November 4th - November 8th

FINAL DAY FOR OUR FOOD DRIVE WILL BE WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH!
Each year Hancock families gather food supplies to support local needy families through Second Harvest.  This year we are joining forces with students from Savannah Country Day School and St. Andrews in this effort.  The food drive will focus on non-perishable protein rich foods (tuna, fish, chicken, plant based proteins, peanut butter, etc).  Food can be dropped off during carpool or in homerooms. On Thursday, November 7th, students from Hancock, Country Day and St. Andrews will join to deliver the donations to Second Harvest and pack the food for distribution. 

***The Middle School spirit teams will be competing with eachother for most items donated!***

FALL SPORTS RECOGNITION ASSEMBLY
We will be having our fall sports recognition assembly in the gym on Thursday, November 7 at 6:00pm.  It has been a fantastic season. Please come out and support all of our students!

CARPOOL ANNOUNCEMENT

Parents are starting to arrive too early for afternoon carpool.  Students do not exit the building until 3:15. Please wait until that time to enter campus, thus ensures that gold zone cars will move efficiently.  Also, please be sure to put your name sign down to facilitate getting your child ready to load. If you need a new sign, email Mrs. Mannarino.

8TH GRADE WASHINGTON, D.C. TRIP - PARENT MEETING
We will be having a parent meeting on Tuesday, November 12th at 6:00pm in Hancock Hall to discuss the details of the 8th grade trip to Washington, D.C.  Please plan to attend.

HIGH SCHOOL ADMISSIONS
Click HERE to find the letter detailing the steps for selecting a high school.  Click HERE for the Hancock Guide to applying to high school.  Our next scheduled high school visit is November 4th - St. Andrew’s School.

LOST AND FOUND
We continue to quickly accumulate student clothing, lunch boxes, and water bottles… With cooler weather coming, we anticipate additional miscellaneous items to find their way to our lost and found.  Please remember to label all items with first and last name so that we may return them to their owners.  Thank you in advance for your help!

MIDDLE SCHOOL DANCE - NOVEMBER 8TH

TALENT SHOW - NOVEMBER 15TH

PLEASE SAVE THE DATE - SPRING PERFORMANCE

THE VAPE TALK

Significant data is now being developed that detail the sometimes horrific effects of vaping.  Now is the time for families to discuss this emerging epidemic. See this link HERE for more information.

ASSESSMENTS CALENDAR

THIS LINK leads to a Google Sheet that will have the next 2 weeks of assessments.  The link below will lead to the 6th grade assessments, but by using the tabs in the lower left corner (shown below), you can navigate to 7th grade and 8th grade assessments as well.

History/black, Science/green, ELA/blue, Spanish/red, and Math/pink.

Dates are subject to change; teachers will keep the calendar updated.

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.

HDS Extended Day Care needs volunteers to help out after school.  We are currently limiting this opportunity to 8th graders, with a possibility of opening it up to 6th and 7th graders later on.  If a student is interested in earning some community service hours, they will need to sign up a week in advance using THIS LINK.  Please contact Mrs. Mannarino with any questions.

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.

The 7th grade students have been discussing how to be an “upstander” and promote a positive school culture.  Another topic we have been covering in 7th grade is how to manage your online reputation in the age of digital and social media.  

Take some time to speak with your child about managing time online.  In particular, highlight for your student the importance of thinking before you post.  We often see stories in the news about people who face consequences due to messages, videos or pictures they have posted in the past.  In fact, most universities, employers, and organizations regularly “google” applicants and look at social media accounts.  

-Allison Maher, School Counselor

Algebra 1 - Mr. Cargile

Next week in Algebra 1 we will begin our study of our new unit, Chapter 4: Graphing Linear Equations and Functions. We will start of by plotting points in a coordinate plane which will lead to graphing functions.

Geometry - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Geometry, we will continue Chapter 5 by learning about the medians of a triangle and the centroid (5.4), altitudes and the orthocenter (5.4), triangle inequality theorems (5.5), and the Hinge Theorem and its converse (5.6).  We will also begin learning about indirect proofs, or proof by contradiction (5.6).

Advanced Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Advanced Algebra, we will continue the second part of Chapter 11 by learning how to use the Pythagorean Theorem to determine if a triangle is right, acute, or obtuse (11.4).  Students will then discover, through an activity, the distance formula and the midpoint formula (11.5). There will be a quiz on Wednesday covering sections 11.3-11.4.

Physical Science - Ms. Hoffman

Welcome to a new Trimester!!  We have been learning about acids and bases, the importance of buffers and how to interpret the pH scale. The students also participated in an indicator lab testing pH levels and observed how adding salt to vinegar is helpful when cleaning pennies.  (See photos below.) We will finish up acids and bases with a short quiz on Tuesday, 11/5.  

**A quick note to parents:  I have been very impressed with the eighth graders during science labs.  They have all been following proper lab procedures and safety protocol. This allows us to, not only conduct more labs during the year, but also provides a better learning environment and opportunity for the students.  They will also be better prepared for their high school lab experience. 

After all our chemistry content is completed, we will begin a short discussion and review on energy.  This will focus on potential and kinetic energy, as well as, types of energy and energy transformations.  A new syllabus will go home next week and we have an upcoming field trip to Savannah Tech for GIS (Global Information Systems) Day during the morning of  Wednesday, 11/13.

Science Fair:   The NEW DUE DATE for the final draft of the background information is 11/13/19.  This is only the background information about their topic and should NOT include an outline of the experiment or any data.  A log book check with all Data and Results for the experiment (or a prototype for those designing a product) is due 11/20/19.  This means that all experiments should be done at this time. Students should already be conducting experiments if they need several weeks of data (i.e. growing plants, building a prototype) or collecting materials to ensure they have everything they need.

*NOTE:  I am still missing some of the Risk Assessment Form to complete for the use of chemicals and/or other hazardous/ safety concerns.  These MUST be completed and turned in to me BEFORE you begin your project. 

Finally, limited lab equipment is also available for students to borrow from the school.  Parents should not be spending large amounts of money to purchase materials for this project.  Students will, however, need to be providing their own large cardboard triptych display board for their final completed project due on 12/11/19.

 Below is the list of all the due dates for our project.  I am available for specific project questions by email, during the 8th grade independant time 1 - 1:30pm each day and  each morning (especially on Tuesdays and Thursdays) from 7:30am until 8am.  

Science Fair Project Dates

(* Indicate Homework Grades)

Monday                       8/26/19                        Science Fair Packets Home

Friday                           8/30/19                        *Signed Science Fair Proposal Form AND Parent

   Approval Form (1B) Due

Wednesday                9/4/19                          *Log Book Check/ Science Fair Topic and

   Question or Problem Due

Wednesday                9/18/19                        *Log Book Check with detailed Science Fair

                                                                               Materials and Procedures Due

Wednesday                10/02/19                     *Log Book Check with Research Notes Due

Wednesday                10/16/19                     *Rough Draft of Background Information Due

                                                                               (email or share document)

Wednesday                10/23/19                     *Log Book Check with Updates/ Revisions Due

Wednesday                **NEW DATE                 *Final Draft of Background Information Due

                                         11/13/19                       (email or share document)

Wednesday                11/20/19                     *Log Book Check with Data/ Results OR

   Prototype/Solution Due

Wednesday                12/4/19                        *Log Book Check/ Updated Results or Solution AND

                                                                               Sketch of Triptych

 Completed Formal Report (printed) Due

Wednesday                12/11/19                     All Completed Projects Due

(Triptych, Log Book and completed Abstract Form)

            Complete abstract on-line or use form in the packet 

                                                                     Project presentations will also occur this week

                        

English Language Arts - Mrs. Boyer

Students have completed their reading of To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAM). 

We will be working on their Final Essay (10/28-11/6) which is a character analysis. They were randomly assigned a character who they will use to thoroughly brainstorm and write a five paragraph essay about. 

We will begin Animal Farm during the second/third week of November. :) Our unit will focus on mob mentality, types of government systems, and the power of propaganda. 

History & Gov’t II - Mrs. Robinson

Next week in American History and Government Part II, we will be continuing our unit on the Industrialization of America. We have started the unit off by working through the myth of the Wild Wild West. Students are working in small groups to create a video that debunks one of the hollywood myths about the Western Frontier. Students should be working at home as well as in class on this project. Next week will be the last week in class for students to work on the project. The completed video will be due Monday the 11th. We will watch the videos in class!

8th grade Spanish - Ms. Hill

Algebra 1 - Mr. Cargile

Next week in Algebra 1 we will begin our study of our new unit, Chapter 4: Graphing Linear Equations and Functions. We will start of by plotting points in a coordinate plane which will lead to graphing functions.

Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will begin the second half of Chapter 4 by learning about exponent rules such as the product and quotient rules (4.5).  We will also learn about zero exponents and negative exponents (4.6). There will be a quiz on Friday covering sections 4.5-4.6.

History & Gov’t I - Mrs. Robinson

Next week, in American History & Government Part I, we will begin our fourth unit, ‘The Road to Revolution.’ In this Unit, students will explore the different factors that caused the English Colonies to revolt and create America. We will investigate how the French and Indian War influences the Revolutionary War, laws passed by the English monarch, the early battles of the Revolutionary War and the writing and impact of the Declaration of Independence. The Unit will begin next week with a study of the French and Indian War.

7th grade Spanish - Ms. Hill

ELA - Mrs. Boyer

Literature: Students have completed their reading of The Hobbit. 

Students will have a final novel test on 10/30. 

They have begun their first five paragraph essay on the novel, which is an analysis of light versus dark as a symbol of good versus evil within Tolkien’s World. :) This will be due on 11/4. We will have one week of class to brainstorm, outline and begin typing, and then three class periods to focus on writing the conclusion and editing. 

Vocabulary: Students will begin Unit 3; the quiz is TBA. Students have their vocabulary workbooks; this workbook will be collected in May and used during their 8th grade year as well.

Grammar: We have been in our first grammar unit for about two weeks, and students are learning about transitive and intransitive verbs, direct and indirect objects, and predicate adjectives and predicate nominatives. Our grammar units will begin this week; therefore, please send your child in for morning help if needed. Also, I always post extra resources in GC such as practice sheets, IXL links, Youtube videos, etc. Grammar is a difficult concept to grasp which means your child needs to identify their learning style and use that to succeed in regards to these concepts. 

There will be a test on Indirect and Direct Objects/Transitive & Intransitive/Predicate Nominative and Predicate Adjectives on 11/6.

Usually Tuesdays and Thursdays are Grammar and Vocabulary Days. 

Assessments can be any day Tuesday-Friday! :)

Life Science - Mrs. DuRant

Next week in Life Science we will wrap up our unit on mitosis and meiosis. On Tuesday, we will review and have a unit test on Wednesday (11/6).  We will then begin our unit on genetics and inherited traits.  

Accelerated Math 7 - Mr. Cargil

Next week in Accelerated Math 7 we will begin our study of our new unit, Chapter 4: Number Patterns and Fractions. We will work on factorization and also work with prime and composite numbers.

Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will begin the second half of Chapter 4 by learning about exponent rules such as the product and quotient rules (4.5).  We will also learn about zero exponents and negative exponents (4.6). There will be a quiz on Friday covering sections 4.5-4.6.

ELA - Mrs. Sasser

Students will start vocabulary unit 6 this week with a quiz the following Wednesday. Quizlet study flashcards are posted to Google Classroom, so students should be reviewing every night. For writing, students will continue to work on their four paragraph essay. We will go through the revision process and make corrections before the final draft is due on November 13th. Students will use their proofreading marks to make corrections and look for key grammatical errors in their own writing. 

Earth Science - Mrs. Hoffman

  We have finished up our weather unit with a look at severe weather.  Our last few groups presented their storm project group activities and we took a quiz over the five different storm types.  The students then became weather newscasters. They were divided into different groups and were given a photo of a weather disaster.  These included Hurricane Matthew, the Great Dust Bowl or a severe Flood. They briefly researched what happened during that event and then wrote a headline and short script to film a Breaking News newscast story.  Some of these films will be going into our Spring Film Festival. We will begin Trimester 2 with renewable and non-renewable resources and different forms of Energy. The will also get a new syllabus.

Earth Science - Mrs. DuRant

Next week in Earth Science students will conclude their group projects researching various types of storms such as tornadoes, blizzards, hurricanes, droughts/floods and thunderstorms. They will present their projects to the class on Monday and Tuesday. They will have a quiz on storms (based off their projects) on Thursday.  We will wrap up the unit on Friday with an engaging activity to reinforce concepts learned throughout this unit on weather!

Ancient Civ -  Mr. O’Hayer

Next week we will dive into Chapter 7: Changes for the Jewish People. In this chapter we will discuss and analyze the religious, economic, and social structures of the Hebrew people. We will also discuss the impact of the Babylonians and the Persians on the Jewish people. We will have our Chapter test on Thursday.

Spanish - Mr. Alexander

This week, we will begin a new unit addressing grammar points like ‘por/para’, preterite and past continuous tense, more irregular verbs and vocabulary lists.  This week we will focus on ‘por/para’ and the new vocabulary. Students will continue working on their group projects.

SPECIALS

Art - Mrs. Cookson - Week of November 4th 

“An artist never really finishes his work; he merely abandons it.” - Paul Valéry

8th: Will get into the heart of our surprise project

7th: We missed class last week due to Parent Conferences, so we will have a demo on slab technique and get started with clay

6th: Will continue 1-point perspective drawing