January 27th - January 31st

January 27, 2025

January 27th - January 31st

8th Grade Washington, D.C. Meeting

We would like to invite you to our last important meeting regarding the upcoming 8th-grade trip to Washington, D.C. This meeting is for both parents and students, and it will cover important trip details, expectations, and logistics.

Meeting Details:

Date: Monday, February 10th
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Hancock Hall

In addition to our school staff, Kelly Tours will also be present to answer any questions you may have about the trip. This is a great opportunity to get the latest information on the itinerary, packing guidelines, medical forms, and more, as well as any specific details from the tour company.

If you have not done so already, please visit the Kelly Tours website at https://tourstore.kellytours.com/ and use trip #19150 to complete any remaining registrations or payments. Please note that the final balance for the trip is due by February 15th.

We encourage all parents and students to attend so you're fully prepared for this exciting experience!

Deadline for PVSA Community Service Hours – Don't Miss Out!
If your 8th grader would like to receive a Presidential Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) at this year’s Honors Assembly on Monday, May 19th at 8:30 AM, please make sure all community service hours are completed and submitted to the middle school office by Monday, March 24th.

Here are the PVSA levels based on the number of hours completed:

Bronze Level: 50 – 74 hours
Silver Level: 75 – 99 hours
Gold Level: 100+ hours

We’re excited to recognize our students for their outstanding service to the community, so encourage your child to get their hours in on time! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.

Attention 7th Grade Families
We are excited to continue the beloved tradition of having 7th grade families host the reception following the 8th grade graduation ceremony on May 22. This special event is a wonderful way to show our support for the 8th graders as they celebrate the end of their middle school journey and prepare to transition to high school.

Please click here to sign up and be part of this meaningful occasion!

** Graduating families who helped with last year’s reception: Albert. Cheshire, Lake, Lapp, Mitchell, Mobley, Moody, Phillips, Richter, Stegall, Tanner, Thomas, Wilson, Wilkes, and Zeigler! **

Share Your Memories!

Click the QR code below to upload your photos for our school yearbook. Share your memories from school events, sports, or special moments in the classroom! Help us capture the moments that matter most!

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 Updates:

Teacher Appreciation Day: Has been moved to Wednesday, January 29th from 5:00 - 6:30 PM.
8th Grade Girls Basketball Recognition: Will be held on January 29th at 8:00 PM, right before the 8:00 PM game. Parents please arrive by 7:45 PM.
8th Grade Boys Basketball Recognition: Will be held on January 30th, before the 7th Grade Boys game starting at 8:00 PM. Parents please arrive by 7:45 PM. Note: There is no 8th Grade Boys game that night.

Basketball Tournament Dates:

5th, 6th, and Development Tournaments: February 5th-10th
7th and 8th Grade Tournaments: February 10th-13th

I’ve requested that the championship games not be scheduled on the same day, or at least have a 90-minute gap between them. This will allow parents with kids in both games to attend. Fingers crossed!

Note: Regular season games will not be made up since everyone will be playing in the basketball tournament.

Baseball Updates:

Our coaches will keep parents and kids updated as soon as they have more information.

Physicals:

Please make sure to check with the HDS nurses to ensure your child’s physical is up-to-date before starting spring sports. (912-351-4500, ext. 307 or nurse@hancockdayschool.org)

Thanks,
Coach Bellairs

Let’s go, Eagles! 🎉

Tip #13 Utilizing School Tools

When I took a poll in my EF Seminar class last week, I was disappointed to see how many students indicated they did not look at Google Classroom each day or the MS Blog each week. Not only are their assignments posted in Google Classroom in the to-do list and calendar, they may access the MS Blog there (or via email each Friday) which includes the assessment calendar and lets them know what is coming up in each class the next week. Taking responsibility for checking GC and the Blog will boost their success, whether it is completing assignments in a timely manner, bringing all materials to class each day, or preparing for assessments. Now is the time to build good habits!

The Virtue of the Month for January is “Commitment.” The following resource identifies a strategy for teaching your child to stick with commitments: time+practice+ consistency. Another good tip is teaching children to ask for help when needed.

How do I get my teen to stick with something? There's a formula for that.

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
With school closures last week, students will still be studying exponents, including negative and fractional exponents. Don’t worry, they’ve “still” got the power, and I’m still making bad math puns. STAR testing will also take place this week. We also have taken a break from Algebra to play dice games to learn about probability, and the students had a blast!

Advanced Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
This week in Advanced Algebra, we will complete Chapter 8 by learning how to find the area of trapezoids (8.6), circumference and area of circles (8.6), and central angles and complex areas (8.7). There will be a day of review on Thursday and the Chapter 8 test on Friday.

Geometry - Mr. Lanfear
This week in Geometry, we will begin Chapter 8 by learning about the Interior and Exterior Angle Theorems of Polygons (8.1), properties of parallelograms (8.2), how to prove that a quadrilateral is a parallelogram (8.3), and properties of rhombuses, rectangles, and squares (8.4).

Physical Science - Ms. Harmon
Due to unexpected weather, I will be extending our Egg Drop device due date to Wednesday 01/29/25 . The paper on the Egg Drop Results will be due Friday 01/31/ 25.

ELA - Ms. Hall

Due to our unexpected snow days, the Macbeth Test for students has been moved to Tuesday, 1/27. Students will have had over a week with access to the study guide to prepare for this assessment. After our test, students will begin moving into our unit on nonfiction/informational writing. This will begin with an overview of what nonfiction writing is, as well as how to identify it.

US History - Mr. Saviskas
I’m so happy to be back! I know the kids are as well, even if they don’t want to show it. This week we are finishing up the Gilded Age and then working on a Project about Labor rights on Wednesday. The following week I intend to have a test over Reconstruction and the Gilded Age notes before we move onto the Holocaust. Our Holocaust unit will cover some very dark topics. I intend to explain and show appropriate material in class, though it is still important that we stress the reality of the events. If you have any questions please let me know.

High School Spanish - Mr. De Cardenas

This week, we will continue our focus on reinforcing the use of the past tense to enhance students' proficiency and conversational skills. Through a series of targeted activities and exercises, students will have the opportunity to practice applying verb tenses in authentic contexts, which will help them express themselves more fluently and confidently in everyday conversations.

In addition, we will continue reading La Isla Más Peligrosa to further develop reading comprehension skills. Students will engage in activities designed to deepen their understanding of the text. Furthermore, we will be updating and refining our Year Project, which involves creating a Board Map of the book.

To complement these activities, we will also incorporate listening comprehension exercises to improve students' ability to understand spoken language. These exercises will be integrated throughout the week to support their listening skills in real-life contexts.

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

Pre-Algebra - Mr. Lanfear
This week in Pre-Algebra, we will almost complete the first part of Chapter 6 by learning about congruent polygons (6.4), how to use similar figures to find measurements (6.5), and how to use scale drawings (6.6). There will be a quiz covering 6.1-6.4 on Tuesday. There will be a day of review on Friday to prepare for the 6.1-6.6 test the following Monday.

Life Science - Ms. Harmon

Due to unexpected weather, I have extended the due date for the Meiosis Project to Wednesday 01/29/25. Please email me if you have any questions about the rubric/etc.

Life Science - Mrs. Swanner
I hope that everyone had a blast in the snow! This week, we will continue our study of genetics and heredity.

ELA - Ms. Ferkol

In the coming week, students will continue to read their novels and complete a nightly journal entry. In addition to this nightly work, students will be diving deeper into three specific literature skills: identifying important quotations, inferencing, and creating and defending claims and counterclaims.

**Please note that the entire packet of journals will be due at the end of this unit and taken as a QUIZ GRADE. Students should take care to work on these journals diligently and with care and intention.

ELA - Ms. Hall
In this upcoming week, students will be continuing to read their novels and working to complete their journal entries. In class, we’ll be hosting a series of mini lessons over important reading skills such as identifying important quotes, learning to inference, and create claims. While students will have the occasional opportunity to read in class, it is imperative they practice their reading skills at home, as well.

American History - Mr. O’Hayer

This week in American History students will begin our American Government/Economics Unit. This is a very important unit! Students will learn what government is, the origins of the American government systems, the U.S. Constitution, and the Structures of our political systems.

American History - Mr. Saviskas

Welcome back everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your snow days! I am delighted to be back. This week we are continuing our unit on the US Constitution. We shall be talking about the foundations of government and the rationale behind our government’s construction. If possible, I intend to have a test on the subject next Thursday or Friday depending on time constraints and how long it takes us to complete the material.

Advanced Spanish - Mr. Jones

We will continue to practice using ALL possessive pronouns in Spanish, singular and plural to express possession of things. We will have an oral quiz over the possessive pronouns on Wednesday, 29 January. Comprehension test over the My Dream Dish short story will be on Friday, 31 January. We will begin learning the expression “to have to…” on 3, February.

X + 1 = Fluency

Advanced Spanish - Mr. De Cardenas

X + 1 = Fluency

Accelerated Math - Mr. Scordato

Students will take their knowledge from the coordinate plane to learn about functions, scatter plots, and displaying data. STAR testing will take place this week.

Earth Science - Mrs. Swanner
I hope that everyone had a great time in the snow! Next week, we will continue our study of minerals before we move into studying rocks.

ELA - Ms. Ferkol
I hope everyone had a safe, fun, and relaxing snow week! Throughout the rest of the week, students will work on developing their skills with identifying parts of their plot, gaining foundational knowledge with symbolism, and diving deeper into summarizing. We will also take the STAR Assessment this Wednesday 1/29

World History - Mr. O’Hayer
This week in World History students will continue our study of The Enlightenment. We will look at and analyze the works and influence of Rene Descartes, considered the Father of Modern Philosophy, and Thomas Hobbes, who believed in the need for an all-powerful ruler to rule government.

Spanish Fundamentals - Mr. Jones
This week, we will begin our Spanish Story, a cumulative, semester-long project in which we incrementally add new information after having tested over it. We will continue to practice the possessive pronouns and will have a test over this material on Friday, 31 January.

Students in 6th grade will put final touches on the shoe sculptures to be shop and ship ready. Shoe construction takes problem solving, engineering and a few attempts to get the parts connected well. They are innovative with the materials and are excited to wear them!

7th graders took a pause to participate in “And the Children Speak” an online exhibition. They will take Monday to complete these and then select a “Year of the Snake” illustration project.

8th graders started a Comic and Character Illustration project. Students used shape to build characters and create the foreshortening technique used by professional artists.

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