February 18th - February 22nd

NO SCHOOL MONDAY OR TUESDAY
Monday, February 18th, HDS will be closed in observance of President's Day.  Tuesday, February 19th, is a student holiday. Classes will resume on Wednesday, February 20th.

2/3rd’s DONE - WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT!!
We enter the final trimester of the year on Wednesday!  It is a time of new beginnings. Grades start over. Discipline (demerits) starts over. A new sports season begins.  If it’s been a great year for you, keep up the good work! If it has been a struggle, commit! Commit to putting yourself in a place to succeed!  Everyone end strong - it sets up the next year!!

SPAL PLAYOFFS - WE’RE IN!
The long basketball season has come to a close and tourney time is here!  All of our Middle School teams will be in action next week in playdown games on Tuesday, Wednesday and/or Thursday. The semi finals are scheduled for Monday the 25th and the finals for Tuesday the 26th.  Look for an email when we know exact days, times and locations. It has been a very successful year for our teams. PLEASE COME OUT AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT!!!

REPORT CARDS
Student report cards will be emailed to parents on Friday, February 22nd.

6TH GRADE FIELD TRIP
The 6th grade will be visiting Byrd Cookie Company on Thursday, February 21st.  

MATH BEE
We are very excited to announce our first ever Hancock Day School Annual Math Bee!  It will take place on Friday, 2/22, in the afternoon. Middle School students took a qualifying test recently and the top ten scorers from each grade were invited to participate.  Parents of participating students will also be invited to come watch their child engage in an intense (but friendly!) competition. Emails to parents will go home shortly.

YEARBOOK
As we collect memories of the school year for the yearbook, we like to focus on celebrating our 8th grade students who will graduate and move on to high school. As part of that celebration, we like to include a baby picture of each 8th grade student. In addition to the images you submit from the graduation slideshow, select ONE baby picture to be included in the yearbook. Please email this to yearbook@hancockdayschool.org by Friday, February 21st.

8TH GRADE GRADUATION SLIDESHOW
The Hancock Day School 8th grade graduation will be on Thursday, May 23rd.  Per HDS tradition, we will have a slideshow presentation of our 8th grade students during reception. Please submit FIVE pictures of your choice to Mrs. Mannarino (mmannarino@hancockdayschool.org) by Friday, March 8th.

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. Click HERE for a log form.

The President's Volunteer Service Award  In the 8th grade, students who complete hours beyond the basic Hancock Day School requirement are recognized at the annual Middle School Honors Assembly. Eligibility for an award is separated in three levels:  Bronze: 50 - 74 hours, Silver: 75 - 99 hours, Gold: 100 + hours. To qualify for this award your hours are due to Mrs. Mannarino by April 1st so they may be submitted to the President for review.

The Old Savannah City Mission needs volunteers for various positions.  The mission provides food, shelter, and clothing to the homeless.  For more information, contact Connell Stiles at 912-232-1979 or stiles@oscm.org.

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.

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

Algebra 1 - Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Algebra, we will begin in chapter 7 by solving linear systems in two different methods - graphing and substitution.  Students should expect a quiz mid week of February 25 week. A new challenge problem will be distributed on Wednesday, February 20 and will be due on Wednesday, February 27.

Advanced Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

Next week, we will begin our exploration of angle relationships.  We will learn about complementary, supplementary, and vertical angles (2.3-2.4).  We will also learn about angles formed by parallel lines and transversals such as alternate interior, alternate exterior, and corresponding angles (3.3-3.4).

Geometry - Mr. Lanfear

Next week, we will complete Chapter 9 by learning how to identify symmetry and perform dilations in the coordinate plane (9.6-9.7).  We will have a day of review and the Chapter 9 test on Friday.

Physical Science - Ms. Hoffman

Congratulations to Harper Nelsen on winning 3rd place for Middle School in the Engineering Mechanics Division of the district science fair at Savannah State University!  During the second trimester, students in 8th grade completed science fair projects highlighting the scientific method and engineering process.  Hancock held a school science fair judging on 1/31 to help choose those projects exhibiting the highest caliber.  Four of our middle school 8th grade students were chosen to represent Hancock in the 2019 Regional Science and Engineering Fair held at Savannah State University on February 6th.  These students were Valerie Kapitan, Hannah Kitchens, Harper Nelsen, and Joseph Stoever.  They traveled to Savannah State University to compete, along with over 175 other middle and high school students displaying 141 projects in a variety of category areas.  Each of these students also explained and answered questions about their project with the district science fair judges. They all received participation certificates and we are extremely proud of all of these students!    Our second trimester grade for physical science will be the grade received on the science fair formal report, so during our exam week students participated in various labs.  These included a two-day Egg Drop Lab where students constructed a “descent module” out of minimal material. Each group received only 10 pieces of copy paper, one meter of masking tape and up to 20 staples to create a module to protect their “egg cosmonaut” as it was dropped from the top of a ladder.  Our winning groups were as follows: Period 3: Emma/ Caroline/ Wes and Harper/ Warner. Period 4: Hunter/ E.B./ Stella and Kadynce/ Claire/ Mattie and Haddon/ Lexie/ Alden. Each of these students competed for a prize of a box of candy and bragging rights. Our second lab involved students calculating dissolved oxygen content in a water sample from the Wilmington River using chemicals from Adopt-a-Stream. For the start of our third trimester we will begin learning about the Electromagnetic Spectrum.

Regional Science Fair Participants

    

Egg Drop Two-Day Lab

 

Adopt-a-Stream Dissolved Oxygen Lab

English Language Arts - Mrs. Boyer
Literature: Students have completed the Shakespeare’s play, Romeo & Juliet!! Students will be engaging in projects regarding the text over the next week and a half.

Projects: The 8th grade class will be engaging in projects regarding Romeo and Juliet. Each project will have a rubric. There will be a few mini-projects that will be counted as a class grade, and some larger projects that will be counted as project grades.  

Upcoming Units: Students will be engaging with the novel Night by Elie Wiesel from March 4th to May 1st. Students will engage in a learning segment regarding the history of the novel from March 4th-8th, in order to prepare them for entering the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC.

History & Gov’t II - Mrs. English

Wow, the first two semesters are complete! Can you believe it? This trimester we are going to dive into some major topics of the twentieth century including the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, and culminate our year with a unit on protest (Civil Rights and Anti-War Movements). A lot will be expected of your “almost” high schoolers including some video projects and research writing assignments. On a more immediate note, this week we are going to start our unit on the economic crash of the late 1920s. Readings and homework will come from Chapter 22.4.

Spanish - Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish class the 8th grade begin Chapter 4B. Students will be writing “Cuento de Hadas” while switching between the preterite and imperfect tense. The vocabulary quiz will be on Tuesday, February 26th and there will be a graded listening later in the week.

Algebra 1 - Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Algebra, we will begin in chapter 7 by solving linear systems in two different methods - graphing and substitution.  Students should expect a quiz mid week of February 25 week. A new challenge problem will be distributed on Wednesday, February 20 and will be due on Wednesday, February 27.

Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

Next week, we will continue Chapter 7 by learning about percent applications (7.6) and simple interest (7.7).

History & Gov’t I - Mrs. English

This week we will continue our study of the early American government with a look into the Articles of Confederation, the Founding Fathers’ first “failure” at creating a government. We will look at what was good and bad about this type of government (confederation). We also will learn about types, systems, and branches of government. Readings and homework will come from Chapter 7.1-2. Looking forward to a great week!

Spanish - Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish  the 7th grade will continue to work with the grammar and vocabulary from Chapter 8B. We will also explore ways to help others and the environment. Students will learn about indirect object pronouns and work with irregular preterite conjugation. The grammar quiz will be Friday, February 22nd.

ELA - Mrs. Boyer
Literature: Students will be embarking on a mini-unit to focus on African American literature in association with Black History Month.

Projects: Book Trailers (After exams.) A chosen few will be shown in the HDS Film Festival.

Upcoming Unit of Study: We will be venturing into irregular verbs, intransitive and transitive verbs, and who vs whom, and which vs that. The students will also be engaging in a mini unit regarding Black History Month.

Life Science - Ms. Hoffman

This week the seventh graders completed various study guides and reviewed to prepare for and take their second trimester exam in science.  This exam covered several topics, including Genetics, DNA, Evolution, Ecosystems, Biomes and the Skin. For our new trimester we will start our large unit on invertebrate animals.  We will start with the simple animal groups of sponges and cnidarians (jellyfish). Part of our study will be comparing all the animal groups by looking at body structures, adaptations, and unique features.

Accelerated Math 7 - Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Accelerated Math 7, we will begin in chapter 7 by writing expressions and equations.  On Thursday, we will take our field trip to Byrd Cookie Company and the Howlin’ Hound. We will be off campus from about 10:30-12:30.  Students should expect a quiz mid week of February 25 week. A new challenge problem will be distributed on Wednesday, February 20 and will be due on Wednesday, February 27.

Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

Next week, we will continue Chapter 7 by learning about percent applications (7.6) and simple interest (7.7).

ELA - Mrs. Guggenheim

LITERATURE: Introduce and begin a research project. An outline and rubrics will be given.

VOCABULARY: The Giver vocab list 1 will be given out on 2/20. The quiz is 3/1.

3RD TRIMESTER BOOK PROJECT

Students will be given a choice. They may choose to keep a Reading Log for 360 minutes as they did 1st trimester or create a card as they did 2nd trimester over one book. They must inform me by 2/22 of their choice, and that choice is final. They may not switch between the two midway through the trimester.

Earth Science - Mrs. Taylor

Volcano presentations were amazing. I loved hearing students use so much geology terminology and it was refreshing to know they understood what they were talking about. Students will finish up the Geology Unit with Rocks and the Rock Cycle. After that, we take the Ocean, its movements and topography. Students will only have a short quiz to cover the Rock Cycle to end the Geology unit. That quiz will happen the week of the 25th.

Ancient Civ -  Mr. O’Hayer

Last week saw us wrap up another Trimester. Overall it was a great trimester in Ancient Civ. As we move into the last Trimester we will spend the short week of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday discussing the Trimester Project. The project will focus on Greece and Rome, two of the most influential civilizations we will study. The project will be due at the end of the Trimester in May and instead of an Exam students will make presentations to the class discussing their projects. This will be a group project- 2 to 3 students per group. I will choose the groups.  More details to come. All material/steps/due dates, etc. will be on Google Classroom as we move through the project. The majority of this project will be completed in class. We will also introduce during the short week the next Unit of study- the Ancient Greeks.

Spanish - Ms. Dubick

The 6th graders worked hard to prepare for their very first exam in Spanish, as last term they had an exam project.  Now they will jump into using and conjugating basic verbs next week! They will also be presenting their wonderful travel projects that they have already completed.

After that they will work on using Estar with both feeling words and location using prepositions.  

Art - Mrs. Cookson - Week of February 18th

“The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, and, ironically, the more real.” - Lucian Freud

8th: No class last week due to exams, so this week they will work on stop motion set building, lighting setup, and filming

7th: No class this week due to President’s Day holiday

6th: No class last week due to exams, so this week they really will, keeping our fingers crossed, get an introduction to wet felting.