December 20

 12/16/22

Hello Quest families!!

Progress Monitoring - Recently, we have been working with students on keeping track of their assignment scores.  We do this to help them identify areas for improvement and to provide them with the opportunity to redo assignments.  Last week, students were given updated score reports for Math and Social Studies.  Today, they were given their LA scores.  Science scores will be forthcoming.   Allowing students to revisit assignments helps them focus on how effort leads to learning growth.  Many students have already put in extra effort to improve their scores.  Kudos to them!

Math - This week, we wrapped up our unit on percentages.  Students learned strategies for calculating percent discounts (How much do you save if you have a 20% off coupon on a $300 basketball hoop?) and how to find percentages based on success rate (If I make 12 out of 20 shots, what percent of my shots did I make?).  Our new unit is titled Dividing Fractions.  Here is a link to some more information about this unit.  We will get a brief introduction to this unit before break and then do a deep dive in the new year.  Check out our student-created bulletin board about the importance of the math we are learning about.

Language Arts - 

  We have been reading Night Sky by Michael Driscoll.  Students have been learning about different text structures such as description, compare / contrast, problem and solution, and chronological order.  Students have been learning these, while learning about planets, asteroids, meteors, and the constellations.  We will be finishing this book this week and moving on to The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden in January.

Science - We have been learning about astronomy.  Students have done hands-on experiments focusing on phases of the moon, planets, and the Earth’s rotation.  Today, we did an art project.  We listened to The Planets by Gustav Holst, and learned about how a musician might create art with science as an inspiration.  We also created planet and moon art with oil pastels. 

Social Studies - Our new unit is focused on the evolution of early humans.  This week, we learned about different species that have been discovered by scientists and what makes them different and also human-like.  Students worked on a brochure project about an early human ancestor.  We are continuing to learn about current events.  Our map focus the past two weeks has been on learning the countries of North and Central America.  We will take a quiz where students have to label these countries on a map.  

Boston Field Trip - At the end of the school year, we are hoping to take a field trip to Boston for a day.  In the past, this has been a 6th grade tradition at CBMS.  We often rely on volunteers to chaperone this trip and are hoping Quest families will consider joining us in May.  If you would like to volunteer, please check out the HUUSD website.  Please contact Mrs. Williams as well, so we can get a count of how many folks are interested in volunteering.

Important Dates

12/19 - 12/22 Spirit Week

12/23-1/1 - No School

Questions to ask your student:

Have you redone any assignments?

What human species are you studying for your brochure?

How would you find 20% of a number?

What planet or moon did you learn about for your art project?

What is the name of a constellation?