May 10th - May 14th

 

JOIN THE GREEN TEAM!

See details under Community Service Opportunities

FIELD DAY

Our Middle School Field Day will be Thursday, May 27th. Drop-off (8:45- 9:00 am) and pick-up (12:40-12:55 pm) will be at the Lake Mayer Park Pavillion on Sallie Mood Drive; and lunch will be provided! 

8TH GRADE GRADUATION DINNER

Graduation is coming up soon! On May 26th the National Junior Honor Society is sponsoring a graduation dinner for all 8th grade students. This dinner will be from 6:00PM-7:30PM followed by a movie sponsored by our Student Government 7:30PM-9:00PM. Students are to be dressed nicely for dinner and may bring a change of clothes for the movie afterwards. Parents are welcome to come take pictures before our dinner for the students begins. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Lynda DuRant (ldurant@hancockdayschool.org) or Leslie Sale (Lsale@hancockdayschool.org).

MIDDLE SCHOOL MOVIE NIGHT

The Student Government will be sponsoring a movie night for middle school students on Wednesday, May 26th from 7:30PM - 9:00PM. More details to follow.

CARPOOL & EXTENDED REMINDERS

Students that are not picked up at carpool dismissal will immediately be sent to our Extended Day Program. Teachers cannot “hold” students in their classroom. If you are aware that your child will be staying after school, please register them for Extended using the Daily Carpool Changes form. There is a $20 charge for reservations. If a student comes to Extended without a reservation (or prior enrollment in the monthly program) there is a $50 drop-in charge. 

EARLY CHECKOUT REMINDER

Early checkouts should continue to occur by 2:15pm due to our staggered dismissal times this year. Please submit all changes using our Daily Carpool Changes form. 

 

8TH GRADE INFOCUS GRADUATION PICTURES

Parents: In Focus Photography will be taking Hancock Day School 8th grade graduation pictures on May 27, 2021 prior to the graduation ceremony.  Please have students arrive at 5:15 to have the class picture taken at 5:30pm sharp. If you are interested in purchasing pictures, please follow the directions below: In Focus is now offering prepay online by credit cards or through PayPal.  

• Please print THIS ORDER FORM.

• Please fill out the information and return to the school by May 26, 2021 or email the order form to terri@infocus.photo with payment having been processed online.

• Please go to www.infocus.photo to  pay online.

• Please type “HDS” for the school.  

• Hit the “Blue” pay online button.

• Please enter the cost of your order only.

• $5 shipping charge is automatically added.

• The orders will be mailed to your mailing address within 2 to 3 weeks.

If you have any questions, please contact Terri Thompson, owner, directly either by phone, 912-247-0404 or email, terri@infocus.photo. Please feel free to check out their website at www.infocus.photo.

 

SAVANNAH STATE UNIVERSITY VIRTUAL GENCYBER CAMP
Savannah State University will be conducting a virtual summer camp for middle school students from June 7 to 11 to introduce cybersecurity concepts and awareness by conducting a variety of hands-on activities using Drones and MicroBit trainer kits. Trainer kits will be provided at no cost to each participant. Please see THIS flyer with all the details and information that they will be covering during the virtual summer camp. They have space for 50 applicants and the application deadline is May 21 by 5 PM.  You can apply online by clicking HERE. If you have further questions, you can contact Alberto De La Cruz at delacruz@savannahstate.edu or contact Dr Mir Hayder at hayderm@savannahstate.edu. 

 

CAMPUS SAFETY REMINDERS

For the safety of our students, faculty, staff, and administrative team members, please remember to put your mask on if you are outside of your vehicle on campus for any reason. Additionally, parents are still not allowed inside the buildings unless they have a scheduled meeting. Thank you for your understanding and support!

 

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.

JOIN THE GREEN TEAM!!

NEW ON CAMPUS COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITY!  

Good environmental practices begin locally.  We are looking for student volunteers to give up some time each week during their Eagle Op period to green up our campus.  Each week Mr. Crawford will coordinate projects that will enhance the beauty and functionality of our campus environment.  Students who wish to volunteer should email Mr. Crawford at hcrawford@hancockdayschool.org.

COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITY!

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 see Mrs. Mannarino to sign up!

WALKERS FOR NEXT WEEK

Monday, May 10th: Thomas and Henry

Tuesday, May 11th: Thomas and Henry

Wednesday, May 12th: Helen and Lyla

Thursday, May 13th: Cullen and Andrew

Friday, May 14th: Will R. and Eli

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 #32: MISTAKES.

• Mistakes are meant to be made. It's what you do different the next time that matters - Dina Maryea-Baker

The weather has warmed up and you may find your student’s motivation (as well as your own) waning as the clock ticks closer to summer.  However, it is a great time to teach children about diligence and working hard all the way up to the end of the school year.  Here are some tips to curb Spring Fever:

How to Help Your Child Focus on School and Avoid Spring Fever

Allison Maher 

amaher@hancockdayschool.org       

ALGEBRA - MRS. SMOAK

Next week, we will continue working on Chapter 9 about polynomials. We will look at special types of polynomials: perfect squares and difference of squares (9.4). We will then move into how to factor quadratic equations by completing the square and then solve them (9.5). The next assessment will be Friday May 14. 

GEOMETRY - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Geometry, we will continue Chapter 12 by discovering how to find the volume of prisms and cylinders (12.4) as well as pyramids and cones (12.5).  We will also learn how to find the surface area and volume of spheres (12.6).  We will use ratios and proportions to solve problems involving similar solids (12.7).  There will be a quiz covering 12.4-12.6 on Thursday.

ELA - MRS. BOYER

Eulogies are due!

This week we will be working on our t-shirts!! Please have students bring in either a new or old tshirt to decorate! I will have paint, but if you would like to bring more supplies, please do so. You can also turn a shirt inside out and decorate the inside. That is fine with me! :) 

Memorization Project: Students have been given about five sections of 14-17 lines to memorize from Romeo and Juliet. The memorization is due by May 12th. This will act as one of the final projects for the unit/trimester. The assignment has been posted in GC for more information. :) They will also need an old/new blank t-shirt of any color. 

There will be a TAKE HOME quiz on Act IV & V on May 18th. 

Romeo & Juliet will bring us to the end of T3.Their exam will be the unit test for Romeo & Juliet, and an essay regarding the theme from all novels of the year. 

*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….we will begin the week with receiving a new vocabulary list of foods.  Ths is an extensive list of foods and will take a couple of days to complete.  On Wednesday,  the students will take their test on reflexive verbs and vocabulary and the preterite tense:-ar, -er, -ir verbs as well as the irregular verbs IR & SER in the preterite.  The rest of the week, the students will find out about their upcoming project.  Work on the project will begin Friday.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE - MS. HOFFMAN

Our eighth graders have finished up all our information on the EM Spectrum and Light.  Last week they explored primary and secondary colors with a rainbow lab and even designed and named their own variations of color during a fun rainbow lab. This week we investigated mirrors and lenses, including another interactive lab.  (See photos for both labs below.) Due to our soccer playoffs (Go Eagles!) the unit test for EM spectrum/ Light will be Monday, 5/10/21.

Next week we will begin a mini-unit on electricity, including learning about static electricity, static discharge, voltage, electrical current and parallel/ series circuits.  On Friday 5/14 they will begin their exam project activity on electricity.  During this project students will choose between a written report or creating a test (with answer key) to demonstrate their knowledge of electricity.  A progress check will be on Wednesday 5/19/21 and the final project will be due Monday, 5/24/21.

US HISTORY - MRS. HORTON

This week in US History we will begin our Final Exam Project. This project will be completed in class. Students will not have a written exam this Trimester.

ADVANCED SPANISH - MRS. SALE & MR. ALEXANDER

Hola….this week we will start the week off with making a study guide for this week’s test.  Tuesday, the students will review for the test while playing Bingo/a review game.  Wednesday, the students will take their last test, chapter 6 test.  The test will cover clothing vocabulary, colors, saber & conocer, IOP’s, preterite tense and demonstrative adjectives.  Thursday, the reflexive tense will be introduced.  Also, a project will be introduced.  The project will last a week.   I will assign partners for the project.  Have a nice weekend.

ALGEBRA 1 - MRS. SMOAK

Next week, we will continue working on Chapter 9 about polynomials. We will start with solving factored polynomial equations (9.5) and look at special types of polynomials: perfect squares and difference of squares (9.4). We will then move into how to factor quadratic equations by completing the square and then solve them (9.5). The next assessment will be Friday May 14. 

PRE-ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will continue Chapter 10 by learning about properties of polygons and quadrilaterals (10.2), as well as how to find the area of triangles, rectangles, parallelograms, and trapezoids (10.3).  There will be a quiz covering 10.1-10.3 on Friday.

ELA - MRS. BOYER

Students have begun Short Story Mini-Unit that will bring us to our Exam project-which will be a cross-curricular project with their History class. Students have chosen their topics and have begun researching. This week they will continue to research and begin their draft. 

Upcoming! 

Summer Reading! 

I will be handing out 8th grade Summer Reading in the next few weeks. I have a few copies of the novels (2) being assigned. Students may have them on a first come first serve basis. 

ELA - MRS. SASSER

This week, students will take what they have learned this year about crafting good stories, developing conflict, and creating interesting characters to create a children’s book. This children’s book will be a cross-curricular project with history. Students will choose a history topic from our second and third grade curriculum to research. They will then use this topic to create a story and develop their books; eventually we will share these books with our lower school students! 

Research should be complete by Tuesday 5/11. Students will spend Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday planning and drafting their stories. The better planned their story is, the easier it will be for students to write their story. All final drafts are due by the end of class on Thursday. As with any writing assignment, students may always come in early to ask questions, get feedback, or go over their progress. 

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

This week in Life Science, students will present their Biomes Digital Storybooks on Monday. Then we will wrap up the unit by exploring ecological succession followed by an overview of marine habitats. Later in the week we will review for the unit test on Ecology which will be Friday, May 14. Please remind your child to check the google classroom daily for updates, assignments, and additional study material. 

US HISTORY - MRS. HORTON

This week in American History we will begin work on our American History Final Exam Project. Students will write a Children’s Book involving a specific time period in History. Our exam project will be a cross-curricular collaborative effort involving History, ELA, and Art. Students will choose from a list of topics that have been covered in 2nd/3rd grade and create a historical fact-based children’s story with illustrations. When completed, students will read their stories to the 2nd graders.

US HISTORY - MR. O’HAYER

This week in American History we will begin work on our American History Final Exam Project. Students will write a Children’s Book involving a specific time period in History. Our exam project will be a cross-curricular collaborative effort involving History, ELA, and Art. Students will choose from a list of topics that have been covered in 2nd/3rd grade and create a historical fact-based children’s story with illustrations. When completed, students will read their stories to the 2nd graders.

ACCELERATED MATH - MR. CARGILE

Next week in Accelerated Math 7, we will wrap-up Chapter 7, Equations, Inequalities, and Functions. On Monday, we will review and practice for the Chapter 7 test, which will be on Tuesday. For the rest of the week we will start a cumulative review of Chapter 1-7 in preparation for our trimester 3 exam.

PRE-ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will continue Chapter 10 by learning about properties of polygons and quadrilaterals (10.2), as well as how to find the area of triangles, rectangles, parallelograms, and trapezoids (10.3).  There will be a quiz covering 10.1-10.3 on Friday.

EARTH SCIENCE - MS. HOFFMAN

In Astronomy this week we have ventured into the solar system with information on the Sun and an interactive lab illustrating the distances between planets. (See photos next week of our lab activity.)  The students will continue learning about the solar system and our planets during their at-home Solar System Trading Cards project.  There will be a project progress check (homework grade) on Monday 5/10/21 where at least seven of the fourteen cards must be completed.  Rubrics went handed out and explained on Tuesday 5/4 and the entire project is due on Friday 5/14/2.  This project will count as one TEST grade and an additional homework grade when turned in. 

Next week for our Astronomy unit we will compare the heliocentric and geocentric models of the solar system and discuss galaxies and the life cycle of stars.  We will also briefly talk about constellations.  Our final unit test will be on Tuesday, 5/18/21.  Students have also been working on their Astronomy Alphabet book for the last few weeks.  This is due on Monday, 5/17/21 and winners in both classes with the most vocabulary words will win full-size candy bars.  All of these due dates and assignment information is also found on Google Classroom under the topic Astronomy.

EARTH SCIENCE - MRS. DURANT

Last week in Earth Science, students began their final unit of the year - Astronomy! This is an exciting unit with so much to explore. Students need to bring their Solar System Trading Cards to class on Monday, May 10 for a progress check. Final project is due Friday, May 14. This will count as 2 homework grades and 1 test grade. All instructions are in the Google Classroom. On Tuesday, May 12, students will have a quiz on Earth’s Motion and the Lunar Phases. In lab, we will combine math skills and science knowledge to make a scale model of the distance between the planets. We will wrap up the week learning about the Sun. Please remind your child to check the google classroom daily for updates, assignments, and additional study material. 

ELA - MRS. SASSER

Students will continue to work on their final essay for The Outsiders. This week, they will draft their body paragraphs and conclusion. It is essential that students work diligently in class, get their writing checked (either at home or by coming in early to see me), and follow the deadlines on Google Classroom. 

Drafts will be due on Friday 5/14 for a peer review session. 

All final essays will be due Monday 5/17. 

Reading Reminder: As with any novel study, students will have guided questions to complete for each section. 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. 

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 we will watch season 2 of “Buena Gente” (Good People) on YouTube.  Students will complete some activities to assist and assess their understanding of the episodes.

* Make sure to continue working on Duolingo everyday!

WORLD HISTORY - MR. O’HAYER 

This week in World History students will begin working on their Final Exam Projects. The project is called an ABC Book. Students will research the concepts from the following topics: Immigration, The Enlightenment, Ancient Greece and Rome, and the Industrial Revolution. We will conduct our research in class and build the book over the next 2 weeks. Students have the Guidelines, Steps, and the Rubric. This is a 2 person group project. Each student has their own respective Letters they are responsible for.

ART - MRS. COOKSON

“Be yourself. No one can ever tell you you’re doing it wrong.” - James Leo Herlihy

Sketchbook Prompt: Draw the cover of your favorite book or album art

8th: Will finish with screen printing

7th: Will work on illustrations for a cross curricular book project

6th: Will work with coil construction in clay