February 25th - March 1st

SPAL PLAYOFFS - SEMI FINALS MONDAY/FINALS TUESDAY! We have two teams moving forward to the semi finals in the SPAL tournament.  The 7th grade boys play Savannah Christian at Savannah Christian, Monday at 8:00.  The 8th grade boys take their undefeated record into the semi’s and play Savannah Christian at BC on Monday at 7:00.    PLEASE COME OUT AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT!!!

CARPOOL REMINDER! Do you want to avoid those long morning lines??  Arriving early will help. Students can be dropped of from 7:30 - 7:55 at Hancock Hall.  After that the Gold and Green zones open up for drop off. Please drop off your child in the morning by 8:10 to ensure that they are ready to start the day when the 8:15 bell rings.

SMOKING, VAPING AND JUULING - PARENT.EDU - MARCH 27TH In response to the growing concern about the emergence and prevalence of e-smoking, we will be offering two information sessions in March as part of our Parent.edu series. The presentations are being coordinated by our nurses in conjunction with the Georgia Healthy Family Alliance.  There will be a student assembly for grades 6-8 during the school day followed by a Parent.edu presentation for parents at 6:00pm. More information and parent permission slips for the assembly will follow in March.

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.

WASHINGTON, D.C. PAPERWORK
As the Washington trip rapidly approaches, please make sure that you have completed the required paperwork and submitted it to the Middle School Office.  This paperwork includes your signed permission slip, electronic device policy, and medication form. Additional copies of these documents can be found here.
SVA and BC Present: Hello, Dolly!
Click HERE for more information.

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 continue in Chapter 7 by solving linear systems by adding or subtracting and by multiplying first. On Wednesday, we will review for the quiz on Thursday that will cover sections 7.1-7.4. The challenge problem that was distributed on Wednesday, February 20 will be due on Wednesday, February 27.

Advanced Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

Next week, we will complete angle relationships by doing a project where students build a city based on angles formed by transversals.  There will be a day of review on Wednesday and the angle relationships quiz on Thursday. We will then begin our last unit of Geometry, which is about surface area and volume.  We will first explore and name different solids and polyhedra (9.1).

Geometry - Mr. Lanfear

Next week, we will begin exploring circles and their properties in Chapter 10.  We will learn about tangent lines and their properties (10.1), finding arc measures (10.2), and chords and their properties (10.3).

Physical Science - Ms. Hoffman

Welcome to our last trimester of 8th grade science full of many fun and important concepts and several interactive real-world labs. Students received their syllabus with all the topics we will cover and this paper needs to be read and signed by parents due Monday, 2/25 for a 100 homework grade. Our initial focus has been learning about the two main categories of waves: transverse and longitudinal. This includes diagramming each type of wave and labeling their parts, discussing their properties (frequency, wavelength, amplitude, etc.) and discovering wave interactions, such as reflection, refraction and interference.  As we finish up this material next week, we will have a quiz on Friday, 3/1. Next week is also due our February Science in Comics on Thursday, 2/28. After learning about the basics of waves, we will delve into information about sound, the doppler effect, and the human ear.

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.

ELA Unit Project: Students will be engaging in a four-six week project where they will be competing in the Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance) Writing and Art Contest which is sponsored by the Jewish Educational Alliance of Savannah. Rubrics and Due Dates will be handed out in the coming weeks.

Upcoming Units: Students will be engaging with the novel Night by Elie Wiesel from March 1st 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

This week we will continue our discussion of the Economy of the late 1920s in Chapter 22.4. Students will also turn in their argument paragraphs on Monday (2/25). Students will have a quiz on African Geography and Chapter 22.4 on Friday, March 1.

Spanish - Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish the 8th grade will work with the grammar and vocabulary from Chapter 4B. Students will continue to use the imperfect and preterite tenses as they describe situations in the past. We will also compare and contrast celebrations in Spanish-speaking countries with the U.S. The vocabulary quiz will be Tuesday, February 26th.

Algebra 1 - Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Algebra, we will continue in Chapter 7 by solving linear systems by adding or subtracting and by multiplying first. On Wednesday, we will review for the quiz on Thursday that will cover sections 7.1-7.4. The challenge problem that was distributed on Wednesday, February 20 will be due on Wednesday, February 27.

Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

Next week, we will complete Chapter 7 by learning how to calculate simple interest and compound interest (7.7).  There will be a day of review on Wednesday and the Chapter 7 test on Thursday. We will then begin Chapter 8 by learning about relations and functions (8.1).

History & Gov’t I - Mrs. English

This week students will continue to learn about types, systems, and branches of government. Readings and homework will come from Chapter 7.1-2. We will have a quiz over Caribbean Geography and Government on Friday, March 1.

Spanish - Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish the 7th grade will discuss opportunities for volunteering and read an article about Habitat for Humanity. Students will also discuss volunteer work they have done in the past using the preterite verb and indirect object pronouns. The Chapter 8B test will be Thursday, February 28th.

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

Grammar: We will be venturing into irregular verbs, intransitive and transitive verbs, and who vs whom, and which vs that.

Vocabulary: Unit 7, Quiz will be on 3/5/19

Life Science - Ms. Hoffman

Welcome to our last trimester of 7th grade science full of many fun and important concepts and interactive labs, including a two-day frog dissection in April. Students received their syllabus with all the topics we will cover and this paper needs to be read and signed by parents due Monday, 2/25 for a 100 homework grade.  For our new trimester we started our large unit on the fascinating world of invertebrate animals beginning with animal characteristics, symmetry and the simple animal groups of sponges and cnidarians (jellyfish). Part of our study will be comparing all the animal phyla by looking at body structures, adaptations, and unique features.  This will include looking at actual preserved specimens and learning to identify different groups. Next week, we will learn about flatworms and roundworms and have a quiz on Friday, 3/1 about symmetry, animal characteristics and all three groups of animals, sponges, cnidarians and worms. This will include an invertebrate lab utilizing local preserved specimens and preserved slides.  Our February Science in Comics is also due next week on Thursday, 2/28. After that, over the next few weeks, we will learn about mollusks (snails, clams and squid), annelids (segmented worms), arthropods (insects, spiders, crustaceans) and echinoderms (sea stars, sea urchins and sand dollars).

Accelerated Math 7 - Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Accelerated Math 7, we will continue in Chapter 7 by simplifying expressions and solving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division equations. On Thursday, we will review for the quiz that place on Friday, March 1 over sections 7.1-7.4. The challenge problem that was distributed on Wednesday, February 20 will be due on Wednesday, February 27.

Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

Next week, we will complete Chapter 7 by learning how to calculate simple interest and compound interest (7.7).  There will be a day of review on Wednesday and the Chapter 7 test on Thursday. We will then begin Chapter 8 by learning about relations and functions (8.1).

ELA - Mrs. Guggenheim

LITERATURE: Work on research project. An outline and rubrics will be given and work will be done in the classroom and at home. Completed notecards are due 3/1. Slide presentations are due 3/11; oral presentations in class will begin on 3/14.

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

GRAMMAR: Verb unit will begin.

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

We began to attack the Rock Cycle 2/20. They are gone from class 2/21 and 2/23. So, we will pick up on Minerals and the Rock Cycle. The unit test for this will Tuesday, March 4th. We will begin Oceans (with emphasis on tides, waves, currents, topography) before we take the Unit test on the last part of Geology.  

Ancient Civ -  Mr. O’Hayer

The last Trimester will take us on a trip to two of the most influential civilizations in history: Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. We begin this journey in Ancient Greece. Here, we will study and analyze the geographic, political, and social structures of the Ancient Greeks. Extra emphasis will be placed on Greek influences on government/democracy, importance of Greek mythology, culture, and daily life in Sparta and Athens. As we study Ancient Greece, students will have the opportunity to explore outside resources that will help them understand and appreciate the legacy of this classical culture. Our first assessment on Ancient Greece will be Thursday, the 28th. We will have a Quiz on Lessons 1 and 2 (students will also have additional “hand-out” material to study. This will be the case throughout the Units on Greece and Rome.)

Spanish - Ms. Dubick

The 6th graders are working on using the verbs ESTAR and TENER with feeling words.  They will have a quiz this upcoming Wednesday February 27th on using the new vocab with these verb conjugations.

Art - Mrs. Cookson

“There is no must in art because art is free.” - Wassily Kandinsky

8th: Filming for stop motion project

7th: Introduction to Surrealism and ideation sketches for animal meld

6th: Introduction to wet felting