September 19th - September 23rd

 

Friday, September 23, 2022

Dear Parents, 

It is so great to be back in school after our wonderful week at Nantahala Outdoor Center. Last week was an amazing experience, and students are still abuzz with recalling adventures and recollecting good times with friends. 

With the halfway mark of the 1st Trimester upon us, it is a good time for you to sit down with your child and go over how they are doing in their classes. If your child receives an Interim Report, they will need more support from you to help them improve their performance in that class while maintaining their other classes. Here are a few tips to help you support your child and cultivate the home-school relationship.

• Go over Google Classroom for each class with your child so that you know what assignments are due soon and what they have done so far this trimester.

• Take a look at the Assessment Calendar each week to see which classes have a test, quiz, or project due. All students want to do their best, and sometimes the volume of work and studying for tests overwhelms them. Having you by their side to help organize and plan for homework and study time is a perfect support and complements their natural intrinsic motivation.  

• Contact your child’s teacher directly if you have questions, concerns, or need clarification. Going directly to the teacher eliminates miscommunication and is a great way to strengthen the home-school relationship.

• Focus on effort and strategies, not on the outcome. We can’t always control the outcome, but we can always control our effort and the strategies we choose to employ. When students do not perform well, it usually indicates that they are lacking a skill, so focus on the process and determine which skill or skills you need to help your child develop.

Your child’s teachers, Mrs. Guggenheim (our learning coach), and I are ready to assist you with strategies to help support you and your family. As always, we are a team, and we look forward to our continued partnership this year.

Kind regards,

Jack Cargile

Head of Middle School

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 or see Mrs. G in the office.

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 #4 How Long Should We Work on Homework?

Set a timer and limit each study or work session to 30 minutes. Challenge yourself to finish a certain amount of work within that time. The adrenaline rush of the challenge will improve your focus. If needed, continue to set the timer after a quick brain break.

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 Monday, 9/26 Sections 2.1 (absolute value), 2.7 (square roots), 3.1 (one-step equations), and 3.2 (two-step equations). I gave them a few puzzles as classwork due at the end of class 9/23. These puzzles were in lieu of IXL’s to practice from. These were self-checking so they had to get them correct and show their work on paper to get credit. The rest of the week we will continue with the rest of Chapter 3 (Multi-step equations, equations with variables of both sides, ratios/proportions, solving proportions, solving percent problems). 

ADVANCED ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Advanced Algebra, we will complete the first part of Chapter 10 by practicing using the vertical motion model to model objects in free fall.  There will be a day of review on Tuesday and the Chapter 10.1-10.3 test on Wednesday.

GEOMETRY - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Geometry, we will complete Chapter 2 by completing proofs about angle relationships (2.6-2.7).  There will be a day of review on Tuesday and the Chapter 2 test on Thursday.

ELA - Mrs. Boyer

Students are diving into their reading of The Westing Game! Students will be responsible for reading independently. Students will be expected to read each night and work on their interactive notebook. We will be reviewing the interactive notebook in class. Students’ main priority this week is to complete their reading, annotate, and work on their interactive notebook. Students will have PLENTY of time to complete their Interactive Notebook to the best of their ability. This will be a TEST grade at the end of T1. Almost like a final project. This is incredibly important to their overall success with this novel. **POP QUIZZES are on the horizon….**

Assessment Dates!

The Westing Game Ch. 1-8/Mystery Notes Quiz 10/3

Socratic Seminar Test Grade 10/12-10/13

Interactive Notebook Test Grade Due 10/19

The Westing Game Unit Test 10/26-10/27

STAR TESTING 10/5-10/6

**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.**

**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

What a great week back it has been since NOC! We have stayed busy in the classroom wrapping up Unit 1 (Chapter 7 and Chapter 8 in the textbook). We have our test on Friday (9/23)  that I hope everyone is preparing for. The day before will be spent doing a lab with Alka-Seltzer to test reaction time with different temperatures. I have tried to incorporate review time throughout the week to revisit some information that we covered before the trip. As students continue through a challenging science course, I think encouraging them to be reviewing information, notes, worksheets, ect. as they learn it in order to avoid cramming or trying to “re-learn” material the night before. As always, I am available during tutorial, the morning, and afternoons MWF for extra help!

US HISTORY - Mr. Gauthier

Next week we will begin the challenging unit on the Guilded Age.  This unit will require quite a bit of homework, reading, writing and critical thinking.  The culmination to the unit will be a big research project.

SPANISH - Ms. Crocker

We will start off the week making tortillas and quesadillas by hand in a complete Spanish immersion class! ¡Qué rico!

It’s all about us this week! We are receiving a new vocabulary list covering high-frequency conversation verbs and phrases to describe ourselves. We are learning how to say what our personality is like, what we like to do, where we live, what languages we speak and what our families are like. 

We will have a podcast classmate interview project that will be due next week. We are using Anchor.fm (by Spotify) to make these podcasts.

MONDAY will be a quiz over conjugation of our new verbs! 

ADVANCED SPANISH - Ms. Brown
7th grade is hard at work creating study guides and mnemonic devices to be ready for their first TEST. They have put their learned information to good use through our in-class competition of making posters for our classroom on the target information. They have done so by using Canva, an easy to use, free program used by designers across the country. As we move past having mastered our foundational content, we are looking forward to putting it to good use now that Latino/Hispanic Heritage Month is upon us!

ADVANCED SPANISH - Ms. Crocker

It’s all about us this week! We are receiving a new vocabulary list covering high-frequency conversation verbs and phrases to describe ourselves. We are learning how to say what our personality is like, what we like to do, and what our families are like. We have a classmate interview project to practice this vocabulary. Projects are due THURSDAY (block C) and WEDNESDAY (block E).  

ALGEBRA 1 - Mrs. Taylor

Students will quiz Monday, 9/26 Sections 2.1 (absolute value), 2.7 (square roots), 3.1 (one-step equations), and 3.2 (two-step equations). I gave them a few puzzles as classwork due at the end of class 9/23. These puzzles were in lieu of IXL’s to practice from. These were self-checking so they had to get them correct and show their work on paper to get credit. The rest of the week we will continue with the rest of Chapter 3 (Multi-step equations, equations with variables of both sides, ratios/proportions, solving proportions, solving percent problems). 

PRE-ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will continue Chapter 2 by learning how to identify like terms, coefficients, and constant terms (2.3).  We will also learn how to simplify variable expressions by combining like terms (2.3).  There will be a Math Facts Quiz on Wednesday (E Block) or Thursday (C Block).  Students were given the outline of what the quiz covers last week.  We will also review 2.1-2.3 at the end of the week to prepare for the quiz on 2.1-2.3 the following Monday

ELA - Mrs. Buchner & Mrs. Boyer

     We have begun reading The Hobbit. Currently, students are reading the text on Google Classroom in PDF format. Our books are scheduled to arrive on Thursday 9/22. They should be reading each night. Along with their nightly reading assignments, they are required to complete study questions. It is highly encouraged that they do these as they read, noting page numbers where they have found their answers. We will write a full essay at the end of the unit and referencing page numbers will make it easier for them to locate concrete details for their writing.

      In this unit, students will learn how Bilbo exemplifies the hero archetype and how his archetypal journey is the perfect example of a hero’s journey. This unit will involve exit tickets (reading checks) on an almost daily basis to motivate students to read and assess their comprehension of the text. We will have daily discussions on the reading assignments, so it is important that every student be able to participate in these discussions. Discussing the reading assignments will allow students to better comprehend their reading, which will result in better outcomes on graded assignments. Students will also be writing constructed responses, completing small projects, taking quizzes, and our unit will culminate in an analytical essay over the book. Answering study questions very thoroughly will allow them to easily write their essay.

Reading Schedule Outside of Class: 

• Friday 9/23-Read Chapter 4 

• Study Questions Chpt.1-4 due Monday 9/26

• Monday 9/26-Thursday  9/29- Read Chapters 5-7

•  Study Questions Chpt 5-6 due Friday 9/30

• Friday 9/30-Friday 10/7 Read Chapters 8-11

•  Study Questions will be due each day of this week, 10/3, 10/4, etc.

Assessments: 

Ch. 1-11 Test on 10/17

Interactive Notebook Study Guide Assigned 10/24 due on 10/31 TEST

Ch. 12-19 Test on 11/3

Every 70 minute block, students will be completing ELA skill-building activities titled This or That or Journaling. 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 reading The Hobbit and answering study questions each night. *Don’t wait until the night before the study questions are due to complete your reading.

-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

Next week in Life Science, we will continue our exploration of the exciting world of Cells! We began with Cell Theory and will learn about the structure and function of the  organelles. We will have a lab where students will use microscopes to compare various plant and animal cells. Students will have a quiz on Cell Theory on Thursday, September 29. Also on Thursday, students will receive instructions for an at-home project in which they will build a cell model. This project is due October 17. Instructions will also be posted in the Google Classroom. Please remind your student to check the Google Classroom daily for announcements, assignments, and study materials. 

US HISTORY - Mr. Gauthier. Colony projects have been completed.  Next up will be the beginning of the American Revolution. Incorporated into each unit going forward will be a part of the new Junior Achievement program that HDS has adopted.  The students will be learning about financial literacy from a personal to a global perspective.

US HISTORY - Mr. O’Hayer

Next week in American History students will continue analyzing and investigating Christopher Columbus and his influence on the New World. We will also study the Columbian Exchange and how it affected the development of territories and its impact on native peoples. 

ACCELERATED MATH - Mrs. Taylor

Students will quiz on sections 2.3 (multiplying decimals), 2.4 (dividing decimals), and 2.5 (scientific notation). We will review Friday using a review sheet with the answer key. Tuesday we will begin chapter 3 beginning with mean, median, and  mode, bar graphs and stem and leaf plots.

PRE-ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will continue Chapter 2 by learning how to identify like terms, coefficients, and constant terms (2.3).  We will also learn how to simplify variable expressions by combining like terms (2.3).  There will be a Math Facts Quiz on Wednesday (E Block) or Thursday (C Block).  Students were given the outline of what the quiz covers last week.  We will also review 2.1-2.3 at the end of the week to prepare for the quiz on 2.1-2.3 the following Monday

EARTH SCIENCE - Mrs. DuRant

Next week in Earth Science, we will begin to explore the layers of the Atmosphere. Students will make air particle collectors which we will place throughout the school campus for one week.  Then we will use microscopes to observe what was collected. They will also participate in a mini NASA project investigating the layers of the atmosphere and objects that can be found in each layer such as the ISS, weather balloons, and the Hubble Space Telescope. Students will have a quiz on the Atmosphere on Friday, September 30. Please have your student check the Google Classroom daily for announcements,assignments, and study materials. 

EARTH SCIENCE - Ms. Hallman

Our 6th grade class did well on their first science test! I think it is important to still encourage students to begin studying earlier than they think they need to and experiment with different study strategies. We have been working all week on a Heat Transfer Booklet as an engaging way to learn about the different forms of heat.They have a quiz on Heat Transfer this Friday (9/23). Next week we really get to dive into our first big unit in Earth Science: the Atmosphere! 

ELA - Mrs. Buchner

We are finishing up our unit on Analytical Writing this week, culminating in a quiz on Friday September 23, 2022. This week we reviewed for the quiz by reconstructing student-written paragraphs in a puzzle piece activity (see attached pictures). Students have done an excellent job with learning the Schaffer method. I think they will be very successful on the quiz!

 

     Next week, we will begin a novel study on Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson.  I have decided to push Hidden Figures to the end of the school year based on where students are developmentally in their reading and writing. Harbor Me is a novel that I think will capture the 6th grade audience better at this time.

     As students read, it is important that they complete the Interactive Reading Guide. Students will construct this in class as we explore the novel. Some of our reading will be done in class, but we are unable to read the entire book in class, resulting in quite a bit of reading homework. We will also continue our analytical writing, using the novel from which to pull concrete details. Students should expect to explore vocabulary from the book, write constructed responses, complete reading checks (classwork grade), and a quiz every 6 chapters. Our first quiz will be on Monday 10/3 over Chapters 1-6 in Harbor Me. 

     It is important that students complete the reading assignments and study questions as they read each night. A helpful hint is for students to underline where they find the answer to each study question and make a notation in the margin, so they can easily locate it when they write their constructed response and the culminating essay at the end of the unit. 

      Students should be ready for exit tickets each day of class based on the reading assignments. This will be a good gauge of reading comprehension for me, the student, and the parent to make sure your student is comprehending the text. If you see low scores on the exit tickets, it either reflects lack of comprehension or that your student is not completing the reading assignments. A good part of being successful in our novel study is time management. Please help your student manage their time, so all homework assignments are completed on time. 

     Homework assignments can be found in your student’s Google Calendar, as well as the weekly Google Slide Presentation in their ELA Google Classroom. 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. On occasion, I will announce a 7:30 a.m. tutorial on a given morning if I see students are struggling with the content. This will appear in the Google Classroom stream. You can also email me if you would like for your student to have a longer tutorial starting at 7:30 a.m.

Reading Schedule: 

• Monday 9/26- Read Chapter 1-2 in Harbor Me; Complete study questions

• Tuesday 9/27- Read Chapter 3-4 in Harbor Me; Complete study questions

• Reading check Chapters 1-4 on Wednesday 9/28 (D, E) & Thursday 9/29 (A)

• Wednesday 9/28 or Thursday 9/29- Read Chapters 5-6; complete study questions

• Friday 9/30- Read Chapters 7-8; Answer study questions

• Quiz over Chapters 1-6 on Monday 10/3

Upcoming Assessments:

Quiz over Chapters 1-6 Harbor Me- Monday 10/3

INTRO SPANISH - Ms. Brown

6th grade, get ready for your quiz!! We had our first attempt a it this week and our final attempt will be this coming week. A big shout to you, our youngest middle schoolers, for displaying maturity and dedication to your academics in a way that is to be coveted by the older students -you have been wonderful about coming in early in the morning and consistently during tutorial -way to use your time wisely!! Keep it up so that your grade or the final attempt of the quiz is high!

WORLD HISTORY - Mr. O’Hayer

Next week in World History students will move through Ancient Greece to our next destination, Sparta. Here students will investigate how Sparta became a major ancient civilization and how it influenced the ancient world. Students will also compare and contrast Athens with Sparta.

Middle School Art with Mrs. Byrne 

Good Day HDS community!  Photography has paved a path of observation, documentation and creativity this week in the study.  Students in sixth grade learned about the earliest photographic process available in the early 1800’s. We are so fortunate to have visited the Great Smoky Mountain region where photography played a key role in the conservation of this great land. Below you will see the modern day Daguerreotypes in progress by 6th grade!  Right on campus, seventh grade students are selecting landscapes from the photography exhibit to develop a composition of lines. Students navigate and problem solve the type of line and line weight that will best illustrate the terrain.  Eighth grade students are taking on the challenge of matching a textile to the terrain of their choice.  As it turns out a denim blue has just the right hue for the great Alaskan glaciers while a smooth tweed tucks in a mountain top just beneath the clouds. Students have concluded their studio class with an artist statement from the goal chart identifying accomplishments and plans for next steps. 

Artsonia will continue to grow, here is code to HDS class portal NNNY-YPFY for upcoming publishing of artwork.  Students will be learning how to publish their own work on Artsonia soon!