January 14th - January 18th

NOTES FROM MR. CRAWFORD

CALVARY DAY SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE
Calvary Day School will be holding an open house on Sunday, January 27 at 2:00pm.  Click HERE for more information.

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.

America’s Second Harvest needs volunteers to help prepare monthly bags of food for senior citizens in our community.  Volunteers should arrive by 7:45 and must wear closed-toe shoes. Contact Bryce Seuntjens at bryce@helpendhunger.org for more information.

Bethesda Academy needs volunteers at their 5K race this Saturday, January 12th.  Interested students should arrive at Bethesda by 8AM.

GUIDANCE & CHARACTER EDUCATION

This month we are exploring integrity 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 Chapter 5 in preparation for the Chapter 5 test that will take place on Tuesday, January 15.  We will then jump into Chapter 6 by solving inequalities using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Students will receive their first challenge problem of 2019 on Monday, January 14 and it will be due on Tuesday, January 22 due to the MLK holiday.

Advanced Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

This week, we will be continuing Chapter 8 by learning about the area of parallelograms and rhombuses (8.5), the area of trapezoids (8.6), the circumference and area of circles (8.7), and finding central angles and the area of sectors (8.7).  There will be a quiz on Tuesday covering sections 8.1-8.4.

Geometry - Mr. Lanfear

This week, we will complete Trigonometry by having a day of review on Monday and then a test on Trig (7.5-7.7) on Tuesday.  We will then begin Chapter 8 by exploring properties of polygons and quadrilaterals. We will discover the Polygon Interior Angles and Exterior Angles Theorems (8.1) as well as properties of parallelograms (8.2) and ways to prove that a quadrilateral is a parallelogram (8.3).

Physical Science - Ms. Hoffman

We have started out our physics aspect of physical science focusing on motion, including speed, velocity and acceleration. The students havel created and interpreted motion graphs to illustrate in two dimensions what happens in the 3-D world we live in. They also constructed roller coasters with insulation tubes and determined the speed of a marble and observed the effect of gravity and mass. (See photos below.) We were unable to do our outdoors motion lab this week due to the cold weather and will plan to do this activity at a later date. Next week we will begin discussing gravity, friction and forces. Upcoming labs for this include a friction lab to compare static and fluid friction on various surfaces. Our next quiz will be Friday, 1/25/19 and our January Science in Comics is due at the end of the month, Thursday, 1/31/19.

Science Fair Projects are due this month.  The remaining due dates are listed below. 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 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: 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).

January 11th-17th

Act I

68 pgs

January 8th-24th

Act II

64 pgs

January 25th-31st

Act III

72 pgs

February 1st-7th

Act IV

40 pgs

February 8th-13th

Act V

39 pgs

Final Reading is due on February 13th

Exams February 14th-15th

February 18th-March 1st (Projects/Writing)

March 4th-March 8th (Holocaust Intro)

Assessments: One-three Quizzes (one may be unannounced) TBA, One Test TBA

Vocab: Shakespearean Language, Vocabulary Unit 12-13, Quiz TBA

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

History & Gov’t II - Mrs. English

We’ve had an exciting week working on research for our World War I documentaries. Students should have completed all of their research cards and started working on the script. Next week we will continue working on our research, complete our scripts, film, and edit our documentaries. The films are due on Friday, January 18th. Homework this week is to work on this project.

Spanish - Ms. Hughes

This week in Spanish class the 8th grade will continue to work with the vocabulary and grammar from Chapter 4A. Students will learn about the imperfect tense as they describe their favorite childhood memories. We will review indirect object pronouns and begin writing biographies describing what their partner was like as a child. The vocabulary quiz will be Wednesday, January 16th.

7TH GRADE ASSIGNMENTS

Algebra 1 - Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Algebra, we will review Chapter 5 in preparation for the Chapter 5 test that will take place on Tuesday, January 15.  We will then jump into Chapter 6 by solving inequalities using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Students will receive their first challenge problem of 2019 on Monday, January 14 and it will be due on Tuesday, January 22 due to the MLK holiday.

Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

This week, we will continue Chapter 6 by learning about similar and congruent geometric figures (6.4).  We will then learn how to use similar figures to find the lengths of missing sides of polygons (6.5). There will be a quiz on Wednesday covering sections 6.1-6.4.

History & Gov’t I - Mrs. English

This week we are continuing our study of the American Revolution by looking at specific early battles. Students will see the types of weapons used and read about the struggles that soldiers faced during wartime. We also will continue our Declaration of Independence memorization practice. Students will present the Declaration of Independence on Thursday, January 17th. They also will have a quiz on Friday, January 18th over Chapter 6.1-2. Looking forward to a great week!

Spanish - Ms. Hughes

This week in Spanish class we will continue to work with the grammar and vocabulary from Chapter 8A. They will continue to use the preterite tense to describe their favorite trips in the past and learn about the personal “a” in Spanish. Over the next couple weeks students will be given a country to research while planning a mock vacation under a tight budget. The vocabulary quiz will be Tuesday, January 15th.

ELA - Mrs. Boyer
Literature: We will be diving into our next theme: Voices of the World! The students will have a choice to read Just a Drop of Water, Refugee, All the Broken Pieces, or Hidden Figures (Young Readers Edition). This will be a writing/project heavy unit as we dive into discussing the world issues within these novels. Students will be writing a research paper, engaging in character analysis projects, plot mountains, research posters, etc.

Grammar: Predicate Adjectives/Predicate Nominatives

Vocabulary: Unit 5, Quiz TBA

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

Life Science - Ms. Hoffman

Using their knowledge of genetics, heredity and mutations, the students are focusing on the scientist Charles Darwin and his Theory of Natural Selection.  This theory explains how plants and animals have made adaptations and changes over time to ensure survival. We have discussed details of his voyage on the ship Beagle and the discoveries he made that are still the foundation we use today to explain biological adaptations.  Students used examples of the peppered moth and its’ color change before and after the Industrial Revolution to explain and construct graphs demonstrating this. (See photos below.) Next week we will have a lab exploring the adaptations of bird beaks and continue learning about the theory of evolution and the environmental pressures that affect plant and animal adaptations.  We will also have our field trip to Skidaway Aquarium on Friday, 1/18/19 for a fish dissection and invertebrate lab. This field trip will last most of the day and more information will be given out next week. Our next quiz will be on Wednesday, 1/23/19 and our January Science in Comics is due at the end of the month, Thursday, 1/31/19.

 

6TH GRADE ASSIGNMENTS

Accelerated Math 7 - Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Accelerated Math 7, we will review Chapter 5 in preparation for the Chapter 5 test that will take place on Wednesday, January 16.  We will then jump into Chapter 6 by ordering and comparing integers. Students will receive their first challenge problem of 2019 on Monday, January 14 and it will be due on Tuesday, January 22 due to the MLK holiday.

Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

This week, we will continue Chapter 6 by learning about similar and congruent geometric figures (6.4).  We will then learn how to use similar figures to find the lengths of missing sides of polygons (6.5). There will be a quiz on Wednesday covering sections 6.1-6.4.

ELA - Mrs. Guggenheim

LITERATURE: We will continue reading the nonfiction book Phineas Gage: A True But Gruesome Story About Brain Science. There will be open-book quizzes after each chapter. We will be doing a number of activities to support our reading of the text.

VOCABULARY: The List 6 Greek/Latin + 7 SAT words quiz is scheduled for 1/15. List 7 Greek/Latin roots + 7 SAT words will be distributed 1/17. The quiz is schedued for 1/24.

GRAMMAR:

Be on the lookout...we will be a nouns unit on 1/23.

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

Students will have a quiz on Earth’s Layers, Jan. 15th (Tuesday). Next up is plate tectonics, earthquakes and volcanoes. That will end our unit before the Volcano Project introduction for the exam. Information regarding the project will be distributed the week after next. They will have ample time to complete it in class. Presentations for the project will be 1/12 and 1/13. That is, technically, the end of science for T2. There will be a Unit Test on Geology 1/29. Assuming I do not have to push back the test until after the 29th, they will then begin working, every day in class, on their T2 Project.

Ancient Civ -  Mr. O’Hayer

This week we move on to Lesson 2 of Ch. 6: The Kingdom of Israel. We will dive into how the achievements of Saul, David, and Solomon led to the growth of the kingdom of Israel and the Jewish religion. We will also discuss everyday life of the Israelites after their return to Canaan. Mid-week we will explore Lesson 3: Changes for Israel and find out why the kingdom of Israel ended and discuss how this fall impacted the people and their culture. Assignments will include Critical Thinking reading check questions, a worksheet, and Review questions. Our Ch. 6 Test is scheduled for Jan. 23rd. We may add a Lesson quiz (2 or 3) depending on the progress and grasp the students show. Change in Procedures: Moving forward- students are still required to outline Chapters. The change is I will check before each test to make sure each lesson is outlined. As readings are assigned they should be taking notes/outlining as they go.

Spanish - Ms. Dubick

The 6th graders will have a quiz on time, schedules, days and months on Thursday Jan. 17th.  They will also continue learning about present day Cuba.

Art - Mrs. Cookson

“A good artist has less time than ideas.” - Martin Kippenberger

8th: Will finalize the architectural detail drawings adding their own touch to the renderings

7th: Will glaze hobbit houses

6th: Will have an introduction to making wet felt