April 15

Hello Quest Families!

The Plays:
The Odyssey (Blue Group) will perform on Thursday, May 1st at 9:00.  The Greek Heroes (Red Group) will perform on Friday, May 2nd at 9:00.  All are welcome!  We will perform these plays in the cafeteria.

Ferry Beach:
We had a fantastic time visiting the shores of the Maine Coast last week as well as local adventures at the Audubon Center.  Students had a chance to explore a variety of ecosystems by getting their hands (and faces) dirty!  We are all very proud of the Quest students, who did a great job representing their school, classrooms, and themselves.  This experience helped us grow as a team and as individuals.  On Friday, we will be watching a slideshow to reflect on all of the great memories made during Ecology Week.


Missing school:
At this point, we have twelve students who will be missing days around the April break.  We also have 5 - 6 students who have been ill!  While your student is out, your student misses a complex web of whole class instruction, small group discussion, group work and independent reflection.  We are often asked for "packets of work" for time missed.  Instead, we will post the objectives of our lessons on our calendar.  Please have your student check in with us upon their return for any additional work they will need to catch up on.  We will post for the end of this week, and for the week after break.

Missing work: We have a number of students who are missing work.  We will be emailing parents over the next week or so if your student is in that situation.  You can also check PowerSchool to get this information.

Green Up Day:  
On May 2nd, Quest students will be participating in our very own Green Up Day.  This will take place from 12:40-2:15 at and around CBMS.  We will also be greening up along River Road  We are looking for parent volunteers to help us clean up for Spring.  Please email Melissa or Curtis if you are interested in joining.


Enjoy the rest of your April vacation!!

Quest Teachers


What was your favorite meal from Ferry Beach?
Do you have any missing work?
What is your strategy for multiplying decimals?
What book are you reading for independent reading?

March 24

Hello Questers

A big thank you to everyone that made it out for student-led conferences!

Quest Clothing
We will be ordering lovely Quest clothing designed by Siena Mazer (with assistance from Emilee Semprebon and Morgan Longe).  Order forms will be sent home with students later this week. Order Form

Astronomy Test
On Thursday, students will have their end of unit Astronomy test.  Students all have a study guide that was created as a class.  Please review this study guide before the test on Thursday.

Ferry Beach 
Ferry Beach is only 2 weeks away!  A packing list will be sent home with your student this week.  Please let us know when/if questions arise about this trip.  Ferry Beach health forms are due at the end of the week.  We are in the process of placing students in dorm groups as well as study groups.  Both of these groups will consist of only Quest students.  They will have dining groups that will be a mix of Quest, Dream, and Wizard students. 

Math
Students were working on a "Shop Until You Drop" assignment this week, and showed an amazing amount of thoughtfulness when pretend shopping for their families!  We will continue to work with decimal numbers for the next couple of weeks.

Ancient Greece Projects
On Thursday, students presented their Ancient Greece Festival projects.  Students did a fantastic job on these projects.  The progress students made from their Bones and Stones projects was clear.

Questions to ask your student:

What was your favorite Ancient Greece project (not your own)?
What constellation's myth are you researching?
What color are the Quest shirts?
What gifts did you buy for your "Shop Until You Drop" assignment?

March 12

Newsletter for March 12

Hello Questers!

We hope you are all well and if you had to travel, that your travels were safe.

Ferry Beach:  Yesterday, March 18th, two green papers should have come home with all Quest students.  One of the papers was information about the PTO plant sale fundraiser.  The other paper was a health form to be filled out for our Ferry Beach trip.  Please make sure this form is filled out and returned to us at school. 

Genius Hour:  During the last block of each day, students have certain choices.  If a student is not involved in the music opportunities at CBMS, they are asked to read, and do homework.  There is one other choice, and that is Genius Hour.  Students are able to choose a topic they feel passionately about.  They are then given time to research this topic, and to create a presentation for others.  If your student has Guided Study, you might ask them what they might want to work on for Genius Hour!

Coding and Programming:   One of these Genius Hours is taking off.  Beck is beginning to lead classes at the end of the day in coding and programming. (either Mrs. Williams or Mr. Taylor is also in the room) These classes will be offered on Tuesdays and Fridays during Music Block.  Students can choose to be in one or the other, or both if they are available and have their work up to date.  Many students have already signed up for these times to learn about coding and programming, and Beck has shown some excellent teaching skills!  If you have any questions about this, don't hesitate to email.

Drama Unit:  The drama unit is up and running!  A reminder to all students (except for the narrators) that lines need to be memorized by March 20th.  Many students have been working on their lines, and some students are "off script."  We are working on developing personal responsibility with this unit.  If a student with a lead role does not memorize the majority of his/ her lines by this time, a replacement may be found for that student's role.

Students have been assigned a production team as well as a speaking role.  Production teams include props, set, costumes, and publicity.  Students are working in these groups to problem solve and devise lists of items we will need to create.  We will begin to create the props, set, costumes, and publicity at the end of this week.  Students may be scrounging around for props such as fake food, or some old sheets, but we do not need anything too fancy for the play!  If you have any interest in helping with any of these teams, let me know! 

Bake Sale: 

Our bake sale was a success!  We earned approximately $150 towards costumes and props for our play.  Thank you to all who sent in goodies!  Thank you to Amelia, Sarah, Ellie, and Eva, and our other student leaders who organized the sale!

Student-led Conferences:  Our conferences will take place on Wednesday, March 19th.  Please make sure to sign up online to hold your spot for the conference.  You can do this on the CBMS homepage.  The sign up deadline is Friday, March 14th.  Don't forget to bring your student to these student-led conferences.

ESB Festival Project:  Students have been developing the beginnings of their Ancient Greek Festival Projects in school.  The remainder of the project should be completed at home.  These projects and their presentations are due on Wednesday, March 19th.  Guidelines for the project can be found on the Quest-Ancient Greece webpage.

Math:  We are in the midst of our unit on decimals.  Students have been exploring the meaning of decimal numbers through ordering and comparing these types of numbers.  Decimals are everywhere, and I encourage you to find examples in your daily lives.  Here are links to different websites that can help students practice at home (Comparing Decimals, Rounding Decimals).

Mr. Weekly is back and #8 is due on Tuesday, March 18.  There will be quiz retakes on Friday, March 14th for students wanting to improve on their first attempt.  Here is a copy of the old quiz for students wanting to review some of the question types. 

Homework Board:
Our Homework Board is improved!  We are now using a Google calendar to map out assignments.  We hope this is helpful with the increase in long term assignment.  Click on any of the assignments to see a description.  Moon journals!  POWs!  Festival projects!  Mr. Weekly!  It's all there.

Questions to ask your student:
What is your Festival Project?
What is one of your lines for the play?
Who won the staff vs. students basketball game?  :)
What is a moon journal?  What do you do if you can't see the moon?
What causes a solar eclipse?
Where are decimals used in our day-to-day lives?
Are you retaking the decimals quiz on Friday?

Happy Snow Day!

March 4 Newsletter

March 4, 2014

Hello Questers!

We hope you have had a restful vacation, and that you have been able to stay warm!

Of note:

Drama Unit:
Questers are embarking on their fifth grade drama unit.  There are two plays for our Quest students.  They both correspond with our Greece / Astronomy / Mythology Unit.  One of the plays is The Odyssey - adapted for middle school students!  This is a journey with Odysseus and his men through the dangers of his travels home from Troy (cyclopses, the Sirens, ...)  The other play is called Perseus and Theseus.  I (Mrs. Williams) wrote this - adapted from the book many students are reading called Greek Heroes.  This is about the adventures of these two Greek heroes as they travel on a particular quest.

We are conducting two plays so each student will be able to have a role, and will be able to be a part of the play.  In addition to memorizing lines, and working together to perform, students will be a part of one of the production groups.  These groups include: props, costumes, publicity, set, and sound effects.  If you have talents in any of these dramatic categories, and would like to help out, please let me know.

The production of the play will be during the first week back from April Break.  The Odyssey will perform on Thursday, May 1st at 9:00, and the Greek Heroes will perform on Friday, May 2nd at 9:00 AM.  It will be a low key event, with parents and families welcome.  We will perform in the cafeteria.  Be sure to ask your student which play he/she is in if you plan on attending!

Bake Sale:
To help raise money for our drama unit, we will have a bake sale.  The bake sale will be happening this Friday, March 7th at 1:30.  We would love baked goods!  If you or your student is able to bake, you may drop these treats off at any time before 1:30 on Friday.  Thank-you for your support.

Student Led Conferences:
These will be happening on Wednesday, March 19th.  They will be in the same format as we had in the fall, where your student will lead you through a conversation of their portfolio.  Sign ups for this can be found on the CBMS homepage, and will open on March 8th.

Festival Project
Although we are learning about astronomy during our ESB section of the day, students should still be thinking about their Festival projects.  These are due on March 20th.  If you are not sure what these projects are, please visit our ESB page :)  We will be reminding the students this week, and will be developing a plan for them.

Ferry Beach / Ecology Week
Our Ferry Beach Trip is happening in a little more than a month.  We will begin our study of beach ecology during ESB after our Greece / Astronomy unit.  Let us know if / when questions arrive.

PTO - Thank-you!
After a rocky ride with the cheaper of the Aubuchon's sleds, students were sliding on mere fragments.  Thank-you to the PTO for  purchasing us four Mad River Rockets!  They will survive any winter, snowy or not! 

That's about it for now!  Let us know if you have any questions!

February 4 Newsletter

One of our fantastic Ancient Egypt dioramas!  Now it's off to Ancient Greece and Astronomy!

Hello Questers!

The following is a newsletter for the week.


Ancient Greece Quiz

There will be a quiz on Thursday about the learning thus far in our new ESB unit.  Students will have to label different city-states on a map (Athens, Megara, Corinth, Sparta, Ithaca, and Troy).  They will also have to answer questions about some of the quiz cards they have been studying in class.

Map to study
Quiz Cards to study

Geometry Quiz

There will be a quiz on triangles and quadrilaterals on Friday.  Students will be responsible for understanding the following vocabulary words:  isosceles, scalene, equilateral, rhombus, parallelogram, rectangle, square, acute, obtuse, right.

Valentine's Day

Due to popular request, we will be having a Valentine's Day party next Friday!  This may look a bit different from elementary parties in that it is optional for students to bring in Valentines.  Many students want to bring them in!  We will not have "mailboxes" for these, but students are welcome to pass them out individually while we play some games and watch a movie.  If your student would like to bring them in, I recommend they do not write individual names on them, as it is easier to pass them out without the names.  If they would like to put names on them, that is very nice, and we can help to make sure they are distributed.

We would love some snacks!  If you are able to send in a drink, a snack, or a Valentine treat, please email us and we will put Mrs. LaRock on the coordination.  We won't need something from everyone, just enough to keep it festive.  Although the students insisted on all sugar, all candy! we could do with a cheese and cracker plate somewhere in the mix.  Thanks for your help with this!

Drama Unit

We have begun our Ancient Greece drama unit!  Students have been reading scripts, and choosing roles for two plays:  The Odyssey (kid's version) and The Greek Heroes (I wrote this one based on a book they are reading in class).  Many students would like some of the lead roles!  There will be auditions early next week.  For the auditions, students will need to read some of the lines from their role from the stage.  I will have a couple of people help me determine who should have the part.  If your student is interested in one of the leads, encourage him / her to project, project, project, as that is the most challenging part with a play for fifth and sixth grade students!

I will announce parts by the end of next week.  Students will have a couple of weeks to practice their lines before we begin rehearsals.  Rehearsals will happen during our LA block.  During the time students are practicing their lines, and throughout the unit itself, we will also be reading from our Greek mythology books.

Questers Without Borders

A poster regarding the languages of your student's continent is due this Thursday.  Many are coming along very nicely!

Questions to ask your student:

• What part are you interested in for the Greek play unit?
• What is one foreign word from a country in your continent?
• What Greek polis are you in for the Greek unit?
• What are the Quiz cards for the quiz on Thursday?

Let us know if you have any questions for us!!

January 24 Newsletter

Hello Questers!

Here is the latest news!

Ferry Beach

We had a good turn out for our parent informational meeting for the Ferry Beach trip.  In conjunction with this meeting, we talked with our students about the trip, and their questions, ranging from "What video can we bring for the bus?" to "Are the meals good?"  In order to give us time to plan for this, the deadline for informing us that your child will not be able to attend the Ferry Beach trip is Friday, February 7th, and you can let us know by e-mailing Tom Drake at tdrake@wwsu.org.

Questers Without Borders
We are officially on our third session of our "Questers Without Boarders" project.  Above is a link for the official QWB website and helpful links to all related assignments.  Students presented "Resources" Google Presentations of their continents on Thursday in their Geography groups.  This week we will focus on the languages of our continents.  Here are the guidelines for the week.

ESB
This week will mark the end of our Ancient Egypt in Motion unit and the beginning of our study of Ancient Greece and Astronomy.  Students will be be working in small groups throughout this unit, which will include an exploration of the history and culture of Ancient Greece as well as the interactions of the earth, moon, and sun.

Math

Students ended the week with a quiz on multiplying fractions.  Our focus will stay on fractional reasoning, as this is one of the most important math topics for 5th graders.  We have built an understanding of the multiplication of fractions.  Here is a series of videos that may be helpful when working with your student at home.

Mr. Weekly help videos are now linked to the Quest website.  There will be NO Mr. Weekly this week.  Instead, students will be working on a fractions poster at home.  The guidelines can be found on the Quest webpage.  


Geo-Bee

Congratulations to Sarah Bartolomei and Ashley Proteau for representing the Quest Team at the School Wide Bee last week!   Good work Questers!

Language Arts

We have concluded our Ancient Egypt reports and dioramas.  Students used Google Research and learned how to cite sources using this tool.  We will continue to work with citing sources in the upcoming months.  Our POW for the week is to edit these reports.

 Students also participated in a diorama project for their Ancient Egypt topics. The dioramas look fabulous!  Now, we are moving into Ancient Greece, and our mythology / drama unit.

Questions to ask your student:

• What did you put in your diorama?
• What did you need to edit for your report?
• What polis are you in for the Greek studies?
• What are some of the languages spoken on your continent?
• What will the theme be for your fraction poster?

Let us know if you have any questions!

January 6 Newsletter

Hello Questers!
Happy New Year!

 We are diving into our Ancient Egypt in motion unit!  This is a completely interdisciplinary unit, and we are excited about the lessons and learning to come!

During the ESB time, students will be doing various experiments regarding motion and ancient Egypt.  We completed one regarding moving "pyramid stones" up ramps, and on Wednesday, we will be giving our "Chariots" a try.  (Please help your student to remember his/ her snow gear that day). We will also be creating physical maps of Ancient Egypt. 

 During LA block, students will be completing a Project Based Learning assignment in which they will be researching a particular topic with a small group, writing an individual paper, and completing a small group diorama to fit in the glass case at the end of the hallway. 

Research skills:  Students will all be reading Everything Ancient Egypt, a National Geographic book about our study. 
Students will also be learning keyword searches on selected search engines, and how to find a rich source for research.  We will begin citations with this paper as well.  The work for this unit will be done in class, but I will add photos of the completed dioramas to a newsletter!






Math:  Students will continue to explore fraction operations through number line activities and math games.  By next week, we will be jumping into fraction multiplication with an emphasis on understanding the mathematics through modeling.  Mr. Weekly #4 will be passed out on Tuesday and is due on 1/14.

Questers Without Borders
For the second half of this year,  students will be taking part in a geography project entitled “Questers Without Borders.”  Questers Without Borders will challenge your student to understand one continent in depth, and several continents in overview.  The students have chosen their continent, and have been put in groups with other students who are studying other continents.  

Students will be given a new geography ‘theme’ every other week to help focus their presentations.  They will begin their work each in class.  The presentation will take place the following week, with the intention that the project is finished at home.  It is incredibly important that students are prepared each week for their presentations as they are accountable to their group members.  At this point, the presentations are in a blue book, called their "passport."  Eventually, we will include other methods of presentation including  powerpoint/google presentation, summary/word document, poster/visual, drawings, and other artistic representations. 

The first assignment, due this Thursday, is completing a map that shows physical features of the continent they chose.  Students should select 5 - 10 of the following to label on their continent's map in their passports.

 

countries
rivers
mountains
cities
oceans / seas
lakes
plateaus
lands
basins
deserts
highest point

This will be presented to the small groups on Thursday, January 9th. 

Other items:  There will be an evening meeting about the Ferry Beach Field Trip on Thursday, January 23rd at 6:30.

Questions to ask your student:
What continent will you be focusing on for your Questers Without Borders?
Have you looked at the comments on your narrative?  What will you edit first?
What is your small group going to work on for the LA Ancient Egypt Diorama assignment?
How did your group sort the fraction cards?

Have a good week!