February 14, 2023

 2/14/23

Hello Quest families!!

ACTION NEEDED:  Boston Field Trip - On Thursday, May 18th, we will be taking a field trip to Boston for the 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 to review the background check process.  Please contact Mrs. Williams/Mr. Taylor as well, so we can get a count of how many folks are interested in volunteering.

SEL (Social Emotional Learning) - We have been working with Quest students on ways to interact with each other and adults in appropriate and respectful ways.  One of our focuses has been tone of voice.  We practiced making statements using different tones of voices and discussed how our tone of voice can impact the people we are speaking to.  We have also been teaching students about active listening.  We do this through our Monday morning circles and through storytelling games.    

Math - Last week, we started a unit on decimal numbers.  This unit is mainly a review of concepts learned in 5th grade with a few extensions.  Students are solidifying their understanding of how to add, subtract, multiply and divide with decimal numbers.  We started with adding and subtracting decimals focusing on the importance of place value.  We practiced lining decimal numbers up vertically when adding and subtracting to line up place values.  This week we focused on multiplying with decimals.  Students used two main strategies to multiply with decimals:  using an area model and using fractions.  We will move towards dividing with decimals next week.

Language Arts - We are reading The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden.  Ann Braden will be coming to CBMS in March, which is an excellent opportunity for our students.  Students are working on claims, evidence and reasoning when they answer questions about the text.  We are also practicing speaking and listening skills during discussions.  Students are also working on spelling and vocabulary (through our Flocabulary program).  This week’s spelling words are homophones (words that sound the same but have different spellings and definitions).  Students can find a copy of their words in their Google Classroom, and a paper copy in the regular classroom at the back of the room.  Here, two students play a spelling game we call “Connie.”  

Science - We are wrapping up our science unit these next two weeks.  Students will be starting projects tomorrow on a topic of their choice.  Students will be creating either a virtual or a physical model and will present 10 facts about their topic next Friday.  During the past couple of weeks students learned about gravity on other planets, phases of the moon, and shadows during different months of the year.

Social Studies - Our new group started Social Studies with a mini unit about Martin Luther King, Jr.  We looked at images from the March on Washington and listened to his “I Have a Dream” speech.  Students then chose a ‘Hero for Change’ to research and write about.  This week, we started to learn about human evolution by analyzing images and learning new vocabulary.  We also continued our weekly exploration of current events and studying the map of North and Central America.  Students took a quiz on the map of North and Central America.  

Important Dates 

2/15 - Ski & Ride

2/21 - 6th Grade Band to HUMS

2/22 - NO Ski & Ride

2/27 - 3/7 Winter Break

Questions to ask your student:

Who was your ‘Hero for Change’?  What made them a hero?

How high can you jump on Earth?  On Jupiter?

How does ‘tone of voice’ affect what you say?

What is The Benefits of Being an Octopus about?

What strategy do you use to multiply decimals?  Can you show me how you would do 0.3 x 0.5?  1.2 x 1.4?