August 22nd - August 26th

 

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT

Back to School Night will be held Tuesday, August 30, 2022. 

*Please note this is a change from the original schedule!*

 

ASSESSMENTS AND PROJECTS CALENDAR

Parents and students 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.

As Learning Coach, I work 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. My phone extension is 327. 

I look forward to working with you! 

Tricia Guggenheim

Tip # 2: GO TO YOUR TEACHERS WHEN YOU NEED SUPPORT.

Your teachers are here to help you! Please see them in the morning before school (if it needs to be at 7:30, please email or speak to them the day before to make sure they will be available). You may also schedule a time with the teacher after school, at break, or during the study hall after lunch. Your teachers want to support you; all you need to do is ask :). If you need help scheduling a time to meet with a teacher, I’m happy to assist. It’s all about self-advocating...you can do it!

As we all struggle to adjust to school routines, it is particularly important to invest some time in developing healthy sleep habits for your middle schooler. Lack of appropriate sleep can lead to physical, academic, and emotional difficulties. 

Research continues to indicate that technology before bed has an impact on the quality of sleep. However, this is complicated by the fact that students depend on technology for homework and studying. Consider speaking with your child and helping them incorporate strategies to move towards limiting computer and phone screens before bed. Starting homework a bit earlier, charging phones outside of the bedroom and brainstorming other activities to do the hour before bed may be a good place to start.

Here is a recent article highlighting some of the sleep difficulty that can arise with technology:  Screen Time and Insomnia: What it Means for Teens 

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 will quiz over all of Chapter 1 Monday, 8/29. We reviewed it as a class on 8/26. Chapter 2 will be more review over integer operations, rational and irrational numbers and absolute value. The plan is to have a test over Chapter 1 and 2 together on 8/8.

ADVANCED ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Advanced Algebra, we will complete Chapter 9 by learning the “Divide and Slide” method of factoring (9.6).  We will have a day of review on Tuesday and the Chapter 9 test on Wednesday.  We will then begin Chapter 10 by learning how to graph quadratic functions (students NEED a graphing calculator by that day!!).

GEOMETRY - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Geometry, we will complete Chapter 1 by having a day of review on Monday and the Chapter 1 test on Tuesday.  We will then begin Chapter 2 by learning about inductive reasoning (2.1) and conditional statements (2.2).

ELA - Mrs. Boyer

Welcome to 8th grade ELA! I am so very excited to have all of our wonderful kiddos for their last year at HDS. :) This year will be challenging, but this year will prepare them for their 9th grade courses. It is critical that your child put their whole heart into this class, especially as the high school entrance exams are on the horizon. 

Students have been training to write in a high level thinking manner. We have thoroughly discussed how to think, create, and organize essays. This year we are going to be practicing more literary writing as we continue through the year. This past week students have completed two practice essay outlines. This week, students will be creating their own essay on the film text of their choice. Students will have two class periods to write and essays will be due on Friday, September 2nd. 

**Students are currently writing in an ELA specific journal. This journal will be a critical piece throughout the year. I would highly encourage students to take very good care of this journal as it will be extremely helpful as they venture on to high school.**

I will still be conferencing with and emailing students as per my structure from last year. :) We will begin The Westing Game by Ellen Reskin in the coming weeks. 

Summer Reading Grades should be in FACTS in the next week. :)

**As students mature 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. Hallman

This week we learned all about lab safety and glassware that scientists use in everyday laboratory experience. We finished out the week by learning scientific notation, SI units and conversions, and how to calculate percent error. These are skills necessary for moving into advanced science classes in the coming years and to be able to grasp concepts we will do in labs this year. They will have their first quiz on Monday (8/29) over the material covered this week (lab safety, glassware, and these math concepts). We will have time to create a brief study guide and also to allow the students a chance to hear and ask questions about my expectations for the quiz. 

US HISTORY - Mr. Gauthier

The first speeches have been assigned and are due 9/6 and 9/7.  Students will have their first RAP sessions next week to help prepare for the speeches.  We will also review the Civil War’s significance on the events leading up to today

SPANISH - Ms. Crocker

This week we will receive our first vocabulary list covering some basic phrases to start mini-dialogue communication in class. I will give the students specific study tips this week on how to memorize and use vocabulary that covers calendar and time talk, basic greetings, and the verb ser. Most of this should be review for the students from last year. We will be completing our first project of making a planner app design for a client that includes the vocabulary list. There is a quiz September 9th! 

ADVANCED SPANISH - Ms. Brown
¡Hola! Students successfully participated and completed their first C.I. (Comprehensible Input) Story activity! What does that mean? That means that students saw just how obtainable it is even at their current level to understand a story that was completely in Spanish when assisted by images and when asked to critically analyze the words that they for sure knew in the story they heard! Let’s continue perfecting our classroom procedures to ensure that we can really flex those Spanish interpretive skills soon!

ADVANCED SPANISH - Ms. Crocker

This week we will receive our first vocabulary list covering some basic phrases to start communicating in class on a daily basis. I will give the students specific study tips this week on how to memorize and use vocabulary that covers calendar and time talk, basic greetings, and the verb ser. Most of this should be review for the students from last year. They will be completing a time zone project as well. There is a quiz September 9th! 

ALGEBRA 1 - Mrs. Taylor

Students will quiz over all of Chapter 1 Monday, 8/29. We reviewed it as a class on 8/26. Chapter 2 will be more review over integer operations, rational and irrational numbers and absolute value. The plan is to have a test over Chapter 1 and 2 together on 8/7.

PRE-ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will continue Chapter 1 by learning how to compare and order integers (1.4), add integers (1.5), subtract integers (1.6), and multiply/divide integers (1.7).  There will be a quiz on sections 1.1-1.4 on Tuesday (E Block) or Wednesday (C Block).

ELA - Mrs. Buchner & Mrs. Boyer

The next two weeks we will be reading/discussing A Hero's Guidebook to prepare for our unit over The Hobbit, which we will begin the week of September 19th. In this unit, students will learn how to create the perfect hero, so they can use these skills to identify those traits in the character of Bilbo in The Hobbit. The culminating project for A Hero’s Guidebook will be a student-created movie trailer.

Reading Schedule Outside of Class: 

Hero’s Guidebook: Chapter 9-10 on 8/29, Chapter 11-12 on 8/30

*Upcoming Assessments/Projects:

• Test over A Hero’s Guidebook-Friday 9/2

• Hero Movie Trailer Project- Due Sunday 9/4

Every 70 minute block, students will be completing ELA skill-building activities titled This or That. This bell ringer assignment will count toward a weekly classwork grade of 100 points. Any bell ringer that a student is unable to complete in class will become homework for that day. This assignment is in Google Classroom and will be completed digitally each day.

Students are highly encouraged to come in for extra help if they are having any difficulty with any assignment. Mrs. Buchner and Mrs. Boyer are available weekday mornings from 7:45 am to 8:15 am.

Strategies for Home: 

-Students should be completing each night's homework reading assignment listed above  in order to be prepared to discuss the reading in class the next day. 

-All homework assignments are in Google Calendar and Our Weekly Google Slide Presentation.

-Students should be coming in from 7:45-8:15 am to review/ask questions/work 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. 

LIFE SCIENCE - Mrs. DuRant

What a great first week of science we had last week! Next week in Life Science, we will begin to look at the Characteristics of Life and how organisms are classified. Students will have a quiz on Microscopes on Thursday, August 25. Please remind your student to check the Google Classroom daily for announcements, assignments, and study materials. 

US HISTORY - Mr. Gauthier. 

Next week we continue with analyzing sources and begin to break down the American Revolution and examine its significance on how it shaped the future of our country.

US HISTORY - Mr. O’Hayer

Next week in American History students will continue their study of the Age of Exploration. We will dive deep into how European Exploration developed and shaped history. Students will continue their group work researching famous explorers. Students will also continue studying and learning about how we study history and refresh themselves on how to take quality notes.

ACCELERATED MATH - Mrs. Taylor

We will be reviewing for a quiz on all of Chapter 1 (all material has been a review of 5th with the exception of powers). Students will get to take a glance at the quiz to help with any testing anxiety in math. Decimals and all operations will begin Wednesday (Chapter 2). This is more review from last year.

PRE-ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will continue Chapter 1 by learning how to compare and order integers (1.4), add integers (1.5), subtract integers (1.6), and multiply/divide integers (1.7).  There will be a quiz on sections 1.1-1.4 on Wednesday.

EARTH SCIENCE - Mrs. DuRant

What an awesome group of 6th graders! We had a wonderful first week of science last week. Next week in Earth Science, we will be studying density and states of matter/phase changes. Students will have a lab in which they make a density column. They will also have a quiz on Lab Safety and Lab Equipment on Tuesday, August 23. Please have your student check the Google Classroom daily for announcements,assignments, and study materials. 

EARTH SCIENCE - Ms. Hallman

6th grade has had a blast this week learning about lab safety and equipment. They have done a great job applying what we have learned in an interactive lab to help familiarize themselves with lab procedures. By the end of this week they will have completed two more labs to familiarize themselves with how to make measurements. They should be preparing for their first quiz which will be August 30th and it will be over Lab Safety and Equipment. 

ELA - Mrs. BuchnerW

We have spent this past week learning how to paraphrase and properly cite sources. Due to the need for more student practice on these skills, the quiz scheduled for Friday 8/26 has been moved to Monday 8/29. You will find that I am flexible in scheduling quizzes and tests. If I don’t think the majority of students have mastered the skill needed, I will tweak my plans to meet their needs. My goal is to equip students with the skills they need to be successful in not only my classroom, but also their future ELA classes. Being able to properly create in-text citations, cite sources,  and paraphrase quotes will be a skill they will need through their college and graduate school years. It is a very important skill for every student to have.

We will begin the Jan Schaffer Method of Writing on Tuesday 8/30. Students will be provided with a composition notebook and different colored ink pens: blue, red, and green, in order to practice brain-based writing. They will be incorporating their citation and paraphrasing skills into their writing for the next two weeks. Students may need to finish a paragraph at home on occasion if they are unable to do so in class. I will supply each student with the colored pens, but it is their responsibility to keep up with them. I do not have extra pens to give students, but I will have a couple of extra sets for in class use only.  Please check with them each day to see if they finished their Constructed Response (paragraph) for that day. Also, please have your student bring their copy of Restart by Gordon Korman beginning next week. This is the book they read over the summer. We will be using the book to construct our paragraphs with in-text citations.

Every 70 minute block, students will be completing ELA skill-building activities titled This or That. This bell ringer assignment will count toward a weekly classwork grade of 100 points. Any bell ringer that a student is unable to complete in class will become homework for that day. This assignment is in Google Classroom and will be completed digitally each day.

Homework assignments can be found in your student’s Google Calendar, as well as the weekly Google Slide Presentation in their ELA Google Classroom. In order to study for the quiz on Monday 8/29, students should review lessons in the weekly Google Slide presentation, as well as handouts they have received in class. There will also be a homework assignment on Friday 8/26 specifically designed to assist them in studying for the quiz.

Students are highly encouraged to come in for help in the mornings from 7:45-8:15 a.m.  I am unavailable on Wednesdays from 7:45 to 8:00 a.m. due to carpool duty. If your student prefers to work with me in the afternoon, I am available until 4:15 Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 3:45 to 4:15 most afternoons. Please have them check with me first before staying for help or you can email me. 

Upcoming Assessments/Projects:

• Citation/Plagiarism/Paraphrasing Quiz Monday 8/29-note date change

• Constructed Response Quiz-Friday 9/2

• Hidden Figures novel unit- Monday 9/19-10/31

INTRO SPANISH - Ms. Brown

¡Hola! WOW!! The ease with which all of my 6th graders pronounce new vocabulary words and phrases is very promising! Our first C.I. (Comprehensible Input) Story day will soon be upon us. We will begin training our ears to perceive and make sense of information that is presented to us completely in Spanish. It may feel overwhelming at first, but with practice and a coachable spirit, our wonderful 6th graders will come to find that they understand far more than they ever realized they would in Spanish. Update coming soon!

WORLD HISTORY - Mr. O’Hayer

Next week in World History students will continue to learn how history is made, studied, and analyzed. We will continue to work on our note-taking strategies and how to decipher historical works and how we will be studying them as we move through this course. We will continue our introduction to the first Unit: Ancient Greece and Rome.

ART - Mrs. Byrne

Good Day HDS community!  This week students have learned the value of value in how the presence of light helps us see the grandest of views and details that distinguish one object from another. In addition to our observations, students have logged into Artsonia, an online student gallery that is in sync with Google Classroom. Use this school access code to see future work and add comments NNNY-YPFY.

The students' knowledge and application of value will bring beautiful light and detail to Savannah's Palms next week!