrs. Boyer

Students have started reading their novels for the Dystopian Universe (The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, Lord of the Flies, and Gathering Blue). Students will be working in groups on activities regarding theme, point of view, characterization, vocabulary, writing, etc. Because the students are reading a variety of novels, the quizzes and tests will be formatted in a different manner.

Exam Outlines will be given out on Tuesday, October 23rd.

Grammar: Gerund/Prepositional Phrases

Vocabulary: Unit 3, Quiz on November 2nd

Life Science - Ms. Hoffman

The seventh graders have been doing a great job learning about our circulatory system. The participated in a simulated blood typing lab to help review information about our four blood types (A, B, AB, O) and how to look for coagulation as an indicator of foreign material (See the pictures below) We are also discussing the lymphatic system, one of the keys to helping to keep germs to a minimum in our body. We will have a take-home test on all of this material next week.  Students will receive their test on Tuesday 10/22 and it will be due at the end of the week. We will also be starting our end of the trimester in-class project next week to learn about healthy heart habits.  Students will have 3 full class days to complete the project and will receive this rubric on Wednesday 10/24. Finally, don’t forget our October Science in Comic assignment is due on Wednesday, 10/31.

6TH GRADE ASSIGNMENTS

Accelerated Math 7 - Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Accelerated Math 7, I will introduce the data display project that students will complete for their exam grade.  The students will be working in class only to complete this exam activity. They will have the entire week to work on it and it will be due on Monday, October 29 at 10:30 am. The challenge problem that was distributed on Monday, October 15 will be due on Monday, October 22.

Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will begin Chapter 4 by learning about prime and composite numbers as well as monomials (4.1).  We will also learn how to perform prime factorization of a composite number (4.1). We will also begin on our major activity that will count as 10% of the trimester grade.

ELA - Mrs. Guggenheim

LITERATURE: We will have an open-book test over Chapters 1-6 in The Outsiders. The students should be annotating as they read each chapter; those annotations will be helpful guides for the test. After Monday, we will spend the rest of our time on exam review. A study guide was given to students on Friday in class to help them review the concepts/skills covered on the exam. I urge them to bring questions to class that will help them with their studying. In Seminar on Monday we will go over how to prepare for exams.  

GRAMMAR: Exam review.

VOCABULARY: Exam review

WRITING: Short stories are due at the end of the week.

Reading Log: 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. This year students will be reading for 20 minutes on Wednesday during a silent reading time. This time counts for their reading log if they get their form signed by the proctor. Reading log minutes for 6th grade are due Friday, October 26th.

Earth Science - Mrs. Taylor

Chapter 12-Earth’s Atmosphere done. We move to Weather and Climate!!! Our last lab was on Radiant Energy absorption where the kids took water, clay, sand, and soil and tested the temperature of each sample for 1 minute and recorded then used a heat lamp to heat up the different samples for 10 minutes. Kids used their data to state a hypothesis regarding different surfaces over the globe and their reflection or absorption abilities. It was a success. Take a look at the pictures. There will be a quiz next Friday over the first two sections of Chapter 13 (Weather and Climate).

Ancient Civ -  Mr. O’Hayer

We closed out the week with a test on Chapter 3 and covering our Citizenship Lesson: Equal Equality. We used Hammurabi’s Code as a guide and discussed other historical documents like the Constitution and the Declaration of Indep. as it relates to Equality, Freedoms, and Liberties. Next week is shaping up to be a busy one. We will begin reviewing for the Semester Exam. The Exam will cover ALL material we have studied so far in Chapters 1, 2, and 3. Study Guides will be handed out Monday.

Spanish - Ms. Dubick

I will be out of the country the week of October 15 to October 23rd, the wonderful Libby Blake will be subbing.  If you were hoping to meet with me during the student led fall conferences on the 18th, please reach out to me so we can schedule a different time to meet, either before or after school (after I return on October 23rd).

Art - Mrs. Cookson

“Every good painter paints what he is.” - Jackson Pollock

Another week out of our routine; I will be out two days for a conference.

8th:  Students will work on designing a Calavera Skull in honor of El Día de los Muertos (missed last week)

7th: Will continue working on their Hobbit Houses

6th: Will continue to work on drawing the Collaborative, Imaginative drawings (missed last week)