October 31st - November 4th

Dear Parents,

Parent-Teacher Conferences are just around the corner, and we can’t wait to see you! This year you will have the opportunity to schedule a 15-minute appointment with any or all of your child’s teachers on: 

 

• Thursday, November 10th from 1:15-7:00 PM, and/or;

• Friday, November 11th from 8:00-3:45 PM. 

 

The sign-up form for each teacher will be open from Monday, October 24th through Tuesday, November 8th at 5:00 PM. Click the link to make appointments with middle school teachers:

Olivia Boyer: https://forms.gle/REZLj5RRzW99Y2dM7

Karen Brown: https://forms.gle/nmkjxTQ1d2v5D4Xo8

Tracey Buchner: https://forms.gle/VjPA1rrXFx3AC67d6

Paige Byrne: https://forms.gle/cDnx2C5U8pFsLd9ZA

Madeline Crocker: https://forms.gle/E5hQnSoNe8nr4RnaA

Lynda DuRant: https://forms.gle/wwZHxRJUmPMZt59R9

Dan Gauthier: https://forms.gle/X1T2F2FuPFxwKvau6

Catherine Hallman: https://forms.gle/aUtiEk1kUZH1sTdb8

Sean Lanfear: https://forms.gle/6roYksjco4gdiFX77

Larry O'Hayer: https://forms.gle/hFDLDzvH1bntAfQE7

Ashley Taylor: https://forms.gle/zhovg6xBSK37xRdp8

Parent-Teacher Conferences are a great way for you and your child’s teachers to talk about how your child is doing academically, socially, and emotionally in school. Check out this short article with tips for what you can do to help make your meetings successful and productive.

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.

Middle School Service Opportunities

Provided by The HDS Parent’s Association

If you have questions or need more information about the following service opportunities, please contact: Jessica Bowden (912) 308-5337

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Second Harvest

On Parent-Teacher Conference day, Friday, November 11th we will have a service opportunity at Second Harvest. This has students working in the Kids Cafe Kitchen. Students need to wear closed toed shoes, a hair net will be given for those not in baseball hats, and they will also be given a plastic apron if desired. We suggest not wearing nice clothes for this opportunity!

Click this link to sign up for Second Harvest!

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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

 

#8. What's the Best Way to Review for Tests?

Writing down questions and/or discussing the material with someone using details and examples help you learn better than reciting or memorizing information. The process forces you to think about the information at a higher level. Higher-level thinking helps you learn more things, thus shortening your study time.

Have you enthusiastically asked your student how their day was at school to be met with an unenthusiastic “fine”? Or, have you asked your student what they learned at school and they responded “nothing”? 

You are not alone. Getting middle school students to talk about their day can be like pulling teeth. However, this article has some good tips and conversation starters to lead to meaningful after school discussions.

Check out this quick read: How to Get Your Child to Talk About School

Please feel free to get in touch with me at amaher@hancockdayschool.org if you have any questions or concerns.

ALGEBRA 1 - Mrs. Taylor

We have begun to dig into slope further in Chapter 5. Students will use several activities for further understanding and repetition of the content. The first quiz will not be until after conferences. 

ADVANCED ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Advanced Algebra, we will continue Chapter 11 by practicing simplifying radical expressions (11.2) and learning how to rationalize denominators (11.2).

GEOMETRY - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Geometry, we will continue Chapter 4 by learning different properties of isosceles and equilateral triangles (4.6-4.7) and how to perform transformations such as translations, reflections, and rotations on the coordinate plane (4.8).  There will be a quiz covering 4.1-4.5 on Monday and a day of review on Thursday.  The Chapter 4 test will be the following Monday, 11/14.

ELA - Mrs. Boyer

We will be starting Macbeth on 11/7. It is imperative that your child keep up with their text and their Macbeth Workbook (this will be a test grade at the end of the unit). IT IS CRITICAL THAT STUDENTS KEEP UP WITH THIS WORKBOOK. THEY WILL NEED TO KEEP IT IN A SAFE PLACE FOR HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES IN THE YEARS TO COME!!

Although we will be reading/acting out the entire play IN CLASS, it is critical that your child reread each scene as their work through the workbook pages. Shakespeare is challenging, but incredibly transformative to the mind if done right. I need the students to truly complete their homework each night to be prepared for activities, POP quizzes, assessments, projects and writing assignments. 

Through this previous trimester I hope that your children have learned a valuable lesson in time management. I also hope that they have learned that ELA has multitudes of opportunities to maintain a grade that they are proud to have in Renweb. If they are challenged by ELA, please see the strategies below. 

***In 8th grade it is critical that students need to be completing their homework each night. This is a KEY component to success for 8th ELA. POP Quizzes are continuing…Students are learning that it is critical for students to annotate their books in regards to characters and key details. For students to do well on these assessments, please use the following strategies: 

1. Read and annotate (check annotations with Mrs. Boyer’s book). 

2. Ask for practice questions

3. Come in and practice writing prompts

4. Spend a solid 30 minutes each night on reading, review, etc. 

**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

We have officially started our 3rd and final unit in chemistry! This unit will be a lot of review of previous concepts we have learned which I think will be helpful. However, we will take those basic review concepts and build on them to learn about the types of reactions and acids/bases. This is arguably one of the more challenging concepts in chemistry so I encourage students to be on top of it with reviewing notes.They will have a quiz on Friday 11/4 over compounds and they will turn in their test prep packet on 11/4 for a quiz grade. These will be the final grades of the trimester. 

For improvement in test scores: rewriting notes, making flashcards, or simply quizzing themselves on information from that day would help immensely. It really only takes 15-20 minutes and is a skill they should begin building. 

US HISTORY - Mr. Gauthier  Next week we will continue with learning about the Gilded Age.  We will be playing different versions of monopoly to enhance the lessons.

SPANISH - Ms. Crocker

I look forward to meeting you all this week for conferences! For the students, we are learning salsa, flamenco and bachata basic steps. The kids will also start a dance/music project this week. Our next assessment will be the week of November 14th on verb conjugation! Please make sure your students are studying their verb flashcards! We have lots of irregular verbs

REMINDER: Students have received a lot of material so far…they should be studying vocab ON THEIR OWN AT HOME 10-15 minutes/day! Flashcards are HIGHLY recommended!

ADVANCED SPANISH - Ms. Brown
The trimester is quickly drawing to an end -a shout out to all of the students who finished off strong by meeting the late-work deadline! Looking forward to the next trimester!

ADVANCED SPANISH - Ms. Crocker

This week, we have a vocab quiz on Monday over music and dance vocabulary. For the students, we are learning salsa, flamenco and bachata basic steps. The kids will also start a dance/music project this week. Our next assessment will be the week of November 14th on verb conjugation! Please make sure your students are studying their verb flashcards! 

REMINDER: Students have received a lot of material so far…they should be studying vocab ON THEIR OWN AT HOME 10-15 minutes/day! Flashcards are HIGHLY recommended!

ALGEBRA 1 - Mrs. Taylor

We have begun to dig into slope further in Chapter 5. Students will use several activities for further understanding and repetition of the content. The first quiz will not be until after conferences. .

PRE-ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will begin Chapter 4 by learning the difference between prime and composite numbers and how to perform prime factorization (4.1).  We will also learn various methods of finding the greatest common factor of numbers and monomials (4.2) and how to find equivalent fractions (4.3).

ELA - Mrs. Buchner & Mrs. Boyer

     Parents, the ELA Department has identified a challenge for our students: the combination of analytical skills and creative thinking in formal writing. Therefore, Mrs. Buchner and Mrs. Boyer will be spending the next few weeks reviewing the writing process through the lens of IDEA BASED WRITING. 

Our Essential Question: What is this story truly about? 

First, we will start at the beginning. We will begin with intricately written picture books. Students will break down the hidden meaning behind the work, create a lens (main theme), organize their observations in relation to the lens (examples), and learn how to write a rigorous academic thesis. We will begin by working step by step with the students with our first picture book, The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywait. This will take about a week.

Next, we will dive into our second picture book, Patchwork by Matt De La Pena, and follow the same format. Students will read through, pick out the true meaning, discuss possible lenses and examples, and write a thesis statement. We will begin to lead students through how to navigate this process independently. This will also take one week.

Then, we will dive into our third text, a video text where students will independently follow the format to build their ideas, organize their opinion, and write their thesis statement. This will also take about a week.

Lastly, students will choose from four picture books where they will be asked to write a five paragraph essay using this format. This will be about two weeks.

The primary focus of this Idea Based Writing Unit will be the focus of November and December. This will be a bridge to our Book Club Unit beginning in January. 

**Mrs. Boyer and Mrs. Tucker (5th) have used this writing format and have seen drastic changes in their students. They were taught this writing format this summer as they attended the Teachers College at Columbia University in New York for their Writing & Reading Workshop.**

Assessments: 

Students will have quizzes/tests on HOW to follow the format through the use of short stories. 

Dates to come!

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 studying for the test a little each night. Students retain information much better if they study along the way, rather than cramming the night before a test.

-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 begin our unit on Mitosis. Students will have the opportunity to view prepared slides of cells under the microscopes. Please remind your student to check the Google Classroom daily for announcements, assignments, and study materials. 

US HISTORY - Mr. Gauthier. Next week we will be continuing with the causes of the American Revolution from both the British and Colonial perspectives.

US HISTORY - Mr. O’Hayer

Next week in American History we continue our focus on the 13 Colonies. Students will study the reasons the colonies were founded and investigate the challenges each colony had. Students will examine more closely how slavery developed and the horrific impacts it had on the growing colonies. 

ACCELERATED MATH - Mrs. Taylor

Chapter 4 is going great. Students have learned prime factorization, Greatest common factor and least common multiple. They will assess next Tues/Wed on this. (4.1-4.4).

PRE-ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear

Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will begin Chapter 4 by learning the difference between prime and composite numbers and how to perform prime factorization (4.1).  We will also learn various methods of finding the greatest common factor of numbers and monomials (4.2) and how to find equivalent fractions (4.3).

EARTH SCIENCE - Mrs. DuRant

Next week in Earth Science, students will be wrapping up their weather unit. They did a wonderful job on their Severe Weather Projects! The test on the Weather unit will be on Wednesday, November 9. We will then move to our Energy unit. We will begin by comparing potential energy to kinetic energy. Please have your student check the Google Classroom daily for announcements,assignments, and study materials. 

EARTH SCIENCE - Ms. Hallman

The Severe Weather Presentations were so fun! I really enjoyed watching what the students found and getting practice for giving presentations. We will continue the week by wrapping up the Weather Unit before we begin our next unit! Their Unit Test on Weather will be 11/10!

ELA - Mrs. Buchner

    Congratulations to all the 6th graders for making it through their first trimester of middle school and especially ELA 👏. I have seen them mature and grow so much over the past three months.  They are a wonderful group of sweet, kind, and bright students. I am really enjoying teaching them.  😀

      This week we will begin a new unit on writing, using Mentor Texts (Children’s Books), called IDEA BASED WRITING to help students learn how to analyze an author’s craft. This will be a scaffolded unit in which students and I will work together to read and analyze several children’s books, a short story, and a short video while slowly building an essay by digging deeper into each of these resources. Students will learn how to take notes on literary elements, as well as make personal connections to the text. The unit will build toward writing a complete essay before Winter Break. This  will be in addition to their knowledge obtained through the Jan Schaffer Writing Method. Students will earn daily grades through their notetaking. There will be several CW/HW grades, a quiz grade, test grade, and two project grades for this unit. Dates will be announced each week as we work through the unit.

     As well, students will work on skills for reading comprehension. We will have a pretest on Monday November 7th to determine skills that students need to be supported in for their reading comprehension. This will only count as a completion classwork grade, but students should try their best, so I can determine which standards need to be reviewed and focused on this trimester. 

     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.

Upcoming Assessments:

Reading Comprehension-Pretest- Monday November 4th

INTRO SPANISH - Ms. Brown

The trimester is quickly drawing to an end -a shout out to all of the students who finished off strong by meeting the late-work deadline! Looking forward to the next trimester!

WORLD HISTORY - Mr. O’Hayer

Next week in World History students will move on from their study of Ancient Greece and travel over to Rome to examine how the Roman Republic was created and its impacts on the ancient world. Next week also begins the second trimester. Reminder- we will continue to pick up the pace in World History. Students will need to keep up with their readings and review outlines daily in order to keep pace. 

Middle School Art 

Good Day HDS community! This week is Portfolio Week in the Art Studio for all middle school students. Students Revise, Document, Reflect & Assemble their work from Trimester 1. Students complete the Portfolio week process by reflective writing using the portfolio checklist. Peer assessment and self-evaluation is  valuable feedback. The students have embraced the experience with thoughtful participation. I enjoy the conversation exchange in class and responding to their published work on Artsonia!   Use this Artsonia pdf to access the  publishing of artwork!  Students will continue to add to galleries each Trimester.