November 26

Identity Unit Ends, Human Migration Unit Begins
We ended our Chemistry unit today with sublimating solid iodine, and exploring Oobleck.   During this unit, students learned about phase change and how the molecules behave in each of the different phases.  After Thanksgiving Break, we will be starting a Human Migration Unit.  We will learn about the United States early history with Three Worlds Meeting (Africa, the Americas, and Europe).  Mid December, students will choose a migration to study.  This will be any migration in human history.  They will participate in the "Suitcase Project," which includes art and report writing.  We will present these January 17th, and all are invited to attend.

New Books
To go with our Human Migration Unit, your student will be participating in a book group.  Your student has chosen one of the following:

Day of Tears by Julius Lester and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equaino by Olaudah Equaino

Refugee by Alan Gratz

How I Became a Ghost by Tim Tingle

The Open Road by Alexandra Diaz

Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

Students will be learning how to discuss these books in small groups, and will write about these books in their reading notebooks.  Mrs. Hill will be leading discussions on How I Became a Ghost.  Mr. Taylor will be leading discussions on Refugee.  Mrs. Williams will be leading discussions on the other three titles.  If you have any questions about any of the books, please do not hesitate to ask.  Students will have from December 1 - January 17 to read this book.

New Independent Reading Policy!
I have received many requests to help students read more at home.  Starting in December, students will be asked to read at least one independent book per month.  This will be in addition to the book they are reading at home.  We will have short book projects which we will work on in school dedicated to these independent reading books.  I will start this up when we return.  Thank you for all of your feedback on this!

Winter Recess
When there is enough snow, Questers have the chance to go sledding on our amazing sledding hill.  Students need snow boots, snow pants, and mittens to do this.  If your student would like to participate, but does not have these required clothing items, please let us know.  Later in the year, we hope to have a skating rink as well!

Quest Feast Each year, the Quest Team has a holiday feast to celebrate our community and the winter holidays.  This is a feast that parents and other relatives are welcome to attend.  It is a tight squeeze on team, but we have always fit everyone in!  We ask each student on the Quest Team to bring in a sample (4-6 servings) dish that their family enjoys eating – perhaps something traditional – and we have a big potluck lunch.  Students sign up for entertaining with singing, instrumental pieces, or other forms of appropriate entertainment.  The feast is held in the Quest Team's classrooms.  Family members are welcome!  Each student is expected to bring a dish, a drink such as cider or juice, a dessert, or paper products like plates, forks and knives or napkins.  Please email Melissa Williams with what you can bring.  We ask everyone to bring something to contribute to our community.  

Here is a link for more information.  

We wish you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

November 18

This is the day we experimented with density columns.  We were discovering this physical property of liquids and solids.

Field Trip Wednesday, November 20
At least once on Quest, we make it a goal to go to the Flynn Theater.  This Wednesday, we will be going to the Flynn Theater to see the Dance Theater of Harlem.  We will leave school at 9:15 and will return by 12:30.  We ask that students either bring a bag lunch on Wednesday, or ask to purchase one through the school.  We were going to take a poll for who wants a bag lunch from the school today.... If your student would like to purchase a lunch for tomorrow, could you please email Mrs. Williams at mwilliams@huusd.org?
Thanks!

Narratives and What to do on Another Snow Day?
Students have been working on story writing.  They have mostly developed a story either based on a true account, or a completely fictional idea.  I am hoping to have these finished before Thanksgiving break, but we are loosing a day here and there to ice!  Your student is welcome to work on this story at home!  If you are wondering how it will be scored, check the daily slideshow for further details.

Spelling and Vocabulary
Each week, your student is assigned spelling either through Spelling City, or in a workbook (of their choice).  Each week, your student is also assigned vocabulary through Flocabulary.  No one has opted for the workbook for vocabulary :) Students have 15-20 minutes a day to work on these, which is enough for most students.  The due dates for these are online.

Independent Reading
Due to popular request at our conferences, I am working to help students find books they could / would read at home.  Although there is not a book log for each night, it is expected that students will read 20-30 minutes nightly.  There will be Free Read Fridays during WSAS to encourage the reading habit, and we (the students and I) will make monthly recommendations on our new Quest Reads blog.  I will be checking to see progress in the independent reading books.  Keep me updated with how it is going at home with a quick email or note :)

Conferences
Thank you to all of you who attended conferences and who have reached out to us.  Please don't hesitate to contact us with follow up thoughts and questions.

October 23

Quest State Fair
A big thank-you to everyone's help to make our State Fair a success.  Students had a wonderful time, and there were so many tasty treats to try.  This will become a staple of the Quest experience for sure! 

Parent Teacher Conferences
Mrs. Hudak will be posting information on how to sign up for parent / teacher conferences.  This first conference is a parent / teacher conference, to which your student is welcome to attend, but it is not required.  These conferences are 15 minutes in length.  If you should find you need an additional conference after this, you can look to schedule an additional conference sometime during the day later in November, and into December.

Quest Clothing
Quest clothing is ready for ordering.  Please fill out this google form to place your order.  Checks can be made to CBMS.  Please have orders in by November 8th.

Math Homework
Students have been assigned a weekly Math homework.  They bring this homework to and from school in a 'homework folder'.  Each week assignments are posted on the Quest Calendar.  Typically, they are sent home Monday and due Friday.  You can find extra copies and answer keys on the Quest website.  Homework serves an opportunity for students to practice skills they are learning in class.  If student put forth a good effort and are still struggling, they should bring their questions to Mr. Taylor.  This is a great opportunity for them to practice how to advocate for themselves.  It also provides Mr. Taylor with valuable insight into misconceptions they might have around the math.  Please do not let homework become a stressor on your family.  If it is too much on home life, let Mr. Taylor know and he can help them find time at school.

WSAS
Students have switched units to our Identity Unit.  Our essential questions are: What is the identity of different types of matter?  How does the arrangement of particles affect phenomenon?  We are completing experiments and we are learning how to draw scientific models.  In writing, we are working on personal essays.  We have some good story tellers in our class!  If you get the chance, tell your students a story, or see if they can come up with an event in their life they might want to write about!
Homework for writing this year is optional.  It will begin in November for those interested.  I have sent a Google form to your student for their feedback.
In reading, students are reading biographies and autobiographies.  I have a slideshow of what students are learning on my webpage.  I have short videos for them to follow, with assignments included.  This gives students a choice of pace through the unit while I meet with small groups to help them with their reading.

October 2nd

Hello Quest Families!
Here are some updates.

State Fair
We are in the last two weeks of our geography / states unit.  Next Thursday, October 10th, at 8:15, we will have a State Fair!  On that day, students will have a table to display the following about the state they are studying:
A relief map
The book they read (set in the state)
A fun facts paper
An essay
A tourism video
Food cut into 10-15 samples

The food is where you come in!  For the next couple of days, we will look up some recipes.  Please help your student by asking about the recipe, helping them get supplies, and bringing the samples to school. With creative packing, students have been successful bringing in food projects on the bus.  If this project is a hardship for your family, please let me know, and I can help out.

The fair will run from 8:15 to around 9:00.  All are welcome.

Studying for states
Students should continue to study their 50 states until they have them memorized.  Knowing the location of the 50 states, as well as other geographical landmarks will help them in their studies of the United States this year.  Our last official quiz for this will be next Tuesday.  However, students may retake this during workshops until they get all 50 states correct.

Assessments
We will be attempting to put as many assessments as possible on SeeSaw.  Please refer to this to see how your student is doing.  Students will have information about their relief map, essay, reading comprehension, and tourism video by mid October.  Don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Problem Solving
We are wrapping up our first unit (Expressions, Equations, and Volume) this week.  Be sure to check Seesaw to see some of the work you student has done this unit.  Next week, we will start a fraction unit.  Students will also be exploring how to program with Cubelets.

September 20th

Quest Google Calendar
If you would like access to our team calendar, click this link.  It is also available to view through our website.

Seesaw
This online tool will be used for guardians, students, and teachers to communicate regarding student work/progress.  Quest teachers will use this in class for reflections, assessments, and building portfolios.  Please follow this link to sign up.  There is an app that guardians can download for easy access to Seesaw.

Back to School Night
This will be happening on Thursday, September 26th from 5:30-6:30.  If you have something specific you would like to learn about that night, please fill out this form.  We look forward to seeing you there!

September 4th

Team building activities at the Reservoir.

Hello Quest Families,

Welcome to/back to Team Quest!  We had a great first week of school.  Busy with team-building games and getting to know each other and our school.  Our field trip to the Waterbury Reservoir was a great success!  From Spike-ball to clay masks, Questers had a great day.  Thank you all for making sure health forms were returned in time for us to take this trip.

This week we have started to explore more academics and will continue to do this as students learn how our classrooms operate.  Yesterday, students were assigned Chromebooks and taught about how to use them for learning at CBMS.  They will be learning how to access our team website to use at school and at home.

In Math, we have started using the Bridges Curriculum.  This is familiar to many of the students who were in the HUUSD last year.  Our first unit is titled "Expressions, Equations, and Volume".  More information can be found on the Quest website.

In core with Mrs. Williams, students are studying writing, science, and social studies.  We call this WSAS (sounds like wuh-sazz). In writing, students will be focused on using a source to inform writing, and how to participate in a writing group.  In Social Studies, students are focusing on the five themes of geography with the USA, as well as how to work on projects. In reading, students have chosen a book set somewhere in the USA, write in a reading journal, and will focus on basic story elements as well as discussion protocol.  Our first science unit will start in mid October.

Please see the Quest Page for more information (under the tab “Mrs. Williams”).  There, you will also find our daily lessons in the form of a slideshow.

We are off to a great start of our new year!

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact any or all of us on Team Quest.

Melissa Williams mwilliams@huusd.org

Curtis Taylor ctaylor@huusd.org

Mel Zima mzima@huusd.org