September 5th - September 9th
Friday, September 9, 2022
Dear Parents,
We are so excited to hit the road on Monday and get to Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) for camaraderie, adventure, and fun at this premier destination for group activities. The trip itinerary has us departing early Monday morning and arriving back home in Savannah in the evening on Thursday.
Depart Monday, September 12 at 6:00 AM from the Burlington Coat Factory parking lot on the corner of Eisenhower and Hodgson Memorial.
Return Thursday, September 15 at approximately 9:30 PM to the Burlington Coat Factory parking lot. Your child will text you when the bus is 30-minutes from Savannah so that you will know more specifically when you need to be at Burlington Coat Factory for pick up.
Follow us on Instagram:
Grade 6: hds_grade6_noc_2022
Grade 7: hds_grade7_noc_2022
Grade 8: hds_grade8_noc_2022
In addition to items on the packing list, your child should bring cash to purchase snacks and drinks in the NOC General Store, and souvenirs in the NOC Outfitter Store.
The faculty chaperones are: Karen Brown, Lynda Durant, Ashley Taylor, and Larry O’Hayer for 6th Grade; Tracey Buchner, Paige Byrne, Sean Lanfear, and Jack Cargile for 7th Grade; Olivia Boyer, Madeline Crocker, Catherine Hallman, and Dan Gauthier for 8th Grade. Our Nurse, Marci Roberts, will also be traveling with us.
In the event of an emergency and you need to contact a faculty member at NOC, you may text or call:
For the HDS Nurse: Marci Roberts (912) 398-4853
For 6th Grade: Larry O’Hayer (912) 547-1078
For 7th Grade: Jack Cargile (912) 704-7796
For 8th Grade: Dan Gauthier (603) 496-2265
No school for Middle School students on Friday, September 16th.
Kind regards,
Jack Cargile
Head of Middle School
Dear Parents of 6th Graders,
I'm inviting you to join me for a presentation entitled, "A Parent's Guide to Making the Transition into 6th Grade" on September 14 at 6:00 in Hancock Hall. During the conversation, I will offer a look into the machinations of middle school as well as tips and strategies to help you support your 6th grader. I hope you will join me on the 14th; working together we can make this a great year for your middle schooler.
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
Monday after the school trip, we will begin 2.1 (absolute value), 2.6 (square roots), 3.1-3.1 (one/two step equations). We will review 9/23 for a quiz 9/26 on these sections. Students will be using calculators from this point on.
ADVANCED ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear
After the trip in Advanced Algebra, we will continue Chapter 10 by learning how to solve quadratic equations by graphing (10.3) and using the vertical motion model to solve real-world problems. There will be a short quiz on Wednesday covering 10.1-10.2, and the first STAR Assessment will be on Tuesday.
GEOMETRY - Mr. Lanfear
After the trip in Geometry, we will continue Chapter 2 by learning how to do our first proofs! We will learn how to do algebraic proofs (2.5) and some proofs about segments and angles (2.6). The first STAR Assessment will be on Tuesday.
ELA - Mrs. Boyer
We are back, and ready to hit the ground running!! This week we will begin The Westing Game! This is a murder mystery with LOTS of characters and clues. It is imperative that your child annotate and stay on top of their interactive digital notebook.
This week we will be playing CLUE, diving into a few mystery short stories to prepare our brains for this reading, discussing identity as it applies to people in society and the choices we make, and immediately diving into our digital interactive notebooks with a Constructed Response at the end of the week. Your child now has the skills to know what is expected of them in my ELA class. Here we go!
Assessment Dates will be popping up soon!
**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
This week we have been working on physical and chemical changes and the conservation of mass. This has led us to explore phase changes, melting/freezing points, and boiling/condensation points. We are ending the week learning about how to balance chemical reactions which is one of the more challenging concepts. I encourage students to make sure they really understand these foundational elements as it only continues to build. If they have questions, I am available MWF after school, during tutorial, and everyday before school. Following the NOC trip, we will have a test on 9/23 to allow for a week of wrapping things up in this first unit (Chapter 7&8) and reviewing.
US HISTORY - Mr. Gauthier
The week we get back from the trip we will be having some assessments on Constitutional principles and Civil War vocabulary. We will be discussing and learning about the divisions in our country during the Reconstruction era.
SPANISH - Ms. Crocker
We are all SO excited about Nantahala! Mountain time, personal growth, and class bonding will have us all refreshed for the rest of the trimester. When we come back it will be…
From September 15th-October 15th, we will be celebrating Hispanic American influence on culture in the US (specifically the Savannah community). We will start off the unit by watching and discussing themes from the movie McFarland, USA, including teamwork, tolerance, and perseverance. We will be learning dances and eating food from local businesses owned by Hispanic Americans here in Savannah, and *hopefully* having a couple of guest speakers come in.
There will be a TEST on Sept. 23rd (Friday) over classroom phrases, List #1 and List #2 and the verb estar.
ADVANCED SPANISH - Ms. Brown
We have drawn our first grammatical unit to a close as we all prepare for the trip to Nantahala! When we return, let’s be ready to apply our grammatical feats towards our continued C.I. efforts!
ADVANCED SPANISH - Ms. Crocker
We are all SO excited about Nantahala! Mountain time, personal growth, and class bonding will have us all refreshed for the rest of the trimester. When we come back it will be…
From September 15th-October 15th, we will be celebrating Hispanic American influence on culture in the US (specifically the Savannah community). We will start off the unit by watching and discussing themes from the movie McFarland, USA, including teamwork, tolerance, and perseverance. We will be learning dances and eating food from local businesses owned by Hispanic Americans here in Savannah, and *hopefully* having a couple of guest speakers come in.
There will be a TEST on Sept. 23rd (Friday) over List #1 and List #2 and the verb estar.
ALGEBRA 1 - Mrs. Taylor
Monday after the school trip, we will begin 2.1 (absolute value), 2.6 (square roots), 3.1-3.1 (one/two step equations). We will review 9/23 for a quiz 9/26 on these sections. Students will be using calculators from this point on.
PRE-ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear
After the trip in Pre-Algebra, we will begin Chapter 2 by learning about the different properties of addition and multiplication such as the commutative, associative, and identity properties (2.1). We will also learn about the distributive property (2.2). The first STAR Assessment will be on Wednesday.
ELA - Mrs. Buchner & Mrs. Boyer
When we return from our Nantahala trip, we will begin reading The Hobbit. 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), journal entries, small projects, quizzes, and will culminate in an analytical essay over the book.
Reading Schedule Outside of Class:
*Upcoming Assessments/Projects:
Hero Storyboard Project- Due Sunday 9/4
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 working on their Hero Storyboard at home, as well as in the classroom.
-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
Looking forward to an amazing trip to Nantahala Outdoor Center next week! When we return, we will continue to work with Dichotomous Keys and review for our unit test. Test on Characteristics of Life/Classification of Organisms will be Thursday, September 22. Please remind your student to check the Google Classroom daily for announcements, assignments, and study materials.
US HISTORY - Mr. Gauthier. When we get back from from our trip, the students will be creating their colony project as well as discussing and learning about the Colonial America era.
US HISTORY - Mr. O’Hayer
Next week in American History students will spend time analyzing and investigating Christopher Columbus and his influence on the New World. Students will research how CC is viewed today versus how history has portrayed him in the past. 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
The week we return from the trip, students will finish up Chapter 2 (2.3-2.5). Multiply/Divide Decimals and Scientific notation. They will review 9/23 for a quiz 9/26 on those three sections.
PRE-ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear
After the trip in Pre-Algebra, we will begin Chapter 2 by learning about the different properties of addition and multiplication such as the commutative, associative, and identity properties (2.1). We will also learn about the distributive property (2.2). The first STAR Assessment will be on Wednesday.
EARTH SCIENCE - Mrs. DuRant
We are looking forward to our trip to Nantahala Outdoor Center next week. When we return, we will then begin with an overview of Heat Transfer: Conduction, Convection, and Radiation. Students will begin an in-class project on creating a Heat Transfer booklet. They will have a quiz on Heat Transfer on Friday, September 23. Please have your student check the Google Classroom daily for announcements,assignments, and study materials.
EARTH SCIENCE - Ms. Hallman
Our 6th grade class is finishing up their unit on states of matter with a test Friday, 9/9. We are looking forward to our trip to NOC and when we return, we will being working through Heat Transfer. We will have a quiz on Heat Transfer Sep 23, 2022.
ELA - Mrs. Buchner
Students are doing an excellent job with their writing using the Jan Schaffer Method. They seem to have really caught on and are writing some interesting and well-developed paragraphs. The week after our Nantahala Trip we will step it up a bit.
Students will begin reading short fiction and nonfiction pieces, then writing Constructed Responses on these pieces. It is important that they read each piece carefully, so they can respond to the prompt with the use of solid Concrete Details (direct quotes) in their writing. They should also be following the MLA format that we learned in our previous unit on how to properly cite their source. There will be several homework assignments in which they will be asked to read a fiction or nonfiction piece then create a Constructed Response based on an assigned prompt. These responses should be written in their Composition Book with the three colors of ink: blue, red, green. Please refer to the Jan Schaffer Method lesson in Google Classroom, if needed. If your student is struggling with this next step, I am available to help them each morning from 7:45-8:15 a.m. It is important that your student does not wait until the end of the unit to seek help.
Homework assignments can be found in your student’s Google Calendar, as well as the weekly Google Slide Presentation in their ELA Google Classroom. Our Constructed Response quiz will be moved to after the Nantahala Trip, so we can spend more time on our writing unit the week of 9/19-9/23.
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:
Constructed Response Quiz-Friday 9/23
Hidden Figures novel unit- Monday 9/26-10/31
INTRO SPANISH - Ms. Brown
Our 6th graders are wise beyond their years. Their attention to detail is phenomenal as is their willingness to help their struggling peers. Their first quiz went well and we are looking forward to applying our most recently acquired grammatical skills upon our return from Nantahala.
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 the characteristics that make Sparta a dominate and powerful city-state. We will spend time discussing how Sparta and Athens were different and how these two great civilizations impacted and shaped the ancient world.
Middle School Art with Mrs. Byrne Good Day HDS community! This past week 6th grade students have worked collaboratively by building trust in the Electricity in Symmetrical Motion project. This experience promoted experimentation creating mini-masterpieces. All students participated in the Middle School Crew Banner illustrating self-portrait caricatures. Seventh literally reflected in their Pastel Prisms the reflection of color in a series of color family patterns. Eighth graders showed self-expression in the Radial Design project, an extension of value & symmetry in mixed media. Artsonia will continue to grow, here is code to HDS class portal NNNY-YPFY for upcoming publishing of artwork. Students are thriving in the studio routines in these first weeks and I look forward to the next layering of materials!
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