September 6th - September 10th

 

NEW PE PROGRAM FOR THE MIDDLE SCHOOL!

Mr. Helton and his team have reorganized the PE program for the Middle School.  New this year is an Athletic Development elective.  Details about the program are explained HERE. Please complete this Google Form to select the Athletic Development or Study Hall option for your student. This is due today - Friday, September 3rd.

 

ZOOM PROTOCOLS 

When you suspect your child might have been exposed to COVID we would like you to notify the homeroom teacher and the nurse by email (nurse@hancockdayschool.org).  We will be ready within 24 hours to have your child remotely connected with his/her classes.  Complete details can be found HERE.

 

SPECIAL 6TH GRADE PARENT EVENING WITH MRS. GUGGENHEIM

Join me at 6:00pm on Tuesday, September 14th, in Hancock Hall for a Parent EDU entitled “A Parent’s Guide to Making the Transition Into 6th Grade.” We will discuss ways to help ease the move from lower school into middle school; I will offer strategies and give you the opportunity to ask questions you may have about 6th grade. I hope to see you there!

EARLY CHECKOUTS

As noted on our Carpool Changes Form, all early checkouts must be done by 2:15 due to our staggered carpool dismissal. This allows office staff to facilitate and families to enter/exit the campus without issues. 

CARPOOL CHANGE SECURITY UPDATE To enhance the security and safety of our children at Hancock Day School we have decided to move the Carpool Changes form to your parent portal. The form and your options will remain the same. You can access your parent portal through the school website or via the Renweb App and follow these instructions:         Login > School > Resource Documents > Carpool Changes

We will be removing the Carpool Changes form from the school website this evening Friday, September 3. 

OCTOBER LUNCH REGISTRATION Registration for October Lunches are now open until September 10th. To Register: 1. After logging into Family Portal, click Student Information. 2. Click Lunch. The Lunch calendar displays. 3. Click Create Web Order to create a lunch order for the student. The Lunch Order Form displays, listing each student in the family. 4. Click the student name for which you wish to place an order. The Lunch Order Form expands listing each date an order may be placed. A blank day denotes a school holiday or 1/2 day. 5. Click the date to place an order. The Lunch Item list expands. 6. Type quantity for the student in the Quantity column. The Total column displays the cost. 7. Repeat for all dates and all students. The Grand Total is listed at the bottom. 8. Click Submit Order. The charges will now display for the student on their Family Portal portal to be paid on the Financial screen. Lunch will not be provided unless paid in full for the month. 

​​ASSESSMENTS AND PROJECTS CALENDAR

Parents and students now have an easy way to look at upcoming assessments and projects.  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.

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 Enrichment 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.

HERB RIVER BEND CROSSWALK SCHEDULE

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 in the middle school office to sign up!

Monday, September 6: No School

Tuesday, September 7:  Lena Anne and Allie N.

Wednesday, September 8:  Jordan and Ethan K.

Thursday, September 9:  Jordan and Ethan K.

Friday, September 10:  Olivia T. and Mollie M.

Welcome to a new school year! As Learning Coach, I will be working with students, parents, and teachers to offer support and strategies throughout the year. Please reach out to me if I can be of any assistance to you and your child/ren. I will share ideas and strategies often in this space. My email is: tguggenheim@hancockdayschool.org. I look forward to working with you as the year progresses.

Homework is posted each morning in Google Classroom for every subject. It may be found in the Classwork section at the top of the page. Please check your homework every day. It’s even more helpful to make a bulleted list so you don’t forget to do an assignment.

Middle school students can be particularly vulnerable to the impacts of social media.  Even if your student is not yet utilizing this technology, it is important to start having conversations with them regarding safe and appropriate use.  

If you want an eye opening look at how developers target users and utilize psychology to get them hooked, watch The Social Dilemma on Netflix.

Here are a few tips to talking with your middle school student about social media:

What are the Basic Social Media Rules for Middle Schoolers?

I also like to tell students about the “Grandma Test.”  Simply, don’t post anything you wouldn’t want your grandmother to see.  Unfortunately, the impacts of inappropriate posts can last far longer than middle school.

Please feel free to get in touch with me at amhaer@hancockdayschool.org if you have any questions or concerns.

ALGEBRA 1- MRS. TAYLOR

Students will continue to work on Chapter 2, most of it is still mostly material from last year. Topics covered will be absolute value, integer operations, distributive property, square roots. There may be a short pop quiz next week to be sure of their integer operation skills, otherwise Chapter 2 test will be 9/17.

ADVANCED ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Advanced Algebra, we will begin Chapter 10 by learning how to graph quadratic functions (10.1-10.2) and learn how to find the vertex and axis of symmetry of a parabola (10.2).

GEOMETRY - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Geometry, we will continue Chapter 2 by learning about conditional and biconditional statements (2.2) as well as learn some logic laws such as the law of detachment and the law of syllogism (2.3).  There may be a quiz covering section 2.1-2.3 on Friday.

ELA - MRS. BOYER 

This week students will be compiling their creative ideas, thought-provoking questions, and professional notes for our Socratic Seminar which will be occurring on September 10th. It is incredibly important that your child be present for ELA on 9/10. 

Check out their F451 Plot Mountains!

Students should be continuing to prepare for the assessment on 9/14 regarding F451. 

Activities: Socratic Seminar Preparation-This is worth two project grades. 

**As students continue into their 8th grade year, it is imperative that they keep up with their reading, annotate their novels, and come in for extra help. The foundation of this class is heavily based on discussion and the sharing of ideas; students will need to participate to be able to engage with the material in a productive manner. **

Coming Up: 

Students will be beginning To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee on 9/14. 

HIGH SCHOOL SPANISH - MRS. SALE

Eighth grade will continue with their review.  The week will begin with ‘forming questions’’ in Spanish.  Also, ESTAR will be revisited this week.  There will be worksheets and games that deal with the verb ESTAR.  On Friday, the  8th grade will take a quiz only on SER, ESTAR and forming questions.  

PHYSICAL SCIENCE - MS. HOFFMAN

Last Friday the eighth graders finished their week by “saving” Wendell the Worm using only four paper clips and the engineering process.  This included placing a gummy lifesaver life preserver onto a gummy worm, Wendell.  Everyone was successful, but the winners per class were:  Block D--Sam and Howell; Block E--Lachlan and Mills H; and Block F: Theo and Remi.  (See photos below)

This week, the students continued learning about the scientific method and variables.  They then used this knowledge to create their own inquiry lab experiment.  After creating their own lab idea,  they were asked to test the lab for another group and offer feedback on the materials, procedures and effectiveness of what was written. (See photos below)  Also this week the students received their science fair packets and spent a full class period trying to determine and begin researching an interesting topic to investigate.  This topic and question (or solution for all engineering projects) will be due with our first log book check on Wednesday, 9/8/21 for Blocks D and E and on Thursday, 9/9/21 for Block F.  All other due dates will fall on a Tuesday for all classes and can be found in their printed packet, posted in Google Classroom, and listed in the project section of the assessment calendar.   

Final Science Fair Projects are due in the first part of December 2021 and will count for the following grades:  log book (quiz), formal report (test), triptych (2 tests) and presentation (classwork).  I will be available for any questions students may have each morning (7:30 am until 8 am) and several afternoons per week.  Students may also come see me during our tutorial and snack time. Over the past years students have been very successful with their science fair projects and have learned a lot during this process.  I look forward to some wonderful and interesting projects from our great group of eighth graders this year.

US HISTORY - MR. GAUTHIER

In US History, speeches have been assigned and will be presented on Thursday.  We will continue with our discussion and learning of basic economics and gain knowledge on the principles and reasoning for our US Constitution. Students will be assessed on the principles and foundations of the Constitution.

ADVANCED SPANISH - MRS. SALE 

This week the seventh grade will continue their review with SER.  I will review the concept of telling time with them.  The students will complete worksheets that utilize the concept of telling time.  The students will end their week with a quiz on SER & telling time/numbers. 

ADVANCED SPANISH - MS. CROCKER 

This past week in Spanish, we reviewed basic conversation and time. This week we will be learning about the geography of Spanish-speaking countries and the students will be assigned their country project which we will be working on in class for the next couple of weeks. Our next quiz will be on Friday, September 10th!

ALGEBRA 1 - MRS. TAYLOR 

I was so excited to see all of these kids! I hope they were just as happy to see me. Friday, students began assessing last year’s material. I have heard from several students that did not do the optional summer work. It was merely suggested but not mandatory. They are seeing the effects of not practicing as they struggle a little with the assessment of reviewing last year’s material. I am grading it for my purposes only and I will share it with them. Next week, we begin Chapter 1. 

PRE-ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will complete Chapter 1 by having a day of review and then the Chapter 1 test (B Block - Thursday, E Block - Wednesday).  We will then begin Chapter 2 by learning about the commutative, associative, and identity properties of addition and multiplication (2.1).

ELA - MRS. BOYER 

This week we will be reviewing Chapters 5-7! I have posted chapter summaries on GC. Students will also be reviewing Point of View. There may be a quick POV quiz next week. Students are expected to be reading Chapters 8-11 and completing the review questions which are both due on 9/13. 

Students will begin their first official 7th grade ESSAY this week!!!! Due on 9/23. 

Students will have a Quiz over Chapters 1-10 on 9/20. 

Students will have their Hobbit Test on 9/30. 

**As students continue into their 7th grade year, it is imperative that they keep up with their reading, annotate their novels, and come in for extra help. The foundation of this class is heavily based on student reading and the sharing of ideas; students will need to participate to be able to engage with the material in a productive manner. All class activities are based on the reading completed prior to class time. **

ELA - MRS. SASSER

This week students will analyze the key elements of the Hero’s Journey, plotting Harry’s journey from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. They will discuss key characters and the role they play in Harry’s journey. 

They will also complete the Hero’s Journey Wheel Project. For this project, students will choose a popular movie, identify the hero of the movie, and create a hero’s journey wheel poster detailing how their chosen hero goes through and experiences each section of the hero’s journey. This project was assigned Thursday 9/2 and is due Thursday 9/9. Students will be given ample time in class to work on this. 

The reading and guided questions for ch 1-5 due Tuesday 9/7. 

Ch. 6-10 are due Tuesday 9/14. 

Students can expect to have reading quizzes over the assigned chapters each week. 

It is imperative that students keep up with their reading. They will be unable to complete our class discussions and activities without completing the reading. All reading assignments and homework are posted on my classroom board and on Google Classroom daily. Students should check Google Classroom every single day. All reading should be ANNOTATED. 

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, we will continue our unit on the Characteristics of Life and Classification of Organisms. Students will focus on the 6 kingdoms and binomial nomenclature.  They will also participate in a lab where they will use a dichotomous key to determine different types of leaves. Students will also have the opportunity to make their own dichotomous key. Please remind your student to check the Google Classroom daily for assignments and review material. Test on Characteristics of Life and Classification of Organisms will be Tuesday, September 14. 

US HISTORY - MR. GAUTHIER

We will continue to “Think like a Historian”  The discussion of who should be suspended for “the lunch room fight” went very well and we also had lively debates as to what happened to the “Lost Colony of Roanoke”.  The students will examine and be assessed on the reliability of sources.

US HISTORY - MR. O’HAYER

Next week we will begin Ch. 2: Europe Looks Outward. We will begin our study on the Age of Exploration. Students will examine the Vikings and impacts on the new world. We will also look at Christopher Columbus and the history that surrounds his legacy. The first project of the trimester will be introduced. Students will research an Explorer and track his voyage and analyze their impacts. 

ACCELERATED MATH - MRS. TAYOR

Students are currently reviewing all operations with decimals (2.1-2.4). 2.5 covers basic scientific notation. They will have a test on this material 9/9. We will begin Chapter 3 immediately on data such as mean, median, mode, range, graphs, stem and leaf plots, and histograms. They will have a small in class project for Chapter 3.

PRE-ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will complete Chapter 1 by having a day of review and then the Chapter 1 test on Thursday.  We will then begin Chapter 2 by learning about the commutative, associative, and identity properties of addition and multiplication (2.1).

EARTH SCIENCE - MS. HOFFMAN

See below for pictures of the sixth graders creating a density column and determining the density of various objects during last Friday’s hand-on science lab. This week we  started learning about the four states of matter and how they change phases, or states.  We investigated some of their physical properties such as viscosity and surface tension and explored the fun science of  a plasma ball.  (See below.)  Finally, we discussed temperature and compared expansion and contraction of matter.  Next week we will continue learning about the states and changes of matter and our unit test will be on Friday, 9/10.  

EARTH SCIENCE - MRS. DURANT

Next week, students will continue their study of states of matter and phase changes. They will have the opportunity to participate in a mini-lab with the plasma ball.  Students will have an informational reading on the aurora borealis . We will conclude the week with a lab focusing on conservation of matter. They will have a test on Lab Tools and Equipment on Wednesday, September 8. Please remind your student to check the Google Classroom daily for assignments and review material. Review material for the test has already been posted in the Google Classroom.

ELA - MRS. SASSER

This week, students will continue to work on their writing skills by practicing using SRES. They will also review key reading strategies that will help them as we progress to novel reading later in the year. Students will learn how to annotate appropriately and pull out textual evidence from both fiction and non-fiction texts. Students will have another practice paragraph this week over a nonfiction text about Egyptian mummies. 

Students MUST follow my writing formula for all formal writing assignments and should follow the MLA formatting guidelines I gave them. The students have a handout on how to do this and we have practiced together multiple times. Any paper not formatted correctly or color-coded will not be accepted. 

STudents will have a test on SRES and reading strategies the following dates:

B/C Block: Wednesday 9/15

D Block: Tuesday 9/14

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

INTRO SPANISH - MS. CROCKER

This past week we started reviewing days of the week, weather and basic time-telling. Daily “diarios” will help reinforce this new vocabulary every class period. We will have our next quiz on vocabulary list #1 on Monday, September 13th. Start practicing those flashcards at least 10 minutes per night, even after we have moved on from that vocabulary list! 

WORLD HISTORY - MR. O’HAYER 

Next week in World History students will begin their in depth look into Athens and all the amazing contributions that civilization had on the ancient world. We will dive specifically into Athenian Democracy and Education. Our first project will be introduced as well. Students will examine ancient gods and goddesses and how they influenced life in Ancient Greece. 

ART - MRS. COOKSON

“It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well.” - Descartes

Sketchbook Prompt:

8th: Draw your toenails.

7th: Draw yourself in a mirror.

6th: Draw the imaginary thing that lives under your bed.

Class Challenges:

8th: Will explore color mixing with paint to complete the primary, secondary, and tertiary colors for Graffiti Names

7th: Will finish up single object still life and move into a complex, multi object still life.

6th: Will begin work on an Elements of Art booklet.