February 14th - February 18th
8TH GRADE HDS CELEBRATION WEEK IS SET!
Planning for an end-of-year experience we explored a couple of “camp” possibilities for the 8th grade and recreating a week of celebration week like we had for last year’s graduation class. Mr. Cargile and Mr. Crawford met with the class to get the student’s input. By an overwhelming majority, the student preference was to have a week of day trips in Savannah for the week of celebration. The schedule as planned can be found AT THIS LINK. Last year’s class said this was one of the best experiences they had during their 8th grade year. We are looking forward to this year’s week!
8TH GRADE PRESIDENT'S VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARD
8th grade students wishing to receive The President’s Volunteer Service Award at the Honors Assembly in May will need to submit all of their community service hours to Mrs. Mannarino by Friday, March 25th - NO EXCEPTIONS.
Award Levels:
Bronze (50–74 hours)
Silver (75–99 hours)
Gold (100+ hours)
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
Time Management
In middle school, you will start getting more long term assignments than you are used to. It may help to break these bigger projects down into smaller chunks and use a time map to plan how you are going to tackle them. Your learning coach can help you with this. It’s common to underestimate the size of a project and procrastinate until there’s not enough time left to do a good job. Make the most of your time by completing some work each day instead of leaving it all until the end.
https://www.umtsd.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&ModuleInstanceID=940&ViewID=7b97f7ed-8e5e-4120-848f-a8b4987d588f&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=1303&PageID=175
Research continues to come out about the importance of developing “grit” in kids. It is the ability to push toward long-term goals despite challenges or failure. Luckily, it is something that can be developed and parents can take the lead on helping their child learn. One of my personal favorite tips is for parents to model a growth mindset. This allows children to understand that with hard work, you can truly develop any skill or ability. Parents can normalize mistakes by discussing obstacles or failures and sharing positive “self talk” that helps push towards success.
How (and Why) to Teach Kids to Have More Grit
Please feel free to get in touch with me at amaher@hancockdayschool.org if you have any questions or concerns.
ALGEBRA 1- MRS. TAYLOR
Students jumped right into Chapter 7, systems of equations. I moved the quiz to Tuesday/Wednesday (2/15, 2/16) on the first two sections. They seem to like this Chapter better than the last one.
ADVANCED ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR
Next week in Advanced Algebra, we will complete our study of angle relationships by having a day of review on Monday and the quiz on Wednesday. We will then begin learning about solid objects and polyhedra (9.1) as well as how to find the surface area of prisms and cylinders (9.2).
GEOMETRY - MR. LANFEAR
Next week in Geometry, we will complete Chapter 9 by having the Chapter 9 test on Monday. We will then begin Chapter 10 which is all about circles. We will start by learning about tangents (10.1) arc measures (10.2), chords (10.3), and inscribed angles and polygons (10.4).
ELA - MRS. BOYER
This week, students are diving into their Silence essay as a means of diving into one of the major themes for the upcoming unit where we will be reading Night by Elie Wiesel. Essays will be worth a TEST grade for T2.
The 8th grade class will be competing in the Jewish Education Alliance’s Yom HaShoah Holocaust Art & Writing Contest.The final submissions will be due the week of April 1st. Students will be working on this project in class; you will be receiving a packet to sign. This project functions like the Science Fair project as it spans many weeks and multiple grade categories.
***REGARDING THE PROJECT*** Students will not have any homework over Spring Break; however, if they want to spend time working on their art/writing project, I would highly suggest that they take a day or so to do that.
**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
The eighth graders are continuing to learn about forces, gravity and friction. They also participated in a friction lab comparing static and kinetic friction and discovering some of the ways in which weight and the type of surface can affect them. (See photos below.) We also discussed Newton’s three Laws of Motion. Next week the students will use this information to learn about car crashes and safety. They will be using the engineering process to construct their own “Egg-cellent” race car to see how motion and forces affect driving speed, acceleration and momentum. Their car will also need to include safety features to help protect their “egg” passenger. The quiz over all these forces will be on Friday, 2/18/22. Our February Science in Comic is due Monday, 2/28/22.
Science Fair Update:
All our qualifying students participated in virtual interviews with the RSEF judges and overall results are scheduled to be posted online today or over the weekend. I will be emailing all participants information about the results as soon as I can. Any HDS students winning awards will receive them later in the month after we arrange for Mr. Dean from Savannah State University STEM programs to come to our campus. Good luck to all of our RSE participants: Anthony DeMott, Coles Brown, Elle Roberts, Luke Nguyen, Maggie Allen, Mollie Dugas, Sean Adams, Stafford Wilson, Theo McGuirk and Will Routhier. We are proud of all of you for representing HDS in SCIENCE EXCELLENCE!
US HISTORY- Mr. Gauthier
Next week the 8th grade will be introduced to the events and cause that led to the US involvement in WW1. We will also be learning about Imperialism and the times that led us into the Great Depression.
SPANISH - MRS. SALE
Hello…the students will start the week off with continued work on the Present Progressive tense. Midweek, they will complete work on a review of the weather, months and seasons. Towards the end of the week they will start a section on learning Direct Object Pronouns. Friday, a quiz is scheduled for work on the Present Progressive tense.
ADVANCED SPANISH - MRS. SALE
The beginning of the week there will be a big review. Tuesday, 2/15, there will be a test that will include the 4 stem changing verb forms, ‘’go’’ verbs, ir, ver, oir. Midweek, the students will receive new vocabulary. They will work on the vocabulary the rest of the week.
ADVANCED SPANISH - MS. CROCKER
This week, we will work in class on a selfie project that will be due on Thursday. This project will cover list #4A (emotions!). Happy long weekend!
ALGEBRA 1 - MRS. TAYLOR
Students jumped right into Chapter 7, systems of equations. I moved the quiz to Tuesday/Wednesday (2/15, 2/16) on the first two sections. They seem to like this Chapter better than the last one.
PRE-ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR
Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will complete Chapter 6 by having a quiz on 6.7-6.8 on Monday. We will then begin Chapter 7 which is all about percents. We will first learn how to convert percents to decimals and fractions (and vice versa) (7.1, 7.3). We will then learn how to solve percent problems using proportions (7.2) and the percent equation (7.4). We will have a quiz on 7.1-7.4 on Friday.
ELA - MRS. BOYER
Students are finishing their final projectStudents will be creating a THEME park based on their novel, which will be due on 2/18 for a TEST grade.
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 spent the end of this past week working on speeches. As a reminder, their speeches are due on Monday, 2/14.
This week students are finishing up their reading on Lord of the Flies. To review the novel, students will conduct a socratic seminar on Thursday, 2/17. Students will have time in class to prep for this, but may need to work at home as well. They have done this multiple times before, so they have great working knowledge of my expectations!
Students will have a vocab test over chapters 7-12 on February 18th and their final novel test will be on Thursday 2/24. I will hold a review session the mornings of each test if students would like to come in to review.
The reading schedule is posted below. Students will have a reading comprehension quiz each week over the assigned reading. They will also have a vocab test over chapters 7-12 on February 18th.
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 in Life Science, we will examine the interrelationship between the Skeletal, Muscular, and Nervous Systems. Students will work on a STEM project creating a prosthetic hand. Students will then do a series of tasks to analyze what would make the hand more functional. Please remind your student to check the Google Classroom daily for assignments, announcements, and study materials.
US HISTORY - MR. GAUTHIER
Tests are done and work on the US Constitution continues. Next week the 7th grade US History will be starting a big project on a Constitutional amendment.
US HISTORY - MR. O’HAYER
Next week in American History students will continue our examination of the New Republic. This week students will focus on the treatment of the Native American by the U.S. Government. We will specifically examine the Indian Removal and the Trail of Tears.
ACCELERATED MATH - MRS. TAYOR
Students are working very hard to not complete mental math with one step equations and show all of their work. This is crucial to be able to build a solid foundation for Pre-Algebra for next year. They will have a quiz 2/15 on sections 7.1-7.4.
PRE-ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR
Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will complete Chapter 6 by having a quiz on 6.7-6.8 on Monday. We will then begin Chapter 7 which is all about percents. We will first learn how to convert percents to decimals and fractions (and vice versa) (7.1, 7.3). We will then learn how to solve percent problems using proportions (7.2) and the percent equation (7.4). We will have a quiz on 7.1-7.4 on Friday.
EARTH SCIENCE - MS. HOFFMAN
This week in earth science the sixth graders finished creating their rock and mineral flyers and took their quiz over minerals and rocks. They also began exploring earthquakes. Next week they will continue learning about earthquakes including how they are measured, the damage they cause and safety precautions. They will also construct an example of an earthquake-proof wall and create a seismograph simulation. At the end of the week we will begin volcanoes and the test over both earthquakes and volcanoes will be on Friday 2/25/22. Our February Science in Comic is due Monday, 2/28/22.
EARTH SCIENCE - MRS. DURANT
Next week in Earth Science, we will continue our unit on volcanoes. Students will begin an in-class project researching a volcano as well as plotting volcanoes around the world on a map using their mapping skills. 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
Students will have a quiz over the first half of their assigned reading on Monday, 2/14. Students should review their guided questions and annotations.
This week, students will complete a project analyzing the impact of the various settings the characters journey through. This project will ask students to create a map of major settings and write 3-4 sentences about explaining each setting. Students will also be asked to choose one of the major settings and write a formal paragraph explaining its significance, importance, and impact on the characters. This is an in-class project. Students should use their time wisely throughout the week (two 50 minute classes, two 70 minute classes, one 50 minute study hall in Art) if they do not wish to have homework.
This project is due Wednesday 2/23.
As with any novel study, students MUST keep up with their assigned reading. Assigned reading will be due EVERY Friday, when students will meet with their groups. If students have not completed their reading, they will be unable to participate in the group discussion and will be losing points.
Refugee Reading Timeline:
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
This week we have a quiz on MONDAY over List #4A (Parts of the Body/Doler) We will then have an in class body outline project assigned that will be due on Friday. Happy long weekend!
WORLD HISTORY - MR. O’HAYER
Next week in World History students will continue their examination of the Industrial Revolution. Students will finish looking at life before the IR and transition into how society moved toward the Industrial Age and the impacts these events had on people across Europe and the Americas.
ART - MRS. COOKSON
“The works must be conceived with fire in the soul but executed with clinical coolness.” - Joan Miró
Sketchbook Prompt:
8th: Draw a portrait of your best friend as an insect.
7th: Draw a class trip to the park.
6th: Draw a lost dog poster..
Classwork Challenges:
8th: Will continue to work on Stop-Motion projects
7th: Will finish up work on a Conce
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