March 7th - March 11th
COUNTING DOWN TO GRADUATION AND SUMMER VACATION!
We are in the final trimester of the year and the “countdown” has begun (especially for the 8th graders!) toward the end of the year. Once we get back from Spring break things move quickly and there are lots of once-a-year activities. To help keep things straight, important dates can be found at this link.
THE MANY STYLES OF DRESS!
Each year students purchase many different pieces of apparel through their HDS sports teams. These items are proper to wear during the season of the sport. New this year are the many different items available through the school’s online site which are also appropriate to wear to school. Thursdays are always set aside for wearing team jerseys in support of the team. All of this gives us quite a varied look!
One important “rule” that remains constant is that PE uniforms are only to be worn on PE days. Student Enrichment schedules (which includes PE) will be changing slightly Monday for T3. Students will receive their T3 schedules on Monday morning. Please review your child's schedule with them so they arrive at school dressed appropriately. One thing is easy to follow, there is NO PE on either Monday or Friday.
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.
TECHNOLOGY INSURANCE INTEREST SURVEY 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 Make goals. It’s the beginning of a new trimester! Create a goal or goals that you want to attain by the end of the marking term. Then, make a plan and stick with it to get there. 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 did great remembering their exponents rules from last year. They will have a quiz on sections 8.1-8.3 Friday, 3/11. ADVANCED ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR Next week in Advanced Algebra, we will complete Chapter 9 by having the Chapter 9 test on Monday. We will then begin reviewing some very important concepts from Algebra. We will start with reviewing exponent rules. GEOMETRY - MR. LANFEAR Next week in Geometry, we will begin Chapter 11 by reviewing how to find the area of rectangles, squares, triangles, and parallelograms (11.1). We will then learn how to find the area of trapezoids, kites, and rhombuses (11.2), as well as explore the perimeter and area of similar figures (11.3). We will also learn how to calculate the circumference and area of circles (11.4). There will be a quiz on 11.1-11.4 on Friday. ELA - MRS. BOYER 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. Yom HoShoah Due Dates There will be an Extra Credit Opportunity, worth a PROJECT grade for T3!!! Check GC. Night Test 4/13-14. Students will be reading about 20-30 pages each week. I will be giving out discussion questions. Students are encouraged to work through as many questions as possible. I will be asking that they complete at least half by the assigned due date. Pg 1-28 due by Wednesday/Thursday 3/9-3/10 ***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 have started their unit on Waves. They have learned about the various types of waves (transverse/ longitudinal, mechanical/ electromagnetic), parts of a wave (crest, trough, amplitude, wavelength, etc.) and wave properties such as frequency and speed. Next week the new signed syllabus is due on Monday, 3/7/22 and we will discuss the different ways waves interact (reflection, refraction, diffraction and interference). Students will also participate in a lab to demonstrate each of these interactions. This will lead up to our quiz on Friday, 3/11/22 over wave types, parts, properties and interactions. Following Spring Break, our focus of discussion will be sound. US HISTORY- Mr. Gauthier Next week we will finish up WW1 and Imperialism. Going forward we will be learning about The Roaring Twenties, and the Great Depression. SPANISH - MRS. SALE Hello…we will begin the week with further work on SABER/CONOCER. There will be a quiz this week. The students will get to IOP’s this week. The quiz will be on Thursday. The quiz will cover the verbs saber, conocer, vocabulary and colors. We will wrap the week up with a translation project. I hope everyone will have a great Spring break vacation. ADVANCED SPANISH - MRS. SALE ADVANCED SPANISH - MS. CROCKER This week we are getting an overview of the history of Spain and doing skits covering our vocabulary list. We will have a Test on vocabulary list #5A (includes “ir” and -ar verbs) on Thursday of this week! Have a great Spring Break!! ALGEBRA 1 - MRS. TAYLOR Students did great remembering their exponents rules from last year. They will have a quiz on sections 8.1-8.3 Friday, 3/11. PRE-ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will complete Chapter 7 by having the Chapter 7 test on Monday. We will then begin Chapter 8 by learning about relations and functions (8.1) and various ways of graphing linear functions on a coordinate plane (8.2-8.3). ELA - MRS. BOYER Essays due on 3/7!! Submit in GC by class time! We are starting SHAKESPEARE! We will be getting students ready for 8th grade with a mini/super quick intro to Shakespeare using an abridged version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Students will be working through a week long Shakespeare Introduction and then we will read TOGETHER in class when they return from Spring Break. This unit will not have a TEST, but will have a mini quiz or so. 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 Final essays for Lord of the Flies are due Tuesday, March 8th! This week, students will gain background knowledge on the Renaissance and William Shakespeare. We will examine the time period along with Shakespeare’s life and the language he uses in his plays. Students will complete a QR code scavenger hunt, play some Renaissance games, and have a rap battle using common language from the time period. When we return from Spring break, we will dive into reading his classic comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Even though we will read the entire play in class as a group, the text can still be challenging. I would recommend you get your child a copy of either of the following versions of the play. These are “kids” versions that can help supplement the full length version we will read in class. Shakespeare Can Be Fun (watered down, overview of text/characters) Modern Translation (the original language of the play put into modern words) Graphic Novel (Original text, but helpful with images) 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 begin our final body system unit which will be the Cardiovascular System. Students will study the anatomy and functions of the heart. They will participate in a heart rate/stethoscope lab and also a lab comparing animal heart rates to human heart rates. They will have a quiz on the anatomy of the heart on Friday, March 11. Please remind your student to check the Google Classroom daily for assignments, announcements, and study materials. US HISTORY - MR. GAUTHIER Next week we will continue to work on Amendment projects as well as fish up the unit on The Constitution. We will introduce the New Nation and look towards Westward Expansion. Starting 3rd Trimester, it looks like Wednesdays will be the best days for assessments. US HISTORY - MR. O’HAYER Next week in American History students will continue their study of the Westward Expansion with a focus on the Native Americans struggle and their treatment at the hands of the U.S. Government. Next week we will continue working on our research project: An indepth study of Native American Tribes/Chiefs with a focus on Indian Removal/Trail of Tears. This will be a group project and will be completed in class. The Westward Expansion Study Packet has been posted to GC. The Project will be due on March 11th and we will also have an assessment on the 11th over Westward Expansion/Native Americans. ACCELERATED MATH - MRS. TAYOR Students have done very well with the second part of Chapter 7. I split it because I wanted to take these last three sections slow. 7.6 was the first section and it strengthened any confusion they had with equations on Part 1 Chapter 7 test. They should have an easier time with the corrections that are due Tuesday. They also have a quiz on 7.6 Tuesday, 3/8. We have reviewed it enough that they should feel confident. Functions will be 7.7. PRE-ALGEBRA - MR. LANFEAR Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will complete Chapter 7 by having the Chapter 7 test on Monday. We will then begin Chapter 8 by learning about relations and functions (8.1) and various ways of graphing linear functions on a coordinate plane (8.2-8.3). EARTH SCIENCE - MS. HOFFMAN The sixth graders have started their Ocean unit learning about ocean chemistry (dissolved salts and gasses found in the oceans), and ocean topography (continental slope, continental shelf, abyssal plain, seamounts, trenches and hydrothermal vents). They also used pH kits to test the acidity of water from Tybee beach and Wilmington River, and I am happy to report that our waters are extremely healthy. :) (*See photos below.) Next week the new signed syllabus is due on Monday, 3/7/22 and we will learn about the different ocean zones including intertidal, neritic and pelagic. Students will also learn about sonar and graph an example of how it works. There will be a quiz on Friday, 3/11/22 over ocean chemistry, topography and zones. Following Spring Break students will learn about marine animals, participate in a dock microscope lab and create an ocean diorama. EARTH SCIENCE - MRS. DURANT Next week in Earth Science, we will continue our unit on Rocks and Minerals. We will begin by focusing on the Rock Cycle and the classification of rocks. We will be examining various specimens of rocks and researching the common uses of minerals. Students will have a quiz on minerals on 3/8/22. 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 spend this week working on their final projects for Refugee. They will complete a Body Biography with a partner. Students were given details, an outline, and a rubric on Monday (2/28). All projects are due Friday 3/11. As a reminder: projects and essays in ELA are designed to help students think critically about the reading they have completed. I structure these assignments in a way that almost 95% should be completed in class. I carve out time and multiple periods for students to have ample time to work, ask questions, and be productive, which should limit their homework load. If students utilize this time wisely and stay on task, they should be coming home with minimal homework. 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 are getting an overview of the history of Spain and doing reviewing our new vocabulary list. We will have a Test on vocabulary list #5A on WEDNESDAY (includes “ir” and “estar” verbs)! Have a great Spring Break!! WORLD HISTORY - MR. O’HAYER Next week in World History students will continue our study of the Industrial Revolution with our examination of The Rise of Capitalism. We will also begin chapter 6 which examines Adam Smith contributions to how Capitalism and other economic systems developed. We will also include review of other systems like Socialism and Communism. Students will also continue working on their project: researching Inventions of the IR and working on creating their own inventions that will benefit society. This project will be completed in class. This project is due March 11th. Our test over Chapters 5-6 will be Friday the 11th. ART - MRS. COOKSON “Everything you can imagine is real.” - Pablo Picasso Sketchbook Prompt: 8th: Draw a well-preserved library among hidden ruins. 7th: Draw a cozy cabin in the snowy woods. 6th: Draw a space colony. Classwork Challenges: 8th: Will finish up work on Stop-Motion projects 7th: Will continue with symbols and a digital “self-portrait” 6th: Will use pattern work to design a mandala
Currently, our policy for broken Chromebooks is to have families pay for their replacement. Next year, we would like to offer an option for families to buy insurance for between $25 and $40 to cover their student's technology so that they will not have to pay for the replacement in full at the time of an incident. In order to offer this service, we need to gauge interest in this program.
The students will continue working on the vocabulary, weather and months. Ordinal numbers will be introduced this week. There will be two quizzes this week. The first quiz will be covering months and weather. Mid week the students will be introduced to the present progressive tense. Friday brings about the second quiz. It will cover vocabulary and ordinal numbers. I hope everyone has a great and safe Spring break vacation.
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