December 17th - December 21st

NOTES FROM MR. CRAWFORD

½ DAY ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20TH

• There will be no regular Middle School classes, we will be completing holiday activities.
• Students may leave after the Lower School holiday program or wait until regular dismissal at 12:00.
• There is no extended for any grade on Thursday.

AFTERNOON CARPOOL REMINDER

Students are dismissed from Middle School classes at 3:10.  Most of them do not get to carpool until 3:15. PLEASE DO NOT line up in the carpool lane or in the turn around by Hancock Hall until at least 3:10.  3:15 is preferable. Lining up early restricts the flow of cars to the Gold Zone (remember those days!).                                                     

SOCIAL MEDIA AWARENESS

Recently on CNN, Lisa Ling presented a piece entitled “Addicted by Design.”  The program details the challenges faced by today’s teens (and adults!) with our growing fascination with our digital devices.  The video is presented for parents to view. After reviewing the content, you may or may not want to watch it with your child. It can be found at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpbwUlRVZeE&t=11s

DUKE TIP OPPORTUNITIES - GRADE 6

• PSAT 8/9 registration deadlines approaching

Time is running out to sign up for the PSAT 8/9! The online registration deadline for the January 19 test is next Monday, December 10, and the deadlines for the February test dates are quickly approaching.  Information about this opportunity can be found at: https://tip.duke.edu/programs/4th-6th-grade-talent-search/psat-89-testing?utm_source=tipsforeds&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=456gts

Registration deadlines and available test sites can be found on the Duke TIPr web

• The 2018 Writing and Illustration Contest is open!

The Duke TIP Writing and Illustration Contest invites all 4th–6th Grade Talent Search participants to submit a creative short story, an illustration, or both!  The writing component takes place first, and the illustrations are based on writing contest winners. Information and deadlines can be found at:  Writing Contest! It's now open to all 4th–6th Grade Talent Search participants.  Students have until January 22 to submit their best story.

• Additional TIP programs

Fourth to sixth grade students may now apply to the spring terms of Academic Adventures and eInvestigators. Students interested in researching the impact of a viral pandemic will want to check out the summer 2019 CRISIS Program, which opens February 5.

2ND TRIMESTER READING ASSIGNMENT
As the new trimester begins, the English Language Arts Department is altering the format of the Reading Log in order to promote student engagement and creativity.  In place of assigning 360 minutes of reading this trimester, students will choose one age-appropriate book to read during the course of the trimester. Before beginning to read, students must share the title and author with their ELA teacher for approval.  The book may be of any genre, fiction or nonfiction. After reading this book, students will create a brief book review using a 5 x 7 note card, which we will supply. Click HERE to view more information regarding this new assignment.

AFTER SCHOOL OPPORTUNITIES

ART CLUB
Ms. Dubick will be offering an after school art club from 3:15-4:30 every Monday starting in January.  The cost will be $75 for 6 weeks.  There is a five student minimum in order for the club to run, there is a cap of twelve students.  Art club participants will explore mediums and projects not covered during art class. Alcohol ink, wire sculptures, detailed clay projects and glazes will all be covered, among other materials.   Please email Ms. Dubick to sign up or for questions. cdubick@hancockdayschool.org.

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.

Calling all Runners and Walkers!

Start your year on the right foot with The Women’s Board of Bethesda and our fabulous community sponsors by joining us in the 2019 Yates-Astro Resolution Race and Pancake Breakfast. This event continues to grow each year, attracting runners and walkers from all over the region who want to kick off the new year by running to support Bethesda. This race is super unique and special because it is the only 5k in Savannah that goes through Bethesda's picturesque campus, past cows, marshland and Brownie the donkey. Following the race, our participants have the chance to take home medals for their winning race time or prizes for the most family, school or business participation.  Best of all, everyone gets to celebrate with a fabulous pancake breakfast! To the Women's Board, everyone is a winner for helping us to enrich the lives of the students of Bethesda.

To register for the race, please go to: https://runsignup.com/Race/GA/Savannah/Resolution

All of our students receive a discount to run! Just enter STUDENT19 when registering.  As this race is a fundraiser, this discount code is for students only and not transferable to family or friends. We also offer discounts to active military and servicemen and servicewomen.  Please contact one of us for more information.

Thank you for supporting the future of the young men of Bethesda Academy.  We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, January 12, 2019!

With grateful appreciation,

Tracey Tollison Ansley Threlkeld

2019 Race Chair 2019 Sponsorship Chair

Feed the Hungry will host their annual Savannah Christmas dinner for the community on December 23rd at 5pm at the National Guard Armory on Eisenhower Drive.  Those interested in volunteering to help serve food can call 912-436-7380 to sign up.

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 December 2nd and January 6th. More information can be found here.

America’s Second Harvest needs volunteers to help prepare monthly bags of food for senior citizens in our community.  The next packing date is 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 appreciation 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, students will continue in Chapter 5 by writing equations of parallel and perpendicular lines as well as fitting a line to a set of data that has been plotted.  Students will be listening to the lessons on their chromebook since I will be out of town for the first part of the week. Mrs. Blake will be their substitute. I will be sure to go back over these lessons when we return from break to ensure they have mastered the concepts.  Challenge problem that was distributed on Monday, December 10 is due on Monday, December 17. I hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday break! See you in 2019!

Advanced Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will complete Chapter 4 by learning about triangle inequalities (4.7).  There will be a day of review on Tuesday and the Chapter 4 quiz on Wednesday.

Geometry - Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will continue Chapter 7 by learning about the special features of similar right triangles (7.3) and special 30-60-90 and 45-45-90 right triangles (7.4).  There will be a quiz covering sections 7.1-7.4 on Wednesday.

Physical Science - Ms. Hoffman

Thermal energy and heat transfer has been our focus this week in science.  The eighth graders made booklets about this information showing the differences between the three primary forms of heat transfer--conduction, convection and radiation. This booklet also contained information about thermal expansion, the three temperature scales (Celsius, Fahrenheit and Kelvin), absolute zero, specific heat and global warming.  We finished our week with heat insulation lab. During this two day lab students used random materials to design and construct a container with the goal of minimizing the melting of an ice cube. (See photos below and next week.) All this information, along with potential and kinetic energy and the 7 forms of energy, will be on our Unit Test on Tuesday, 12/18/18.   After the holidays, we will begin our unit on Newton’s Laws and Motion.

Please make sure you work on your science fair project experiments (or build/create your science fair project design for those doing the doing the engineering process) over the winter holiday break.  The due date for the data results review and sketch of the triptych has been moved until January. The new due date for this science fair project check is Wednesday, 1/9/19. Remember that students come back on Tuesday 1/8/19 and this is due the following day.  Below is a list of all remaining due dates for the Science Fair Project. Each of these due dates shows the progress students are making on their project and are counted as one homework grade. The four parts of this assignment that will be turned in when totally completed and their grade value are as follows:  Formal report (end of trimester project grade), triptych (test grade), log book (homework grade) and presentation (classwork grade.) All rubrics for these are found in the Science Fair Information Packet handed out the beginning of November and posted on Google Classroom. Please let me know of any questions you have or if you need to borrow any materials from me.  As a reminder, Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 7:30-8am are designated to helping the eighth graders with their project.

Science Fair Project Remaining Due Dates

Wednesday **new date 1/9/19 Science Fair data/ results review /  Sketch of triptych due

  

Wednesday 1/16/19 Science Fair log book check/  Final draft of literature review due

Wednesday 1/23/19 Completed formal report due

*Wednesday    1/30/19 Science Project due (triptych and log book)

*Presentations will also occur this week

 

English Language Arts - Mrs. Boyer

Literature: We will be reading: “Harriet Tubman: Guide to Freedom”, “Baseball”, “Forest Fire”, “Why Leaves Turn Color in the Fall”, “Lost in Space”, “Sharing the American Dream”. Students will be discussing the many terms/elements that revolve around nonfiction reading. We will be focusing on how to read a piece of nonfiction. This past week we have been focusing on reading and analyzing “Why Leaves Turn Color in the Fall” by Diane Ackerman. Near the end of the week we will be reading more current nonfiction pieces and thinking about how the terms/elements fit into that piece of reading.

Assessments: Nonfiction Test - A Record of Our World on 12/18. Students will need to identify the elements/terms of nonfiction text (pg 424 in their textbook, and students made flash cards), they will need to know how to analyze a piece of nonfiction in regards to the elements/terms, and they will need to be able to read a piece of nonfiction and answer questions on that text.

Vocab: We will be picking up the pace in regards to vocabulary. I will be combining units for the rest of the year. Students will start with Unit 12 & 13 come January.

Reading Novel Card:  Due before or on February 1st.

Extra Credit Reading Opportunity: Students will have an opportunity to read a small fictional novel regarding the same topic as their in class novel study over I am Malala. There will be an assignment regarding this; the rubric for the assignment is on GC. This opportunity will be due on December 14th.

Coming soon to a classroom near you…

Starting immediately after break (January 8th), students will begin reading William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. Students will be given the No Fear Shakespeare version which has the translated version on one side and the Shakespearean writing on the other. Students are more than welcome to take a copy home over the break to start their reading. As we read, students will have daily reading checks and activities that will only be possible to complete and engage with if the student has read their portion. We will be reading a few scenes in class and discussing the theater in terms of Shakespeare’s vision. We will also be diving into the vocabulary of Shakespearean language, his background, and the historical context of this play. It is critical that each student read and keep up with their studies. We will be interacting with this text from January 8th until Spring Break in March (however, we will be discussing the Holocaust and their T3 novel, Night, in order for the students to connect to the text while they are in Washington, DC).

History & Gov’t II - Mrs. English

This week we will continue our study of World War I with topics that include America in the war, nationalism, the 369th regiment, and national consciousness. our World War I test will be on Wednesday, December 19th.

Spanish - Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class the 8th grade will wrap up Chapter 3B with a listening activity on Monday. Students will review on Tuesday and the chapter test will be on Wednesday, December 19th. We will end the week by learning about some holiday traditions and songs in Spanish. I hope everyone has a wonderful, relaxing break!

7TH GRADE ASSIGNMENTS

Algebra 1 - Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Algebra, students will continue in Chapter 5 by writing equations of parallel and perpendicular lines as well as fitting a line to a set of data that has been plotted.  Students will be listening to the lessons on their chromebook since I will be out of town for the first part of the week. Mrs. Blake will be their substitute. I will be sure to go back over these lessons when we return from break to ensure they have mastered the concepts.  I hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday break! See you in 2019!

Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will complete Chapter 5 by having a day of review on Monday and the Chapter 5 test on Tuesday.  Then we will have a surprise fun activity on Wednesday!

History & Gov’t I - Mrs. English

This week in American History I we will study the American Revolution spies by completing several spy activities. We will also reference the historical fiction novel Washington’s Secret Six. Looking forward to a great week!

Spanish - Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class the 7th grade will present their centro comercial project. Students were given the task to design, label and describe a shopping mall just in time for the holidays. We will review on Tuesday and the chapter test will be on Wednesday, December 19th. We will end the week by learning about some holiday traditions and songs in Spanish. I hope everyone has a wonderful, relaxing break!

ELA - Mrs. Boyer

Literature: We are almost finished with our Poetry Unit. Students are reading poems from classic authors such as: Edgar Allen Poe, Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, Robert Frost, Walt Whitman, and of course, Sonnets from William Shakespeare. Students will be learning a brief history regarding Shakespeare, reading Sonnets, and beginning to conceptualize the difficulty that comes with creating a poem in Iambic Pentameter. This discussion will be a foundation for reading Romeo and Juliet in 8th grade. We will also be reading a few contemporary poems. There will be a poetry test on 12/18.

Grammar: Students have taken their final test on Verbals/DO/IOs and we will be starting a new unit come January.

Vocabulary: We will be focusing on grammar and the poetry unit the holiday break. When we return in January, we will begin with Unit 5.

Reading Novel Card: Due before or on February 1st.

Life Science - Ms. Hoffman

This week the seventh graders learned about RNA, mutations and how cells divide during mitosis and meiosis. We focused on the stages of cell division and how genetic disorders can sometimes occur during these processes.  We also discussed the differences between DNA and RNA and how they are both involved in creating the proteins needed by all of our cells and how unique each of us are. The students wrapped up their week by rotating through six activity stations to learn about mitosis and meiosis. (See the photos below.) Activities included observing preserved microscope slides of mitosis in plants and animals, watching videos about chromosomes and the two cellular division processes of mitosis and meiosis and participating in a short hands-on activity demonstrating how one regular cell (diploid) can turn into four daughter cells (haploid).  Our unit test on our Genetics Unit will be Tuesday, 12/18/18. After the holidays we will begin to learn about natural selection and how biology changes over time.

6TH GRADE ASSIGNMENTS

Accelerated Math 7 - Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Accelerated Math 7, students will continue in Chapter 5 by multiplying and dividing fractions and mixed numbers.  Students will be listening to the lessons on their chromebook since I will be out of town for the first part of the week. On Tuesday, they will begin an in-class Fraction History Project that will be due on January 9.   Mrs. Blake will be their substitute. I will be sure to go back over these lessons when we return from break to ensure they have mastered the concepts. I hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday break! See you in 2019!

Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

Next week we will complete Chapter 5 by having a day of review on Monday and the Chapter 5 test on Tuesday.  Then we will have a surprise fun activity on Wednesday!

ELA - Mrs. Guggenheim

LITERATURE: We are going to continue discussing the elements of nonfiction. There will be a test over nonfiction terms 12/19. When we return in January, we will begin the nonfiction book Phineas Gage: A True But Gruesome Story About Brain Science.

VOCABULARY: Nonfiction terms. The test is 12/19.

GRAMMAR:

2nd Trimester Reading Assignment: The new Middle School reading assignment for second trimester is attached to the Blog and is also posted in my Google Classroom. It takes the place of the Reading Log. While it may be turned in at any point during the trimester, it is DUE  BY FEBRUARY 1, 2019.

Earth Science - Mrs. Taylor

This past week, we have been working on renewable and nonrenewable energy. Our Lab consisted of energy beans where they used up non renewable quick and switched to using the non renewable resources even quicker and the effects of running out of these resources. The quiz on energy was not so good. On 12/12, students relearned potential and kinetic energy application through small groups and whole class. The students reassessed on that portion of the quiz. The energy project due date has been changed to 12/19. Also, they ALL wrote another criteria (letter J-requiring them to justify why the picture represents that particular energy with a small caption under the picture) that must be completed before turning the project in. We reviewed the common errors the kids were running into on the project, discussed them and changed the due date. Finally, there is a unit test, on 12/18, will consist of weather (study the quiz), energy, and renewable and nonrenewable resources.  Thursday (12/13), we located the items needed to study for the test. We will be reviewing as a class Monday, 12/17, for the test. A list of the material to study (instead of a study guide) will be on Google classroom.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Ancient Civ -  Mr. O’Hayer

This past week we began our biographies on our Egyptian god/goddess. We are learning the basics of how to set-up, research, and write a biography. We discussed what a thesis statement is, how to research to prepare your thesis statement and began researching facts about our subjects. Next week we will start to formulate our notes and research into a finished product. This has been a great learning project and will benefit the students as we move to more thorough and in-depth writing projects in the future. When we return we will begin exploring the next Unit: The Ancient Hebrews. Our next chapter covers the Origins of Judaism.

Spanish - Ms. Dubick

The 6th graders will be wrapping up their unit on Puerto Rican history and will be completing a take home quiz that involves critical thinking about topics we have been discussing.  They may use their notes to support their arguments.

Have a lovely holiday!

Art - Mrs. Cookson

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way - things I had no words for.” - Georgia O’Keeffe

Last week before Winter break. Hope you all enjoy.

8th: Will start to refine architectural detail drawings for final rendition

7th: Will have a demo on graphic design software and then start either a digital or analog concert poster

6th: Will continue with 1-point perspective drawing