November 16th - November 20th

  

 

SAVE THESE DATES

There are a few upcoming dates with special events, irregular dismissal times, or no school for students. Understanding that these situations often require careful planning for many families, I want to draw special attention to the dates listed below -- 

• Wednesday, November 18th Parent.edu “Safety and Security”  6:00 via Zoom

• Friday, November 20th Early dismissal with NO extended (11:45 Green Gate; 12:00 Gold Gate; 12:15 White Gate) Previously scheduled as our Grandparents & Special Friends Day, we will honor our loved ones virtually and dismiss early.

• Monday, November 30th In-Service Day for faculty and staff - no school for students

 

MASKS + WATER BOTTLES

Just a reminder that each student should come to school with:

• A mask on their face

• A spare mask in their bookbag

• A water bottle that can be refilled at our water bottle stations

We have been happily providing these during the school day in emergencies, but we have started noticing a pattern. We have certain  students coming in for a new mask or water cup frequently. We want to prevent unnecessary waste so the nurse will start emailing parents when we notice repeat visitors. 

 

ADDITIONAL IN-SCHOOL STUDY TIME ADDED TO THE SCHEDULE = LESS HOMEWORK

At the end of the first trimester we completed a homework benchmarking exercise with the students.  It showed that approximately 85% of our students spend between 1 to 3 hours on homework per night.  Some spent less time, and a few spent slightly more time.  With the beginning of the basketball season, we are entering the most hectic time of the year.  To provide additional study time during the school day, thereby lowering the amount of time required at home for school work, we are going to offer students additional time to study during the school day

When we come back from Thanksgiving break, students will have the option of adding one 50 minute study hall each day to their schedule.  This study hall will be in lieu of the scheduled activities during Eagle Op (10:00-10:50).  Currently during that time students have a 25-minute snack break and then either 25 minutes of recess or 25 minutes of physical education.  They will now have the option of going to a 50-minute study hall instead of the normal snack and recess/PE time.  Students going to study hall will eat their snack in the study hall.  This will ensure that each day every student will have at least 70 minutes of study time available. 

ASSESSMENTS CALENDAR

We have created a great way for students and parents to check for upcoming assessments.  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.

Different subjects will appear in different colors:

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

Please bear in mind that Middle School Assessments may be added, removed, or changed at any time.  This Sheet will always be up to date, however - once a teacher assigns or adjusts an assessment, this Sheet will reflect that change.

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.

COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITY!

We have had great success at securing volunteers to escort HRB PK - 2nd grade students during morning carpool!  Because of this, we will limit one day a week per student for now.  Reminder: duty hours are 7:45 - 8:10.  ½ hour of community service credit each day.  Students should keep a log of their hours on the community service form. If you are interested, email Mr. Crawford and Mrs. Mannarino.

Walkers for Next Week:

Monday, November 16 - Kate K. and Charlotte G.

Tuesday, November 17 - Ford D. 

Wednesday, November 18 - Boots B. and Maggie A.

Thursday, November 19 - Cullen D. and Andrew W.

Friday, November 20 - Lyla W. and Harper W. 

This year in the LC Corner, I will be offering tips and strategies to support your work at school and at home. Please reach out to me anytime you need assistance or have any questions. tguggenheim@hancockdayschool.org

Tip #13: PARTICIPATE! Be an active learner. 

• Participate in class discussions

• Ask questions

• Come in for extra help

• Create study guides

• Set up study groups

• Ask a parent to quiz you or review with you

• Make note cards

• Answer questions

The more you participate, the more you engage your brain in learning. The more you engage your brain in learning, the more you learn.

One common concern that we often hear from parents is about how to help their students manage social media and the associated pressures.  For an eye opening look into how developers and social media companies attract users and keep them coming back for more, watch The Social Dilemma available on Netflix.  

While there are benefits to social media, preteens and teens need guidance and boundaries from parents to help navigate the challenges.  Check on this article for some tips on how to help your student find balance with social media and technology: Help Kids Balance Their Media Lives

Allison Maher 

amaher@hancockdayschool.org       

ALGEBRA - MRS. SMOAK

Moving forward in algebra 1, we are going to graph a picture using ordered pairs on a coordinate plane (4.1) and continue with graphing lines using intercepts and slopes (4.2-4.4). There will be a quiz on Thursday before we leave for Thanksgiving break.

GEOMETRY - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Geometry, we will continue Chapter 5 by learning about angle bisectors in triangles and the incenter (5.3), medians and the centroid (5.4), and altitudes and the orthocenter (5.4).  There will be a quiz on Tuesday covering 5.1-5.3.

ELA - MRS. BOYER

We are beginning Animal Farm!! Students will be reading the novel in two parts because it is only ten chapters. Chapters 1-5 will be due on 11/18/2020, and Chapters 6-10 will be due after Thanksgiving break. Students will be diving into the following topics: Russian Revolution, Propaganda, Types of Government, Symbolism, Characterization, Allegory, etc. 

Students will be working on multiple group activities regarding this novel. Class discussion will be key to understanding the material. Students will receive two study guides throughout this unit; one will be more focused on simplistic comprehension, and the other will focus more on thematic and symbolic elements.

Projects: 

Perfect Society Creation

Essay/Literary Review

Assessments: 

Pop Quiz the week of 12/1

Unit 5 Vocab Quiz 12/4

Animal Farm Test 12/11

*It is critically important that all 8th graders stick with the timelines I give them for reading and projects. Also, if students are spending more than 25-35 minutes on ELA homework, please send them to me in the morning. Students in the 8th grade really need to pay attention to their time management skills before moving forward to 9th grade.*

HIGH SCHOOL SPANISH - MRS. SALE

Hola...this week we will devote our time to working on ‘’pasatiempos’’ and we will take advantage of reviewing items from the past.  There will be two quizzes this week...both will be focusing on hobbies/vocabulary as well as a few things from the past.  I would like to take this opportunity to wish my students and their families a very Happy Thanksgiving holiday. Have fun and stay safe.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE - MS. HOFFMAN

          Eighth grade has started off the second trimester with a short introduction to acids and bases.  They participated in a lab to learn about pH and various indicators. (See photos below.)  We will have a quiz on acids and bases on Tuesday, 11/17/20 to finish up all of our chemistry for this year.  The students also received their new syllabus outlining the rest of our topics for the trimester beginning with the physics portion of Physical Science.  This will start off next week with information on kinetic and potential energy, the Law of Conservation of Energy, and various energy transformations.  Upcoming labs include energy and pendulums.  

We are in the last month of Science Fair Projects, so please check below for science fair information.  There will be an in-class science fair project research day on Wednesday 11/18/20.  Students should be already starting to conduct their experiments and gather data (or are planning to do so within the next week or so).

Science Fair Update:  

All the students have turned in their final draft of background/ research information for their project. This narrative will be included in their formal report, which they should already be starting to set up and organize on a specific Google Document.  (The outline of what is to be included in the formal report and how it should be set up is found in their Science Fair Packet and we have reviewed it in class several times.) 

All remaining due dates are listed below.  Students have started to sign up to borrow equipment for their projects (if they need to do so) and I have given safety forms to those students using chemicals, fire or other potentially dangerous items.  These MUST be completed and signed before project experiments begin.  Students should be starting to conduct their experiments (or build their prototypes) at this time.

Any student with questions or concerns about their science fair project should email or meet with me to discuss the situation.   I am available every morning from 7:30 - 8am, after school on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays as well as during break and snack.

**Remember that along with numerous homework grades, this assignment will count as a test grade (formal report), homework grade (log book), classwork grade (class presentation) and Second Trimester project grade (triptych).

Remaining Science Fair Project Dates

                                                (* Indicate Homework Grades)      

 

 

Wednesday                12/2/20                        *Log Book Check with Data/ Results OR

    Prototype/Solution 

 

Wednesday                12/9/20                        *Log Book Check/ Updated Results OR 

Solution  AND Sketch of Triptych

  Completed Formal Report (printed) 

 

Wednesday                12/16/20                     All Completed Project Triptych & Log Book 

            Project presentations also this week

US HISTORY - MRS. ROBINSON

Next week, in American History & Government II, we will continue our unit four on Reconstruction. We will start the week with our Reconstruction debate where students will try and convince the class that their assigned Reconstruction plan would have been the best for the country. After the debate students will be challenged to create their own Reconstruction plan based on what they know about the countries needs at the time. Then students will study the Radical Republicans Reconstruction plan and Johnson’s Presidency. The week will finish with a unique look at some of the positives of that came from the time of Reconstruction. 

ADVANCED SPANISH - MRS. SALE

Hola...we will begin the week with an exciting game if SALE FEUD...it is a review game that the kids seem to enjoy and more importantly...they learn from it. :)  We will have 2 quizzes this week.  Both will focus on adjectives and family members.  Friday’s quiz will tend to have more review on it.  In the middle of the week, the students will learn about ‘’question words” and “how to form a question”.  I would like to take this opportunity to wish my students and their families a very Happy Thanksgiving holiday. Have fun and stay safe.

ADVANCED SPANISH - MR. ALEXANDER

We will have 2 quizzes this week.  Both will focus on adjectives and family members.  Friday’s quiz will tend to have more review on it.  In the middle of the week, the students will learn about ‘’question words” and “how to form a question”. 

ALGEBRA 1 - MRS. SMOAK

Moving forward in algebra 1, we are going to graph a picture using ordered pairs on a coordinate plane (4.1) and continue with graphing lines using intercepts and slopes (4.2-4.4). There will be a quiz on Thursday before we leave for Thanksgiving break.

PRE-ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will continue Chapter 4 by learning how to write, compare, and multiply numbers in scientific notation (4.7).  There will be a day practicing sections 4.5-4.6 on Monday and a quiz on Tuesday covering those sections.

ELA - MRS. BOYER

We have begun our dive into our Voices of the World Unit (a project based learning/research writing unit). Students have chosen their novels and should be reading each night. (The Only Road by Alexandra Diaz, A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman, The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani, The Breadwinner Trilogy by Deborah Ellis, All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg)

Right now, students are finishing their first project of the trimester with a Google Sites activity. Students are creating their own website about their novel’s country. They will focus on culture (food, dress, entertainment, etc.), religion (gods, holidays, etc.), government (leaders, political issues, allies, conflicts, etc.), and best tourist sights. Students will engage with this project in class for three days, plus a weekend, and two nights for homework for 15 minutes, the other 15 minutes should be spent reading their novel.

Students will have three weeks to finish their novels. They will receive the novel on 11/11 and will be expected to have the novel completed by 12/4. 

We will be working with Unit 5 Vocabulary, with a quiz on 11/20.

ELA - MRS. SASSER

This week, students will read chapters 6-9 in Lord of the Flies. Students will continue to have guided questions to work on while reading. These will serve as their study guide for their novel test in a few weeks, so they should be responding thoroughly and will detail. We will discuss the cause/effect of the boys’ actions and examine the “beastie,” both the physical manifestation of this island creature and the beast that lives within each boy on the island. 

As always, it is important that students keep up with the assigned reading. All reading is posted on my board in my classroom and on Google Classroom. They must come prepared to class prepared to have a conversation over the reading and complete classwork assignments. I am available every morning and during study hall if they ever have questions or want to have additional conversations about the book. 

Students will be working on Unit 5 in their Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary books.They will have a vocabulary test on Friday 11/20. 

A reminder about any and all projects in ELA: projects in my class are designed to help students think critically and not just memorize information. Rather, I want them learning how to apply what they’ve learned. They are given detailed rubrics with checklists and a breakdown of my expectations. They should consult their rubric regularly while working on their project. The bulk of ELA projects are completed in class; they are given ample time and multiple class periods where they are strictly working on their project. Therefore, if students use their time wisely, they should have only minimal parts to complete at home. 

LIFE SCIENCE - MRS. DURANT

Next week in Life Science, we will wrap up our unit on Genetics and Inherited Traits. Students will continue to practice using Punnett Squares and will participate in a lab in which they will create a model of DNA. They will also have an engaging lab extracting the DNA from a strawberry and viewing it under the microscope.  We will have a unit test on Genetics and Inherited Traits on Thursday.  I will provide a review for the test on Thursday morning at 7:30am.

US HISTORY - MRS. ROBINSON

Next week in American History & Government, we will continue our unit four on Expansion. Students will continue to work on their long term research project. They received a rubric and timeline for the project as well as scheduled work days for the project. Students will be expected to complete portions of it at home. On nights they are expected to work on their project at home this will be the only homework assigned. Next week one set of their research cards are due Monday the 16th, the second set of cards are due Wednesday the 18th. We will finish the week comparing exploration and colonization tactics of the French, Dutch & Spanish. 

US HISTORY - MR. O’HAYER

Next week in American History we continue our examination into the development of the colonies. We have concluded our study of the  New England Colonies. There we discussed how the Puritan’s religious beliefs shaped the colonies. We then  moved to the Middle Colonies and how they developed and influenced the growth and development of the overall changes that occurred there. This week  we will settle in with the Southern Colonies and the Spanish Colonies on the Borderlands. Geography will be a focus of this unit as well in how the colonies developed and were built. Our Chapter assessment will be on Wednesday, November 18th. 

ACCELERATED MATH - MR. CARGILE

Next week in Accelerated Math 7 we will begin a new chapter, Number Patterns and Fractions. To start this unit will revisit prime factorization and finding greatest common factors in preparation for operations with fractions.

PRE-ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will continue Chapter 4 by learning how to write, compare, and multiply numbers in scientific notation (4.7).  There will be a day practicing sections 4.5-4.6 on Monday and a quiz on Tuesday covering those sections.

EARTH SCIENCE - MS. HOFFMAN

  Sixth grade has started off the second trimester learning about the different energy forms.  They also participated in an Energy lab (see photos below) looking at different energy transformations.  This included creating a fruit battery (using lemons, zinc nails and copper wire), using photovoltaic cells, looking at thermal energy and using/ diagramming an electrical motor.  (We only had time for day one of this lab and will finish day two when students return to school.)  Students also began learning about renewable energy sources and received their new syllabus outlining the rest of our topics for the trimester.  Next week we will begin our Energy Project and devote at least one full day of class researching specific renewable/ nonrenewable energy source topics.  This project will count as a test grade, homework grade and classwork grade and is tentatively due Friday 12/11/20.   Also on the agenda for next week is finishing up our Energy Lab and a “cookie mining” lab simulating the cause/ effect of fossil fuels.  Our quiz on energy will be Wednesday 12/2/20.

EARTH SCIENCE - MRS. DURANT

Next week in Earth Science, students will continue their  study of renewable and nonrenewable energy as well as their impact on the environment. They will begin their Energy Project on Monday. For this project they will choose one of the following energy sources to research: solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear, fossil fuel, hydroelectric power, hydrogen power or biomass. Then they will complete the project by selecting to write a written report, making a poster board, OR making a 3-D display.  All research for the project will be completed in class. The final project (writing the report, making the poster or 3-D model) will be completed at home.  Project due date is December 11.  

ELA - MRS. SASSER

This week, students will continue reading New Kid by Jerry Craft. They will compare and contrast the main characters' situations to their own and work on identifying key conflicts that occur in the book. They will also examine the way bias plays a role in how we view each other. Students will have a quiz over chapters 1-7 on Tuesday 11/7.

As with any novel study, students will have guided questions to complete for each chapter. These should be answered in complete, thorough sentences, as it will serve as their study guide for their quizzes and final test. It is essential that students keep up with the assigned reading if they want to be successful on our in class assignments. 

All reading assignments are posted on my classroom board and on Google Classroom daily. Students should check Google Classroom every single day. 

Students will be working on Unit 5 in their Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary books.They will have a vocabulary test on Friday 11/20. 

A reminder about any and all projects in ELA: projects in my class are designed to help students think critically and not just memorize information. Rather, I want them learning how to apply what they’ve learned. They are given detailed rubrics with checklists and a breakdown of my expectations. They should consult their rubric regularly while working on their project. The bulk of ELA projects are completed in class; they are given ample time and multiple class periods where they are strictly working on their project. Therefore, if students use their time wisely, they should have only minimal parts to complete at home. 

INTRO SPANISH - MR. ALEXANDER

This week students will learn how to express negatives in Spanish as well as express agreement/disagreement. We will discuss history and culture in Spain and students will have a writing activity. We will end the week with a quiz on Thursday covering 'gustar', activities, negation, agreement / disagreement, and music from the hispanic/latino world. 

WORLD HISTORY - MR. O’HAYER

In World History we begin winding down our study of Ancient Greece and begin our dive into Ancient Rome. Last week we finished our examination of Alexander the Great and his impact on the ancient world. We then began our study of another great ancient civilization- Ancient Rome. Next week we finish studying how Rome was created and how it evolved into the Roman Republic. We will have our chapter test (Chapters 10 and 11) on Thursday, the 19th. Important Course Update: Looking ahead, we will finish our study of Ancient Greece and Rome before we depart for the holidays. As stated previously, the pace of the class, along with expectations, will continue to increase. It is imperative that students read their books and review their notes daily. 

ART - MRS. COOKSON

“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” - Aristotle

No Friday classes due to VIP Day.

Sketchbook Prompt: Draw a cute animal as if it were Frankenstein’s pet.

8th: Will continue pre-production for PSAs and may start production as time allows

7th: Will finish up building Fantasy Design structures

6th: Will finalize all outstanding work