April 6th - April 10th

DISTANCE LEARNING WEEK TWO!

Students, families, and teachers are settling into the routine (whatever that means) of eLearning.  A big thank you to all of our families for the support they have given to this process and to their children in adapting to it.  If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to Tricia Guggenheim or Howard Crawford.  We are trying to address any issues.

DISTANCE LEARNING ETIQUETTE

Good manners are a characteristic of our Hancock students. In the distance learning environment there are some special circumstances that need to be acknowledged.  Click HERE for our expectations of the principles of the Hancock Way.  

SCHEDULE WEEK OF APRIL 6

There is no school on Good Friday.  Classes will be held on Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday and Thursday.  There will be no “help” day like last Wednesday. If you need help, teachers are available 11:15-12:00 each day and by appointment.  Please make sure to ask for help if you need it!!

SCHEDULE WEEK OF APRIL 13

There is no school on Easter Monday.  Classes will be held on Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday and Friday.  There will be no “help” day like last Wednesday. If you need help, teachers are available 11:15-12:00 each day and by appointment.  Please make sure to ask for help if you need it!!

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 the 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.

SHELTERED IN PLACE COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

The best opportunities for service during these times come through supporting family.  Student service to family that goes beyond normal expectations will be recognized for community service hours.  This might include helping grandparents, tutoring younger siblings or cousins, or baby sitting so parents can work from home.  When these hours are earned please communicate that to Mrs. Mannarino following the standard protocol.  

While we participate in distance learning, be aware that your middle school student may begin to feel socially isolated, which in turn can affect their emotional health.  After all, many state that being with friends is one of the best parts of their school day.  

Assure your student that the current situation is temporary and consider allowing some creative ways for students to reach out to peers.  Social media, texting, and FaceTime may provide a way for students to stay connected. However, as always, parents should continue to monitor and provide limits to devices as too much can have a negative effect.     

I continue to be available for support or concerns by email at amaher@hancockdayschool.org.  If needed, I can provide video support to you or your student.  Please feel free to reach out!  

-Allison Maher, School Counselor

Algebra 1 - Mr. Cargile

It has been so nice to see the students in our Zoom classes this week! Everyone seems to be settling into our new mode of learning and doing well. Next week in Algebra 1 class we will continue to apply properties of exponents with products and quotients, and we will also define and use zero and negative exponents. 

Geometry - Mr. Lanfear

The students are doing well with distance learning.  Next week, in Geometry, we will learn how to find the area of any regular polygon (11.6).  We will also have a quiz covering 11.1-11.5. The quiz will be taken during class time.

Advanced Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

The students are doing well with distance learning.  Next week, in Advanced Algebra, we will review exponent rules and then have a quiz covering exponent rules.  The quiz will be taken during class time.

Physical Science - Ms. Hoffman

I think we are all getting the feel for student virtual online learning.  Other than some students being a little sleepy and some wanting to on-line chat with friends during class, students have been very focused and have been completing all their work.  This week we used the breakout rooms feature where students can work together with partners or small groups with less interruption and more one-on-one interaction with their classmates. The students can then screenshare (like I do during the lecture portion of class) a handout, questions or diagram and then discuss it together. I facilitate by checking in with each group of students to ask questions, give assistance and/or offer advice and then we all come back together to review answers or discuss additional information.  We also had an optional study/ review session during our Wednesday instructional time this week and took our first online quiz on sound today. 

Please feel free to contact me via email with any questions and students are encouraged to use the instructional time from 11:15 - noon M/T/Th/F and 8am to noon on Wednesdays to ask questions, review and complete make up work with teachers.

Our next unit will be on the EM (electromagnetic) spectrum. We will start off with information about the seven primary waves of the spectrum (radio, microwave, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays and gamma rays) and why they are important and useful.  We will focus on light and how we see, including color and parts of the eye and will complete a virtual lab. A take-home test on this material is tentatively scheduled for the week of 4/20. The last Science Choice Board of the year will be due Thursday, 4/30/20. 

                 

English Language Arts - Mrs. Boyer

During these upcoming weeks, students will be reading and completing Night. We will be using our Zoom time to discuss the study guide questions (posted in GC, completed for HW, and reviewed in class and during Student Support Time). This upcoming week we will begin parsing through Elie’s relationship to his father, and the second half of the novel. There will be a quiz during the week of April 6th. 

I will be having a one hour review session on 4/1 at 9:00 during the student support time. This will be recorded and posted for anyone who is not able to attend. All of the 8th grade is welcome to join. :) 

Vocabulary: Unit 15 & 16. I will post the quiz on 4/2 at 11:15 am and the students will have until 8:00 pm to complete and turn in the assignment. Students will need to complete the assessment in one sitting, and they may not use their notes. 

**As of now, students will STILL have a reading log to complete.**

T3 Reading Log Project: Students will be given a choice of three different novels to read. They will read their chosen novel and complete a Google form, answering key discussion questions about their novel. All Google forms must be submitted by May 6th. 

History & Gov’t II - Mrs. Robinson

Next week, in American History & Government II, we will be continuing our study of World War II. Students will start the week by giving a presentation on how life changed for specific groups of people during WWII (women, African-Americans, Japanese-Americans and Native Americans) for a small project grade. We will then start a more in depth study of some of the major battles of the war. Students will create a radio show to share with the class about the battle they have been assigned. I am really enjoying getting to see the students throughout the week during this strange time. I know overtime this routine can get tedious, I know I am having trouble being in front of my screen so much! I am encouraging the kids to try something new, bake something, go for a bike ride, play a new game etc. I want them to focus on their mental well being as well as the history, so please let me know if I can be of support in any way! Remember, short week next week, with Friday off, so the 8th graders will meet with me Tuesday & Thursday of next week.

8th grade Spanish - Ms. Hill

Google Voice - We will be doing some listening and speaking exercises via Google Voice. The students do not need Google Voice, it is something I have on my end. They were asked to email me their phone numbers. In addition to using this for communication, we will use this to set up some listening and speaking activities where they call the number, listen to the voicemail (which would be the listening portion) as many times as needed before they leave their response. If they do not have a phone they may use, we can set it up as a one on one zoom session. 

In addition to reviewing previously covered vocabulary and grammar topics this week from Unit 6 lessons 1 and 2 (posted in Google Classroom), I have asked my students to brainstorm for ideas or activities that we could use to make our distance learning more exciting. I have posted a survey in Google Classroom for them to complete. 

I have also posted online resources and supplemental materials (to be updated weekly) in google classroom. 

Algebra 1 - Mr. Cargile

It has been so nice to see the students in our Zoom classes this week! Everyone seems to be settling into our new mode of learning and doing well. Next week in Algebra 1 class we will continue to apply properties of exponents with products and quotients, and we will also define and use zero and negative exponents. 

Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

The students are doing well with distance learning.  It’s important to ensure that distractions, such as cell phones, are kept to a minimum during class time.  Next week, in Pre-Algebra, we will practice solving systems of equations (8.8) and learn how to graph linear inequalities (8.9).

History & Gov’t I - Mrs. Robinson

Next week, in American History & Government I, we will continue our study of Thomas Jefferson’s Presidency. We will focus on the explorations of Lewis and Clark and how the claiming of that westward land shaped the development of America. I am really enjoying getting to see the students throughout the week during this strange time. I know overtime this routine can get tedious, I know I am having trouble being in front of my screen so much! I am encouraging the kids to try something new, bake something, go for a bike ride, play a new game etc. I want them to focus on their mental well being as well as the history, so please let me know if I can be of support in any way! Remember, short week next week, with Friday off, so the students will meet with me Monday and Wednesday next week.

7th grade Spanish - Ms. Hill

Google Voice - We will be doing some listening and speaking exercises via Google Voice. The students do not need Google Voice, it is something I have on my end. They were asked to email me their phone numbers. In addition to using this for communication, we will use this to set up some listening and speaking activities where they call the number, listen to the voicemail (which would be the listening portion) as many times as needed before they leave their response. If they do not have a phone they may use, we can schedule it as a one on one zoom session for the listening prompt. 

In addition to reviewing previously covered vocabulary and grammar topics this week from Unit 5 lessons 1 & 2 (posted in Google Classroom), I have asked my students to brainstorm for ideas or activities that we could use to make our distance learning more exciting. I have posted a survey in Google Classroom for them to complete. 

ELA - Mrs. Boyer

During the next few weeks students will be engaging in a Short Story Unit where they will read “Flowers for Algernon”, “Two Kinds”, and “The Most Dangerous Game”. We will be reading, discussing, and analyzing together; however, it is imperative that students read before coming to class, they complete their questions, and they annotate in order to understand. A scanned story is online for all of the material that we will cover. 

There will be assessments; however, they will be posted in GC and students will have a day or so to complete them. Assessments will not be taken in class; they will need to be completed in one sitting without the use of notes. 

Vocabulary: Students will be working through Unit 7.

** As of now students are STILL expected to complete their Reading Log for T3.**

T3 Reading Log Project: Students will be given a choice of three different novels to read. They will read their chosen novel and complete a Google form, answering key discussion questions about their novel. All Google forms must be submitted by May 6th. 

Life Science - Mrs. DuRant

It has been so wonderful to see everyone through our Zoom classes this past week!  I look forward to that time each day! Please remember that I am available Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday during our Student Support Sessions from 11:15am-12:00pm and on Wednesdays from 8:00am-12:00pm.  I am also always available to you by email… so please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. Please continue to check the google classroom daily for announcements and reminders. This week in life science, we will conclude our unit on the Respiratory System.   We will have our test on this unit on Thursday, April 6. 

Accelerated Math 7 - Mr. Cargile

It has been so nice to see the students in our Zoom classes this week! Everyone seems to be settling into our new mode of learning and doing well. Next week in Accelerated Math 7 we will start learning about Ratios and Rates.

Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear

The students are doing well with distance learning.  It’s important to ensure that distractions, such as cell phones, are kept to a minimum during class time.  Next week, in Pre-Algebra, we will practice solving systems of equations (8.8) and learn how to graph linear inequalities (8.9).

ELA - Mrs. Sasser

The kids have continued to have an amazing week on Zoom! I am so impressed with their flexibility and involvement. It doesn’t compare to seeing them every day at HDS, but I am so thankful we still get to interact! 

Students will continue to work on The Giver  this week, reading chapters 6-10. As we read each chapter, we’ll discuss the ideas of choice and the benefits and disadvantages of having our choices made for us. We’ll also examine the laws/rules in Jonas’ community versus the ones in our own, analyzing the purposes of laws and the role they are meant to play in the lives of citizens. Students will have guided questions for chapters 6-10 and will need to upload them to Google classroom under the right assignment post. If they are having trouble navigating this, just send me an email and we can Zoom so I can walk them through it. 

Students will have a test of chapters 1-12 on Monday April 20th. 

Students will also need to complete IXL Sections Z 2, AA 2, CC, 1, FF 1, KK 1. This will be due on Friday for an averaged classwork grade. 

T3 Reading Log Project: Students will be given a choice of five different novels to read. They should have a copy of their novel in class by March 9th. They will read their chosen novel independently over the course of the trimester and complete a Google form, answering key discussion questions about their novel. All Google forms must be submitted by May 6th. 

Earth Science - Mrs. Hoffman

I think we are all getting the feel for student virtual online learning.  Other than some students being a little sleepy during class, overall they have all been very focused and most have been completing all their work.  This week we used the breakout rooms feature where students can work together with partners or small groups with less interruption and more one-on-one interaction with their classmates. The students can then screenshare (like I do during the lecture portion of class) a handout, questions or diagram and then discuss it together.  I facilitate by checking in with each group of students to ask questions, give assistance and/or offer advice and then we all come back together to review answers or discuss additional information.

Please feel free to contact me via email with any questions and students are encouraged to use the instructional time from 11:15 - noon M/T/Th/F and 8am to noon on Wednesdays to ask questions, review and complete make up work with teachers.

We have completed our ocean unit and will have a unit test on this information on Thursday, 4/9/20.  This will be an on-line test that the students will take during the Zoom class period they have with me that day.  Keeping with our Ocean theme, we have started discussing our human impact on the ocean waters including ocean pollution.  Students will work at-home on a project creating an ocean pollution storybook. (Some examples students can choose are a coloring/activity book, comic book, mystery, google slide or Prezi presentation.) This is a 2 ½ week partner project and students will be able to Zoom with their partners, with my supervision, during the instructional time we have each day and later in the afternoons as my schedule allows.  They can also utilize google slides/ documents to work on their joint project. The ocean pollution storybook project will be due Monday, 4/20/20. The last Science in Comic of the year will be due Thursday, 4/30/20. 

Earth Science - Mrs. DuRant

It has been so wonderful to see everyone through our Zoom classes this past week!  I look forward to that time each day! Please remember that I am available Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday during our Student Support Sessions from 11:15am-12:00pm and on Wednesdays from 8:00am-12:00pm.  I am also always available to you by email… so please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. Please continue to check the google classroom daily for announcements and reminders. This week in earth science, we will continue our study of the oceans.  We will have a quiz on Thursday, April 6.

Ancient Civ -  Mr. O’Hayer

I hope everyone’s first few classes went well. This is an adjustment for all of us and I am proud of how all the 6th graders have responded. Keep up the positive attitudes, it makes learning online fun for all of us. So, this week we will finish (if needed)/review Lesson 1: The Founding of Rome and begin Lesson 2: The Roman Republic (this lesson is about Roman government, we have studied and discussed many of the same concepts/types of government in other civilizations) Friday the 10th is Good Friday, an all-school holiday so no class. We will have our Ch. 12 Lessons 1 and 2 Quiz on Tuesday April 14th. Remember, I want you all to take ownership of this online learning experience. If you have ideas or thoughts for fun activities (AC or otherwise) that we can do in class I want you to share with your class. We all need to be active in making this class fun and engaging. Don’t forget….. Be active everyday and log your activities in the PE log sheet. 

Spanish - Mr. Alexander

This week we will continue viewing and summarizing ‘Buena Gente’ found on YouTube.

Tuesday, we will have a short review of our prepositions; and we will take the test on Thursday.  Also, students are working on IXL. Unit 1 should be completed by Friday April 10th. I changed it from the 3rd due to an error.

Art - Mrs. Cookson

“Inspiration does exist but it must find you working.” - Pablo Picasso

ALL:  What a perfect quote for this week. I know with all that is going on it may be difficult to find inspiration to create art, but it is a great outlet to let your mind relax and explore different things to just have fun. You should spend some time working on your choice from the matrix and be prepared to share your progress. Take pictures of your process along the way so we can see those too. Remember to check with your parents before you use any household objects or materials. Also, protect your work surface.