December 2nd - December 6th

 


Click here to DONATE to the Excellence Fund!





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.



Basketball Games are right around the corner– games start for some teams on December 2nd!


[Picture above: 5th grade girls basketball team sneak some tips and tricks for their game by watching the 5th grade boys team!]


6th-grade Volleyball:

The HDS girls' 6th-grade volleyball team had a great season on (2nd place!) and off the court this year. During the regular season, with the help of the Nedriga family, the team raised over  $1,100 to aid flood and storm victims in western North Carolina. Thanks to their efforts, Hancock is writing a check to Samaritans Purse, which helps with food, shelter, and repairs in the area. Special thanks to all those who contributed to this important cause! 



Spring Sports

Signup sheets for spring sports will be shared with students before winter break. Students interested in playing a spring sport should place their names on the list when they begin circulating. Available spring sports are: 

  • Baseball–(please see Coach Carucci) They have had some preliminary meetings already

  • Track 

  • Golf, and 

  • Soccer





Tip #7 Prepping for Exams, Part 3


7. Take Care of Yourself

Get enough sleep: Avoid staying up too late studying. A well-rested brain is better able to remember information and solve problems.

Eat well and stay hydrated: Drink water and eat healthy snacks while studying. Avoid too much sugar or caffeine, which can lead to energy crashes.

Exercise or move around: Physical activity, even a short walk or stretching, can improve focus and reduce stress.


8. Practice Relaxation Techniques

Deep breathing and mindfulness: Before an exam or study session, try deep breathing exercises to calm your mind.

Positive visualization: Picture yourself feeling confident and prepared during the exam. This can help reduce anxiety and improve focus.


9. Use Study Groups Wisely

Collaborate with friends: Study groups can help clarify difficult topics, but make sure the group stays on track and doesn’t become a distraction.

Teach and learn: Take turns explaining different topics. This reinforces your knowledge and helps your classmates too.

10. Review Right Before the Exam


Morning of or night before: Go over your study guide or flashcards one last time. Focus on quick refreshers rather than deep studying to avoid overwhelming yourself.


Encourage middle schoolers to start early, stay organized, and take care of themselves. Effective study habits now will benefit them throughout their academic journey!



Our Virtue of the Month for November and December is community! Consider looking for an opportunity during this time for your family to volunteer together. The United Way of the Coastal Empire has opportunities and  Second Harvest allows volunteers ages 12 and up when accompanied by an adult.


Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns you may have this year. amaher@hancockdayschool.org



Each middle school student is required to complete ten hours of community service over the course of the school year.  Please remember to check this area of the blog for opportunities. Click HERE for a log form or see Mrs. Mannarino in the office.



Algebra I - Mr. Scordato
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! We will start fresh next week with our Systems of Equations unit after break. But more importantly, I want to wish all of you a healthy and happy break with time filled with friends, family, rest, and some time to play!


Advanced Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
Next week in Advanced Algebra, we will begin the Geometry portion of the course by learning about triangle classifications (4.1), the Triangle Sum Theorem (4.2), the Exterior Angle Theorem (4.2), the Base Angles Theorem and its Converse (4.3), and the PYthagorean Theorem and its Converse (4.4-4.5).


Geometry - Mr. Lanfear
Next week in Geometry, we will begin Chapter 6 by learning about similar polygons and scale factor (6.1-6.3), proving triangle similarity by AA (6.4), SSS and SAS (6.5-6.6), and how to perform dilations on a coordinate plane (6.7).  There will be a quiz covering 6.1-6.5 on Thursday.


Physical Science - Ms. Harmon
Next week we will be continuing our Lesson on Acids and Bases and we will begin reviewing for our exam for the following week.  


ELA - Ms. Hall

Students have officially begun their study of who Shakespeare was and his impact on today’s world! When we return from Thanksgiving Break, students will start reading Macbeth. During this time, they will be expected to not only answer the occasional analysis question but also track prominent themes throughout the story. The intention for this is to give them evidence to utilize to back up their persuasive argument and presentations of which theme is the most important in the play at the end of this Unit. 


US History - Mr. Saviskas
We are halfway through our Civil War unit! After Thanksgiving we are going to try to finish up the Civil War before our Fall exam. That means we are going to cover the important battles such as Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Antietam, Chickamauga and talk in depth about the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address.


High School Spanish - Mr. De Cardenas

I cannot believe it is almost December. The improvements the students are making in class are impressive. They verbalize their own thoughts in Spanish using the content covered in class. I am so proud of their achievements. The week after Thanksgiving break we will be reviewing all the content covered so far in order to be prepared for the semester exams. Several types of exercises will be performed in class to ensure the students show their mastery of the covered topics. We will emphasize conversational ability since they will be facing a Speaking exam first. Also translation,  reading and writing  comprehension and grammar will be insightfully reviewed. It's exciting to think how great they will do in their exams. We will also have a speaking quiz on Wednesday December 3rd and a writing quiz on Friday December 6th. 



Algebra I - Mr. Scordato
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! We will start fresh next week with our Systems of Equations unit after break. But more importantly, I want to wish all of you a healthy and happy break with time filled with friends, family, rest, and some time to play!


Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will begin Chapter 5 by learning about rational numbers (5.1), adding/subtracting like and unlike fractions (5.2-5.3), and multiplying fractions (5.4).  There will be a quiz covering 5.1-5.4 on Friday.  We will also spend the first day back learning about astronomy, how scientific notation is used in real life, and about the speed of light!


Life Science - Ms. Harmon
We will be starting our next lesson covering biology and me, including topics like cancer and illness and will be reviewing for our exam the following week. 


Life Science - Mrs. Swanner
I hope that everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving next week! On December 2, we will begin our study of meiosis.


ELA - Ms. Ferkol

When we return from break, we will begin our exciting new unit–Voices of the World! This unit will allow students to explore another culture through exciting stories told from various perspectives. Throughout this unit, students will be encouraged to not only analyze the cultures of their main characters, but also compare and contrast that culture with their own. This will be a “book club” style unit, meaning students will be reading various texts based on interest and skill level to acquire this knowledge. Students will meet regularly with their book club groups to set their reading goals and journal assignments; it is imperative that students develop a reliable system of communication and accountability with their groups to aid them throughout this unit. Should they be absent or miss work for any reason, their group mates will be their most valuable resource to keep them on track!


We will kick this unit off with two engaging assignments–one utilizes videos to allow students to view the cultures of their novels, and the other is a research-based project in which students will create a travel itinerary to the destination relevant to their novel’s culture. Both of these assignments provide wonderful opportunities for students to gain baseline information about the cultures and experiences that they will explore with their characters throughout the next unit! 


On a final note, I hope you all enjoy a wonderful and rejuvenating Thanksgiving holiday break full of love, laughter, and memorable moments with your families. Your students have worked so hard both in and out of the classroom, and they more than deserve this mental break before diving into the last few weeks before exams! I am so thankful for you all, your support, and your incredible students!!


ELA - Ms. Hall
When we return from Thanksgiving Break, students will be starting our Voices of the World Unit! This unit will focus on students' ability to explore and analyze other cultures while developing their own reading skills. They will have the choice of which book they want to study while working in groups to keep track of individual journals. We’ll be kicking off the unit with some interesting videos and a research project to prepare students for their time studying a different civilization.


American History - Mr. O’Hayer

Next week in American History we will continue our study of the American Revolution. We will identify the causes and events leading up to the War and summarize the major events, battles,  and key participants of the Revolution. 


American History- Mr. Saviskas
We’ve covered the early days of the Revolution and are now moving on to the war proper. We will start with Lexington & Concord and move onto the important battles that made up America’s critical history. We are quickly approaching our fall exams so this will be the last full week of learning and notes. After that we’ll be reviewing and preparing for the exams until Winter Break.


Advanced Spanish - Mr. Jones

Upon returning from the holiday break, we will continue working with the prepositions para and porque interactive games. Then, we will continue in Unit 3 using geography and weather as topics of study for vocabulary and cultural exposure to new content. We are working toward the function tener que + infinitivo to express what we have/don’t have to do. Enjoy time with family and friends everyone, gobble gobble!


X + 1 = Fluency

Advanced Spanish - Mr. De Cardenas 

Upon returning from the holiday break, we will continue working with the prepositions para and porque interactive games. Then, we will continue in Unit 3 using geography and weather as topics of study for vocabulary and cultural exposure to new content. We are working toward the function tener que + infinitivo to express what we have/don’t have to do. Enjoy time with family and friends everyone, gobble gobble!


X + 1 = Fluency



Accelerated Math - Mr. Scordato

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! We will start fresh next week with our Integers unit after break. But more importantly, I want to wish all of you a healthy and happy break with time filled with friends, family, rest, and some time to play!


Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
Next week in Pre-Algebra, we will begin Chapter 5 by learning about rational numbers (5.1), adding/subtracting like and unlike fractions (5.2-5.3), and multiplying fractions (5.4).  There will be a quiz covering 5.1-5.4 on Friday.  We will also spend the first day back learning about astronomy, how scientific notation is used in real life, and about the speed of light!


Earth Science - Mrs. Swanner
I hope that everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving next week! When we return on December 2, we will continue our study of Earth’s Water.

ELA - Ms. Ferkol
Upon returning from our holiday break, we find ourselves at an exciting new beginning: Character Relationship Book Clubs! This unit will utilize realistic fiction as a means for us to dive deeper into literary device work and solidify our skills with both identifying them and writing with them along with diving deeper into other literary elements. Throughout this unit, I will be modeling thinking routines and text features using the novel Frindle by Andrew Clements. 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 through this unit it is imperative that students also bring their blue binders and novels 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! 

On a final note, I hope you all enjoy a wonderful and rejuvenating Thanksgiving holiday break full of love, laughter, and memorable moments with your families. Your students have worked so hard both in and out of the classroom, and they more than deserve this mental break before diving into the last few weeks before their first round of exams! I am so thankful for you all, your support, and your incredible students!!


World History - Mr. O’Hayer
Next week in World History students will depart Greece and move on to Ancient Rome. We will begin our study by examining the Roman Republic. Students will analyze how different classes of people existed together and how the government in Rome changed and evolved.  


Spanish Fundamentals - Mr. Jones
Upon returning from the holiday break, we will continue working with the prepositions para and porque though within a short story and interactive games. In doing so, this content will introduce gustarse, the verb to express likes/dislikes as well as the verb ir (to go) and its present tense conjugations. We are working toward the function tener que + infinitivo to express what we have/don’t have to do. Enjoy time with family and friends everyone, gobble gobble!


New wall easels in action! Students embraced the opportunity to create drawings and paintings from a fresh perspective and posture. 

Sixth graders will salute the season with gratitude and community with Snow Globe Scenes, Seventh grade will sing to software to capture a sound bite represented on canvas and Eighth graders are almost finished with album cover design in their Graphic Design unit. 

🎾Thank you for the tennis balls!  A serene studio and tranquil tutorial is evermore smooth with the tennis balls eliminating screeching stools. Now, a need for 24 will complete the set. Thank you!🎾💚


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