February 4th - February 8th

MIDDLE SCHOOL DRESS DOWN DAY
On Monday, February 4th, the middle school students may pay $2.00 to dress down in pajama pants/sweatpants and t-shirt/sweatshirt.  

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
It has come to our attention that some students are sharing orthodontic rubber bands (used and unused ) during the school day. As we all know, this is very unsanitary. Students are also putting rubber bands around brace brackets when they are not prescribed.  This can have negative outcomes on his/her bite. We want to stress the importance of discussing the proper use of rubber bands with your children. Thank you.

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.

8th GRADE PARENTS - WASHINGTON, D.C.
On Tuesday, February 12th we will hold a Washington, D.C. Parent Meeting at 6pm in Hancock Hall. We will present the final itinerary and miscellaneous details for the trip.  If the government shutdown is not resolved at that point, we will review our options. Please plan to attend! The trip balance of $575.00 was due by February 1st.

SAVANNAH CHRISTIAN PREPARATORY SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE
Savannah Christian will be holding an open house on Wednesday, February 6th and 20th at 9:30am.  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.

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.

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 wrap up Chapter 6 by solving absolute value inequalities and graphing linear inequalities in two variables.  On Wednesday, we will review for the Chapter 6 Test that will take place on Thursday, February 7. The challenge problem that students received on Monday, January 28 will be due on Monday, February 4.  On Friday, February 8, we will begin exam review.

Advanced Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

This week, we will be complete our exploration of right triangle trigonometry by learning how to use trig to find side lengths of right triangles, use inverse trig functions to find angles of right triangles, and see how trigonometry is used in the real world.  There will be a day of review on Thursday and the trig test on Friday.

Geometry - Mr. Lanfear

This week, we will continue Chapter 9 by learning about matrices and how to add and multiply matrices (9.2).  We will also learn other isometric transformations in the coordinate plane such as reflections and rotations (9.3-9.4) as well as how to compose multiple transformations (9.5).

Physical Science - Ms. Hoffman

This week in physical science the 8th graders discussed Newton’s three Laws of Motion and how they relate to car crashes and car safety. We will have a balloon race lab demonstrating these Laws of Physics next week as we finish up the unit on force and motion and have our unit test on Friday, 2/8/19.  

Also this week, the students turned in the last part of their science fair projects, the triptych and log book and presented their projects to the class.  As they showed their triptychs and presented their information, the other students determined positive aspects of their projects, along with suggestions on which to improve them.   (See photos below.) We also had our Hancock science fair judging on the evening of Thursday 1/31. Several teachers in the community volunteered their time to judge all of the 8th grade students science fair projects.  A special thank you to these teachers and Hancock administration for all of their help. Using the data from these judges and student project grades, several students will be representing Hancock at the Regional Science Fair competition to held at Savannah State University next Wednesday, 2/6/19. This next step includes an interview with regional judges as they critique projects from the entire coastal region of Georgia.  Information on our 8th grade HDS competitors and their results in this competition will be on next weeks blog.

English Language Arts
Literature: Students are three Acts into William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. 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).

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, Act I-II and the Shakespeare Background January 29th (There was a pop quiz on Wednesday 1/16- many verbal hints were given and students had multiple days to review),One Test February 5th on Act I-III.

Exams: There will be an Exam for my class. It will cover Romeo & Juliet in its entirety. I will be handing out a study guide next week, as well as a Shakespeare Vocabulary Packet. The students have been given four study guides as of now for Act I-III; please feel free to begin reviewing the content with them. I would also suggest rereading the modern text.

Reading Novel Card:  Due before or on February 1st. (reposted on GC with a rubric).

** Please have your students check RenWeb for any missing work from absences.**

History & Gov’t II - Mrs. English

We are wrapping up our Roaring Twenties unit with more discussion on popular culture and celebrities like Babe Ruth. Our final test of the trimester will be on February 6th. Next, we will start reviewing for our exam. Our exam will be on Friday, February 15th and cover Chapters 18-22. Be on the lookout for topic guides over each chapter!

Spanish - Ms. Hughes
Next week in Spanish the 8th grade will continue to work with the preterite and the imperfect tense through a series of speaking, listening, reading and writing activities. The grammar quiz will be Friday, February 7th.

Algebra 1 - Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Algebra, we will wrap up Chapter 6 by solving absolute value inequalities and graphing linear inequalities in two variables.  On Wednesday, we will review for the Chapter 6 Test that will take place on Thursday, February 7. The challenge problem that students received on Monday, January 28 will be due on Monday, February 4.  Students will be introduced to their exam activity on Friday, February 8.

Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

Next week, we will begin Chapter 7 by learning how to convert percents to and from fractions and decimals (7.1, 7.3), solve percent problems using proportions (7.2) and using the percent equation (7.4), as well as find the percent of change (7.5).  We will also begin the Trimester Summative Assessment on Friday.

History & Gov’t I - Mrs. English

This week we will wrap up the third trimester by discussing the levels, branches, and systems of government. This discussion will lead us into our study of the Constitution and the Americans setting up a government to run their new country. Students will imagine that they are creating their own government and will debate what type of government is “best” for their country. We also will start reviewing for exams. Looking ahead, our exam is on Thursday, February 14th over Chapters 4-6.

Spanish - Ms. Hughes

Next week in Spanish class we will begin Chapter 8B. In this chapter students will discuss volunteer work and ways to protect the environment. They will also learn some new irregular verbs in the preterite tense and how to use indirect object pronouns in Spanish.

ELA - Mrs. Boyer
Literature: Students should be close to finishing their Book Club novels. Their final due date is 2/12.

Projects: Book Trailers (This week, or after exams.) A chosen few will be shown in the HDS Film Festival.

Grammar: Verb Tense. This unit is very important in regards to using tense when writing. Students will review Simple Tense (Past, Perfect, Future), and they will learn about Perfect and Progressive Tense. This will be the final grammar lesson before the Exam.

Vocabulary: Unit 6, Vocabulary and Literary Terms (Review Words)

Exam: Your students will have an exam in ELA for T2. The exam will have a primary focus on grammar, and will include their Unit 6 vocabulary and Literary Terms. Students will also engage with a reading comprehension section and a writing portion. I will be handing out a study guide next week.

Reading Novel Card:  Due on or before Feb 1st. (reposted on GC)

** Please have your students check RenWeb for any missing work from absences.**

Life Science - Ms. Hoffman

This week the 7th graders continued their study of ecosystems, including abiotic/ biotic factors, food webs, and the symbiotic relationships between organisms (mutualism, commensalism and parasitism).  Their unit test Friday 2/1 was on all of this information, along with the information we have been learning over the last few weeks on Charles Darwin, natural selection and evolution. Next week, we will learn about our largest body organ, the skin.  The students will learn the different layers and features and will participate in a fingerprint lab.

Accelerated Math 7 - Mrs. Reardon

Next week in Accelerated Math 7, we will wrap up Chapter 6 by taking a look at the distributive property and the coordinate grid.  On Wednesday, we will review for the Chapter 6 Test that will take place on Thursday, February 7. The challenge problem that students received on Monday, January 28 and will be due on Monday, February 4.  On Friday, we will begin exam review.

Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

Next week, we will begin Chapter 7 by learning how to convert percents to and from fractions and decimals (7.1, 7.3), solve percent problems using proportions (7.2) and using the percent equation (7.4), as well as find the percent of change (7.5).  We will also begin exam review on Friday.

ELA - Mrs. Guggenheim

LITERATURE: Students will complete an in-class group project to help them prepare for the Phineas Gage/Nonfiction unit test. The test is scheduled for 2/6. We will also begin reviewing for exams. An ELA review outline was posted on GC.

VOCABULARY: The List 8 Greek/Latin + 7 SAT words quiz is scheduled for 2/8.

GRAMMAR: We will begin exam review of sentences and nouns. An ELA review outline was posted on GC.

Earth Science - Mrs. Taylor

Students were introduced to their T2 Exam Project Thursday/Friday. Starting Friday, all of the following week, and the next Monday, students will work solely in class on Volcanoes. They will be assigned a specific Volcano to research which will be presented on Google Slides. They will also research, map, and label several sheets. They will learn about the Ring of Fire, types of Volcanoes, locate Volcanoes on a world map, and answer challenging questions. This entire packet will come in two sections. The first will be the instructions and a VERY LONG rubric. The second will be all attached worksheets to be done along with the Volcano Google Slide Research/Presentation. This will be completed by 2/12 to begin presentations that day.  

Ancient Civ -  Mr. O’Hayer

The end of last week saw us conclude the Unit on the Hebrews. We have begun our next Chapter which will take us to the Indus Valley and Ancient India. Here our focus will be studying social structures along with diving into Hinduism and Buddhism and how these religions shaped society and helped India grow into a major early civilization. Our exploration will reveal Brahmanism in Ancient India and how it influenced Hinduism. We will also discuss and outline the features of the caste system. Students will describe the life and moral teachings of Buddha. Finally, we will compare and contrast the prominent religions we have studied to this point. Our Chapter 10 test will be Friday, Feb 8th.

Spanish - Ms. Dubick

The 6th graders will be starting on a project this week using geography and incorporating what they have learned with weather and time to make a travel presentation for a Spanish speaking country.  They will spend most of the week working on this project in class and will be required to check in with me at least once to make sure they are on the right track. The official due date is Friday February 8th when they will do 5 minute presentations.  However, they should aim to have their projects completed by the end of class on Thursday February 7th, as they have a test and a quiz on Friday.

Art - Mrs. Cookson

“A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.” - Paul Cezanne

8th: Will continue working on stop motion animation. The stories and storyboards are complete.

7th: Will go back to work on graphic design and work on either an analog or digital concert poster. (We put off the gyotaku until April to click with Science.)

6th: Will finish up the brain collage.