November 1st - November 5th

October 27, 2021

November 1st - November 5th

MIDDLE SCHOOL EXAMS

Next Thursday, November 4th and Friday, November 5th, the middle school students have their T1 exams. These are half days for middle school students, with no Extended.

6th Grade

Thursday - Science Projects and Spanish Exam
Friday - Math Exam and History Exam

7th Grade

Thursday - Spanish Exam and History Exam
Friday - Science Projects and Math Exam

8th Grade

Thursday - ELA Exam and Spanish Exam
Friday - History Exam and Math Exam

BOYS V. GIRLS VOLLEYBALL MATCH

The 8th-grade boys and girls played against each other today during our Halloween celebration. You can view pictures from the event HERE!

8TH GRADE MOCK TRIAL

Click HERE to view some pictures of the 8th-grade Mock Trial from Thursday!

NEW TIME SCHEDULE!

We would like to thank all of the parents and students who thoughtfully shared their concerns about the hectic nature of this year’s schedule. The issue centered on Mondays and Fridays. Beginning in the second trimester (Monday, November 8th) we are adjusting the schedule for those days. The new schedule will provide a longer break in the morning, 20 minutes for snack, and a new 20-minute recess. The lunch/recess period will now ensure a full 20 minutes for both lunch and recess.

MIDDLE SCHOOL DANCE

The middle school will have their first dance of the school year on Friday, November 5th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm in Hancock Hall. The theme is “tailgating” -- students are encouraged to dress in sports team attire. There will be games (cornhole, ring toss, spike ball and 6 square), food (pizza, snacks) and a DJ with lots of good music!

GRANDPARENTS AND SPECIAL FRIENDS DAY

On Friday, November 19th, Hancock Day School will have our annual Grandparents and Special Friends Day. This is a PreK through 5th grade event. Middle school students will have a regular school day, unless they have family attending for a sibling participating in the event. November 19th is an ALL SCHOOL HALF DAY; middle school will be dismissed at 12:15.

WASHINGTON, D.C. TRIP COMING TOGETHER - DEPOSIT DUE DECEMBER 3rd

The details for the annual DC trip next March 7-10 are almost finalized. When they are complete we will host a virtual parent meeting to discuss the itinerary. Heads up - there will be a deposit of $300 due by Friday, December 3rd.

DECEMBER LUNCH REGISTRATION

Registration for December lunches will be open from November 1 to November 14. You can log in to your parent portal on Monday to sign up!

HIGH SCHOOL ADMISSIONS - THE PLACEMENT TEST

The high school admissions season is in full swing. We had a great high school fair last Wednesday where students got to meet with the high school admissions counselors from all of our receiving schools. I think the students learned a lot about the schools and the admissions counselors got to know your children on a more personal level.

After you apply, the next important step is the high school placement test. This test, along with grades, teacher recommendations, and the 8th grade ERB scores, is used by the guidance counselors at the high school to plan a four year path of courses for each student. Students need to come prepared to succeed on these tests. That would mean a good night’s sleep, rising promptly, eating a good breakfast, and arriving at the test site early. Here are dates that we are aware of at this point:

BC - November 13; December 4; January 29

SVA - November 13; January 29

SCDS - January 21; January 29

CARPOOL CHANGES

As a reminder, our carpool change form can now be found on your parent portal - it is no longer available on our school website. Additionally, all early checkouts should be done by 2:15. Thank you.

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, November 1: No School

Tuesday, November 2: Katharine L. and Vega P.

Wednesday, November 3: Couper H. and Ellie H.

Thursday, November 4: Allie N. and Vega P.

Friday, November 5: Jordan H. and Ethan K.

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. Tricia Guggenheim

There are many study strategies to help students learn material and perform well. One of the most effective strategies is when parents and students work together to prepare for assessments. One of the least effective strategies is reading over notes; there is no need to retrieve or use the information. Brains remember best when ongoing practice includes retrieving the information and explaining it to someone using details and examples. This also allows the student to identify weaker areas so they may ask the teacher for further support.

We are well into the start of the school year and most likely your student is learning to juggle academic work with other responsibilities. Test anxiety can be common as students adjust to new teachers and expectations. Typically, there is a decrease in these feelings as relationships are built with teachers and students become familiar with the testing format of a class. However, there are other strategies that parents can teach their children to help ease symptoms.

Tips for Beating Test Anxiety

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

Contacting many people at once on chrome using Groups is really easy. Create a new tab and then go to the ‘waffle’ in the top right corner. Scroll down until you see the Groups icon and click on it. In the top left corner there is a button that says “Create Group.” Click this to make a new group. A pop-up will appear that will allow you to enter the group’s name and a short description. When you have done this, click “Next.” This will bring you to the group’s privacy settings. Here, you will be able to control who is able to post chats, see chats, ect. The next and final page is where you add your group members and write a welcome message to them. When you have finished, click “Create Group,” and you’re done! This group will now be under the “My groups” tab in the Groups app.

By: Mollie Dugas

ALGEBRA 1- MRS. TAYLOR

We will review all tests and quizzes Chapter 1-4 Tuesday and Wednesday; Exam will be Friday.

ADVANCED ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Advanced Algebra, we will meet Tuesday and Wednesday to review for the exam.

GEOMETRY - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Geometry, we will meet Tuesday and Wednesday to review for the exam.

ELA - MRS. BOYER

The TKAM Exam Study Guide has been posted. Students should be working on a portion each evening. Students will have class time on Tuesday and Wednesday to review, ask questions, get feedback, etc. There are multiple resources available on GC as well. We went over the following study strategies in class this week.

Study Strategies:

-Students should begin studying. I would reread/annotate the novel. Students may check their annotations with my teacher copy.

-Students should go back and complete the study guide questions for each chapter.

-Students should take the Sparknotes Section quizzes, as well as the Full Book Quiz.

-Students should PRACTICE writing One-Two paragraph responses. Sparknotes has some great practice questions, and I will also be posting some example essay questions.

-Students need to understand the themes, characters, and setting and how they interact and impact one another.

Upcoming:

We will begin MacBeth which will follow us into January! Students will NOT be reading this alone! We will be listening to a dramatic reading in class. Shakespeare is not supposed to be read, but performed!!! This is going to be awesome!!! Students will be receiving a workbook which will keep their thoughts organized and will be acting as the foundation of their T2 grade.

**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.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE - MS. HOFFMAN

I have been very pleased with the attention to safety and following procedures the eighth graders have shown during our labs. See below for photos of our last two chemistry labs. Last week students learned about exothermic and endothermic reactions by testing and observing the temperature changes of various household products (sodium bicarbonate, calcium chloride, epson salts and Borax). This week they participated in an activation lab using HCl (hydrochloric acid) to see how surface area and concentration affect the activation rate of a reaction. The eighth graders are also working during class on our first trimester exam project. This project involves choosing one of our chemistry topics we have studied so far this year and creating a storybook to help explain the information. Students can create things such as a comic, tour guide booklet, coloring book or Google slides with a fictional story. This in-class project is due at the end of the school day on Wednesday, 11/3.

Science Fair:

We have reviewed the rough draft of the background research information that students turned in. This portion of the formal report is written in MLA format, in 3rd person. The final copy of this research information is due Tuesday, November 9th. We have also discussed the need to include DETAILS and MULTIPLE entries in their log book.

Students should be starting to set up their formal report and should have started (or plan to very soon) their experimentation. Remember that the completed data and results (or the built and tested prototype) for your project are due in approximately ONE MONTH on Tuesday, November 30th. All students needing to borrow lab equipment for their projects need to check with me for availability and sign out these materials for use at home. If your project requires materials/ supplies that must remain at the school, please arrange with me an afternoon or weekend time for us to work together on your project.

There are no remaining science fair homework assignments for this Trimester.

The first science fair homework assignment for the second Trimester will be the final draft of the research/ background information. This is due on Tuesday, 11/9/21.

Now will also be a good time to purchase the large triptych display board that will be used for the project. This board must be cardboard and 36” tall X 48” wide. These triptych boards can usually be found at stores like Walmart, Target, Micheals, etc. or on-line. Anyone having trouble locating and/or purchasing this board should let me know as soon as possible.

All remaining due dates can be found in the students printed packet, posted in Google Classroom, and listed in the project section of the assessment calendar.

Reminder: Final Science Fair Projects are due in early December 2021 and will count for the following grades: log book (quiz), formal report (test), triptych (2 tests) and presentation (classwork). I am 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 end-of-the day tutorial and/ or email me questions.

US HISTORY- Mr. Gauthier

The topic for speech #3 is “Who inspires you?” This emotional speech will be due on 11/11. We have completed the causes leading up to the Civil War as well as the Civil War itself. We will begin studying and learning about Reconstruction and Reform . Next week the students will be taking their T1 exams. We will be reviewing all material before .

SPANISH - MRS. SALE

Hello...I hope everyone is doing well. The students will work on their study guide for the final. As of now, the final will be on Thursday, Nov 4, 2021.

ADVANCED SPANISH - MRS. SALE

This week the students will continue their work and studies for the final exam. As of now, the final exam will be on Thursday, November 4, 2021. Hope everyone has a nice week.

ADVANCED SPANISH - MS. CROCKER

¡Buenos días! It is a short week this week, and we will be focusing on exam review. THe students received an exam study guide last week, along with some example final exam questions. They should be reviewing their old tests and quizzes, vocabulary lists, and grammar concepts. All study materials are on Google Classroom! They will be self-grading their exam study guide on Wednesday, November 3rd.

ALGEBRA 1 - MRS. TAYLOR

We will review all tests and quizzes Chapter 1-4 Tuesday and Wednesday; Exam will be Friday.

PRE-ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will meet Tuesday and Wednesday to review for the exam.

ELA - MRS. BOYER

This week we are continuing our dive into TELH! Students are doing well with their reading! As we continue into the future, please challenge your students to always ask WHY and HOW! It is critically important that students rise to the occasion and push themselves to think creatively and analytically.

Students have begun their Exam Journal. Students will be responsible for working on this in class and at home. The rubric has been developed BY your children, so they should understand it like the back of their hand. :)

Exam Journals are due on or before November 5th at NOON.

TELH Chapters 20-40 are due on 11/15/21.

Strategies for Home:

-Students should be reviewing for a few minutes each night. Students should ask for parent/guardian help as a study buddy!

-Students should also annotate the rubric for projects and activities.

-Students should have a calendar of ‘chunking’ due dates for projects and studying.

-Students should be coming in from 7:35-8:15 am to review/ask questions/take more time on their homework.

**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

It’s Christmas Carol time!! I am so excited the kids chose this as their next novel study. This short novella is challenging, but so fun to dive into as we approach the holiday season!

This week, students will work on building their background knowledge of the Victorian Era. They’ll immerse themselves in Dickens’ life to better understand how he crafted the setting and characters in A Christmas Carol.

We will also spend this week listening to Stave I. As this is a challenging book, we will spend the bulk of class listening to an audio version of the book (narrated by Tim Curry. It’s excellent!) and having in class discussions. Students will have guided questions to complete and a quiz over each Stave. We will use this week to talk about the symbolism of chains (both physical, emotional, and mental) that bind Scrooge and how those chains have formed him into the man he has become.

I am available every morning and during tutorial if students would like to review the reading or ask questions. Because I make sure to be consistently available for the students, I expect them to walk into our class discussions and quizzes prepared and ready. I am here to assist the kids with their overall comprehension of the novel and expect them to reach out if they have questions.

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, students will complete their first trimester exam project. This is an in-class project in which students are making board games based on their knowledge of the cell including cell theory, organelles, cellular transport, cellular respiration, and mitosis. This is always a favorite project for students and they enjoy having the opportunity to play the games they developed. Projects are due Nov. 3. It provides a thorough review for students. This project will count as their exam grade. I have rescheduled our test on Mitosis for Thursday, November 11. Please remind your student to check the google classroom daily for assignments and study materials.

US HISTORY - MR. GAUTHIER

We are learning about the causes of The American Revolution and how life in colonial America is connected to those causes. The students continue to be taxed, we will be dong classroom activity “The Kings M&M’s”. We will be reviewing for the trimester exam and previewing life in the US after the Revolution.

US HISTORY - MR. O’HAYER

Next week we will begin reviewing for our trimester exam. The exam is on Thursday, 11/4. Reminder- the exam will cover everything we have studied this trimester.

ACCELERATED MATH - MRS. TAYOR

We will review all tests and quizzes Chapter 1-4 Tuesday and Wednesday; Exam will be Friday.

PRE-ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will meet Tuesday and Wednesday to review for the exam.

EARTH SCIENCE - MS. HOFFMAN

The sixth graders did a wonderful job on their group weather forecasting filming project!

We watched all the films together during class and saw a great variety of ideas. Now we are working on our individual severe weather exam project. Students were randomly given a storm to research and develop a Google Slide presentation explaining how and where their storm occurs, as well as the dangers and effect it can have on the community. The severe weather topics will include blizzards, tornados, hurricanes, severe thunderstorms, sand storms, floods, droughts, and wildfires. Students will each also present their projects to the class to teach them the information next week on Wednesday, 11/2 and during our 6th grade science exam time on Thursday 11/4.

EARTH SCIENCE - MRS. DURANT

Next week, students will complete their first trimester exam project. This will be completed mostly in-class. However students do have to include an activity, demonstration, or a game with their project. They may need some supplies from home depending on which they select. This project will count as an exam grade. They will present their projects to the class during exam week. Please remind your student to check the google classroom daily for assignments and study material which has been posted for daily review.

ELA - MRS. SASSER

This week, students will begin diving into their first novel study of the year: Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty. This is an adventurous, fantasy based novel that follows the life of a young girl named Serafina who secretly lives in the Biltmore Estate. When children begin to go missing from the Estate, Serafina works to solve the mystery!

As we begin our novel study, students will spend Tuesday and Wednesday of this week building their background knowledge on the Biltmore Estate and the Gilded Age. They will complete a Biltmore scavenger hunt with partners and do a mini-research assignment on life during the Gilded Age.

Important Dates:

B/C Block: Ch 1-5 due Thursday 11/11 (QUIZ)

D Block: Ch 1-5 due Wednesday 11/10 (QUIZ)

B/C/D Block: Ch 1-15 VOCAB test 11/19

REMINDER: In order to find success with novel studies in middle school ELA, it is essential that students keep up with the assigned reading, annotate their novels, and THOROUGHLY answer their guided questions. Students will be assigned a set number of chapters and have a week to complete the reading/questions. All of our in class lessons will center around the assigned reading and failure to keep up with the reading will have a drastic effect on their ability to complete in class assignments/projects. I expect students to pace themselves and be reading each night, come to class prepared to discuss our reading, and come see me if they have questions.

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

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.

INTRO SPANISH - MS. CROCKER

¡Buenos días! Last week we had some great Día de Muertos project videos! See our ofrenda below! The kids got a chance to share about living and deceased family members. Thank you, parents, for providing photos and memories! This week is a short one! We will be focused on exam review. They received an exam study guide last week that is due on Wednesday, November 3rd for a homework grade. It provides topics covered on the exam and some example questions. They should be studying old quizzes and tests, flashcards, and grammar concepts. All materials are provided on Google Classroom.

WORLD HISTORY - MR. O’HAYER

Next week in World History we will begin our exam review. Our World History exam is Friday the 5th. The Exam covers everything we have studied the first Trimester. Students will be given a study guide which will assist them in preparing for the exam.