January 10th - January 14th

January 07, 2022

January 10th - January 14th

WASHINGTON, D.C. TRIP IS ON - FOR NOW!

Due to the current COVID trend we continue to review the trip with our tour operator to ensure a safe and viable experience in Washington. We do know that we will not be able to see some sites, specifically the Capitol, White House, and Pentagon. The mayor recently announced that proof of vaccination will be required to enter many businesses, including restaurants in the capital. Given these emerging concerns we are going to give the trip a final review next week. Should we decide not to travel to DC, we do have plans for other exciting experiences for our students.

ZOOMING AGAIN!

Just when we thought we might be clear of COVID, along comes Omicron! Should you find yourself in quarantine, here are some pointers many of us have forgotten on how to properly and politely Zoom.

Please check the 6th Grade Google Classroom for your schedule and the Zoom links for each classroom; every class is on Zoom except PE.
Please be on time to class, and remember to keep your sound and video on.
Let Mrs. Guggenheim/Mrs. Mannarino know if you have any questions or need any help.
Also remember to check Google Classroom
Please email your teachers with any questions.
If you need any materials from school, please email Mrs. Mannarino mmannarino@hancockdayschool.org and Mrs. Guggenheim tguggenheim@hancockdayschool.org

TEAM JERSEY DAY!!

We are very lucky to have 12 basketball teams playing in the Savannah Parochial Athletic League this season! There are games 4 days a week, Monday through Thursday. Every day is a game day for one or two teams. In order to add some uniformity back to the concept of uniform, rather than wearing jerseys on many different days, we are setting aside Thursday for every player to wear their team jersey. REMEMBER - THURSDAY (THURSDAY ONLY!) IS TEAM JERSEY DAY!

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.

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!

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

Here’s a great link from StudySkills.com about getting back on the homework track in the new year:

New Year. New Semester. New Homework Solutions.

Traditions are an important part of families and can build lasting memories. Furthermore, they strengthen relationships and create a sense of belonging. Whether you have some long-standing traditions or are up to starting some new ones, the following article is an interesting read.

How Family Traditions Help Create Stronger Bonds

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 are working on the last two units of Chapter 5, scatter plots and making predictions. This has been time consuming due to learning the many functions of a TI-83 and 84 plus calculator. This is great preparation for high school. We begin Chapter 6, inequalities next. T\he first quiz will be on 1/11 for A block and 1/12 for B block on sections 5.6, 5.7, 6.1, 6.2.

ADVANCED ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Advanced Algebra, we will continue Chapter 8 by learning how to find the area of parallelograms and rhombuses (8.5), area of trapezoids (8.6), the circumference and area of circles (8.7), and the area of sectors (8.7). We will have a day of review on Friday and the Chapter 8 test the following Monday.

GEOMETRY - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Geometry, we will continue Chapter 7 by learning about right triangle Trigonometry. We will learn about the sine, cosine, and tangent ratios and how to use them to find the side lengths of right triangles. We will also learn how to use inverse trig functions to find angle measures in right triangles. We will have a day of review on Friday and the Trigonometry test the following Monday.

ELA - MRS. BOYER

This week students will be completing their Shakespeare Workbook. We will be focusing on Act III-V as their quiz will be on 1/18. This is an open workbook assessment. It is imperative that students take the time to complete their workbooks to the best of their ability this week; this is an excellent study tool! The workbook itself will also be a test grade! The workbook serves as a means for students to dive into the material in a note-taking sort of manner. Students should be challenging themselves to develop higher level thinking skills.

**Coming up!**

Body Bio Group Projects/Character Analysis

UNIT TEST is on 2/1. This is NOT an open workbook/book assessment.

**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

Welcome back from our holiday break and Happy New Year!! Before the winter break the eighth graders finished their mini-unit on forensics by learning about blood patterns, evidence and blood spatter. They also participated in a fiber flame test to distinguish between man-made and synthetic fabrics. (See photos below.) During the last part of that week, students also turned in and presented their science fair project trityches. The science fair projects this year were outstanding and the presentations done very well. Twenty of the best overall projects for the grade are entered into the Hancock school science fair next week. During this event eight outside judges from various local school and educational organizations will review the projects to help determine the individuals who will advance to the Regional Science and Engineering Fair (RSEF) to be held at Savannah State University the first week of February. With so many wonderful science fair projects this year, the choice was a difficult one, but the following students are entered in the school science fair: Anthony DeMott, Austin Pearce, Carter Herman, Charlotte Goodman, Coles Brown, Elijah Nguyen, Elle Roberts, Kate Kennickell, Luke Nguyen, Maggie Allen, Mollie Dugas, Paxton Towe, Ryder Nguyen, Sam Anderson, Sasha Bowen, Sean Adams, Stafford Wilson, Theo McGuirk, Will Routhier and Wyatt Nolen. We wish them all good luck!

This week in physical science we have begun a two-week unit on energy including potential and kinetic energy along with its various forms including thermal, sound, chemical, nuclear, electrical, mechanical and light. The students participated in an energy lab to compare the effect of heat on the height of bouncing balls, the conduction of heat through various metals and ways to increase the transfer of heat in cooling objects to help determine the fastest way to cool down hot chocolate. (See photos below.) Next week will include an ice cube insulation lab, math calculations for KE and PE and a focus on the conservation of energy. We will have a quiz on this information on Friday, 1/21/22. There is also an OPTIONAL project students may choose to complete which involves creating and designing a commemorative pin for the state cience fair state competition. For those students who want to participate, all drawings are due Tuesday, 1/18/22. The grading rubric, examples and the template paper were reviewed in class and are found on Google Classroom. This project is open to all 6th - 8th grade students and the top three designs for the middle school will win gift certificates to the snack cart courtesy of National Junior Honor Society. Finally, the January Science in Comic is due Monday, 1/31/22.

US HISTORY- Mr. Gauthier

8th grade starts a new unit on the Gilded Age. This will be a unit with several projects and a lot of homework/classwork. Debates are due next Thursday the 13th.

SPANISH - MRS. SALE

Hello...the students will start the week off with filling in their study guide for Chapter 4. The middle of the week will bring a corn hole competition/review game. The students will take a chapter 4 test on Thursday. The test will include irregular ‘’go’’ verbs, the verb IR/to go, vocabulary/pastimes, stem changing verbs, oir/to hear, ver/to see. The week will end with a mini translation about baseball.

ADVANCED SPANISH - MRS. SALE

This week the students will work on the verb ir/to go. A quiz will be given on IR & hobbies vocabulary. The students will wrap up the week with a mini translation on Friday.

ADVANCED SPANISH - MS. CROCKER

¡Feliz Año Nuevo! Our second week back we are continuing our journey through Central America. On Wednesday, there is a quiz over List #3A, which includes travel items vocabulary, “estar” to indicate location, and indefinite articles. We will then start a unit on “gustar” and other -ar verbs.

ALGEBRA 1 - MRS. TAYLOR

PRE-ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will continue Chapter 5 by learning how to divide fractions (5.5), use multiplicative inverses to solve equations involving fractions (5.6), and solve equations and inequalities involving decimals (5.7). On Friday, we will play Scrabble where the point values of the letters are fractions and decimals!

ELA - MRS. BOYER

We have begun a new unit! Voices of the World! Students will be given a choice between three novels: Lu by Jason Reynolds, The Only Road by Alexandra Diaz, and The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis. Students will be working through their novel with the help of their Book Clubs and Reflection Journal. Reflection Journals will be checked for completion on the following dates:

1-5 1/14

6-10 1/21

11-15 1/27

16-20 2/4

The final Book Club Journal is worth TWO project grades. This will be the focus of their homework for T2.

Please see the Google Classroom PPT for more information regarding this unit. :)

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

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a great holiday break! :-)

This week, we will be diving into our next novel study. The students chose William Golding’s classic The Lord of the Flies. This is a fantastic, but challenging book. The kids will be reading 2-3 chapters a week, complete guided questions, and have weekly comprehension quizzes over their assigned reading. I have posted chapter summaries to Google Classroom to help the students if they’re feeling a little lost. As always, they should come see me in the mornings if they want to discuss anything or review!

We will spend this week doing some background building on the novel and unpacking the setting. Students will examine life on a deserted island and how the boys on the island are establishing order.

Lord of the Flies Reading Timeline:

Chapters 1-3—Due Tuesday 1/18

Chapters 4-5—Due Tuesday 1/25

Chapters 5-7—Due Tuesday 2/1

Chapters 8-9—Due Tuesday 2/8

Chapters 10-12—Due Tuesday 2/15

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, we will continue our study of the Muscular System. Students will participate in a chicken wing dissection lab. This is always a student favorite as they examine the interrelationship between the Skeletal and Muscular Systems. Students will have a quiz on the muscles on Thursday and a test on the Muscular System on Friday. Please remind your student to check the google classroom daily for assignments and study materials.

US HISTORY - MR. GAUTHIER

Next week in US History the students will be finishing the Articles of Confederation and learning about the Constitutional convention. Class notes and discussions will be abundant so being prepared will be crucial to understanding.

US HISTORY - MR. O’HAYER

Next week in American History students will begin their study on the creation of the U.S. Constitution. We will examine the process and framework that built this document and dive deep into how it guides our country even today. Students will also begin a project that will help explain how our Founding Fathers created the Constitution. Students will research The Enlightenment and the great thinkers of that time and how they influenced the creation of our government and the documents that were established early in our nation’s history.

ACCELERATED MATH - MRS. TAYOR

Students began this unit learning integers and manipulatives such as number lines and positive/negative chips. They began before break and did an excellent job remembering what to do when they practiced problems. They have been given an integer rule sheet that gives them the rules for all four operations and a number line. They are welcome to use this sheet for the quiz coming up on Monday, 1/10. There are two more units left and the test on Chapter 6 will be the following week.

PRE-ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR

EARTH SCIENCE - MS. HOFFMAN

Welcome Back from our holiday winter break and Happy New Year! The sixth graders finished up their mapping skills on Monday by creating topographic maps. (See photos below.) We are also continuing to learn about the layers of the Earth.and have discussed the theory of Continental Drift. Next week the students will work on a Pangea puzzle and have a quiz over this general geology and mapping information on Wednesday 1/12/22. We will then discuss sea-floor spreading and the types of plate boundaries (convergent, divergent and transform) leading up to our test on Plate Tectonics Friday 1/21/22. There is also an OPTIONAL project students may choose to complete which involves creating and designing a commemorative pin for the science fair state competition. For those students who want to participate, all drawings are due Tuesday, 1/18/22. The grading rubric, examples and the template paper were reviewed in class and are found on Google Classroom. This project is open to all 6th - 8th grade students and the top three designs for the middle school will win gift certificates to the snack cart courtesy of National Junior Honor Society. Finally, the January Science in Comic is due Monday, 1/31/22.

EARTH SCIENCE - MRS. DURANT

Next week in Earth Science, we will begin our unit on Continental Drift Theory. Students always enjoy the activities we do with this unit which include a Pangea puzzle and The Curious Case of Mesosaurus activity which provides scientific evidence of Continental Drift. Please remind your student to check the Google Classroom daily for assignments and study materials which have been posted for daily review.

ELA - MRS. SASSER

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a great holiday break! :-)

Last week, students began working on their first formal essay! They will be writing a persuasive essay on whether or not schools should require students to wear uniforms. They have already picked a side, brainstormed, and learned about thesis statements. This week, students will learn about the parts of an introduction paragraph and begin working on their drafts. They will have a quiz over introductions and thesis statements on Friday, 1/14.

As with any writing assignment, students can come in early to get feedback on their writing. All final, printed, color-coded essays are due Friday 1/21.

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

¡Feliz Año Nuevo! Our second week back we are continuing our journey through Central America. On Wednesday, there is a quiz over List #3A, which includes knowing how to say where we and others are from, as well as common travel item vocabulary. We will then be starting a unit on the verb “gustar.” Students will be graded on their response to my Spanish questions this week. They have been provided a schedule in the classroom.

WORLD HISTORY - MR. O’HAYER

Next week in World History students will continue our work analyzing the major players during The Enlightenment. We will move this week to France and the United States and spend a good deal of time examining how the Enlightenment helped frame our country’s government and how it influenced our system of government today.

ART - MRS. COOKSON

“If you’re not making a mistake, it’s a mistake.” - Miles Davis

Sketchbook Prompt:

8th: Draw stacks and stacks of cars.

7th: Draw the tooth fairy.

6th: Draw a map of your neighborhood.

Classwork Challenges:

8th: Will finish up Pointillism and move into the world of Stop-Motion animation

7th: Will use their imagination to design the ultimate fantasy treehouse

6th: Will stretch their 3-d and planning skills with a Restricted Sculpture

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Middle School Blog

January 10th - January 14th

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