Monday, December 15, 2014



Holiday Feast
Next Monday is the Quest Feast!  I have heard from many of your students estimates of who is coming, and what you are bringing.  We are looking for main dishes, even simple ones such as bread and cheese, or a pasta.  Protein always helps :)  We usually have plenty of desserts!  If you haven't heard from your student, the details are in the first part of this newsletter.

Teleconferencing
In Questers Without Borders, we have been focusing on regional geography and regional current events.  Students have been researching local geography, culture, community events, and current events, and have been creating collaborative slideshows.  Students are sharing these slideshows with their peers in three different schools in the country.  Students in those schools are sharing their slideshows with us.  We have been connecting with Zoom, Adobe Connect, and our teleconferencing system here at school.  This provides students with the opportunity to interact with their peers in real time.  The schools who are participating are located in Houston, Texas, Scottsdale, Arizona, and Detroit, Michigan.

Language Arts
We are working on our weather unit in Language Arts.  We have completed several close reads, focusing on main ideas and non-fiction summaries.  Students are recording the weather on most days, and have completed several weather maps.  Students are now venturing into creating their own windvanes, focusing on scientific writing, and reflecting on an artistic / engineering pursuit.  We also worked on listening skills by participating in a virtual field trip with scientists on top of Mount Washington.  Students were able to interact with a scientist, and ask questions regarding the work done in the Mount Washington Observatory.  After this experience, students wrote a summary based on what they learned.

Math
Siena Damon is taking the place of Curtis Taylor during the first part of his paternity leave.  Siena is a recent graduate of Harwood High School.  She enjoys horseback riding, and during the summer months works on cattle drives out west!  For the week and a half, Siena will be driving us in our math unit on fractions and estimating.  Mr. Taylor will be back after the holiday break.  Thank-you to Siena for your help!