January 23rd - January 27th
Dear Parents,
Today we had a special treat in the Middle School, a screening of MOUNTAINFILM Movies that Matter 2023. What is MOUNTAINFILM and why do we do it?
MOUNTAINFILM on Tour travels around the globe featuring a collection of culturally rich, adventure-packed, and enlightening documentary short films selected from the best-loved films from the annual festival in Telluride.
MOUNTAINFILM is hosted by a wide array of organizations, including schools and colleges, nonprofits, corporations, community groups, and theater operators.
MOUNTAINFILM offers enriching film screenings for each location, reaching audiences around the world.
In the interest of helping individuals tell important stories — and help those stories be heard — MOUNTAINFILM awards $30,000 in grants annually. The recipients are filmmakers, artists, photographers and adventurers whose projects are intended to inspire audiences to create a better world.
MOUNTAINFILM believes that school-age children are the most important audience they can reach, so they share their inspiring mission with them because they may never otherwise experience it.
MOUNTAINFILM Values: Embracing adventure; Preserving environments; Connecting cultures; Building community; Inspiring activism; Fostering storytellers; Promoting integrity; Gathering visionaries; Celebrating courage; Enlightening audiences.
If you are interested in seeing these great documentary short films, follow the link and use the password below. MOUNTAINFILM Movies that Matter is a showcase provided to public and private schools by the Telluride Film Festival for educational use only, so please do not share this link with anyone.
Password: sav2023 (all lowercase)
Note: We did not show the film Malik at school due to profanity in the film.
Kind regards. Jack Cargile Head of Middle School
STUDENT SIGN IN/OUT REMINDER
Just a friendly reminder that all students grades 6th through 8th should be signed in and out off the middle school office by their parent.
8TH GRADE GRADUATION SLIDESHOW
Every year we display a slideshow of the 8th grade class during their reception following graduation. Families are asked to provide five (5) pictures of their choice (baby pictures, family pictures, friends, etc.) and the high school they will be attending in the Fall. Please submit this information to Mrs. Mannarino via email by Friday, May 5th. For an example of a past slideshow, please click here.
PRESIDENT’S VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARD
8th Graders interested in earning a PVSA at our annual Honors Assembly will need to submit their community service hours by Friday, March 24th.
Gold Award (100+ hours)
Silver Award (75 - 99 hours)
Bronze Award (50 - 74 hours)
8TH GRADE GRADUATION RECEPTION (7TH GRADE FAMILIES)
If you are interested in participating in the Hancock tradition of hosting the reception for the graduating 8th grade class on May 24th, please follow this link for more information and sign-ups!
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. Mannarino in the office.
CURRENT OPPORTUNITY AT HANCOCK - SATURDAY, JANUARY 28TH
There will be a community service opportunity on Saturday, January 28th from 2:00 to 4:00 in Hancock Hall. We are collecting plastic store bags to make PLARN beds for the homeless. Watch this video for more information on the Plarn Matter Project! Please plan to attend with your child if you would like or drop off. Please RSVP at this link by Wednesday, January 25th.
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
17. Talk about assignments with friends.
Discussing assignments with friends is another great way to study. This is very helpful when studying for novel tests. Friendly discussions about books help deepen understanding. Remember, time management and focus are key. Give yourselves 20 minutes to talk about the topic, and then set a timer for 5 minutes to chat and move around. Then get back to work.
Talking to your middle school student about peer pressure is a great way to help them develop strategies to navigate tricky situations before they encounter them.
Creating a family “code word” or “code phrase” is a simple tool that enables your child to indicate they need assistance to leave a potentially dangerous environment. See the link below for tips on how to implement this.
Resources:
6 Ways to Help Your Child Deal with Peer Pressure
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 are finishing up Chapter 6 (absolute value equations/inequalities/ and graphing inequalities). The Chapter test will be the week after next.
ADVANCED ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear
Next week in Advanced Algebra, we will complete Chapter 4 by learning about medians and the centroid (4.6) and triangle inequalities (4.7). We will have a day of review on Wednesday and the Chapter 4 test on Friday.
GEOMETRY - Mr. Lanfear
Next week in Geometry, we will continue Chapter 7 by having a quiz covering 7.1-7.4 on Monday. We will then begin our trig unit! We will learn how to calculate sine, cosine, and tangent, find missing side lengths in right triangles and missing angles using SOHCAHTOA. There will be a quiz on Friday covering trig (7.5-7.6).
ELA - Mrs. Boyer
We aren’t done with Macbeth…yet. :)
We have one more final project! Reader’s Theatre Performance! Students will be assigned groups and a scene! Students will be performing in class on Monday, January 23rd.
It’s Time for a Mental Break!
The 8th graders have been working extremely hard throughout the Macbeth Unit. As a reward, assuming they continue to work diligently, before we begin Night, the 8th graders will receive one week ‘off’ of ELA. This is a ‘tradition/privilege’ I started last year. Students will watch an educational movie in class that week with snacks and drinks. This is a much needed BRAIN BREAK! Please see your email for the donation sign up! :)
We will then begin Night by Elie Wiesel on January 30th. :)
Assessments:
Macbeth Workbook is due 1/23/23
***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:
Read and annotate (check annotations with Mrs. Boyer’s book).
Ask for practice questions
Come in and practice writing prompts
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.**
PHYSICAL SCIENCE - Ms. Hallman
Next week in physical science we will be tying together the concepts that we have learned these past two weeks in preparation for the first unit test of physics on Friday, January 27th. We will be applying concepts to various physics demonstrations and mini- lab type activities. My hope is that this will help reinforce these concepts about motion and provide real life applications to these theories. Looking ahead, the last week of January we will be making bottle rockets so get those 2 liter soda bottles ready!
US HISTORY - Mr. Gauthier
Class time is being dedicated to learning about and exploring the 1920’s and how that decade impacted theUS going forward. A class research project of significant events is being worked on with projects due on Monday 1/23. Vocabulary and events quiz will be on Friday 1/27.
SPANISH - Ms. Crocker
Food projects are due this week! We will be presenting our videos and eating the treats! :) We are starting a Family Unit next Monday!
ADVANCED SPANISH - Ms. Brown
A special thanks to the 7th grade for actively bettering their presentational communication skills. We will continue having mini-presentations (that will be logged as project grades) to continue developing the hardest skill to master in any foreign language class -speaking aloud!! Vocabulary quizzes coming up over the next and the following Fridays this month. Encourage students to review their vocabulary for the note in their binders and on those available to them on Google Classroom!
ADVANCED SPANISH - Ms. Crocker
We have a verb conjugation quiz on Monday of this week-study your conjugations using the categories to help you memorize! Restaurant projects are due this week, check Google Classroom for due dates!
ALGEBRA 1 - Mrs. Taylor
We are finishing up Chapter 6 (absolute value equations/inequalities/ and graphing inequalities). The Chapter test will be the week after next.
PRE-ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear
Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will continue Chapter 5 by learning how to divide fractions (5.5) and solving equations and inequalities with rational numbers by clearing fractions and decimals (5.6-5.7).
ELA - Mrs. Buchner & Mrs. Boyer
Students have begun their reading and journal entries for our Voices of the World Book Clubs. We are seeing awesome outcomes so far! This week, in addition to their reading and journal entries, they have begun creating a Google Site/Brochure on the setting of their book. We are already seeing teamwork, time management, and engagement on a different level from your students. This unit is great preparation for group work in high school and beyond.
Students began research on the country in which their book is set. They are creating a Country Brochure/Google Site on topics of choice, i.e food, politics, geography, cultural issues, etc. This is a PROJECT grade, and it will allow them to connect with their book on a cultural level in order to provide better insight into the characters and theme of the book. The brochure/Google Site will be due this week (see due dates below).
We had our first Book Club Meeting on Thursday 1/19. Students had either literary concepts or guiding questions to lead them in an intellectual discussion about their book. During the meeting, they took notes on their guiding questions/literary topics and wrote a reflection. This week we will continue reading and completing journal entries.
Some students are struggling with time management. It is important that they come up with a method to organize their tasks. Students were provided with the opportunity last week to create a calendar for their book club. We highly encourage students to complete this task and use the calendar if they are finding it difficult to accomplish their tasks in the time allotted.
Mrs. Boyer and Mrs. Buchner are both available for morning tutorials. If your student needs assistance with journal entries or just a quick check to see if they are completing them correctly, please have them drop by.
Students should have a Dark Blue or Black ink pen for class every day. Points will be deducted from journal entries if they are not writing in ink going forward. They may use an erasable pen if needed.
Assessments/Assignments:
Journal Entries #6-10- Due Thursday 1/26
Country Brochure- Due Friday 2/20-Boyer’s Class
Due Tuesday 2/24 (F) & Wednesday 2/25 (B)-Buchner’s Classes
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 their VoW book each night and completing at least ONE journal entry a night.
-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 or review their journal entries with the teacher.
**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, we will continue to explore the body systems by focusing on the Muscular System. Our focus will be on the interrelationship of the skeletal system and muscular system. We didn’t get as far as anticipated last week, so we will have activities and labs this week. Students will conduct an exploratory station lab to gather facts about the structure and functions of the muscular system. They will also participate in an engaging lab where they see the muscular system at work! Students will have a quiz on the Muscular System on Friday. Please remind your student to check the Google Classroom each day for announcements, assignments, and study materials.
US HISTORY - Mr. Gauthier
Students had a very successful excursion to Georgia Southern. THANK YOU for a very smooth transition to and from the site! Revolution map test has been assigned with rubric and instructions in google classroom. The map is due on Wednesday 1/18
US HISTORY - Mr. O’Hayer
Next week in American History students will continue their study of the American Revolution. As we move on from the causes, we will dive into the War and analyze strategy and look into battles and outcomes.
ACCELERATED MATH - Mrs. Taylor
Students begin Chapter 6 (Integers-all operations). They will quiz the week after next o 6.1-6.3 (What is an integer, adding/subtracting integers).
PRE-ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear
Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will continue Chapter 5 by learning how to divide fractions (5.5) and solving equations and inequalities with rational numbers by clearing fractions and decimals (5.6-5.7).
EARTH SCIENCE - Mrs. DuRant
Next week, we will continue our study on Continental Drift Theory and Plate Tectonics. Students will have a quiz on Continental Drift Theory on Wednesday. Please remind your student to check the Google Classroom daily for announcements, assignments, and study materials.
EARTH SCIENCE - Ms. Hallman
Next week in Earth science, we will be finishing up our unit on Continental Drift as we learn about tectonics. They will have a quiz over the information on continental drift on Tuesday and then a unit test on Layers of the Earth through Plate Tectonics on Friday. This unit has been so fun with them!
ELA - Mrs. Buchner
Wow! Your students have been working so hard on their essays. We have wrapped up our rough draft and students spent a portion of the week conducting Peer Editing for a Quiz Grade. This helped reinforce their understanding of the structure of an analytical essay. They have done an excellent job of writing their FIRST analytical essay!! I am very proud of how much they have accomplished this school year so far. We are growing great readers and writers.
Students will finish final edits on their essays and turn in their FINAL DRAFT to Google Classroom on Tuesday 1/24. They should also PRINT a paper copy of their essay to bring to class on Tuesday, as well. This is one day earlier than originally planned, so if you find your student needs the ONE extra day, just shoot me an email.
We will begin reading The Outsiders on Monday 1/23. Students received their books on Friday 1/20 and will have access to their journals on Monday 1/23. The expectation is that they will have read THREE chapters and completed FOUR journal entries by each Friday. There is a reading/assignment schedule in their journal. We will then have Book Club Meetings on Mondays, where students will be given guiding questions or concepts to lead them in group discussions over the chapters they read for the week prior. Students will complete a Book Club Meeting Reflection which will count toward a weekly grade each Monday. Each Friday, students will take a short quiz(reading checks) over the chapters read for that week. They should be completing journal entries as they read. This will help them to do well on the Reading Checks (Quizzes). No student should wait until Thursday night to complete the reading/journal entries. Students will also have class time on Tuesday/Wednesday & Thursday to read and complete journal entries. It is expected that they are also reading and completing entries outside of class each week.
In order to better understand the setting of the book, students will work on a group project. They will be creating a Google Site in groups about the 1960s. This will lend itself to a better understanding of American culture during the time in which the book is set. The GROUP PROJECT will be due on Friday February 3rd.
Students should have already chosen and begun reading an independent novel for their INDEPENDENT READING PROJECT. Students will choose 3 book responses from the Tic-Tac-Toe board in Google Classroom. They may submit their responses in Google Classroom or as a hard copy on notebook paper, or a combination of both. The 1st Independent Reading Project Responses are due January 31st. These book responses will count as PROJECT grades each month. A list of book choices have been posted in Google Classroom. Students may choose to read a book that is not on the list, but must get it approved by me first to do so.
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 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings from 7:45-8:15 a.m. Tutorials are available weekly on Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30 a.m.
Upcoming Assessments/Assignments:
ESSAY FINAL DRAFT-DUE TUESDAY 1/24 (GC & PAPER COPY)
JOURNAL ENTRIES #1-Due Tuesday 1/24
JOURNAL ENTRIES #2-3-Due Wed (D,E) or Thursday (A)
JOURNAL ENTRY #4-DUE FRIDAY 1/27
READING CHECK (QUIZ)- FRIDAY 1/27
INDEPENDENT READING PROJECT #1: DUE Tuesday 1/31 (Paper or Digital)
GROUP PROJECT-1960s- DUE FRIDAY 2/3
INTRO SPANISH - Ms. Brown
A job well done to our youngest middle schoolers are their most recent project presentations. Please be mindful of vocabulary quizzes coming up over the next and the following Fridays this month. Encourage students to review their vocabulary for the note in their binders and on those available to them on Google Classroom!
WORLD HISTORY - Mr. O’Hayer
Students will continue our study of The Enlightenment. Next up we will analyze the works of Thomas Hobbs and John Locke. Looking ahead we will study how the Enlightenment impacted France and the Colonies of the Americas.
Good day HDS Community! All students are working so beautifully with three-dimensional materials. The sixth graders embraced the local live oak sculpture challenge. Three homerooms were each assigned either: aluminum, wire, or paper/cardboard. The materials inspired the trees to become tree houses and other outdoor shelters. Observing the students brainstorm, problem-solve and transform materials is fantastic. Discovering alternative uses for materials is a resourceful and creative skill brought by their own intuition. The 7th graders are just at the beginning of clay slab work in building architectural facades. This week the 7th graders are subtracting and adding features to their facades’ such as hurricane shutters or Moravian arches. The 8th graders find consistency and balance in creating clay coil vessels. This week students continue to build upon the scale and strength before applying surface design. So much fun!!
Comments
Post a Comment