February 12th - February 16th
Dear Parents,
As we approach the end of the Trimester Two grading period, I wanted to take a moment to remind you of the importance of checking your student's grades in FACTS. With the conclusion of Trimester Two on Friday, February 23rd, now is a good time to ensure that all assignments have been completed and submitted, and to address any missing work or incomplete grades.
Your involvement in supporting your student's academic progress is invaluable, and by reviewing their grades together, you can help identify any areas where they may need additional support or encouragement. Additionally, as we prepare for upcoming assessments, your support in helping your student stay organized and focused is greatly appreciated. Encouraging them to create study schedules, prioritize tasks, and seek assistance when needed will contribute to their success in the classroom.
Looking ahead, we're happy to announce some adjustments to our schedule for the 2024-2025 academic year, designed to enhance student learning and well-being.
Next year, we'll continue with a rotating block schedule, offering our traditional menu of classes each day to keep our students engaged and motivated. Each day, students will enjoy 55-minute classes, providing ample time for deep exploration and learning. One of the highlights of our new schedule is a better balance of physical education and art classes in every student's week. All students will participate in three days of physical education and two days of art class per week, promoting holistic development and creativity.
Additionally, we're re-introducing a dedicated 35-minute tutorial every day, allowing students to review material, complete assignments or assessments, or seek assistance from teachers as needed. This structured time will foster good study habits and academic success. Homeroom will commence at 8:00 AM, providing a consistent start to each day, allowing teachers to connect with students before academic classes begin, and our white gate carpool dismissal will be at 3:15 PM.
We're confident that these changes will contribute to a positive and productive learning environment for all our students. As always, we welcome your feedback and input as we continue to strive for excellence in education.
Thank you for your continued partnership in your student's education. Working together, we can ensure that your Eagle has roots to grow and wings to fly.
Kind regards,
Jack Cargile
Head of Middle School
Yearbook Sport Photos - Feb. 13 & Feb. 15
Please be aware that next week we will be taking sports team photos for the yearbook. Information regarding uniforms will be sent out by coaches.
8th Grade Washington, D.C. Trip Reminders
When purchasing 8th-grade school lunches, do not sign up for the week of March 11th - March 15th.
Please complete the medical form for the nurse by Friday, February 16th.
President's Volunteer Service Award (8th Grade)
If students in the 8th grade would like to receive a PVSA at this year’s Honors Assembly, all community service hours need to be completed and turned in to the middle school office no later than Monday, March 25.
Bronze Level: 50 - 74 hours
Silver Level: 75 - 99 hours
Gold Level: 100+ hours
8th Grade Graduation
Time to start preparing for graduation! Please take some time to complete the graduation form (link below). This information will be used on the programs and diplomas. After the ceremony, we will have a brief reception, where a slideshow will be displayed with the graduates. We request families to submit 5 pictures for the slideshow. The pictures can be anything you would like (baby, siblings, family, friends, etc). The pictures should be submitted electronically to mmannarino@hancockdayschool.org.
Graduation information and slideshow pictures are due Friday, May 3rd.
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Junior Achievement of Georgia’s Upcoming Summer Camp
It’s going to be a fun week at their Discovery Center on the GSU Armstrong Campus. The camp is for 10-14 year old students, and it’s June 10-14th from 9AM-3PM.
Here is a link for more information about the camp - JA Summer Camp
And here’s a link to register - JA Summer Camp Registration (just click the “Get Tickets’ button)
Follow all the fun on our Middle School Instagram account!
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.
HDS Golf: 17 boys tried out for the Varsity boys team and 9 girls tried out for the Varsity girls team. More information to follow. Thank you Bacon Park for being one of our host parks. Please contact Ms. Heather Seibert….(seiberthh@gmail.com for mor info!
The “First Tee” program is just getting started at HDS. This program is a youth development organization that enables kids to build the strength of character that empowers them through a lifetime of new challenges. First Tee will start in the lower school integrating into the PE program and transitioning into our golf teams.
Parents and teachers, please come and volunteer at our home Basketball games. We need help at the entry gate as well as the concessions. Students can earn community service hours in concessions. Here are the dates for the upcoming home games (see Sign up Genius for times):
1/27, 1/31, 2/1, 2/7, 2/10, 2/12, 2/14, 2/17
Please go to SignUpGenius.com to sign up. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094CAFAB2BABF5C34-46393022HANCOCK ATHLETICS, 2023-2024
BASKETBALL
Total Record - 6/9 teams fighting for 1st place in their divisions
Practice opportunities increased by 40%. This year we used 4 gyms for
practice, increasing our times at each. After renegotiating the rental fees (saving $25 each rental), we saved $3000 in gym rentals.
Select Basketball Team
Students enjoyed “Best Seat in the House” fan fun
SOCCER
Tryouts February 14th
One team will play under SPAL; other possible teams will play intramurals
GOLF
Practice Mondays with a tentative match Feb 27 at Bacon Golf Course (TBD)
17 boys and 9 girls are out for golf
TRACK
Tryouts in March
FISHING
Tournament planned for late March/early April. Parent volunteers needed.
LACROSSE
Sign-ups were given out earlier; play with Empire Coastal League
BASEBALL
Tryouts are currently being held with independent evaluators.
A possible second tryout date will be scheduled due to dual sport athletes (basketball).
5th graders can play this year.
FOOTBALL
Plans are in process to move the home JV football games to our BC Soccer field to allow for an earlier start time for both the JV and Varsity home games.
New this year:
12 students and 1 teacher sang the National Anthem (baseball, football and basketball)
Students athletes/rosters were introduced pregame.
We had guest announcers for games (Mr. Cargile, students, etc.).
TENNIS - Sarah Berg and Brooks Isaacs
SWIMMING - Becoming more organized w/ Greg Schmid
*Special thanks to Jessica Bowden with the PTO Sign-up Genius. This app has really helped, but we need many more parent volunteers to allow our programs to continue.
Also Thanks to Cara Getter for helping with basketball practices and Marissa Steimle for all the work she gas done with Athletes
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. Click HERE for a log form or see Mrs. Mannarino in the office.
Plarn - February 24th
Plarn, or yarn from plastic grocery bags, can be used to make sleeping mats for the homeless. Hancock has partnered with Messiah Lutheran Church on Skidaway Island to complete this project. The plarn created by Hancock students will be passed to volunteers at Messiah Lutheran Church who will, ultimately, create the mats. Once students learn to make plarn, they are welcome to make it at home and turn it in to the middle school office for additional community service hours. Sign up HERE.
If interested in volunteering, please email overthemoondb@gmail.com
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
21. Dedicate a space for every class in your book bag/notebook.
For every class, dedicate a binder, folder or notebook. There should be a place for class notes, handouts and homework assignments. Some of the larger binders can accommodate all classes. It is really a matter of personal choice; just keep papers separated by class. If you need help, I am happy to assist you.
“Empathy is at the heart of what it means to be human. It’s a foundation for acting ethically, for good relationships of many kinds, for loving well, and for professional successes. And it’s key to preventing bullying and many other forms of cruelty.” -Making Caring Common Project
Empathy is the HDS virtue of the month for February. The following article has some great tips to help your middle school student develop empathy.
5 Tips for Cultivating Empathy
Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns that you may have this year at amaher@hancockdayschool.org.
ALGEBRA 1 - Mrs. Taylor
I decided to remove a section from Chapter 7. Instead of a quiz 7.3-7.4, We will take Chapter 7 test Wednesday 2/14 on 7.1-7.4, and 7.6.
ADVANCED ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear
Next week in Advanced Algebra, we will work on a project where students design a part of a town using transversals and parallel lines. On Thursday, we will review angle relationships (2.3-2.4, 3.3-3.4) for the quiz the following Monday. I will not be here on Monday and Tuesday as I will be at a conference in Atlanta.
GEOMETRY - Mr. Lanfear
Next week in Geometry, we will complete Chapter 9 by learning about compositions of transformations (9.5), identifying symmetry (9.6), and how to perform dilations (9.7). There will be a day of review on Wednesday and the Chapter 9 test on Thursday. I will not be here on Monday and Tuesday as I will be at a conference in Atlanta.
ELA - Mrs. Boyer
This next week we are finishing up our ‘travels’ and students will begin organizing their thoughts as we begin the Yom HaShoah research/brainstorm process.
Throughout this unit, It is critical that your child work on their time management skills. Students will be able to choose their own text: I never saw another butterfly: children's drawings and poems from Terezin concentration camp, 1942-44, Night by Elie Weisel, The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, or When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr.
Students will be embarking on a journey of reflection and education, both literally and figuratively. This summer I traveled to Germany and Poland where I stepped foot in the hallowed grounds of three concentration camps: Suchsenhausen, Ravensbruck, and Auschwitz. I will be sharing my experience with my students so that they too…will never forget.
PHYSICAL SCIENCE - Ms. Hallman
The students have been doing really well in physics! We finished a great project on building a Rube Goldberg machine to learn about the six simple machines. Next week, we will continue learning about work and power. We will be doing a lab on stair climbing and then moving into our unit on fluids and forces. There will be a quiz next Friday on work and power but NOT on forces.
US HISTORY - Mr. Saviskas
Hello! Next week we will be finishing up the Gilded Age and tying it into the Progressive Era. The Progressive Era is what we refer to as the early 1900s - 1920. Its a time characterized by growing Union participation and the US’s eventual entry into World War I. It’ll be a prelude to what’s coming up in the Great Depression and World War II. We will be having a quiz over this material on Thursday, 2/15 and that’ll cap off early American History. From there we move into the modern era and the very exciting bits of US history!
HIGH SCHOOL SPANISH - Mr. De Cardenas
Having the students making progress in Spanish language and becoming more conversational day after day is a lot of fun.The use of more vocabulary helps them to cover more topics and increase their communicative skills in Spanish language. Next week we will keep practicing in class how to make descriptions but now we will focus on places. They will be using a lot of vocabulary which will include the different rooms in a house, the objects they can find inside them and the adjectives they will use to describe a place. Of course this will also be used to compose comparative statements giving another perspective to the intended description. We will have a couple of lessons to review and to practice all the topics to make sure the kids master them and continue improving their communicative and especially talkative skills. We will have a quiz on Tuesday also, to make the students show their level of conversation in Spanish.
ADVANCED SPANISH - Mr. De Cardenas
Having the students making progress in Spanish language and becoming more conversational day after day is a lot of fun.The use of more vocabulary helps them to cover more topics and increase their communicative skills in Spanish language. Next week we will keep practicing in class how to make descriptions but now we will focus on places. They will be using a lot of vocabulary which will include the different rooms in a house, the objects they can find inside them and the adjectives they will use to describe a place. Of course this will also be used to compose comparative statements giving another perspective to the intended description. We will have a couple of lessons to review and to practice all the topics to make sure the kids master them and continue improving their communicative and especially talkative skills. We will have a quiz on Tuesday also, to make the students show their level of conversation in Spanish.
Mrs. Brown (Mr. Jones)
Students were provided with new vocabulary regarding professions and personal descriptions (personality, etc.). We will delve into the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person plural forms of our known verbs with a few additions to our new question structures. In preparation for the test that was moved to Friday, 9 February, students will strengthen reading comprehension through short texts that will consist of our previously learned structures and our few additions. The test will follow the same format. 7th graders will be challenged in Advanced Spanish with additional structures/vocabulary with which to engage!
ALGEBRA 1 - Mrs. Taylor
I decided to remove a section from Chapter 7. Instead of a quiz 7.3-7.4, We will take Chapter 7 test Wednesday 2/14 on 7.1-7.4, and 7.6.
PRE-ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear
Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will complete Chapter 7 by having the Chapter 7 test on Monday. We will then begin Chapter 8 by learning about relations and functions (8.1) and linear functions (8.2). I will not be here on Monday and Tuesday as I will be at a conference in Atlanta.
ELA - Ms. Ferkol and Mrs. Boyer
This week, students will utilize class time to write and edit their persuasive essays that will accompany their independent nonfiction book projects. An outline has been posted in Google Classroom for students to utilize to begin their drafting process at home. The hope is that students will come to class next week already having brainstormed their three main reasons WHY should people read this book; this information will constitute the three body paragraphs in this essay. Students should come to class this week prepared to read, write, and conference with their teacher or their peers all week! It is imperative that students come to class with their chromebooks charged and their nonfiction novels handy in order to ensure this work gets done in a timely and efficient manner.
At this point, ALL students have chosen their nonfiction books and should have started their reading. As they read, they should be completing THREE of the six optional activities posted in Google Classroom. After they read, they should begin drafting a 5 paragraph essay explaining the importance of their chosen book and why others should read it. The independent slides portion of this project will be due Thursday, February 15!
Please stay on top of the assessment calendar and Google Classroom assignments.
LIFE SCIENCE - Ms. Hallman and Ms. Insignares
We have finished our first unit on the musculoskeletal system and digestive system. We are trying to make this unit as hands on as possible with interesting labs and demonstrations. We will be finishing this whole study of the human body systems with some cool cumulative experiences like a full construction of the human body and a possible dissection of a fetal pig!
AMERICAN HISTORY - Mr. Saviskas
We have finished our political parties project, YAY! They looked so good and I’m happy with the final product the kids spent so much time making. This coming week we will be continuing our study of the structure of the American government and how it works. Students by the end of the week should be able to name and describe the three branches, their functions and how they’ve changed over the centuries.
AMERICAN HISTORY - Mr. O’Hayer
Next week in American History students will continue their study of how our system of government was created and the influences that promoted and influenced many different traits of our government. Students will finish their analysis of how our government functions today. Students will dive deep into the three branches of government and the responsibilities of each branch.
ACCELERATED MATH - Mrs. Taylor
Students are working well with one and two-step equations. They moved on to inequalities and learned “why” they flip the inequality sign. I love to explain the “why” and watch the light bulbs go off. They will switch to discover linear equations with tables and graphing. The final test for Chapter 7 will be Tuesday 2/13. Chapter 8 will begin 2/14.
PRE-ALGEBRA - Mr. Lanfear
Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will complete Chapter 7 by having the Chapter 7 test on Monday. We will then begin Chapter 8 by learning about relations and functions (8.1) and linear functions (8.2). I will not be here on Monday and Tuesday as I will be at a conference in Atlanta.
EARTH SCIENCE - Ms. Insignares
This week we went beneath Earth’s surface and ate a yummy parfait depicting Earth’s layers. We also learned about minerals and will take a hard right to learn about the rock cycle!! Next week students will have a quiz on Monday, Feb 12th for Chapter 3 (minerals). They will test on chapters 2-4 on Wednesday, Feb 21st.
ELA - Ms. Ferkol
This week students will work through skills related to theme, inferencing, and literary conflicts. All of these skills apply to many different genres and are important features to understand and be able to identify and explain! Students will have a QUIZ on Tuesday, 2/13, covering material that we have discussed so far: figurative language, literature terms, setting, point of view, and character traits/characterization. A study guide for this quiz will be posted in Google Classroom for further information on how and what to study!
Throughout this unit, I will be modeling thinking routines and text features using the novel Ghost by Jason Reynolds. Students will need their novels every day as they will take the skills we learn about in class and work on them in their own stories during independent reading time. As we move forward it is imperative that students also bring their blue binders to every class as their interactive notebooks and activities will mostly be hard copy! There will be binder checks throughout this unit that will culminate in a quiz grade!
INTRO SPANISH - Ms. Brown (Mr. Jones)
Students were provided with new vocabulary regarding professions and personal descriptions (personality, etc.). We will delve into the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person plural forms of our known verbs with a few additions in our new question structures. In preparation for the test that was moved to Friday, 9 February, students will strengthen reading comprehension through short texts that will consist of our previously learnt structures and our few additions. The test will follow the same format. 7th graders will be challenged in Advanced Spanish with additional structures/vocabulary with which to engage!
WORLD HISTORY - Mr. O’Hayer
Next week in World History We will conclude our study of The Enlightenment. Students will examine how the Enlightenment made its way across the “big pond” to America. We will look at Founding Fathers like Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and James Madison. Specifically, we will study how new thinking in England and France affected how our new country created the government we know today. After we finish our last unit students will have an Enlightenment Test that will challenge them to recall all the traits and characteristics of the great Thinkers we have studied in this Unit. Also, to close the unit, students will begin their final project of the Trimester: A biographical analysis of one Enlightenment thinker.
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