October 18th - October 22nd

 

COVID SAFETY REMINDERS

If your child has received both COVID vaccine shots, please submit a copy of their vaccination card to the nurses at nurses@hancockdayschool.org. As numbers drop and we move toward mask optional for vaccinated individuals, having the vaccine cards on file is the only way to know who is/is not vaccinated. In the interim, please remember that students should be sent to school each day with:

• a clean, appropriately fitted mask

• an extra mask in their bookbag

• a water bottle with their name on it

 

VOLLEYBALL BASH - SAVE THE DATE

HDS will celebrate our volleyball program by hosting the first annual Volleyball Bash on Wednesday the 27th, 6 pm in the Hancock gym. Details coming soon. 

 

PICTURE MAKEUPS/RETAKES

InFocus will be at HDS on Thursday, October 28th for student picture makeups and retakes.

 

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!

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.

 

NOVEMBER LUNCH REGISTRATION

Registration for November Lunches closes today, October 15th.

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 day that 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.

 

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, October 18: Volunteers needed

Tuesday, October 19: Heath and Will

Wednesday, October 20: Volunteers needed

Thursday, October 21: Ellie and Stella

Friday, October 22: Volunteers needed

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

• How to Study for a Math Test (SOAR https://studyskills.com/students/how-to-study-for-a-math-test/)

• 6 Top Reasons Students Lose Points on Math Tests

• 1.    Didn't follow the directions! This is a big one! Always read the directions.

• 2.    Sloppy writing. Perhaps you wrote a "9," but later read the digit as a "4."  That will obviously lead to a mistake. Most commonly, students misalign digits; for example, a digit that should be in the tens place is added to the hundreds column.

• 3.    Confused by math vocabulary. If you're not sure what the difference is between a "sum" and a "product," you'll have trouble.

• 4.    Not doing homework regularly. Homework is your #1 study tool for math!

• 5.    Making errors on basic math facts. It helps to be fluent with your basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. 

• 6.   Not showing your work! One of the easiest ways to gain points is to show your work because you may receive partial credit. If you don’t show your work, you may receive no credit.

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.

As most of you know, your email can sometimes become very cluttered with old messages you have yet to delete. For most people, these emails are from Google Classroom. Luckily, there is an easy way to fix this. Go to your Google Classroom home page with all of your different classes. In the top right corner, there are three lines that, when clicked on, will pull up the “Main Menu.” Scroll down until you see the “Settings” option and that will bring you to Classroom Settings. Under the “Notifications” tab it will say “Receive email notifications.” Click the button to the right to turn it gray and Google Classroom will no longer send you email notifications.

By: Mollie Dugas

ALGEBRA 1- MRS. TAYLOR

We will have a quiz 10/19 (Block A), 10/20 (Block B) sections 4.1-4.4. Review for quiZ and project introduction will be Monday, 10/18. Due date for the In Class project will be 11/4/21 (Day of Exams) This day may be moved depending on class progress.

ADVANCED ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Advanced Algebra, we will continue Chapter 11 by learning how to simplify radical expressions using conjugates (11.2).  There will be a quiz on 10.2 and simplifying radical expressions on Thursday.

GEOMETRY - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Geometry, we will continue Chapter 4 by learning shortcuts on how to prove triangles are congruent by Side-Side-Side (4.3), Side-Angle-Side and Hypotenuse-Leg (4.4), and Angle-Side-Angle and Angle-Angle-Side (4.5).  There will be a quiz covering 4.1-4.2 on Monday.

ELA - MRS. BOYER 

Students should be finished with To Kill a Mockingbird by Wednesday/Thursday of this week! Students will be embarking on their final TKAM project, a MOCK TRIAL, which will also be a cross-curricular project with History. Students will receive their rubric in ELA and have a detailed explanation of the foundation in History. 

Students will have a TKAM Quiz  over Chapters 18-31 on 10/22. 

T1 Exam will be over TKAM ONLY. 

-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.  

** POP Quizzes will occur throughout this novel study. **

**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

This week the eighth grade science students were randomly assigned one of the first 37 elements to research and learn about.  They then created an individual mini-poster of their element to display this information.  With this in-class project they have created our HDS Periodic Table of the Elements. (See photos next week)  Students also received a list of approximately 40 common elements and compounds they will need to memorize.  We will have a short quiz on these during the first part of class on Wednesday, 10/20 (Blocks D and E) OR Thursday, 10/21 (Block F).

 

Next week students will learn about chemical bonds (ionic, covalent and metallic) and participate in an exo/ endothermic lab.  They will also create their own study guide for our upcoming Chemistry unit test. This test will be either on Wednesday, 10/27 (for Blocks D and E) OR Thursday, 10/28 (for Block F).  Finally, our October Science in Comics is due by Friday, 10/29/21.  This is a monthly assignment and students may complete up to two extra Science in Comics per trimester  for additional homework grades.  

Science Fair: 

Many students have started their science fair experiments, especially those that will need to have data taken over several weeks.  Other students need to plan on when they will conduct their data and observations for their project.  Remember that the data and results (or the built and tested prototype) for your project are due at the end of November.  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.  

Remaining science fair homework assignments for this Trimester:

• Tuesday, 10/19--a google doc submitted onto Google Classroom with a rough draft of their background research information 

• Tuesday 10/19, a fourth log book check with updates/ revisions on their projects

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

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 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 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.   In the meantime we will continue to learn about and examine the causes leading up to the US Civil War.  A quiz  on the Civil War causes, vocabulary, Constitution principles and river flow charts will be on 10/18.

Students will be embarking on their final TKAM project, a MOCK TRIAL, which will also be a cross-curricular project with History. Students will receive their rubric in ELA and have a detailed explanation of the foundation in History.

SPANISH - MRS. SALE

Hello...I hope everyone is doing well.  After working on the ‘family tree’’ project last week...the project is due Monday, October 18,2021.  The students will present their project to the class mid week.  Friday, Oct 18, 2021, the students will take a quiz utilizing the family vocabulary and possessive adjectives.  Have a nice week.

ADVANCED SPANISH - MRS. SALE 

This week the students will continue to work on their classroom projects.  The projects will be due Tuesday, October 19, 2021. Mid-week the students will present their project as part of their grade.  Friday, Oct 22, 2021, the students will take a quiz over their classroom vocabulary and colors.  Hope everyone has a nice week.

ADVANCED SPANISH - MS. CROCKER 

¡Buenos días! We are starting to practice our new Familia Unit for Día de los Muertos. We will be reviewing and learning ser conjugation and appearance and personality descriptions with Lista #6, with a quiz on this list Friday, October 22nd.  Students should study their flashcards and grammar notes at least 15 minutes a night! Our vocabulary volume is starting to increase. I am encouraging the kids to come see me at tutorial for extra help or in the mornings at 7:45! 

ALGEBRA 1 - MRS. TAYLOR 

We will have a quiz 10/19 (Block A), 10/20 (Block B) sections 4.1-4.4. Review for quiZ and project introduction will be Monday, 10/18. Due date for the In Class project will be 11/4/21 (Day of Exams) This day may be moved depending on class progress.

PRE-ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will continue Chapter 3 by learning how to solve linear inequalities (3.4-3.5).  There will be a quiz on sections 3.1-3.3 on Monday.

ELA - MRS. BOYER 

This week we will begin diving into their reading of The Exact Location of Home (TELH) by Kate Messner. This novel will be accompanied by a journaling project which will act as their Exam Project. This will be a quick read, but we will dive deep into the idea of connecting research to our writing, relating to the characters and theme, discovering our empathy for the outside world, etc. 

TELH Chapters 1-10 are due on 10/21

TELH Quiz 10/28 on Chapters 1-20

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

Students will begin working on a culminating project for this unit that will count as their exam grade. They will be asked to create and develop their own hero, writing a children’s story. We will look at sample children’s books and students will go through the entire writing process; I expect students to complete multiple drafts and drop them off for revisions/corrections. Students will need to work diligently in class and pay very close attention to detail for this assignment. 

As with ANY and ALL writing assignments, students should be asking questions and getting regular feedback. They should then be making any and all corrections to ensure their final project is meeting the expectations. 

Final projects will be due (tentatively) on Monday 10/25. We will see how students progress throughout the week, as I do not want this project to be rushed. :-) 

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 study of the cell, focusing on cell division. Students will participate in various activities related to mitosis, including viewing slides on the phases of mitosis. They will have a test on mitosis on Friday, October 22. The following week students will begin their first trimester project.  This will be an in-class project covering material they have learned throughout the first trimester. This will count as an exam grade. Please remind your student to check the google classroom daily for assignments and study materials. 

US HISTORY - MR. GAUTHIER

We will continue to examine life in Colonial America and preview terminology and preliminary causes leading up to the American Revolution.  Students are continuing to get taxed on a variety of items and requests throughout the day.

US HISTORY - MR. O’HAYER

Next week we finish our examination of the events that led up to and the creation of the 13 Colonies. Students have explored all the 13 colonies and examined the reasons and impacts all the colonies had on the early development of America. Now, students are constructing their own colonies and developing plans for a successful and sustainable community.  

ACCELERATED MATH - MRS. TAYOR

Students will finish up Chapter 4, sections 4.5-4.7. Chapter 4 test will be on 10/22 and will roll over to 10/23 for any student who needs extra time. 

PRE-ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will continue Chapter 3 by learning how to solve linear inequalities (3.4-3.5).  There will be a quiz on sections 3.1-3.3 on Monday.

EARTH SCIENCE - MS. HOFFMAN

This week in Earth science included Fall Break so was only a few days, but the sixth graders accomplished a lot.  They concluded their weather logs with a final day observing the clouds, air temperature, winds, humidity and dew.  After a review of the water cycle, students also wrote an individual water droplet story using all our precipitation related vocabulary to illustrate how and where the water cycle occurs. Finally, they took the weather unit test over all the material we have discussed and learned over the last few weeks.  

Next week we will continue our study of Meteorology with information about weather maps, air masses and predicting weather.  Students become news meteorologists as they work on an in-class group filming project about this information.  This project will count as our third test grade for the trimester.  Lastly, the October Science in Comics is due on Friday, 10/29/21.  This is a monthly assignment and students may complete up to two extra Science in Comics per trimester for additional homework grades.  

EARTH SCIENCE - MRS. DURANT

Next week, we will begin our unit on Meteorology with a Weather Scavenger Hunt. Our focus will be on basic meteorology terminology, monitoring the school weather station, and cloud formations. Students will have a quiz on Friday, October 22. The following week students will begin their first trimester project.  This will be an in-class project covering severe weather systems. This will count as an exam grade. Please remind your student to check the google classroom daily for assignments and study materials. 

ELA - MRS. SASSER

Final PSA projects are due on Monday 10/18. I extended the deadline due to the holiday break. 

Students will spend this week reading our final story in our plot/suspense unit: “The Hitchhiker.” We will listen to the radio play and students will have guided questions to complete. 

There will be a test over this unit on Friday 10/22. Students should be reviewing their notes and stories NIGHTLY. I cannot stress the importance of daily review for 10-15 minutes. This kind of routine studying will have a drastic impact on your child’s ability to retain information taught in class. 

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! This week we are practicing our new familia unit that includes the conjugation of ser and describing appearance and personality (Lista #5). There is a quiz Wednesday, October 20th on this list! A new conversation video project will be assigned this week. They will be telling us about a family member using their vocabulary. Students should be reviewing every night, as vocabulary volume is starting to increase! 

WORLD HISTORY - MR. O’HAYER 

Next week in World History students will continue their analysis of Greek Philosophy. Over the next two chapters students will look at the impact of famous Greek thinkers like Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato. Students will have a Philosopher Quiz on Monday the 18th. Students will also start their next project: Students teaching Students. This project allows the students to work as a team and teach the class. The “teachers” will come up with a lesson plan, lecture, activities, and a short assessment to share with the class. 

ART - MRS. COOKSON

“One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself.” Leonardo da Vinci

Sketchbook Prompt:

8th: Draw a scoop of ice cream, pay attention to texture and highlights.

7th: Draw an apple, a pear, and a banana.

6th: Draw a soft object with a steel skin, screws, rivets, and bolts.

Classwork Challenges:

8th: Will finish up drawings for entry into a calendar competition and move into self-expression with a self portrait.

7th: Will continue with clay work.

6th: Will continue to work on following guidelines to draw in 1-point perspective.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION - MRS. MELVILLE

This month we have been covering Flag Football by playing different games that focus on the key concepts of the game as well as learning the rules of play.  There will be a quiz this coming week over Flag Football rules and all resources can be found on Google Classroom.  Please make sure that everyone has accepted the invitation to the class via email and are a part of the class.