Q2L RELAY: A Weekly Update from the Q2L Team

The Q2L RELAY, is a weekly email newsletter sent out to all Q2L families and friends. Stay tuned for new updates coming soon!

Week of May 2 - May 6, 2011

Dear Q2L Families,

The ELA exams are now under our belts, and we are looking forward to the Math exams Wednesday and Thursday! Our Math Lab, during the week of April 11th, was a great opportunity for students to take a deep dive into math while earning tokens that were then translated into special prizes and auction items. Students bid for, and won, trips with their favorite teachers to Starbucks, the ice cream shop, the book store, yoga lessons, and more! Over 70% of Quest students reported that they felt “good” or “great” about their intense Math experience during Discovery Lab – totally amazing when you think about how much work they had to produce! At Morning Meeting this Friday, students expressed confidence about their performance on the ELA exam and reported that they felt they were going to do well on the Math. Please make sure to express your confidence in your child’s ability to do his or her very best! That, and a good night’s sleep, can make all of the difference!

Q2L GOES TO WASHINGTON
U.S. Department of Education Senior Staff briefing
On April 21, Katie was invited to Washington D.C. to meet with senior staff in the U.S. Department of Education on behalf of the leadership at Quest to Learn. At that briefing senior staff received an hour-long presentation on the school, its learning, model, curriculum, and outcomes. Feedback from the session has been extremely positive, including an email that gave Q2L an A+++ for its work in re-imagining learning.

ADVANCED DIGITAL INCUBATOR
Margulf Foundation grant: $35,000
The Institute of Play has partnered with the Margulf Foundation on a new 1-year grant to support the creation of an Advanced Digital Incubator at Q2L. The Incubator will provide opportunities for teachers and students at Q2L to explore the integration of cutting edge technology-based tools into the school’s curriculum. These tools include iPads, digital microscopes, biosensing feedback devices and software, as well as advanced video and audio recording equipment.

SCIENCE, SOCIETY, AND SHORT CIRCUIT
New York Community Trust grant: $25,000
The Institute of Play recently received a $25,000 spark grant from the New York Community Trust to support Short Circuit, the afterschool program the Institute runs at Q2L. The funding will go toward the creation of an innovative design-led curriculum within Short Circuit that will challenge students to invent sustainable solutions to local community challenges. Within the curriculum Q2L youth will take on roles as journalists, scientists, engineers, documentarians and activists exploring the science of sustainability in urban communities.

Q2L CURRICULUM and PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Macarthur grant; $1.8 million
Thanks to a new 3-year grant from the MacArthur Foundation the Institute of Play will continue its exciting collaborative work with Q2L to develop curriculum and learning resources for the school. The funding will also support ongoing development of Q2L’s professional development program, Studio Q, as well the creation of improved communication tools to convey the Quest to Learn approach to parents, community members, and policymakers.

IOP Summer Preview: Design, Art, & Code Camp
This summer, the Institute of Play will be launching a new camp where Q2L 7th and 8th graders explore and develop their interests in art, visual design or computer programming. Led by Mission Lab's Brendon Trombley and other expert designer/programmers, campers will tinker with visual design environments, create 3-D graphics and animations, or learn programming languages such as Java, HTML5, Processing or C++. The camp runs from Monday, July 25–Friday, July 29 from 2p–6p. The fee is $350. Information will be backpacked home on Monday. Registration is now open for Design, Art, Code: the camp for Q2L students interested in taking a deeper dive into graphics, visual design and programming. DOWNLOAD PDF. For more information see our information page or contact us!
From the PTA!
The Quest to Learn PTA On-line Auction opened Thursday, May 5, and there are a number of fun and unique items to bid on to raise money for our organization - and the more items we have the more money we can raise, so we're asking for your help.
Show your support by clicking on the "Donate Items" button to contribute to our catalog. Donations from all would make this event an especially splendid endeavor. Ask your favorite merchants to donate products or services, if you are a long-time customer at a neighborhood restaurant, retailer, beauty salon, museum, amusement park, theatre, caterer, etc., some establishments will surely be happy to donate something to support your kids’ education.
Your participation is an invaluable part of our fundraising efforts. By donating an item or service directly online, you'll be helping to raise money for our Q2L students to fund student outreach and enrichment programs, after school programs, language, art and music programs, etc. You'll also receive a mention on our Q2L PTA web site.
Thank you for your generous contribution and support.
Q2L PTA On-Line Auction Committee http://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/item/Browse.action?auctionId=12492...

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Sports Update:Q2L WINS! On Friday, the girls’ softball team played a game against PS 136 and displayed amazing teamwork and relentlessness. Quest jumped out to an early lead in the 2nd inning, and after PS 136 got within one to make it 3-2 at the end of the 3rd inning, the girls mounted a four run 4th inning to go up 7-2. The team held the other side scoreless in the bottom of the inning to finish victorious. GO QUEST!
The softball and baseball players will continue with practice this week on Monday and Thursday (3:30-5:300m). There has been a great turnout by players as they are having a lot of fun learning and playing together.

Math Olympiad! Math Olympiad is canceled during NYS testing, so this coming week we will NOT meet as a team. A new meeting day and time will be established for Trimester 3, and I will let students and parents know when a new meeting time is decided upon.
Go Mathletes! For more information, contact Alicia at aiannucci@q2l.org.

Math Power6th Grade Math Power is on Monday and Thursday. Contact Pierre (PDizon@Q2L.org) for more information. 7th Grade Math Power is on Monday and Tuesday. Contact Audrey (AGeis@q2l.org) with any other Math Power questions.

Power-Up!:
Week 9: Monday, May 9 & Tuesday, May 10
For any additional information about Power Up! Feel free to contact teacher Ayana Flood at ayanaflood@hotmail.com.

Short Circuit: This week the Institute of Play launched the spring edition of Short Circuit. To introduce our green-focused and nature-powered curriculum we looked at ways that designers have created solutions to the problems they see around them. Short Circuiters also designed smart houses of the future and drew with thermochromic inks that changed color with heat. We ended the week with a small Family NIght where the Short Circuit team explored how to transform a static interface into a dynamic one using heat-sensitive inks and conductive paint.

BRAND NEW OFFERING: Calling all code-crackers! On Wednesdays, the Institute of Play will offer a series of CODE JAM WORKSHOPS with mentor Jon Santiago. These Code Jams will enable students to unravel the mysteries of what makes computers tick. Join us to discover Java and other secret languages of computers. Write your own Java programs or hack and re-code the programs of others!
Wednesdays from 1:30-3:30pm. Workshops run: May 11, May 25, June 8, 15, 22. $75 new Code-Crackers // $60 Returning Short Circuiters (not enrolled this trimester).
Please join us: Program Information // Registration Information

Wednesday Kick-off
This week the Q2L soccer players began their session with a warm-up jog around the gymnasium; players got in additional conditioning by taking turns perpetually sprinting from the back of the group up to the front. Coach Rafael then arranged a passing drill with cones in which one player stood at each cone, the players focused on receiving and trapping a pass before making accurate passes to the player at the next cones. They concluded the practice playing small-sided scrimmage games, which Coach Rafael modified by making a rule that required the players to keep the soccer ball in play; the main idea is to keep the action going in the game. Teams had to switch if they were scored on or if one of the team’s players hit the ball out of bounds. All are welcome to join. If your child is interested in playing soccer on Wednesdays afterschool (1:30-3:300pm) please email Will: wmoyet@gmail.com.

ITeam: The Q2L ITeamers resumed this week and got right into it, quite literally. In this week’s session Richard, Q2L tech specialist, brought in an old Dell PC computer for the students to break down and study the different components of the machine. The students got to work hands on by opening the PC and passing around the different parts for each to look at. They reviewed the different functions for each of the parts and were jubilant about the about the weeks ahead, in which they will again dismantle and actually build their own computer from scratch.

Homework Help:
Homework Help is held each Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 3:40 – 4:40pm. At each session a 6th grade and a 7th grade teacher are available to provide support to students as they complete current homework assignments. Students do not have to come all three days, or even every week, but the support is there if they need it. Power Speak 7th graders are also encouraged to use this opportunity to complete their foreign language lessons. There is no fee to participate. Please contact Ameer (amourad@Q2L.org) with any questions.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Wednesday, May 11 – May 12	NY State Math Exam
Friday, May 13	Trip forms due!
	Girl’s Softball Game! (Go, Quest!)
Wednesday, May 18 and May 19	School Trip – Hidden Valley Outdoor Ed. Center
Monday, May 30	Memorial Day (schools closed)
Sunday, June 5	Q2L Spring Festival!
Monday, June 6	PTA Meeting 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Tuesday, June 7	Middle School Half-Day (Dismissal at 11:50 am)
Thursday, June 9	Chancellor’s Conference Day (non-attendance day)
Friday, June 10	Q2L Coffee Break 9:15 am – 10:00 am
Thursday, June 16	*Middle School Half-Day (Dismissal at 11:50 am)
June 20 – 27	Boss Level!
	7th Grade Exhibition Day 6/24
	6th Grade Exhibition Day 6/27
Friday, June 24	End of Year Family Fiesta!
Tuesday, June 28	Last Day of School for students and teachers!

CURRICULUM UPDATES

Home Base Update from RachelleThis week, home base was condenses to prepare students for the New York State ELA exams. During morning meeting on Friday, students brainstormed the components of a community and what it would take to make our community successful. We used yarn to create a web of ideas and reflected how we, as members of our Quest community, are an integral piece to making our school runs smoothly.
Guidance Counselor Rachelle Vallon: rvallon@q2l.org

GRADE 6
From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds 6 we focused on preparing ourselves for the NYS Math Exam scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. We looked at probability, algebra and coordinate graphing as well. Students filled out a pre-test survey and received an individualized study plan for studying for the exam. Students and parents should refer to the CW6 page of the HW website for test info, tips and helpful websites. Visit: http://hmwk.q2l.org/6th-grade---codeworlds/nys6thgrademathexaminfo for more info. Practice test #2 is due on Monday.
Codeworlds 6, Alicia Iannucci: aiannucci@q2l.org

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, students were taking advantage of the dancing monkey technique and the fact that King Henry Doesn't Usually drink chocolate milk to help them convert metric units. KING ( Kilo-) HENRY (Hecto-) DOESN"T (Deca-) USUALLY (UNIT) DRINK (deci-) CHOCOLATE (centi-) MILK (milli-). Practice makes perfect when it comes to metric measurements and students have been working towards perfection all week with their metric skills. Next week we will put out knowledge to the test and play a new and exciting game developed here at Quest that allows students to apply the knowledge and skills they have gained over the past week and a half.
TWTW6, Ameer Mourad: amourad@Q2L.org

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6, students were introduced to the trimester 3 mission: To create Expo 2011--a multicultural festival that celebrates food, sports, games, clothing and dances of cultures from around the corner and around the world, including the culture of Q2L. In order to prepare for this, students are learning to use some of the "tools" that anthropologists use: examining preconceptions and, in 602, making Objective Observations. 602 used their tools this week by walking to a nearby park and recording their observations in as much detail as possible without using any opinions, judgments or assumptions. Next week 603 and 601 will have their chance to do the same.
Please contact Lara at lgerstein@q2l.org with any questions.

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6, students will explore the idea of choice in game design using a variety of media from “analog” techniques such as paper, rock, & scissors and choose your adventure to Little Big Planet on the PlayStation consoles. They have entered the Kingdom of Awesomeness!
Sports for the Mind, Lauren Gabriele: lgabriele@q2l.org.

From Ross: This week in Being, Space, and Place 6 we began our study of Ancient Greece. Students spent the first part exploring the geography of Greece and how that played a critical role in defining each city-states unique cultures and mutual distrust. We then explored the different Systems of Government present in the Greek City States between 800-400 BCE. These included Monarchy, Oligarchy, Tyranny, and Democracy. Students created systems maps that outlined the ways that GOALS, RULES, COMPONENTS, and CHALLENGES all played a part in these systems. Finally, we explored the differences between Athens and Sparta as we prepare to begin our participant observation of Ancient Sparta!
BSP 6, Ross Flatt: rflatt@q2l.org

GRADE 7

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Q-dents delved into Mission 3: Re-Imagine the Future. We were introduced to the Mission by a video message from several experts who are Change Agents in their diverse fields. We heard from radio producers, urban designers, documentarians, game designers, manufacturers, resource management specialists, and activists - all of whom share one thing in common: a desire to build a smarter and more sustainable future. The video message the students watched can be seen by clicking the link below. These Change Agent Experts asked the students at Q2L to join them in their mission. They took their first steps to becoming Change Agents by learning some of the basics of Environmental Science. Students were also inspired this week by viewing the film, The 11th Hour. They were inundated with some pretty grim prospects for the future of the planet, but were most certainly empowered to make change happen to prevent the further depletion of our planet's natural resources. Students will become Change Agents in 4 phases this trimester: Phase 1 - Teach Yourself, Phase 2 - Teach others, Phase 3 - Change yourself, Phase 4 - Change the World. Next week in TWTW students will begin Phase 1; students will choose a topic from the film to delve deeper into, choose a team to work with, use Being Me as a platform to share their goals for the Change Agent Challenge, choose a Change Agent Expert as their mentor, and will culminate in a letter to their mentor explaining what they have learned about their topic. During Phase 2 (Teach Others) students will create an interactive teaching tool based on their research. In Phase 3 (Change yourself) they will write an action plan for what they will do over the summer in their own lives to live in a more sustainable way. Phase 4 will also be addressed by an action plan, as students will compose a plan of action for how they will share their project from Phase 2 with the world! It is truly an exciting time to be in TWTW....

Video introduction of our Change Agent Mentors (compiled by Mission Lab's, Chloe):
http://pixelsinapool.com/trailer.m4v
In order to view the full interviews, students may log into their Being Me accounts and join the group, "Change Agents." In addition, Ben Pomeroy, one of our Change Agent Experts and a radio producer from Now or Never Radio ( http://noworneverradio.org/ ) visited with several TWTW students on Friday afternoon to record their imaginative ideas for dealing with the excess of Carbon Dioxide in our atmosphere. Look out for a link early next week to hear TWTW students' visions for a carbon free future!
TWTW7, Leah Hirsch: Lhirsch@q2l.org

From Lara: This week in Wellness 7, This week in Wellness 7 students in 701 & 702 had their first full yoga classes from sitting and breathing to Savasana, the resting pose. Students challenged themselves by balancing as long as they could in a 2-legged table pose that required lots of core strength and focus. Sun salutations posed another challenge while students tried to flow from one pose to the next. Students from 703 who chose yoga had their intro class this week and will have a full class next week. Those who stayed in the gym practiced basketball drills that included shooting and lay-ups.
Where is Wellness next week?
701 & 702 will have their walks to Hudson River Park, weather permitting.
703 will miss theirs this week because of testing.
Please continue to make sure that your child will be prepared for the Wellness activity they will be participating in each day. See attached for details.
Please contact Lara at lgerstein@q2l.org with any questions.

From Lauren: Students in SFTM7 will work hard over the next few weeks to bring their Stop Motion Animations to a reality. They will be creating their characters and sets, capturing frames, sound and video editing, compositing titles, and making any need tweaks for final screenable Stop Motion Animations. It’s a slow process, but constant immediate gratification!
Sports for the Mind, Lauren Gabriele: Lgabriele@q2l.org

From Limor: BSP 7, Limor Levy: Llevy@q2l.org

From Margaret: In Codeworlds 7, this week we finished up the last few remaining topics such as relative error, polynomials, and units of measurement, that are included in the current NY State 7th Grade Math Standards. We then reviewed last year's math exam and had some additional station practice of topics such as solving multi-step equations and finding the least common multiple. Students should find themselves well prepared for the state math exam next week. After the exam, we will be changing gears, and working primarily on group projects.
Codeworlds 7, Margaret Tanzosh: Mtanzosh@q2l.org

From Audrey:This week in In Codeworlds 7, students prepared for the New York State exam by reviewing concepts and strategies for the test. We began by discussing a variety of two dimensional and three dimensional shapes. Later in the week, students reviewed perfect squares and square roots. Students were given their workbooks from Math Lab for the weekend to use as resources as they complete the practice exam they were given for homework.
Audrey Geis: ageis@q2l.org

Week of April 27 - April 29, 2011

Dear Q2L Families,

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week! While we appreciate our teachers all year long, it is important to take the time to acknowledge the talent, hard work, and deep knowledge of their domain content that they bring to the classroom each and every day. I see patience and understanding in the way they interact with, support, gently correct, discipline, cajole – always mindful of the delicate “sense-of-self” of our “tweens”. It takes a special kind of person to choose to be an educator, it takes a passionate person to be a great educator, and it takes an amazing person to enjoy being an educator in a middle school!
Thank you, PTA, for offering to sponsor a Teacher Appreciation Luncheon Friday, May 6!

Note: This past week was Administrative Assistants’ Week, and we thank Adina for all of the hard work and patience she shares with us in the running of the main office… and the school! Each Home Base created a special “Thank You” card and presented them to her with a single rose each – creating a lovely bouquet for her desk. Sue Tse represented the PTA, bringing Adina breakfast and a bouquet of roses!

New York State Exam Update:
It is with confidence, nervousness, and excitement that we announce THE TIME HAS COME! The much anticipated ELA and Math exams are scheduled to take place this week and next week.
Testing will begin each morning at 9:00. It is a state mandate that no test can begin after 9:15 am, and therefore any students who arrive late to school will not be allowed to test, and will need to take the exam on a make-up schedule. Once testing is finished each morning, classes resume for the remainder of the day.
The testing schedule is as follows:

English Language Arts: Part I, Tuesday, May 3
Part II, Wednesday, May 4

Mathematics: Part I, Wednesday, May 11
Part II, Thursday, May 12

It would be awesome if families could spend some time this weekend focused on some extra studying with the kids, and maybe even practice some “read alouds” with them for the ELA exam. http://www.edinformatics.com/testing/ny.htm

Here are some testing tips for parents!

Testing Tips for Parents
1. Make sure your child gets plenty of rest the night before the test.
2. On the morning of the test, your child needs to get up in plenty of time so
he/she won't feel rushed.
3. Feed your child a good breakfast. Research shows that children do better
on tests if they have had a good breakfast. Avoid heavy foods that may make him/her groggy and avoid high sugar foods that may make him/her hyper.
4. If you are anxious about your child's test it's ok, but try to keep cool around your child, you don't want them to get anxious about their tests too.
5. Do as much as you can to make your child feel comfortable. Try not to say
things to make him/her feel more nervous.
6. Reassure your child that no matter the outcome of the test you will still love him/
her. Encourage them to simply do their best.
7. Take an active role in your child's education throughout the school year. Let your child know you are interested in his/her learning by taking part in the entire process.
8. Give your child praise even if he or she didn't do well on the test.
9. When you receive the scores, encourage your child to avoid peer comparisons.
10. Most importantly, remember that test scores on standardized exams do not determine your child's future. Scores simply highlight areas in which students are strong or need to improve, so they offer you valuable information about what further support to provide for your child. Test scores are a slim slice of the picture of your child, whose ability to succeed in life is based on a much broader range of attitudes, abilities, and opportunities.

Q2L Spring Overnight!
As announced previously, our spring over-night trip at Sharpe Reservation, in Fishkill, NY, is scheduled for May 18 and 19th. The 6th Grade will concentrate on teamwork, as we did last year, and the 7th grade will focus on team work and environmental studies. This program has come highly recommended, and provides outstanding classes and accommodations for less than half the price as the outdoor center we attended last year! In a previous iteration Leah was an instructor in the educational program, and has been able to work with the staff at Sharpe Reservation to structure an educational and fun overnight trip for us.
We will travel in coach buses, leaving from Quest at 8:00 on Wednesday morning, and returning between 3:00 and 3:30 Thursday afternoon.
The total cost is $75 per students, and includes classes (led by the trained outdoor education staff at Sharpe) Wednesday and Thursday, heated cabins, bedding, and four meals (lunch and dinner on Wednesday, breakfast and lunch on Thursday). We would like for every student to participate, so please contact Elisa to arrange for extended payments and/or financial scholarships. Information was backpacked Friday and will be followed up with permission forms to be back-packed home Monday. We are looking for parents to chaperon the trip and have fun with us!

Wellness 7, Trimester 3
From Lara: I am very excited to announce that this trimester in Wellness 7 students will have the opportunity to enjoy nearby Hudson River Park once a week and to participate in a yoga class once a week. The attached letter describes the schedule as well as the appropriate clothing and footwear that are necessary to fully participate in these activities. Student received the letter in class this week. Please sign the letter and send the bottom portion with your child on Monday if you have not already done so. If you have any questions, please email lgerstein@q2l.org. Thank you.

Short Circuit News!
Celebrate spring with a special green-focused Short Circuit, where we'll use nature to power our inventions and inspire our fun. Short Circuiters will work on design challenges and collaborative projects such as harnessing wind energy with turbines, using inks that change color with sunlight and making solar-powered robots. We'll explore new tools and techniques, tinker with “smart” wearable electronics, envision the future with 3-D modeling software and have Wednesday Code Jams with Jon. In the spirit of spring we’ll be on the move—visiting the High Line, the Parsons Festival or local design studios.
Short Circuit begins Monday May 2 from 3:30–5:30p // Family Night on Thursday, May 5 at 5:30pm
For more information: instituteofplay.org/informal-learning/short-circuit or email leah@instituteofplay.org

Institute of Play Summer Preview: Design, Art, & Code Camp
This summer, the Institute of Play will be launching a new camp where Q2L 7th and 8th graders explore and develop their interests in art, visual design or computer programming. Led by Mission Lab's Brendon Trombley and other expert designer/programmers, campers will tinker with visual design environments, create 3-D graphics and animations, or learn programming languages such as Java, HTML5, Processing or C++. The camp runs from Monday, July 25–Friday, July 29 from 2p–6p. The fee is $350. Information will be backpacked home on Monday. Registration is now open for Design, Art, Code: the camp for Q2L students interested in taking a deeper dive into graphics, visual design and programming. DOWNLOAD PDF. For more information see our information page or contact us!

From the PTA
On-Line Auction! The collection of donated items to the annual Quest On-Line Auction has begun. The on-line auction begins on May 5 and ends on May 22nd. This is the biggest fundraising event for Quest where our fundraising goal is $40,000. Please reach out to your family, friends and business contacts for donations of goods and services. Donations that bid high last year were items such as restaurant certificates, wine, beauty services (facials and dental bleaching), theatre and concert tickets, and classes. Please take multiple pictures of donated items, inside and out, to post online and send your donation forms to fundraising@q2l.org or to the Quest main office. The donation letter and form are attached. Please also contact Kathia Boisrond if you would like to volunteer to help with the On Line Auction or Spring Event (to be held on June 5th), kathia.boisrond@gmail.com.
Direct Drive - Donations for Direct Drive are ongoing and accepted throughout the school year.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Sports Update:This week the softball and baseball players practiced together on Thursday and worked on situation drills, in which players took turns in the field and as base runners. For the second half of practice the players divided up and played a set of scrimmage games.
Girls Softball: On Friday, the girls played a game against MS 223 (L 11-4). The next practice is this Monday and our next game is on Friday, May 6th against PS 136 at Baruch Field, B (start time 4:15PM). Families and students are needed to come and cheer our team on!

BREC Baseball: Depending on field and weather conditions, Q2L baseball players will get outside to practice (4:15-6PM) with the BREC baseball team at Inwood Hill Park: West 207th street, on Tuesday or Thursday of this week.
All are welcome to join practice in the gymnasium on Monday (5/2).

Math Olympiad! Math Olympiad resumes Wednesday morning, May 4! For more information, contact Alicia at aiannucci@q2l.org.

Power-Up!:
Week 8: Tuesday, May 3
Week 9: Monday, May 9 & Tuesday, May 10
For any additional information about Power Up! Feel free to contact teacher Ayana Flood at ayanaflood@hotmail.com.

Wednesday Kick-off
This week the Q2L soccer players continued soccer and had a nice workout together. The players started the practice by running through agility courses that covers both lateral and vertical movements. Next, they teamed up for a friendly goal-kick shootout, and all of the players took turns at the net. They then took a break for snack and split up into two sides to play a close, 2-1, scrimmage game for the remainder of practice.
All are welcomed to join. If interested in playing soccer on Wednesdays after school (1:30-3:300pm) please email Will: wmoyet@gmail.com.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Wednesday, May 2	Short Circuit After-School Begins
Wednesday, May 2	PTA Meeting 6:30 - 8:00
Tuesday, May 3 – May 4	NY State ELA Exam
Thursday, May 5	Short Circuit Parent’s Night
Friday, May 6	Q2L Coffee Break 9:15 - 10:00
Wednesday, May 11 – May 12	NY State Math Exam
Friday, May 13	Girl’s Softball Game! (Go, Quest!)
Wednesday, May 18 and May 19	School Trip – Hidden Valley Outdoor Ed. Center
Monday, May 30	Memorial Day (schools closed)
Sunday, June 5	Q2L Spring Festival!
Monday, June 6	PTA Meeting 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Tuesday, June 7	Middle School Half-Day (Dismissal at 11:50 am)
Thursday, June 9	Chancellor’s Conference Day (non-attendance day)
Friday, June 10	Q2L Coffee Break 9:15 am – 10:00 am
Thursday, June 16	Middle School Half-Day (Dismissal at 11:50 am)
June 20 – 27	Boss Level!
	7th Grade Exhibition Day 6/24
	6th Grade Exhibition Day 6/27
Friday, June 24	End of Year Family Fiesta!
Tuesday, June 28	Last Day of School for students and teachers!

Week of April 4 - April 8, 2011

Dear Q2L Families,

This was an exciting week at Quest: 7th graders were immersed in Small Lab for TWTW and in BSP presented beautiful and creative memorials to historical and literary elements from the Revolutionary War period and the novel “Chains”. 6th graders presented their graphic novel proposals to representatives from Pearson Publishing, and worked on their Six Flags Final Design Challenge Project. These works of creativity and demonstrations of student learning were really impressive and an amazing, uplifting way to end our second trimester!

Discovery Lab News:
This year’s Q2L Discovery Lab will be focused on Digital Citizenship. During this one-week time period, students will rotate through series of classes focusing on important skills such as how to create safe passwords, how to log-off computers in different settings safely, how to use digital media as a creative tool, and how to behave responsibly and appropriately in an online environment.

In addition, we will use this block of time as an opportunity to have a separate set of sessions for students to hone their math and test preparation skills in a workshop setting. Students will work in small groups and receive individualized learning support and attention.

Students will be immersing themselves in "Digital Citizenship" and mathematics- collaborating, creating, and learning in Discovery Lab!
To correspond with student learning, we are excited to present a workshop for adults around digital citizenship and safety!

Digital Citizenship and On-Line Safety for kids: What every adult needs to know!

Co-presented by Tali Horowitz

Education Director, Common Sense Media

www.commonsensemedia.org

Date: Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Time: 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm

Location: Quest to Learn, 4th Floor

Refreshments and raffle!

For more information contact Rachelle Vallon at rvallon@Q2L.org

We encourage everyone to participate!

A Shout Out for the Readers of the Month:
Congratulations to the following students who were publicly honored as Readers of the Month during Morning Meeting on Friday:

6th Graders	7th Graders
Lev Zetlin	Clyde Huibregtse
Ariel Franklin	Jade Bove
Connor Fitzgerald	Zakiyyah Mandisa
Mallory Phelps	Neariah Mandisa

These students have consistently demonstrated outstanding work on their independent reading throughout the year. Their photographs and book recommendations will be featured on our new Reader of the Month board outside of the school library. We look forward to highlighting the accomplishments of our other avid readers in the months ahead!

Please take this opportunity to check in with your child around his or her independent reading. All Q-dents are expected to read for at least 30 minutes every night and to complete a reading log each night. Reading logs are due on Mondays every week during morning Home base when new logs are distributed for the week. Additional reading logs are available for download from the Q2L Homework website.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Sports Update:The students began practice this week and are having a great time playing baseball and softball. On Monday, both groups of players got together for practice in the gymnasium to played a friendly scrimmage game and had a lot of fun! On Thursday, the players practiced again. They warmed up with a soft toss to loosen up their arms and then came together to go over the different positions on the field.
Girls Softball: The first game of the season is on Thursday, April 14th versus Tompkins Square Middle School. Location: 67 Mulberry Street, New York, NY 10013. The easiest way to the field is to take the subway, N or Q train to Canal Street and walk to the field. There will practice on Monday (4/11) from 3:30 to 5:30PM.

BREC Baseball: Interested baseball players are welcome to join the BREC baseball team for practice next week, on Wednesday, April 13th. The practice site is still to be determined, Inwood Hill Park (Uptown: W. 207th street) or in the school gymnasium. The team’s practice time is from 3:45 to 6PM.

Math Olympiad! This week in Math Olympiad, we had the last meeting of trimester 2. We will resume our meetings in trimester 3. There will be NO Math Olympiad meeting during Discovery Lab. Go Mathletes! For more information, contact Alicia at aiannucci@q2l.org.

Power-Up!:
Week 7: Monday, April 11 & Tuesday, April 12
Week 8: Tuesday, May 3
Week 9: Monday, May 9 & Tuesday, May 10
For any additional information about Power Up! feel free to contact teacher Ayana Flood at ayanaflood@hotmail.com.

Short Circuit: This week the Circuiters continued to prepare their projects for the Friday, April 8 Short Circuit Finale. It was wonderful to see all of the inventions and ideas come to life! It was a busy semester and productive trimester. Short Circuit welcomed a new mentor, Jon Santiago, and learned how to solder, program microcontrollers, build websites, make music, create interactive board games, work with conductive materials, invent fictional businesses and just follow their rich imaginations!

CELEBRATE SPRING WITH SHORT CIRCUIT On Monday, May 2, Short Circuit will launch it's special green-themed Spring program. Short Circuiters will work with solar panels, wind energy, light sensors and inks that change color with the sun. We'll leverage the warm weather and take Short Circuit on the road with field trips and visits to the High Line. Come learn and play with Short Circuit this Spring. More information and family night information to come!

Girl’s Jam:
The Girls Jam team would like to thank all of the great participants this trimester. You came, you discovered, you created—we had a great time working with everyone and learned a lot! Girls Jam will return in the Spring with a special series of workshops, sign up for one or for many! We will see the Q2L girls there! For more information contact Leah Gilliam at lgilliam@q2l.org.

Wednesday Kick-off
The students started their session this week with a full out soccer workout. Coach Rafael set up a course of agility stations for the players to get through that covered a variety of soccer movements; there were five stations in total. At the first station, players had to run forwards and backwards and bend to touch a set of cones. The second station, they had to sprint up a lane before coming to the third station. Once at station three they had to shuffle their feet sideways up to another cone, then backwards before reaching the fourth station, where they had to run a zigzag course inside and outside of cones. At the final fifth station they picked up a soccer ball and dribbled up and back to the starting point. The obstacle course was a full out workout and they players really enjoyed it.

After taking a break for snacks and drinks, the players divided up to play the “Soccer-House” game that they learned in the previous weeks. The objective of the game was for both teams to guard all of the soccer balls within their home goal, while acquiring their opponent’s soccer balls and gaining position of all the balls. The main focus of the game is on teamwork! All are welcomed to join. If interested in playing soccer on Wednesdays afterschool (1:30-3:300pm) please email Will: wmoyet@gmail.com.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Tuesday, April 12	School Leadership Team
Wednesday, April 13	Workshop: Digital Citizenship
Saturday, April 16 – Tuesday, April 26	Spring Break (schools closed)
Wednesday, April 27	School resumes
Wednesday, May 2	PTA Meeting 6:30 - 8:00
Tuesday, May 3 – May 4	NY State ELA Exam
Friday, May 6	Q2L Coffee Break 9:15 - 10:00
Wednesday, May 11 – May 12	NY State Math Exam
Wednesday, May 18 and May 19	School Trip – Hidden Valley Outdoor Ed. Center
Monday, May 30	Memorial Day (schools closed)

CURRICULUM UPDATES

Home Base Update from RachelleThis week in Home Base, students worked around various topics including our Japan Fundraiser, checking in on our Trimester Goals, and finishing uploads for our Back to the Future Home Base Challenge. As Trimester 2 comes to a close, we asked each student to reflect on the status of his or her goals. Home Bases assessed how much progress they had made on their goals, whether their goals needed to be modified, and what extra support they may need to ensure completion of these goals. In addition, students began working on their donation boxes that will be used for fundraising towards Japan relief efforts. Each home base will house a box and students will be challenged to bring in as many items as they can. The Home Base with the most donations will win a prize! Guidance Counselor Rachelle Vallon: rvallon@ql.org

GRADE 6
From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds 6 students were given their Six Flags Final Design Challenge Project. The project is the ultimate test of their geometrical skills: how well they take their knowledge of shapes and properties and use them creatively to design a working theme park ride. Students created project proposals, which included two or more iterations of their ride, five major shape designs and their calculations (square, rectangle, triangle, parallelogram, and circle), a description of the ride and a reflection of the work they have put in throughout the trimester. Final Projects are due into the box in my room by Monday 4/11/11 by 3:30pm. Codeworlds 6, Alicia Iannucci: aiannucci@q2l.org

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, students continued to work on preparing their debates that took place on Friday, April 8th. In their debate teams, students presented arguments intended to convince me where Fla and Mingo had crash-landed based upon the data we had received. In addition to the location, the debate teams had to make arguments for which replacement weather instruments we should send out to Fla and Mingo for their hot air balloon using their knowledge and understanding of these tools to support their claims. It has been a truly rewarding experience to watch all of the students' hard work culminate into such an amazing debate and I am looking forward to the beginning of the final mission when we return from spring break!
TWTW6, Ameer Mourad: amourad@Q2L.org

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6, we have been in tournament mode! We determined the team rosters for the second annual Q2L CUP, established team identities by creating team logos and team cheers and then played our elimination games. As of this writing, we have determined the winners of each class but do not yet know which team has won the tournament. Details to follow!
Please contact Lara at lgerstein@q2l.org with any questions.

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6, students reflected about their learning experience with Quest 5: Atmosphir- Space & Narrative Connection -My New York City Game Design Challenge. Afterwards, they participated in The Exhibition Game Jam.
Sports for the Mind, Lauren Gabriele: lgabriele@q2l.org.

From Ross: This week in Being, Space, and Place 6 we wrapped up our "Graphic History" mission with a visit from Pearson Publishing! Professional editors Joan Mazzeo, Frank Tangredi, and Sheila Ramsay of Pearson came in to view the student's comic proposals. In an intense round robin session, each editor spent 10 minutes with student groups to give them feedback on design, social studies, and writing. The hard work and dedication that students put into this project certainly showed today. The Pearson team, as well as myself, were incredibly impressed with the students' professionalism during the presentations, as well as their overall enthusiasm. What a great end to a great trimester!
BSP 6, Ross Flatt: rflatt@q2l.org

GRADE 7

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Q-dents completed their second Mission by playing the prototype of the Gametix game, EvoQuest for SMALLab. The SMALLab technical team was quite impressed by the high level of knowledge our students came in with about genetics and natural selection. In addition to game reviews on EvoQuest, Gametix also sent the students a cumulative Knowledge Inventory. The purpose of this inventory is to find out how well students retained the complex science content we learned about throughout the Mission while helping Gametix design Evoquest. Next trimester, we will be changing the world.... TWTW7, Leah Hirsch: Lhirsch@q2l.org.

From Lara: This week in Wellness 7, This week in Wellness 7 our apprentice Peer Advisors had their first go at giving advice to other tweens with real life questions on Tweenline Q. There were a few questions on the website about subjects we had covered this trimester, self-esteem, media literacy, body image and many many questions about the intricacies of friendships. We were thrilled to see the respect, insight and confidence with which students advised their peers. Those who completed all of the requirements will receive a Certificate of Peer Advising next week.
Please contact Lara at lgerstein@q2l.org with any questions.

From Lauren: This week in SFTM 7students continued with their preparation for Quest 3: Stop Motion Animation. They tinkered with creating settings and characters. Many of them using clay.
Sports for the Mind, Lauren Gabriele: Lgabriele@q2l.org

From Limor: This week in BSP 7, we closed off the trimester by focusing on memorials. We analyzed and critically discussed the meanings behind memorials that exist in society today; looking at Mount Rushmore, the Anasi slave memorial, the Vietnam memorial and the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Athens. We also listened to and discussed memorials in the form of a song, listening to Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" and Puff Daddy's "I'll Be Missing You". We came to the conclusion, that regardless of medium, every aspect of a memorial is created with reason. The colors, the size, the placement, the shape, the words, the location, the materials, the audience, and the message - everything is taken into account. We came together as groups to brainstorm who, both fictionally from our class novel, "Chains" and from our historical teachings, deserved to be remembered and memorialized. We also brainstormed events and groups of people that were important to remember. Students worked individually to plan out their memorials, and once they got teacher approval, we got to work! Students worked on their memorials in class and at home, and some dedicated students even came in before/after-school and during their lunch periods! At the end of the week, each class held an exhibition to share their works. Both students and adults were blown away by the creativity, deep thought and amazing explanations that the 7th graders provided and created. Some examples of projects were thoughtful clay sculptures, symbolic baked goods and food items, touching poems, historical raps, original composed songs played on string instruments, beautiful, purposeful jewelry, creative Lego sculptures, well researched movies, electronic drawings, cool sketches set to music, accurate re-stagings of battles using action figures, symbolic bouquets of flowers, charcoal drawings and many, many more. Check out just a few of the amazing projects. What an excellent end to the trimester!
BSP 7, Limor Levy: Llevy@q2l.org

From Margaret: In Codeworlds 7, we are exactly on target in covering the 7th grade curriculum in order to prepare students for the upcoming NY State Math Exam. We completed probability and statistics this week and ended the week with a test on these topics. When students return from the Spring Break we will study Measurement and Estimation, which is the only remaining topic that students need to know for the exam. Next week, I will make available an optional extra credit project to be done over the break, for students who want the opportunity to improve their homework grade.
Codeworlds 7, Margaret Tanzosh: Mtanzosh@q2l.org

From Audrey:This week in In Codeworlds 7, students worked on expanding their knowledge of geometric figures. First students worked on mystery rectangles where they were given the area or perimeter and the value for one side of the figure and they had to figure out the other side using their algebra skills. For the remainder of the week, students explored surface area and volume through a cube exploration and word problems.
Audrey Geis: ageis@q2l.org

Week of March 28 - April 1, 2011

Dear Q2L Families,

We are excited to announce the first annual Q2L Discovery Lab. Similar to a Boss Level, Discovery Lab asks students to dive deep into an issue that is important and relevant for our community. As part of their work, they will apply their learning to create an original project to share with the community.

This year’s Q2L Discovery Lab will be focused on Digital Citizenship. During this one-week time period, students will rotate through series of classes focusing on the following three core ideas:
How do we protect ourselves in an online environment and why is that important?
How do we use digital media as a tool for creativity?
How can we participate responsibly as digital citizens?

Students will be learning important skills such as how to create safe passwords, how to log-off computers in different settings safely, how to use digital media as a creative tool, and how to behave responsibly and appropriately in an online environment.

Moving forward, Discovery Lab will replace Boss Level 2 between trimesters 2 and 3, but we will continue to have a Boss Level every December and June. We view this as an important and needed change for Q2L so that we will have a dedicated time each year to address issues that are important and relevant for our community.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us. In addition, please mark your calendars: on the evening of Wednesday, April 13th we will hold an informational session for Q2L parents and guardians on the topic of how to be safe and responsible online. We will send out more information as the date approaches.

Sincerely, Elisa, Arana, &Rebecca

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Sports Update: Let’s play ball! The spring season is here and it is time for baseball and softball. At morning meeting on Friday an announcement was made to all students about joining the BREC baseball team and girls’ softball team. Students were given permission slips, also attached below, to take home. If you child is interested in playing please return the permission slip as soon as possible. If you have any questions you may contact Will by email: wmoyet@q2l.org.
Girls Softball: Calling all girls to join the Q2L Girls Softball team, which is a part of the NYC Softball League. This is a terrific opportunity for Q2L girls to take part in sports and have a ton of fun!
BREC Baseball: Q2L will be collaborating with the BREC Baseball Titans, a renowned NYC
baseball team, to give boys an opportunity to train, work with and learn baseball. BREC baseball is a communal school campus team.

Girl’s Jam! This week in Girl Jam we took a break from building circuits and lighting LEDs to play Dance Dance Revolution. The girls also explored web-based design tools and drawing with digital pens and tablets, and the Creative Corner of the smartgirl.org website. The website is run by the Women in Science and Engineering Program at the University of Michigan and designed for girls by girls. We hope that Girl Jammers can create and share content on the site in the future.

Math Olympiad! For more information, contact Alicia at aiannucci@q2l.org.

Power-Up!:
Week 6: Tuesday, April 5
Week 7: Monday, April 11 & Tuesday, April 12
Week 8: Tuesday, May 3
Week 9: Monday, May 9 & Tuesday, May 10
For any additional information about Power Up! feel free to contact teacher Ayana Flood at ayanaflood@hotmail.com.

iTeam:So, that’s how it works… the Q2L ITeamer’s took time this week to watch a video clip on building computers from scratch. In the video, there was a computer technician who guided his audience step by step through the process used for building a new computer. Students learned about things like software versus hardware versus firmware. In essence, software is a computers program (i.e. Microsoft office), hardware is the physical components (i.e. keyboard), and firmware is much like the DNA behind the software that instructs the computer on what to do.

For more information, contact Rich at rbowman@ql.org or Will at wmoyet@q2l.org.

Short Circuit: This week, Short Circuit continued to focus on project for next Friday's Short Circuit Finale. There is a wide selection of projects, everything from lanterns to games to interactive websites. Please join us on Friday and see what Short Circuit has been working on.
For more information contact Leah Gilliam at lgilliam@q2l.org.

Wednesday Kick-off
This week the Q2L soccer players began the session by playing a new game. Coach Rafael split the players into two sides and played a game with them that focused on teamwork. The objective of the game was for both teams to guard all of the soccer balls within their home goal, while acquiring their opponent’s soccer balls and gaining position of all twelve balls. In the second half of the practice they played a scrimmage game. Coach Rafael added an element to the game awarding a penalty kick to the opposing team anytime a player committed a foul or if a player defended a goal within the goalkeepers box. The game came down to the wire and ended in a thrilling 3-2 finish. All are welcomed to join. If interested in playing soccer on Wednesdays afterschool (1:30-3:300pm) please email Will: wmoyet@gmail.com.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday, April 4	PTA Meeting 6:30 – 8:00 pm
Friday, April 8	Q2L Parent Coffee Break
Saturday, April 16 – Tuesday, April 26	Spring Break (schools closed)
Wednesday, April 27	School resumes
Tuesday, May 3 – May 4	NY State ELA Exam
Wednesday, May 11 – May 12	NY State Math Exam
Wednesday, May 18 and May 19	School Trip – Hidden Valley Outdoor Ed. Center
Monday, May 30	Memorial Day (schools closed)

CURRICULUM UPDATES

Home Base Update from RachelleThis week, Home Bases put the finishing touches on their Back to the Future Home Base Challenge! Projects range from understanding creativity, to a movie featuring a cowboy; from a rap song to collages. Home Bases have uploaded their creations to Being Me this Friday and a winner will be announced next week! Log onto Being Me with your student to check it out!

Next week, Home Bases will begin work around our Japan fundraisers: Restaurant for a Day and Donation Box Competition. In restaurant for a day, students will participate in a lunch- provided by family donations- complete with a menu, waiters, and other restaurant-style components. In addition, donation boxes will be distributed to each Home Base. Students will be able to decorate them and decide what type of donation their Home Base will make. Students will be given an allotted time to make as many donations as possible. The Home Base with the most donations wins a prize!!

Also please note! (drum roll, please) Peer Mediation is here!! During Morning Meeting this Friday, students received applications for the Peer Mediation program. Applications are due NO LATER than this Monday, April 4th. In addition to answering several questions and obtaining a Quest Staff signature, students must also obtain the signature of one parent. Your signature means that you understand the responsibility and commitment needed to be a Peer Mediator and you feel your child embodies that qualities and characteristics of becoming a successful mediator. After applications are submitted, students will be selected to participate in a Mediation Workshop on Wednesday, April 6th. After Wednesday's informational, students will be selected to participate in the Peer Mediation program.
Guidance Counselor Rachelle Vallon: rvallon@ql.org

GRADE 6
From Alicia: Codeworlds 6, Alicia Iannucci: aiannucci@q2l.org

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, students began preparing for their final quest and debate next week. Students have analyzed the data sent to them by Fla and Mingo and are narrowing down the search field by comparing the data they have to the known weather conditions in the region. During the crash, some of the weather instruments in their hot air balloon were damaged and once we have located their crash site, we will have to figure out of the choices we have in class, which are they best instruments to send over to Fla and Mingo. There are two packets started in class this week that must be finished by next week if they have not already been completed. TWTW6, Ameer Mourad at amourad@Q2L.org

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6, students stepped into the role of sportscaster. They recorded themselves with Flipcams sportscasting while watching soccer in many forms: highlights from the Brazil vs. Netherlands game on DVD; a Superfooty game played by classmates and an Offense/Defense game with an actual soccer ball. Students also completed a very important Team Building assignment where they identified their own strengths and weaknesses as soccer players, logo designers and cheer designers. Their task then was to be as persuasive as possible about why certain people should be on their team. The best reasons? Ones that show their understanding of the Q2L Value, Diversity Creates Balance. In the gym we continued to practice 5 on 5 soccer in preparation for the play-offs next week. Over the weekend, students in 602 & 603 should be designing a first draft of a soccer team logo to be prepared for creating their official team logo next week. Please write to lgerstein@q2l.org with any questions.

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6, students finished working on Quest 5: Atmosphir- Space & Narrative Connection -My New York City Game Design Challenge. They should have emailed a link and screenshot image of their MY NYC Level to Lauren. There are some amazing levels. Have your child share what they designed with you. Next week, they will be creating postcards for their MY NYC levels.
Sports for the Mind, Lauren Gabriele: lgabriele@q2l.org.

From Ross: This was an exciting week for Being, Space, and Place 6! Students were introduced to their final quest: Graphic History. Students will work in groups to propose a comic series (complete with a cover letter, script, sample artwork, and a professional package) On Monday, we had a conference call with three professional editos from Pearson Publishing. They spoke to the students about the importance of meeting deadlines, working with groups, and narrowing down lots of ideas into one focused assignment. Students then worked in their new groups to make their comic ideas come to life. On Friday, PTA President and comic creator Joel Rose came in to give students real-world advise about how to make their comics even more professional. Over the weekend, students should be finishing pages, editing scripts and cover letters, and working on how to package their final product. The Pearson editors will be here to assess student work next Thursday, April 7th. BSP 6, Ross Flatt: rflatt@q2l.org

GRADE 7

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Q-dents play-tested prototypes of EvoQuest, the card game! It was absolutely fantastic to hear gleeful cries of, "YES! I got a recessive trait - and there was only a 25% chance of that!" or "Hey! You can't get that many energy points, you have have not evolved the right adaptations yet!" I want to give a special shout out to Claudio and Shula from Mission Lab for helping to make EvoQuest, the card game, possible.

Early next week we will be playing Evoquest SMALLab - a scenario set up for the students in which they will be examining Natural Selection in a virtual space. In addition, at the end of next week, students will be taking a final knowledge inventory in order to assess if playing and designing EvoQuest helped the students learn about genetics and evolution. Study guides will be passed out early in the week, but if your student wants to get a head start, topics to be covered are: Cell Division, Mitosis, Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration, Asexual Reproduction, Heredity, Punnett Squares, the structure of DNA, and Natural Selection - they should use their binders and their notebooks for reference. TWTW7, Leah Hirsch: Lhirsch@q2l.org

From Lara: This week in Wellness 7, 702 & 703 took the teacher out of the equation and had a class discussion using a "talking ball" which gives the power of speech to only one person at a time and gives the power of listening to everyone else in the room. Speakers chose the next person to toss it to when they were finished expressing their idea. The topics? How does knowing your values help you to give advice? Why is it important to know what you believe? And, How do you listen to something you don't agree with? This prepared us to share our Statements of Belief in small groups. 701 travelled to stations in groups to prepare for their Statement of Belief assignment, which is due on Tuesday. Next week students will be completing their requirements to become Certified Peer Advisors for Tweenline Q. The requirements include: All eight journal assignments, a Statement of Belief, and a signed pledge to advise with respect, etc. All make-up assignments can be found on the homework website. Please write to lgerstein@q2l.org with any questions. Please contact Lara with any questions at lgerstein@q2l.org

From Lauren: This week in SFTM 7students continued with their preparation for Quest 3: Stop Motion Animation. They were put in groups, chose narratives, figured out their characters and settings, created a materials list and began tinkering with GarageBand and iMovie.
Sports for the Mind, Lauren Gabriele: Lgabriele@q2l.org

From Limor: This week in BSP 7, we worked hard on completing the writing process. Students had focused on revising their own pieces, and were paired up with a peer editor for the next step. The peer editing groups had specific checklists to catch commonly made errors such as quoting literary proof incorrectly, confusing homophones, verb tenses, capitalization of proper nouns, paragraphing and proper usage of punctuation. Editors were also responsible for writing out recommendations and commendations for their author's work. We then finished the week off by publishing our pieces electronically. Students worked within Googledocs to follow specific restrictions as to spacing, titling, font size and style to complete their literary responses. The BSP students are moving onto a new and final quest for the mission, but they do have time before the final due date. Dates are listed by class on the homework website. Parents, if you have an opportunity, please read your student's essay; their hard work should be celebrated!
BSP 7, Limor Levy: Llevy@q2l.org

From Margaret: This week in Codeworlds 7, we continued working on probability and statistics. Students played "The Caterpillar Game" designed by Chloe, in which they kept track of sums of the rolls of two number cubes, and created a double bar graph comparing the experimental probability (based on the game) to the theoretical probability of rolling each sum. We did an activity to demonstrate the probability of dependent events, and used out data to create a circle graph. Next week we will finish up probability and statistics, including looking at measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode). There will be a test coming up on probability and statistics next Friday. Codeworlds 7, Margaret Tanzosh: Mtanzosh@q2l.org

Week of March 21 - March 25, 2011

Dear Q2L Families,

Our spring over-night trip at Sharpe Reservation, in Fishkill, NY, is scheduled for May 18 and 19th. The 6th Grade will concentrate on teamwork, as we did last year, and the 7th grade will focus on environmental studies. The cost for classes Wednesday and Thursday, cabins, bedding, and four meals is $75 per student. This program has come highly recommended, and provides outstanding classes and accommodations for less than half the price as the outdoor center we attended last year! In a previous iteration Leah was an instructor in the educational program, and has been able to work with the staff at Sharpe Reservation to structure an educational and fun overnight trip for us. Thank you, Leah! Information and permission forms will be back-packed home this week. We are looking for parents to chaperon and have fun with us!

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Sports Update: Batter up!!!! Many have expressed interest and we hope more will come out to PLAY softball and baseball…. the girls team begins their season in April and boys BREC baseball team has their first game of the season on Wednesday this week (3/30/11). If your child is interested in playing on the Q2L Girls Softball or practicing with the BREC Baseball team then email Will: wmoyet@q2l.org.

Girls Softball: Calling all girls to join the Q2L Girls Softball team, which is a part of the NYC Softball League. This is a terrific opportunity for Q2L girls to take part in sports and have a ton of fun! Many of the Q2L girls played last year, as part of the communal campus team with PS 347, and we cannot wait to show everyone how good we will be this year.

BREC Baseball: Q2L will be collaborating with the BREC Baseball Titans, a renowned NYC baseball team, to give boys an opportunity to train, work with and learn baseball. BREC baseball is a communal school campus team. Players will practice at least one day a week at the Inwood Hill Park, or school gymnasium when weather does not permit, and attend BREC baseball games in order to build essential skills and incorporate Q2L baseball players for when they are of high school age and able to join the team. Contact Will at wmoyet@q2l.org if you are interested.

Math Olympiad!
This week in Math Olympiad, we all worked together in a new method of working through problems one-by-one as pairs and in a large group. Our meeting was very successful because we worked together and pushed each other think in new ways. The scores for this year's contests have been tallied and distributed to M.O. leaders and will be given out in the next few weeks. Prizes should come in mid-May to early June. Our next meeting is Wednesday at 7:45am! Go Mathletes!
For more information, contact Alicia at aiannucci@q2l.org.

Math Power
Math Power is canceled for this Monday, March 28. The rest of the week will follow the usual schedule. Sorry for any inconvenience this change may cause.
6th Grade Math Power is on Monday and Thursday. Contact Pierre (PDizon@Q2L.org) for more information. 7th Grade Math Power is on Monday and Tuesday. Contact Audrey (AGeis@q2l.org) with any other Math Power questions.

Power-Up!: This week Power Up! is cancelled on Monday and will resume Tuesday. For any additional information about Power Up! feel free to contact teacher Ayana Flood at ayanaflood@hotmail.com.

iTeam: We’ve all worked on computers, but not everyone has physically opened a computer… this week the ITeam students got to actually open up one of the school’s Macbook laptops. They students were captivated when Richard showed them how the inside of the computer looked. The ITeam’ers learned the name as well as how the different components in the computer worked and the function: RAM (random application memory), CPU (Central Processing Unit), disc drive, fan, heat sink, keyboard jack, and intergraded video. They ended the group session by splitting up and facing off in two teams in a trivia challenge, The ITeamers all had to point out each of the components, named by Richard, in order to score team points. All of the students answered of the review questions correctly and the challenge finished in tie breaker The Q2L ITeamer’s (Information Technologist) have unlocked and learned the basic components of computers; next they will begin their creation by designing a newly created computer.
For more information, contact Rich at rbowman@ql.org or Will at wmoyet@q2l.org.

Short Circuit: This week, Short Circuiters began work on their projects for the Short Circuit Festival on Friday, April 8 at 5pm. Short Circuit looks and feels like a real design studio, with participants collaborating, working individually and brainstorming. Projects include: website design, felts toys with LEDs and speakers; interactive lamps and interactive games that use Arduino micro-controllers. Please come by on April 8 and see the great work the Short Circuit students have been doing this semester.
For more information contact Leah Gilliam at lgilliam@q2l.org.

Wednesday Kick-off
The Q2L soccer players started the session with a specialized warm-up, which focused on soccer fundamentals like body position and directional kicking. Afterwards, they played numerous games of “Soccer-Tennis.” The rules of the game: two passes and three hits per possession (no repeated bounces) with any part of the body and players are allowed to use any part of their body. They then finished the session by playing a competitive 4-2 game; decided by penalty kicks. It was another fun day of soccer. All are welcomed to join. If interested in playing soccer on Wednesdays afterschool (1:30-3:300pm) please email Will: wmoyet@gmail.com.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday, April 11	PTA Meeting 6:30 – 8:00 pm
Friday, April 8	Q2L Parent Coffee Break
Saturday, April 16 – Tuesday, April 26	Spring Break (schools closed)
Wednesday, April 27	School resumes
Tuesday, May 3 – May 4	NY State ELA Exam
Wednesday, May 11 – May 12	NY State Math Exam
Wednesday, May 18 and May 19	School Trip – Hidden Valley Outdoor Ed. Center
Monday, May 30	Memorial Day (schools closed)

CURRICULUM UPDATES

Home Base Update from RachelleThis week in Home Base, students got to work on their Back to the Future Home Base Challenge. After accidentally getting sent to the future during play testing, Leah G warned students about the dangers of not being prepared as a Home Base to find their way back to the future. Students identified strengths for their Home Base that would be essential for working together and then identified a platform in which they would present these traits. Home Bases chose from Being Me blogs, collages, videos, and narratives. Next week, Home Bases will place the finishing touches on their projects to be submitted by Friday. The winning Home Base will earn a special prize!
Guidance Counselor Rachelle Vallon: rvallon@ql.org

GRADE 6
From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds 6, we looked at the next part of our Six Flags theme park: the roller coaster! The very foundation of every roller coaster is a strong triangle, taken from a square or rectangle. We then took a look at some of our favorite coasters, and through many great discussions and questionings, we discovered the area equation of any triangle (A = 1/2 x base x height). It even works for ANY triangle, given a base and height. Students have been asked to bring in ONE cylindrical object that can be measured (some good examples are: canned goods, toilet paper rolls/paper towel rolls, empty soda cans, empty cookie tins, oats tins, etc). Students should be working on their triangle area homework and finding a perfect cylinder to bring in for Thursday 3/31. Codeworlds 6, Alicia Iannucci: aiannucci@q2l.org

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, students finished their Weathernator Instrument panel and they look awesome! The Weathernator is the instrument panel inside Fla and Mingo's hot air balloon! Prior to building the panel, students conducted many labs that required them to explore and understand how these tools work, and how they measure aspects of the weather. Students then built their own thermometers, barometers and anemometers and attached them to their panel to get an idea of what Fla and Mingo are dealing with on their travels across the world. Next week students will begin the final quest for the trimester assessing all of the skills and knowledge they have acquired throughout the trimester. TWTW6, Ameer Mourad at amourad@Q2L.org

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6, we've been honing our soccer skills to be ready for the upcoming Q2L Cup! Students have been trying out different positions on the field: offense, defense and goalie and have been playing in a variety of team groupings. We watched some highlights from the most recent World Cup, wrote scripts for a sportscast and videotaped ourselves as sportscasters. In 601 we talked about the Q2L value "Diversity Creates Balance" and how that relates to teamwork--if everyone can only play goalie, then the team is not strong. Teammates have to have different strengths in order to make a really good team.
Please contact Lara with any questions at lgerstein@q2l.org

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6, students continue to work on Quest 5: Atmosphir- Space & Narrative Connection -My New York City Game Design Challenge. Most are designing and playtesting their MY NYC levels while answering the questions: What are the core mechanics of your level? How do the core mechanics of your level connect & guide your player through the narrative of your NYC space? Sports for the Mind, Lauren Gabriele: lgabriele@q2l.org.

From Ross: This week in Being, Space and Place 6, we wrapped up the first phase of our Mission by taking an assessment on Ancient Egypt. Parents, if you're curious to see how your child did, please feel free to email me. Later, we began the first part of our final mission - a comic proposal to Pearson Publishing. Students brainstormed ideas for comics, narrowed down those brainstorms to a final choice. Over the weekend, students should be working on their individual proposals for their comic idea. Next week, students will have phone conferences with 3 professionals from Pearson as well as form groups for their official comics and proposals!
BSP 6, Ross Flatt: rflatt@q2l.org

GRADE 7

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Q-dents finished off Quest 4 (The Structure of DNA) with a quick assessment of their understanding on the amazing molecule that carries the code for life. We then began Quest 5 with a look at how genetic variation plays into natural selection and how natural selection drives evolution. We paid tribute to Charles Darwin in a project called, "The Principles of Natural Selection," in which students were asked to use illustrations to show their understanding of the 5 principles of Natural Selection developed by Darwin. Next week we will continue to examine how natural selection is the driving force behind evolution through several hands-on labs as well as several virtual simulations. We are still keeping our fingers crossed that Gametix will send their game EvoQuest in time for us play-test before the end of the trimester!
TWTW7, Leah Hirsch: Lhirsch@q2l.org

From Lara: This week in Wellness 7, students in 702 & 703 were immersed in "Statements of Beliefs" about friendship in order to inspire them to be able to write/create their own. 701 missed their double period this week because of testing. Students heard an essay read by Howard White (former basketball star, now VP at Nike) on "This I Believe", a radio show on NPR; Read a "This I Believe" essay by a teenage girl; examined results of a survey of beliefs about friendship in which they had participated; and reflected on their own experience in search of a defining moment that may have changed their beliefs. Their original Statement of Belief is due next week. In the gym, we're making up some missed Fitnessgram tests and once again playing Ultimate Frisbee and Frisbee golf. Please contact Lara with any questions at lgerstein@q2l.org

From Lauren: This week in SFTM 7students continued with their preparation for Quest 3: Stop Motion Animation. They wrote a rough short narrative and storyboarded their narrative into images to help them translate their ideas into images. They also watched Nightmare Before Christmas for additional inspiration and knowledge for this quest.
Sports for the Mind, Lauren Gabriele: Lgabriele@q2l.org

From Limor: This week in BSP 7, the most exciting event was going on a trip downtown to the African Burial Grounds! We learned a lot about how the cemetery was re-discovered and the huge conflict that took place at that time. We watched a video, walked through a hands-on exhibit and saw the symbolic memorial and actual burial site outdoors. The 7th graders were able to make connection between our Revolutionary War novel set in NYC, "Chains" and the actual burial grounds where some of our characters would have been buried. We followed up the trip with a reflection piece. 7th graders spent the rest of the week getting close to their goals of finishing their literary essays! We worked on developing the body of our essay by stating our chosen characters and the types of powers they held. We cemented this idea by finding supportive literary proof from the novel and used proper citations to include this into our response. Our essays are coming along really well!
BSP 7, Limor Levy: Llevy@q2l.org

From Margaret: This week in Codeworlds 7, we began a new unit on Probability. Students performed their own experiments by rolling number cubes, and spinning spinners, and used their data to calculate experimental probabilities. We contrasted this to theoretical probability, which is determined mathematically. Students learned to create tree diagrams of all possible outcomes to use as a basis for theoretical probability of multiple events. Next week we are playing the "Caterpillar Game", designed by Chloe, which will utilize probability of rolling certain number combinations, as a key strategy. We will then move on to Statistics. Please note there is a new Homework Policy in Codeworlds 7: Homework must be handed in on the date it is due for credit. Late Homework will only be accepted if a student is absent or sick, in which the student will have one extra day after their return to submit. Homework gives student practice in skills learned that day, and prepares them for class the following day. When done late, it looses much of its value.
Codeworlds 7, Margaret Tanzosh: Mtanzosh@q2l.org

From Audrey:This week students worked on expanding their knowledge of geometric terms and figures. Students worked to compare figures with the same area but different perimeters and explored the relationship between the two. Students played a game called Island Conquest where they competed against each other to use their tiles to create the figure with the biggest area and perimeter. Students ended the week by solving word problems related to finding area and perimeter. Learning Strategist, Audrey Geis: ageis@q2l.org

Week of March 14 - March 18, 2011

Dear Q2L Families,

Yesterday we held our first Q2L Invitational Challenge for approximately 120 prospective incoming 6th graders. Our goal was to give them a taste of teaching and learning “Q2L style” and to see how they interacted with us and with each other. Activities centered around communication, collaboration, and problem-solving. The students were enthusiastic and immediately “got onto the game!” Thank you to our amazing Quest faculty and to the Q2L parents and students who supported the day, acting as guides and ambassadors! Also, thanks, PTA, for supplying coffee and donuts! The day was fun and gave us great insight into the students who will be our new 6th graders!

To continue our conversation about digital citizenship, here are some links from Facebook with important tips on safety:

For parents:
http://www.facebook.com/help/?safety=parents

For students:
http://www.facebook.com/help/?safety=teens

This site lets you test how “strong” your passwords are:
http://howsecureismypassword.net/

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Sports Update: Swing, batter- batter, swing!
Spring is near and Quest to Learn is in gear for softball and baseball! Q2L is excited to offer boys and girls a chance to participate in athletics and to be a part of the Q2L Girls Softball team and BREC Baseball team.

Girl’s Jam! This week during Girls' Jam, the keywords were à la carte! The girls were offered several different activities to choose from and tried a little of everything—creating felt chokers and bracelets that light up when you snap them closed, weaving with small cardboard looms and exploring the variety of stitches on the new Girls Jam sewing machine. There were also several examples of peer-based learning, with girls going off-menu—teaching one another new skills or starting a brand new project of their own devising.

Girls' Jam remains open to all Q2L girls and we encourage all girls to visit at least once! Wednesdays 1:30-3:30pm either in Lauren's room or the library.

Math Olympiad!
This week in Math Olympiad, we worked on even more practice problems to challenge our mathematical minds! Students worked hard to solve at least 3 problems each, depending on their personal interests. Mathletes were challenging each other with different answers and worked to prove their answers to one another. Our next meeting will be Wednesday March 23rd at 7:45am! Go Mathletes! For more information, contact Alicia at aiannucci@q2l.org.

Math Power
6th Grade Math Power is on Monday and Thursday. Contact Pierre (PDizon@Q2L.org) for more information. 7th Grade Math Power is on Monday and Tuesday. Contact Audrey (AGeis@q2l.org) with any other Math Power questions.

Power-Up!: This week Power Up! is on Tuesday. For any additional information about Power Up! feel free to contact teacher Ayana Flood at ayanaflood@hotmail.com.

iTeam: This week the students in the ITeam group got an inside look of everything technology related at Q2L. As Richard explained, they got the inside scoop on “life of ITeamers” by taking a technology tour around Quest. On their journey around the school grounds the ITeamers visited various technology stations. At each of the places they visited, the students discussed the various components and core mechanics of the objects they examined. The first stop on tour was the Coordinator’s Office, where the ITeamers talked about the school’s airports, which provide Wifi and allow users to broadcast information wirelessly. Second, they stopped in Limor’s BSP7 domain to see how the projectors in the domain rooms work. On the third stop, they went to the Main Office, where they talked about scanners and how this device allows users to transfer printable files. Next, the ITeamers dropped by Leah’s TWTW7 domain to learn how the Smartboards in the school work. Lastly, they visited Lauren’s SFTM domain to talk about the school’s laptop carts. At each of the stations the students took a minute to talk about the importance of the space they were in while learning how to use and troubleshoot whenever things malfunctioned. Next week, the ITeamers will begin opening up and tinkering with an old HP desktop to learn what it will it take to build their very own PC computer. For more information, contact Rich at rbowman@ql.org or Will at wmoyet@q2l.org.

Short Circuit: Short Circuit devoted several workshops to reviewing the tools and technologies participants have been exploring to date. Activities included watching videos and discussing creative projects that have used micro-controllers, motors and other now familiar tools. Using this approach, the Short Circuiters were able to develop a new context for their work and ideas. The sessions ended with students brainstorming final project ideas and presenting them to the group. Students also made music with Scratch and explored a new programming language—Processing. The Short Circuit Trimester Finale will be held Friday, April 8. Please save the date and see what's been happening after school this trimester!
For more information contact Leah Gilliam at lgilliam@q2l.org.

Wednesday Kick-off
This week the kids in the recreational soccer program started with an exercise that focused on proper footwork and lateral movement on the field. Coach Rafael used a drill in which all of the players stood in a straight line, two steps apart, at the front of the gymnasium and progressively worked their way to the back of the gymnasium, one at a time. The players took turns moving the line upward by shuffling their feet side-to-side and inside-and-outside the players in the line. They then upped the ante by doing the drill in reverse. Afterward, they split up into two teams and played a fun game. In the game both teams had six soccer balls in their house and the objective of the game was to get all twelve soccer balls inside their own house. It was an exciting day of soccer!
All are welcome to join us. If your child is interested please email Will: wmoyet@q2l.org.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday, April 11	PTA Meeting 6:30 – 8:00 pm
Friday, April 8	Q2L Parent Coffee Break
Saturday, April 16 – Tuesday, April 26	Spring Break (schools closed)
Wednesday, April 27	School resumes
Tuesday, May 3 – May 4	NY State ELA Exam
Wednesday, May 11 – May 12	NY State Math Exam
Wednesday, May 18 and May 19	School Trip – Hidden Valley Outdoor Ed. Center
Monday, May 30	Memorial Day (schools closed)

CURRICULUM UPDATES

Home Base Update from RachelleThis week in Home Base, students were introduced to a Back to the Future Home Base Challenge!!! During Monday's morning meeting, students were surprised to find out that members from Institute of Play accidentally travelled to the future during play testing! While there, Leah and Chloe- among other IOP staff- had difficulty knowing what tools they needed to work together to get back to Quest to Learn 2011. Leah thought it would be a great idea to share this with our Q-dents and have them work on building Home Base strengths that will help them should they ever find themselves "Back in the Future"!

For our first part of the challenge, Home Bases created character playing cards. They came up with five traits about themselves. After splitting into small groups, each person was only allowed to deal 2 of these cards. It was then up to each group to decide what trait was the most important to have. With these collected traits, each Home Base was able to create a list of strengths needed that would help their group work together and stand the test of time!

In addition to our challenge, we spent some time discussing the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Each Home Base was asked to think of fundraisers to raise money for relief efforts. During Friday's Morning Meeting, each Home Base shared their number one fundraiser idea. Students received a list of fundraising ideas that they will rank in order of preference. During Monday's morning meeting, students will vote between the top three ideas. Stay tuned...
Guidance Counselor Rachelle Vallon: rvallon@ql.org

GRADE 6
From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds 6, we investigated multiplying fractions and mixed numbers, converting between mixed numbers and improper fractions, and began looking at how dividing fractions really works. We are preparing for our next challenge of our Six Flags project, which will involve all of our knowledge and experience with fractions. We will be looking further into dividing fractions and working on our new project next week. Students should be practicing their fractions skills, along with working on their multiplying mixed numbers homework and their dividing homework. Codeworlds 6, Alicia Iannucci: aiannucci@q2l.org

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, students began to explore new ways to analyze the data they have been collecting in the classroom. When presented with a set of data, students are now able to calculate the mean, median, mode and range for that data set. Alongside learning how to analyze data in a new way, students began to create their weather stations for Fla and Mingo. Using their knowledge of the weather and the tools we use to measure it, this project requires students to put together an instrument panel that simulates Fla & Mingo's instrument panel in their hot air balloon.
TWTW 6, Ameer Mourad: amourad@q2l.org

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6, we finished up our FitnessGram assessments (make ups will happen within the next couple of weeks) and started on Quest 4 My Roles/Our Relationships. Students started playing 5 on 5 soccer (602 played the pinnie game) with students in offense and defensive positions. While students play this week, they have been asked to reflect on their own soccer strengths and weaknesses so that next week we can use that information to design "perfect teams" for themselves to play on for the upcoming Q2L Cup.
Please contact Lara with any questions at lgerstein@q2l.org

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6,students continued with their preparation for Quest 5: Atmosphir- Space & Narrative Connection -My New York City Game Design Challenge. They researched images of spaces/places in New York City they love, explained why they love these spaces/places, wrote a short narrative about their New York City, and storyboarded their narrative into images to help them translate their ideas into images for executing their NYC level in Atmosphir.
Sports for the Mind, Lauren Gabriele: lgabriele@q2l.org.

From Ross: This week in Being, Space and Place 6, we explored the different social classes of Ancient Egypt. Using the Egypt's Golden Empire website on PBS.org, students analyzed the different levels of Egyptian society and how they each contributed to its civilization. As individuals, each student focused on one major social class and created a single panel comic representing a moment in that person's day - based on web-based research. Once every panel was completed, we put them together to form a 21-panel comic strip that outlined an entire day in the New Kingdom! We used this to focus our attention the challenges and responsibilities that each social class must face in order to make Egypt an effective civilization. Next week: Our final assessment on Egypt!
BSP 6, Ross Flatt: rflatt@q2l.org

GRADE 7

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Q-dents helped out Gametix, the scientifically-challenged game company, learn about DNA by building candy models of DNA! When they completed their models, they sent Gametix "how-to" guides on the assembly of the DNA model. We are hoping the models and guides will help them develop DNA animation for their game on evolution called EvoQuest. Please enjoy the attached photos of their Delicious DNA models!
We also began viewing " the PBS Nova special called, "Cracking the Code of Life," which explores the fascinating work and the profound significance of the Human Genome Project. Next week we will explore how genetic mutations can be either beneficial or detrimental to a species.
TWTW7, Leah Hirsch: Lhirsch@q2l.org

From Lara: This week in Wellness 7, we finished up our Fitnessgram assessments (make ups will happen within the next couple of weeks) and continued our friendship quest with a discussion about values and beliefs. For homework, students have a belief statement from "This I Believe" written by a teen about friendship to review and reflect upon. Next week students will be creating their own Belief Statements about friendship.
Please contact Lara with any questions at lgerstein@q2l.org

From Lauren: This week in SFTM 7students brainstormed about the process a stop motion animator goes through to create a stop motion animation by creating diagrams with drawings and text. For their stop motion animations, they brainstormed ideas about characters, actions, conflicts, themes, lessons learned, sounds, settings, and materials. Then, they created different iterations of brainstorm sketches for possible characters and settings.
Sports for the Mind, Lauren Gabriele: Lgabriele@q2l.org

From Limor: This week in BSP 7, we were re-visited by Oprah! She has challenged us to prove to her that we are "worthy" of being let in on her master plan by proving that we really understand what power means, as found in "Chains". Students were given their assignment of a literary response, which questions what types of powers the characters held and which powers would be most important during the times of the Revolutionary War. To begin attacking this challenge, we took part in the writing process. We began by pre-writing, followed by brainstorming our ideas for multiple characters and a plethora of power types that they may have held, as shown through textual, or literary proof. We then focused on organization by unscrambling the components of a literary response and deciding which elements of the paper belong in the introduction, the body and the conclusion. Students had impressive rationale as to where the components belonged! We worked on our eye-catching,engaging introductory sentences, our definitions of power and our thesis statements before moving on the summarizing the novel. We then continued pushing forward by jumping into the body of the essay by learning how to properly quote literary proof and used our findings to outline our first character and their powers.
BSP 7, Limor Levy: Llevy@q2l.org

From Margaret: Since Monday (3.14) was Pi Day, we started the week with a special discussion and lesson on Pi. While many students think of Pi as just a special number (and an example of an irrational number!), it is actually the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter. We looked at how forumulae for circumference and area of a circle can be derived from this ratio. Students also learned about the Pythagorean Theorem and how we use it to find the missing side of a right triangle. We saw and discussed a visual proof of this Theorem in which we see that the areas of the squares on the sides of a rig actually do add up! Next week we will be starting a new unit on Probability.
Codeworlds 7, Margaret Tanzosh: Mtanzosh@q2l.org

From Audrey:This week students continued to work on solving two and three step algebraic equations. Students explored different methods to solve these problems and worked through steps for finding the unknown value while keeping in mind their knowledge of balance, like terms, and opposites. Students also worked to translate verbal expressions into algebraic expressions. Wrapping up our algebra unit, students were required to complete an assessment where they were required to solve problems and explain their process.
Learning Strategist, Audrey Geis: ageis@q2l.org

A MESSAGE FROM THE Q2L PTA:

Big Apple Fundraiser - Deadline was Friday, March 18th. Please have
your child submit completed order forms and monies. Be sure to check
that the total order amount matches the enclosed monies.

Direct Drive - Donations for Direct Drive are ongoing and accepted
throughout the school year.

On Line Auction - Collection of donated items to the annual Quest On
Line Auction has begun. On line auction begins on May 5 and ends on
May 22nd. This is the biggest fundraising event for Quest where our
fundraising goal is $40,000. Please reach out to your family, friends
and business contacts for donations of goods and services. Donations
that bid high last year were items such as restaurant certificates,
wine, beauty services (facials and dental bleaching), theatre and
concert tickets, and classes. Please take multiple pictures of donated
items, inside and out, to post online and send your donation forms to
fundraising@q2l.org or to the main office. The donation letter and
form are attached. Please also contact Kathia Boisrond if you would
like to volunteer to help with the On Line Auction or Spring Event (to
be held on June 5th), kathia.boisrond@gmail.com.

Week of March 7 - March 11, 2011

Dear Q2L Families,

On Friday morning we held our first Q2L Parent Coffee Break! It was an opportunity to meet informally with other parents and with Elisa – to share ideas and ask questions. “Thank you” to the parents who came, and “thank you” to the PTA for supplying the coffee and Munchkins! Coffee Break sessions will continue one Friday morning a month (Next date: April 8.)
In addition to Q2L Parent Coffee Break and PTA meetings, there are a number of other ways to communicate with the Quest to Learn staff and administration. Please review the suggested “Ladder of Communication” below, and know that you can always contact Elisa for any reason at earagon@Q2L.org.

Question	Who can I call?	Email	Phone
What time is dismissal? I need to pick up my child early. We changed our address- what documentation do I need to bring in?	Adina Delgado, school secretary	adelgado@Q2L.org	(212) 488-3645
How is my child doing in general, academically and socially?	Home Base teacher		(212) 488-3645
I am concerned about my child socially. I am concerned about my child’s behavior/an incident between another child and my child… I witnessed student behavior that I think needs to be addressed.	Rachelle Vallon, Guidance Counselor	Rvallon@q2l.org	(212) 488-3645
What is the schedule for soccer or any sport?	Will Moyet, Community Associate	wmoyet@q2l.org	(212) 488-3645
I am concerned about my child’s academic progress and need to know in detail what is happening in class.	Domain teachers	E-mail information is included by domain information in the relay.	(212) 488-3645
I have questions about the curriculum and/or the Quest model.	1. Domain Teachers 2. Arana Shapiro and Rebecca Ruf-Tepper, Directors of Curriculum	1. E-mail information is included by domain information in the relay. 2. ashapiro@q2l.org; rruf-tepper@q2l.org	(212) 488-3645
II have a serious question and/or concern… I have communicated with the Home Base teacher, Domain teacher, with the Guidance Counselor, and I feel I am not getting the attention or answers I need.	Elisa Aragon, Executive Director of School	earagon@q2l.org	(212) 488-3645; emergency: (347) 404-3499
I have spoken with Elisa and have not gotten the attention or response that I need.	1.Joel Rose, Co-President PTA 2. Sue Tse, Co-President PTA	1. joeyrose@nyc.rr.com 2. suesuenyc@gmail.com
I have a question/idea I would like brought to the Q2L Design Team	1.Elisa Aragon, Exec. Dir. of School 2.Katie Salen, Exec. Dir. Of Design	1.earagon@q2l.org 2.Ksalen@Q2l.org	(212) 488-3645

Acuity Exams: Please note that there is a second round of Acuity Exams this Monday morning and Tuesday afternoon. Final test preparation packets were sent home with students yesterday (Friday) to be completed over the weekend.

2010-2011 Q2L School Trip: While not all of the details are in place, we have set the date for our
Annual Q2L School Trip! Leaving early Wednesday, May 18, staying over-night, and returning Thursday evening, May 19, both the 6th and 7th grades are going to Sharpe Reservation in Fishkill, NY (about an hour and a half from NYC). It is a beautiful wooded area with lakes and mountains and hiking and tons of great indoor options as well. The 6th grade outdoor experience will focus on team building, similar to last year’s 6th grade trip. The 7th grade will focus on science and the environment. There are great facilities, including lovely, heated cabins! Details regarding cost, etc. to follow shortly.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Girl’s Jam! For the past two weeks, the theme of Girls' Jam has been "Lights, Camera, Action." Participants have been learning how to work with small, bright lights called LEDs and perfecting their photography and digital imaging skills.
Last week, the girls started by working on small paper lanterns and this week they worked on small pillows that lit up when squeezed. Some of the other girls in the group continued working on other projects such as a magazine layout and learning how to collage images digitally. We were impressed by the girls' tenacity in working with their materials as they overcame their frustrations and learned how to light and blink their first LEDs! For more information contact Leah Gilliam @lgilliam@q2l.org or Paola Guimerans at pguimerans@q2l.org.

Math Olympiad!
This week in Math Olympiad, we had our final contest of the school year! We finished strong as a team, scoring at least two or three correct problems per Mathlete. We will still continue to meet on Wednesday mornings at 7:45am this trimester. We will continue to meet during third trimester, but will strongly consider switching our meeting time to after school! Also, PI DAY is Monday 3/14- make sure to celebrate at 3:14! Go Mathletes! For more information, contact Alicia at aiannucci@q2l.org.

Math Power
7th Grade Contact Pierre (PDizon@Q2L.org) or Audrey (AGeis@q2l.org) with any other Math Power questions.

Power-Up!: Monday, March 14th- Students will be assessed on their mastery of simplifying expressions by combining like terms. Tuesday, March15th - Students will practice using the distributive property.

iTeam: I “hacked” it... I’m a “hacker.” We hear the used rather casually in this “Information-Age”. Led by the school Technology Specialist, Richard, Q2L has formed its first ever iTeam. On Thursday this week, the group came together and discussed expectations and goals for the team. Students begin by talking about acceptable use of technology while differentiating the meaning of “hacker.” They learned the difference between white-hacking, technologist who hack computers to the benefit of people, and black-hacking, which is when people alter devices to cause harm. The students were elated to find out that the final goal of the iTeam will be to create their very own PC computer. It is a challenging feat, but one that the iTeam is most certainly game for. For more information, contact Rich at rbowman@ql.org or Will at wmoyet@q2l.org.

Short Circuit: This week in Short Circuit, participants continued to work with digital and analog tools. Short Circuiters worked with free online drawing programs, built websites, dissected greeting cards to discover how they produced sound and started reflecting on what they were learning for the Short Circuit Being Me group. For more information contact Leah Gilliam at lgilliam@q2l.org.

Wednesday Kick-off
This week was the start of the Spring Wednesday Kick-Off Season with City Soccer in the Community. Coach Rafael started the day with students watching a small segment from the film, Discovery Atlas: Brazil Revealed, which depicted the lives of range of individuals including a group of women whose dream was to become the first female soccer players to compete in an annual soccer tournament called, Peladao. The film truly captured the passion and fortitude of soccer players and fans alike while highlighting the universal enthusiasm of the sport. In the gymnasium, the students played a friendly scrimmage. The players performed well in their teams and displayed excellent sportsmanship in the scrimmage. All are welcome to join us, if your child is interested please email Will: wmoyet@q2l.org.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Week of March 14	Acuity Assessments
Saturday, March 19	Q2L Invitational – 5th Graders
Monday, April 11	PTA Meeting 6:30 – 8:00 pm
Friday, April 8	Q2L Parent Coffee Break
Saturday, April 16 – Tuesday, April 26	Spring Break (schools closed)
Wednesday, April 27	School resumes
Tuesday, May 3 – May 4	NY State ELA Exam
Wednesday, May 11 – May 12	NY State Math Exam
Wednesday, May 18 and May 19	School Trip – Hidden Valley Outdoor Ed. Center
Monday, May 30	Memorial Day (schools closed)

CURRICULUM UPDATES

Home Base Update from Rachelle In Home Base this week, we went back to our roots - our Q2L Core Values that is! Home Base served as a reflection on our values and taking a deeper look at the foundation that supports our school's community. Students worked with quotes from inspirational figures such as Jane Goodall. In small groups, students had to analyze the quote, share with their home base its meaning, and create an interactive skit that demonstrated how the quote related to a Q2L Core Value. We took this further by using inspirational people in our lives to motivate us in using Core Values. Students shared how people such as their parents, teachers, and historical figures were influential to them because of various traits (perseverance, courage, supporting others, etc.). Respect became the central topic in this discussion and students grappled with its meaning and how it should be shown to others. As we move closer to the end of the school year, it is important to keep our values fully active! Stay tuned as we delve deeper into important values and concepts that affect our community daily. Guidance Counselor Rachelle Vallon: rvallon@ql.org

Quest to Learn Core Values

1.All Ideas are Improvable

2.Diversity Creates Balance

3.Win and Lose with Grace

4.Respect all Things

5.Collaboration Matters

6. Get in the Game: Play Fair, Play Fully

7.Experiment and Imagine Possibilities

8.Nobody walks by

9.Be Tenacious

10. Lead by example

GRADE 6
From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds 6, we learned about adding, subtracting and multiplying fractions in order to calculate the amount of food and land we need for our theme park proposals. Students worked on divvying up farmland in order to calculate the fractional pieces of a whole, using addition and subtraction of fractions and mixed numbers with unlike denominators. We also used those skills when we looked at shopping for spices in order to calculate precise amounts of spices to purchase. We finished the week with multiplying fractional pieces in brownie pans, which made us all incredibly hungry! Students should be working on B&P HW 3.2 this weekend, which is due on Monday. Codeworlds 6, Alicia Iannucci: aiannucci@q2l.org

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, students put the finishing touches on their Keynote presentations and a few students had the chance to present in front of the class. We also began to convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius, so now students should begin to feel comfortable converting back and forth between the two units of measurement. While exploring the temperature further this week, students engaged in a lab that involved creating a home made thermometer. Using nothing more than clay, rubbing alcohol, a straw and a test tube, we were able to easily create working thermometers! Next week, students will continue to explore weather factors and the tools we use to measure them in order to help Fla and Mingo navigate their way home. TWTW 6, Ameer Mourad: amourad@q2l.org

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6, This week we have been in full Fitnessgram assessment mode. Students tested their endurance by running the PACER; their strength by doing curl ups, push-ups, and the trunk lift; and their flexibility by doing the "back saver" sit and reach. As the weather is getting warmer, it is especially important that students are able to stay hydrated during the day. If possible, please equip your child with a water bottle on the days that s/he has gym that they can fill at the water fountain and then carry to the gym. There is, unfortunately, no working water fountain on the 7th floor and students lose valuable gym time when they must leave class to get water. The water bottle can be any plastic bottle with a cap that can be refilled during the day. Please contact Lara with any questions at lgerstein@q2l.org

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6,students finished their February Break levels in Atmosphir. They also began image research for their next quest “Atmosphir- Space & Narrative Connection -My New York City Game Design Challenge.” Students watched the music video Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys for inspiration. Sports for the Mind, Lauren Gabriele: lgabriele@q2l.org.

From Ross: This week in Being, Space and Place 6, students entered SMALL Lab to play the game "CIV SIFT." Students paired off in teams to represent either Egypt or Mesopotamia. The game involved them analyzing elements of these civilizations and "sifted" them into categories of civilizations. Students not only had to do some quick thinking based on what they've learned this trimester, but also argue why they chose particular elements to go in a civilization category. We also continued our study of Egyptian religion. Students created comic strips detailing the mummification process. This task has prepped them immensely for Pearson's upcoming final challenge - soon to be given to the students. BSP 6, Ross Flatt: rflatt@q2l.org

GRADE 7
Note to 7th Grade Parents: Please promote Home Work Help! Very few 7th graders are taking advantage of this opportunity!

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Q-dents were kept busy wrapping up Quest 3 (Mendelian Genetics) and moving ahead into the world of DNA. We ended Quest 3 with a culminating assessment in which the game company, Gametix requested that Q-dents help them determine the appearance of fish offspring in their game. They asked us to simulate breeding several of their fish and predict what the offspring would look like based on Punnett Square data. The 7th graders did an amazing job at this complex task! The next day, we spent time working in the Gametix Creature Kits. Students were finally able to determine the phenotypes of their creatures and use the keynote template to produce them; below are several creatures created by students in Grade 7. They are so cute! Finally, Quest 4 started with a bang as students performed a lab in which they extracted and observed their own DNA using some basic household items - rubbing alcohol, salt, and dish soap! Next week we will be doing some DNA code-breaking and model building. Stay tuned... TWTW7, Leah Hirsch: Lhirsch@q2l.org

From Lara: This week in Wellness 7, we have been in full Fitnessgram assessment mode. Students tested their endurance by running the PACER; their strength by doing curl ups, push-ups, and the trunk lift; and their flexibility by doing the "back saver" sit and reach. 702 gets a special shout out for having the greatest number of students who can do over 100 curl-ups! As the weather is getting warmer, it is especially important that students are able to stay hydrated during the day. If possible, please equip your child with a water bottle on the days that s/he has gym that they can fill at the water fountain and then carry to the gym. There is, unfortunately, no working water fountain on the 7th floor and students lose valuable gym time when they must leave class to get water. The water bottle can be any plastic bottle with a cap that can be refilled during the day. Please contact Lara with any questions at lgerstein@q2l.org

From Lauren: This week in SFTM 7students reflected about their learning experience with the Zoetrope Project. They also started to brainstorm ideas about creating a stop-motion animation and what is needed to create a good stop-motion animation after watching student stop-motion examples and The Making of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Sports for the Mind, Lauren Gabriele: Lgabriele@q2l.org

From Limor: This week in BSP 7, students started off the week by practicing their note taking and listening skills on a non-fiction read aloud. We learned a few tips to aid us in preparation for the ELA exam and overall language arts success. For the majority of the week, students focused on key skills within literature. Students learned about literary devices and practiced locating them within our studied novel, "Chains". Our literary device masters were able to explain characterization, conflict, theme, setting, protagonists and antagonists and points of views in literature. We then studied the literary elements that go into literature and prose and became element "hunters", searching out and "capturing" examples of metaphors, similes, flashbacks, foreshadowing, hyperboles, onomatopoeias, alliteration, assonance, allusions and personification. We found examples of each of these elements within "Chains" and discussed why authors use them. We also played a student created matching game, where pairs were challenged to write examples of the learned elements and challenged another group to match their cards to the pre-created game boards. Our students excelled! We ended our literary elements lesson by analyzing a poem by William Wordsworth, finding examples of personification, hyperboles, similes and metaphors throughout. It's important to continue going over these terms and "hunting" them out in all occasions - reading novels, poetry, comic books, watching TV/movies - literary elements and devices are all around us! BSP 7, Limor Levy: Llevy@q2l.org

From Margaret: This week in Codeworlds 7, we finished our study of 3-dimensional shapes. We looked at the volume and surface area of rectangular prisms, cylinders and even solved a packaging problem involving Toblerone Bars (since they are triangular prisms!). Students reviewed skills involving perimeter and area by playing the "Island Conquest" game, which was custom designed for us by Chloe. Next week we will begin working with the Pythagorean Theorem and after that on Probability. Codeworlds 7, Margaret Tanzosh: Mtanzosh@q2l.org

From Audrey: This week students worked on solving two-step algebra equations by breaking them down into different essential components. First students explored the concept of balancing equations by completing a virtual lab where they had to balance bags and blocks. Then, students explored the concepts of like terms and using opposites to find solutions to equations. On Friday, students completed posters where they solved an equation and wrote a detailed explanation of their procedure, using the components that we explored during the week. Learning Strategist, Audrey Geist: ageist@q2l.org

Week of February 28 - March 8, 2011

Dear Q2L Families,

At Morning Meeting yesterday we had a follow up conversation with the whole school community regarding social networking sites and students' appropriate technology use. It is possible that some Quest to Learn students have been impersonating another student in email, texts and on Facebook. The Manhattan District Attorneys’ office may be conducting an investigation, and they will able to get the records and determine whether criminal activity has occurred.

Please continue to have these conversations with your children and keep them informed on how actions they deem to be harmless can become potentially dangerous. It is important that they understand that words, once written, are permanently in cyberspace.

In addition to the informational links sent in last week’s Relay, there are a number of resources available on the Q2L website (www.Q2L.com).

Acuity Exams: Please note that there will be a second round of Acuity Exams the week of March 14th. Test preparation packets were sent home with students yesterday (Friday) to be completed over the weekend. These will be reviewed during home base Monday and Tuesday.

Q2L Family Resources Page:
We have received so many helpful suggestions from parents about ways to enrich our curriculum through field trips, guest speakers, and collaborations with outside groups. We have set up this form for families to continue to share ideas and resources that can enrich our curriculum and community.
We are interested in resources that can help us bring real-world experiences to our students through integration into our curriculum: connections to individuals who we can bring in as guest speakers or professionals to act as judges, or assessors of special projects. In addition, we welcome suggestions for outside groups, museums or institutions that we can co-develop curriculum with or take our students to for field trips. If you'd like to submit more than one entry, please fill out a separate entry for each resource.
Please click here to make submissions: Q2L Family Resources Page

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Math Olympiad!
This week in Math Olympiad, we geared up for our next (and final) contest of the school year on 3/9. Students worked together on various problems and proved their solutions in various ways. Each Mathlete has showed they have a very unique way to solve each problem and have been much more open to learning new styles of problem solving from their peer Mathletes. Mathletes: make sure you show up on time this Wednesday morning at 7:45am! Go Mathletes!

Math Power
7th Grade Contact Pierre (PDizon@Q2L.org) or Audrey (AGeis@q2l.org) with any other Math Power questions.

Power-Up!: This week students have been working on mastering how to ‘Combine Like Terms’. Students should be able to answer the following questions below.
When combining like terms, terms must have same _______and same _________.
Simplify the expression…( 2x – y + 4x + 2y)
Next week we will continue to practice combining like terms, the Distributive Property and solving equations.

Wednesday Kick-off
This week the kids in the after-school recreational soccer program wrapped up the Winter sessions with City Soccer in the Community. The day started with a full stretch before splitting up into two teams to play Soccer-Tag! They concluded the day with a closely contested, 5-4, scrimmage game. The unanimous Outstanding Play of the Game was by Max Friedman who, despite his left shoe coming off, took a long pass by a teammate and blasted it for a score.

The next round of Wednesday Kick-Off will resume on March 9th without a break in action. Students interested in being a part of the after-school recreational soccer program may sign-up by returning the Spring season consent form. If you have any quest-ions you may contact Will by email: wmoyet@q2l.org. We hope that you will join us for soccer!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday, March 7	PTA Meeting 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Tuesday, March 14	Window 3 – Acuity Assessments
Saturday, April 16 – Tuesday, April 26	Spring Break (schools closed)
Tuesday, May 3 – May 4	NY State ELA Exam
Wednesday, May 11 – May 12	NY State Math Exam
Wednesday, May 18 and May 19	School Trip – Hidden Valley Outdoor Ed. Center
Monday, May 30	Memorial Day (schools closed)

CURRICULUM UPDATES

Home Base Update from Rachelle This week in Home Base, we put our knowledge of Q2L core Values, math multiples, and parts of speech to use in fun activities! In the beginning of the week, students learned about what it takes to complete more than one task at a time by playing a game that required them to grab the person's finger to the right of them but avoid getting their finger caught to the left of them...all simultaneously! As the week progressed, students chose from activities such as Think Fast!, Seven Elevens, and Rain/Thunder. In Seven Elevens, students went around in a circle counting from one and had to be quick on their feet to nod for numbers that were multiples of seven and eleven. Home Bases that played Think Fast had to pass an object around the circle as quickly as they could. When the student in the middle called stop, the person caught with the ball had to quickly name three nouns starting with the letter chosen by the student in the middle.

GRADE 6
From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds 6, students handed in their Bumper Car Design Challenge projects, which showcased some real mathematical and artistic skills that Six Flags looks for in their designers. I will still accept projects, but they will lose points for each day it is late (due date was Monday 2/28). We continued our work with benchmark fractions, stretching our inquiry into estimating fraction and decimal sums, and adding fractions this week. We played the card game Getting Close, which requires players to use estimation of fraction and decimal sums in order to play. We finished the week looking at dividing up land sections in order to correctly divide the land for our future Six Flags theme park into fractional pieces. Next week, we will be adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers in order to fully prepare for our next Six Flags mission.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, students were asked to help Fla and Mingo again by creating a keynote presentation. In their presentation, students needed to explain to Fla and Mingo what the various weather instruments were, what they measured and how they could use this information to determine their next move. Stay tuned for updates about the Digital Media and Learning conference that I am attending (Thanks PTA!) next week.

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6, we continued with our teamwork projects. Everyone has now finished his or her game boards for Superfooty (or Subbuteo). 602 finished so quickly that they were assigned a poster project that is being used to inform and educate the entire school community about Fitnessgram. In the gym we geared up our fitness training in endurance, strength and flexibility to be ready for the assessments that will begin next week. 602 & 603 began to playtest a soccer-like game that introduces the different roles that team members take on. Over the weekend, students should be practicing their "perfect" curl-ups and push-ups!

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6,students wrote a narrative about their February break, created a storyboard about this narrative and then built a 3-D game level in Atmosphir that represented their narrative. Some really interesting stories with an interesting conceptual and space representation of their interpretation of their experience!

From Ross: This week in Being, Space and Place 6, each class spent half a day at the Children's Galleries of Jewish Culture. There, we saw the exhibit called From Tent to Temple: Life in the Near East. In this exhibit, students engaged in hands-on activities and games that dealt with human settlement in Egypt, Canaan, and Mesopotamia - areas that we have been focusing on this trimester. The exhibit also focused on the three basic human needs: Food, Clothing, and Shelter, as well as the different values that the people of the Near East incorporated into their daily lives. We had a blast each day and students were engaged and made strong connections to our subject matter, as well as learned some new material. Special "shout out" to Ginger, Pierre, Israel, Will, Claudio, and Shula for coming along with me, as well as parent chaperones: Norjon Hedman, Beatriz Coles, Ahyikue Acakpo-Satchivi, and Demetrius Cagliastro!

GRADE 7
Note to 7th Grade Parents: Please promote Home Work Help! Very few 7th graders are taking advantage of this opportunity!

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Q-dents prepared for Phase 3 of the Gametix Creature Kit: the assignment of phenotypes and genotypes. In order to hone their genetics skills; they participated in a Genetics Jam during which they conferenced with me about their genetics packet from the break, mated dragons in an online genetics simulation, and learned about how scientists can insert anti-freezing fish genes into tomatoes so they can survive a frost! Next week they will complete one final test to prove they are ready to assign traits to their Gametix creatures - a Genetics assessment will take place early next week. Make sure those Genetics flashcards are being studied and that TWTW assignments are completed over the weekend!

From Lara: This week in Wellness 7, we continued with Quest 3--"Are You My Friend" with activities and discussion around levels of trust. The latest question from an anonymous student that was posted on the blog is "How do you know if someone is your friend?" Students considered what would prompt someone to ask this question. 701 & 703 offered their advice to this anonymous “tween”. 702 got a head start on data collection for Fitnessgram by recording their weight and height. 3 students were selected as Height Map Specialists to accurately measure their classmates. In the gym we geared up our fitness training in endurance, strength and flexibility to be ready for the assessments that will begin next week.

From Lauren: This week in SFTM 7 students wrote a narrative about their February break, created a storyboard about this narrative and then drew an action cycle inspired by one of their actions in their narrative. Most importantly, the students built their Zoetropes from scratch and used one of the action cycles they have created over the last couple of weeks. Some really interesting animations!

From Limor: This week in BSP 7, we continued to focus on Laurie Halse Anderson's historical fiction novel, "Chains". Over break, students completed the reading of this amazing piece of literature, and we're had some great discussions about the shocking ending and our predictions. In class, we began the week by taking a quiz and then turning the tables and creating our own exams based on the book. Students had to consider what events, character relationships, predictions and conclusions were important to recall and understand, and craft these understandings into a test. We also continued our creative writing practices by giving a story to an unknown slave based off of only a photograph that expressed a life of struggle and pain. We were also able to connect the novel and the literature by studying primary documents (runaway slave advertisements from the late 1700's) and creating our own runaway slave posters written from Madame Lockton's perspective. We had to connect specific details from the book, points of views, perspectives, character knowledge and creativity to finalize the products.

From Margaret: This week in Codeworlds 7, students began their study of 3 dimensional geometry. They explored the different ways that cubes and rectangular boxes (prisms) can be created from 2 dimensional patterns, called a nets. Working together, students derived the formula for the surface area and volume of rectangular prisms. We will move on to surface area and volume of triangular prisms and cylinders next week, which will then be followed by learning about right triangles and the Pythagorean Theorem.

Week of February 14 - February 18, 2011

Dear Q2L Families,

There has been so much on the news of late regarding on-line safety, so at morning meeting last week we touched upon the topic of “Digital Citizenship” and the dangers of participating in social network sites, such as Face Book.

When I asked how many students had accounts, a large number of our 6th and 7th graders raised their hands. When asked how many of them were 13 years old, they all looked around the room at each other. In order to open a Face book account one must enter a year of birth that indicates that they are at least 13. Students who are not 13 years old, and have accounts, knowingly entered in an inaccurate year of birth. Students seemed very surprised to hear that knowingly entering in false information could get them into trouble. Families should be aware that Face Book accounts are only for people who are 13 years old or older.

As we reminded students, children should not have expectations of “privacy”, and we ask that parents please speak with children regarding your expectations for on-line behavior and monitor student on-line conversation regularly.

Quest students know that it is against school policy to link social network accounts to their Quest to Learn e-mail addresses. Also, as a matter of policy, Face Book is filtered on all DOE computers.

Below are links to two articles in the New York Times on cyber bullying that provide a variety of resources to help parents and children navigate the Internet safely.

Online Bullies Pull Schools Into the Fray By JAN HOFFMAN Published: June 27, 2010 www.nytimes.com/2010/06/28/style/28bully.html
As Bullies Go Digital, Parents Play Catch-Up By JAN HOFFMAN Published: December 4, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/us/05bully.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=nashvill...

Q-dents Participate in a Panel at Jacob Javits Engage Expo
On Wednesday, February 16th, nine select 6th and 7th grade students participated in a one-hour kids panel discussion as part of the Engage Expo trade show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. The audience was made up of marketing, operations, and other professionals from the toy, video game and online worlds businesses. Companies with representation at the show are brands such as Disney, Sony, Hasbro, Mattel, and others. The panel, moderated by Jori Clarke, producer for KidsCom.com, was a Q & A on the topics of "what kids are playing and what they are looking for." The audience was “wow-ed” by the confidence, knowledge, and opinions of our amazing students!

Quest to Learn on PBS
For those of you who were not able to catch the PBS show, “Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century”, here is a copy of the section of the PBS show on Q2L in movie format:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1371943/PBS2.m4v This segment was taped last year, when we only had our 6th grader, now 7th graders. The façade of the school building shown is our old location at E. 23rd Street.

Parent- Teacher Conferences: Spring Parent-Teacher conferences took place Wednesday evening, February 16, 5:00 – 8:00 and Thursday, afternoon, February 17, 1:00 – 3:00. We have arranged one “make-up” date, Wednesday, March 2, 8:00 am – 8:30 a.m., for families of 6th graders and 7th graders who were not able to attend.
Any families who are not able to attend during this make-up session should reach out to Home Base advisors to schedule telephone conferences.

7th Grade Human Development Series: This week in the final segment of our Human Growth and Development Workshops, 7th grade boys and girls participated in the same curriculum, but in different spaces. The workshop culminated in a review of the anatomy and function of both the male and female reproductive systems; a discussion of the physical and emotional changes to be expected during puberty; and a viewing of the film, Life's Greatest Miracle during which students learned about the recombination of DNA that sexual reproduction provides and the growth and development of the human being from zygote to new born. In the end of both workshops, Ameer and I facilitated an extensive Q & A session during which we responded to anonymous questions that had been dropped in the "Question Box" throughout the series. If you are interested in going over any of this content with your child here are a few excellent resources:
http://kidshealth.org/teen/sexual_health/
http://kidshealth.org/teen/sexual_health/girls/female_repro.html
http://kidshealth.org/teen/sexual_health/guys/male_repro.html
http://www.girlshealth.gov/body/

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Girl’s Jam!
Girl Jam continued to welcome new faces this week. The girls learned about forums on Being Me and created a Girl Jam book list as well as a blog to collect design ideas for the room re-decoration challenge. In true open-studio fashion, the students also worked across disciplines, explored painting, photography and knitting.

Math Olympiad!
This week in Math Olympiad, we worked on more practice problems in small groups and as a whole team. Students are expected to complete their practice problems by our next meeting, 3/2. Go Mathletes!

Math Power
7th Grade Math Power is held on Mondays and Tuesdays from 3:30pm to 4:30pm (instead of Mondays and Thursdays). 6th Grade Math Power will continue with Pierre on Mondays and Thursdays. Please make the necessary arrangements so that your child will be able to attend. If you have concerns regarding this change to the 7th grade schedule, feel free to contact Audrey. Contact Pierre (PDizon@Q2L.org) or Audrey (AGeis@q2l.org) with any other Math Power questions.

Power-Up!: Power Up! math classes begin this week! This after-school support is for 7th grade students who are experiencing some classroom success, but need to be Powered Up! in order to push to the next level! Student names have been submitted by Codeworld teachers, and families will be contacted!

Short Circuit
This week, students debated the importance of different Short Circuit skill sets by exploring the group and debate features on Being Me. Next, students learned how to blink special tri-color LEDs. Short Circuiters also continued to brainstorm project ideas, including a walkie-talkie out of Altoid candy tins and a robotic snail. After the break, Short Circuiters will put these new skills to the test and begin to build the designs they've been making!

Wednesday Kick-off
This week the students started off by warming up with more specialized soccer exercises that they learned from coach Rafael. The stretches are particularly helpful for students as they work on key fundamentals such as proper kicking technique. The players then got a special visit from Paul, the President of the City Soccer in the Community organization, and had a nice group discussion about how much they are enjoying playing soccer and what they have learned from the experience. They spent the remainder of the practice playing Soccer-Tag and scrimmaging.

The final Winter Wednesday Kick-Off recreational soccer program session is on March 2nd, when students return from break. We will be sending out information about signing up for the Spring Wednesday Kick-Off Season and we hope that you will join us in all the fun!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday, February 19 – Sunday, February 27	President’s Week (schools closed)
March 1, 2, 3	6th Grade BSP Museum Trip
Monday, March 7	PTA Meeting 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Tuesday, March 8	School Leadership Team Meeting
Saturday, April 16 – Tuesday, April 26	Spring Break (schools closed)
Tuesday, May 3 – May 4	NY State ELA Exam
Wednesday, May 11 – May 12	NY State Math Exam
Wednesday, May 18 and May 19	School Trip – Hidden Valley Outdoor Ed. Center
Monday, May 30	Memorial Day (schools closed)

CURRICULUM UPDATES

Home Base Update from Rachelle This week, all Public Schools across New York City participated in “Respect for All Week”. Similar to our Quest to Learn Core Value “Respect all things”, this week focused on awareness of diversity and tolerance. During Home Base, we extended students' thinking around diversity through a "delicious" activity! Home Bases got to relate acceptance of different types of people through M&M's! After examining the different colors of M&Ms, students found that they all had the same shape, size, surface, and yes the same flavor. To further this message, students read a poem describing the similarities in M&Ms to the diversity of humans. Just like M&Ms do not judge one another by their color, so should we be accepting of other's background, interests, etc... On Thursday we added more links to our chain of diversity representing traits that we share with each other and those that make us unique. To close out our week, we recognized similarities in Home Bases by sharing with each other an interesting diversity fact about ourselves that no one knew before.
In honor of Black History Month, let's take a moment during Winter Recess to discuss with our children how intolerance once affected various groups of people and share the stories of leaders and pioneers who taught what it truly means to have Respect for All.

GRADE 6
From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds 6, we received our first Six Flags design challenge: to build a bumper car ride using various parameters. We worked though finding the perimeter and area of rectangles, regular polygons and irregular polygons. We used techniques such as counting tiles, graphing polygons and developing our own formulas for both. Students received their project challenge this Friday and are expected to complete it and turn it in by Monday 2/28. Any questions can be emailed to Alicia (aiannucci@q2l.org) over the vacation. Remember: this is a mandatory, graded challenge from professionals and students are expected to produce professional level work.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, students continued to practice multiplying fractions as they calculated and converted degrees Celsius to Fahrenheit. We also explored what causes cloud formation and wind. When students return, they will have to get right to work building the instrument panels for Fla and Mingo to help them navigate the skies safely! Students do have a regularly assigned homework packet to complete over the break. Enjoy the vacation!

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6, we tested our teamwork skills with a project in pairs then another in groups of four. We're preparing our own game boards similar to "Superfooty" or "Subbuteo" a European table soccer game. After the break we'll be writing and filming our own soccer sportscasts and creating our own table soccer games. Over the break students should complete an assignment entitles "Sportcaster" where they analyze a sportscast in order to prepare for creating their own. In the gym we've been playing "soccer tag", a two-team game that requires students to pass the ball to their teammates in order to succeed.

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6, students worked towards finishing their Castle and Ziggurat 3-D game design levels in Atmosphir. They also completed an activity called, "What Am I Learning? Atmosphir Game Design Challenge," which had them reflect about the new skills they are developing while designing 3-D game levels. Have a great break!

From Ross: This week in Being, Space and Place 6, we studied writing in Ancient Egypt. In our documentary, Egypt's Golden Empire, we examined how Pharaoh Amenhotep IV became the world's first diplomat by corresponding with the kings of other civilizations. Students then experienced what it was like to be a scribe in Ancient Egypt by visiting the PBS.org website. Students learned how to write in hieroglyphs, translate hieroglyphic words, as well as examine primary sources of Egyptian writing to gain more insight into the minds of the Pharaoh Kamose. Students then crafted hieroglyphic placards of statements that were truly important to them.

GRADE 7
Note to 7th Grade Parents: Please promote Home Work Help! Very few 7th graders are taking advantage of this opportunity!

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Q-dents put on the hats of genetic engineers, as they flipped coins to determine the genotypes (genetic make-up) and phenotypes (visible traits) of Paper Pets and their offspring. Some classes also had the opportunity to participate in a Face Lab, during which they got a new perspective on why we all have such unique faces! During the Break, they are expected to put into practice what they have learned in the form of a Genetics Review Packet. Due to Parent Teacher Conferences, 701 did not have as much time to practice with Genetics this week, and so pages 3-6 in their packet are optional. The other classes are expected to complete the entire packet. After February break, we will continue practicing with predictive tools that help us determine the probability of genetic outcomes.

From Lara: This week in Wellness 7, 701 & 702 got caught up on Quest 3 "Are You My Friend?" We discussed questions like: Where do "tweens" learn about friendships? (The media, peers, family); How many close friends should a person have? (1, 2, 4, 12, infinity? ); What are the qualities of a good friend? (Honesty, fun, trustworthiness, etc.). We started using theater skills to explore the topic of friendship by creating tableaux representing different ways to tell if a friend really cares about you. Some 7th graders this week had a little peek into trimester 3 when they helped Lara to play test a game to see what it teaches us about community.

From Lauren: This week in SFTM 7 students researched the steps and materials needed to create a “Do- It -Yourself Zoetrope” of their own as well as began drawing out their final action verb animation cycles for their soon-to-be constructed DIY Zoetrope. Have a great break!

From Limor: This week in BSP 7, we continued our exploration of Laurie Halse Anderson's "Chains". Other that the discussion and completion of our QAR questions, we were able to show our knowledge and deeper thinking through a new activity! Students were paired up and given an envelope full of open ended questions. Students pulled out a question and had 2 minutes to discuss their opinions with each other. After preparing our thoughts and opinions, BSP-ers had the chance to try something new - discussion musical chairs! Students were chosen to walk around the chairs to music, and when the music stopped, students sat. The remaining students who did not find a chair were read one of the questions and shared their (now well planned) answers with the class. We also had a chance to discuss the importance of powerful words by selecting important events and quotations from the novel and creating a movie poster to advertise the (hopefully) soon to be created movie. Over break, students are expected to complete the novel and answer the QAR packet that was given out (and is also on the homework website).
NOTE: Copies of Chains are available in the main office for parents to borrow!

From Margaret: This week in Codeworlds 7, students completed work on solving equations and used the algebra they learned to solve real world problems. One of these problems was finding the break-even point between income and expenses for a bakery business. Using algebra is such a convenient mechanism to find all kinds of unknown variables, and so much more precise than estimating from a graph or a table! Students will continue to use their algebraic skill over the remainder of the trimester on problems ranging from geometry, including volume, surface area, and the Pythagorean Theorem, probability and statistics, and measurement and estimation. To begin to familiarize students with the NY State Math exam coming up in May, students will be given a past state exam to complete for homework during the upcoming break.

From Audrey: This week in Codeworld 7, students finished working on patterns and linear equations and began working on graphing on 4 quadrant coordinate planes. Students used their knowledge of graphing to play an interactive game where they had to use clues to find out who stole Mario's coins. At the end of the week, students made 4 quadrant graphing puzzles for each other to solve. All students must complete the New York State Practice exam that is sent home over break.

Week of February 7 - February 11, 2011

Dear Q2L Families,

Last night was our first “Q2L Tween Valentine’s Day Dance!” organized by the PTA Hospitality Committee! Usually we hold “family” events, but this time the kids were adamant that they be allowed to have this one event for themselves. For $2.00 a ticket, students enjoyed chips, soda, and dance music from an amazing new sound system donated by a Q2L parent! Thank you to the parents who supplied the food and balloons, acted as chaperones, and to the Q2L faculty who stayed with the children after school, walked them to the dance, and then jumped in to party mode with the kids!

Parent- Teacher Conferences: Spring Parent-Teacher conferences are Wednesday evening, February 16, 5:00 – 8:00 and Thursday, afternoon, February 17, 1:00 – 3:00. We are going to follow the format we tested out in the fall: parents will have the opportunity to meet with Domain teachers for three minutes each. Teachers will have examples of student work and assessments to share. Please make a point to review student Feedback Reports before you come so that you can have any questions you may have had answered. Information was backpacked home this week, and appointment slips were to be returned to Home Base teachers by Friday with first, second, and third choices for appointment times. Appointment times will be confirmed by e-mail or by phone. Feel free to contact your child’s Home Base teacher with any questions or concerns.

7th Grade Human Development Series: Thursday afternoon 7th graders continued with the second installment in our three-part science series on Human Development. Leah and Ameer are leading our study of human development and adolescence through a “scientific” lens, discussing anatomy and the changes the human body experiences as it matures. The third, and final session is scheduled for Wednesday morning.

2010-2011 Q2L School Trip: While not all of the details are in place, we have set the date for our Annual Q2L School Trip! Leaving early Wednesday, May 18, staying over-night, and returning Thursday evening, May 19, both the 6th and 7th grades are going to Sharpe Reservation in Fishkill, NY (about an hour and a half from NYC). It is a beautiful wooded area with lakes and mountains and hiking and tons of great indoor options as well. The 6th grade outdoor experience will focus on team building, similar to last year’s 6th grade trip. The 7th grade will focus on science and the environment. There are great facilities, including lovely heated cabins! Details regarding cost, etc. to follow shortly.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Girl’s Jam!
This week was the second installment of Girl Jam. It was exciting to welcome new girls to the group and we'd like to encourage all Q2L girls to come and share their ideas. Working from the list of interests generated during the first workshop, the Girl Jam Team created three mini-workshops—customizing T-shirts, creating a Girl Jam blog, redecorating a shared office space and work on individual projects. We also discussed the core values of both Girl Jam and Q2L. Just as we all work to uphold the core values of Q2L we will work to uphold these values and create a safe and enriching girl-powered space with a culture of fellowship, sharing and mutual respect.

Math Olympiad!
This week in Math Olympiad, we competed in our fourth contest of the year! Our Mathletes have been waking up extra early in the morning to get their mathematical brains in gear and have been showing no signs of wear, because our recent contest was the hardest yet and we did incredibly well! Most students were able to reason through even the most grueling of algebraic, data based and geometric logic problems that you'd be hard pressed to find in a typical textbook. I can't express how proud I am of all of our Q2L Mathletes; keep up the good work! Go Mathletes!

Short Circuit
It was an exciting week in Short Circuit, as participants continued their investigation of circuits and design by soldering circuit boards. Because soldering can be a sturdier way to join wires it's essential when project ideas become project realities. Short Circuiters also began to hit their stride with the use of different "stations," separate areas where participants tinker, prototype, draw and actualize their ideas. Several new interns from Parsons The New School’s graduate program in Design and Technology also joined Short Circuit. The interns have a wide-range of expertise in illustration, design, digital media and of course, working with kids. We look forward to their contributions and insights. To see images from this week's Short Circuit, click here.

Wednesday Kick-off
This week the kids started the day with a nice stretch and warm up before playing. Coach Rafael showed the students different soccer exercises and did a number of kicking drills for students to hone their passing and goal kicking skills. Afterwards, they played a game of “Soccer Tag”, which Coach Rafael modified and made more challenging by adding a new rule: at the point of a possession change, the offensive team must run back to tag the wall on their side of the field with their hand before they are eligible scorers. The main objective remained for players to tag the opposing team’s wall with the soccer ball without the ball touching the ground or being intercepted. The added twist to the game helps to key in on players’ awareness and positioning on the field. At the of the day the kids played a friendly scrimmage game, and then finished with a good cool down stretch. The Q-dents are having a lot of fun learning and playing soccer together.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Wednesday, February 16 and 17	Parent – Teacher Conferences
Saturday, February 19 – Sunday, February 27	President’s Week (schools closed)
Saturday, April 16 – Tuesday, April 26	Spring Break (schools closed)
Tuesday, May 3 – May 4	NY State ELA Exam
Wednesday, May 11 – May 12	NY State Math Exam
Wednesday, May 18 and May 19	School Trip – Hidden Valley Outdoor Ed. Center
Monday, May 30	Memorial Day (schools closed)

CURRICULUM UPDATES

Home Base Update from Rachelle This week in home base, we delved into the vocabulary of feedback reports. Students grappled with concepts pertaining to their domains and then got to practice their new-found knowledge in a game! While split into groups, home bases were assigned 8 total areas of assessment (4 per day). Some phrases included: Multiple demonstrations, Scientific Methodology, and Regulation of Feelings and Behaviors. Each group brainstormed what they believed each phrase to mean and what the domain teachers would look for in these areas. After a brief discussion, students played Feedback Charades! Each member from their group took turns acting out a phrase they were assigned at random. The first team to successfully guess the correct phrase won a point. For a bonus, the first team that could successfully give a concrete example of this assessment also won a point. On Friday, to prepare students for our Valentine's Dance, home bases created cards to celebrate L.O.V.E (Let's Observe Values in Everyone!). We focused on family, school, and friends and identified Q2L core values that we observed in each of these groups. Our cards express why we admire these individuals, what inspires us most about them, and how their embracing Q2L core values have impacted us positively.

“Shout Out to the PTA and students for coordinating a wonderful Valentine's Dance! Thank you to all parents who helped to chaperone and set up!

GRADE 6
From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds 6, students worked with more shapes and designs that will move them closer to designing their theme parks for Six Flags. We measured angles with a new tool called the angle ruler and looked for angles around our school. We also formed parallel lines and learned about the magical (or something like that) properties of transversals, opposite (or vertical) angles and perpendicular lines. In order to plan our parks with precision, we also studied the sum of all interior angles of regular and irregular polygons. Each class also took the re-test around fractions, decimals and percents; grades should be available by early next week. Student should be working on their budgets and explanations this weekend to turn in on Monday.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, students learned about how wind is a result of the unequal heating of the Earth. The NY state exams are approaching quickly and in order to familiarize students with the format and environment of test taking, all students took a mock 5th grade mathematics exam. We also investigated what it means to multiply fractions using boxes as a visual representation of this mathematical operation. Using this newly acquired knowledge, students learned how to convert from degrees Celsius to degrees Fahrenheit. Soon we will be ready to create our own instrument panels to send back to Fla and Mingo next week!

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6, we finished Quest 1, Presenting...Me! and have now moved on to Quest 2, "On the Same Team". We played a game with cups that required us to use our sense of rhythm and coordination and in the gym we played another soccer-like game. Both of these games build our skills as team members and require teamwork in order to play well. For homework, students should be reflecting in their journals about which classmates they would want on their team if they were to play again and, most importantly, why. We often want to just play with our friends, but our friends are not always the best teammates when we are trying to accomplish a goal.

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6, students began designing 3-D game levels in Atmosphir. Their focus was the space of a system. First, they had to create a castle that followed the directions in an Atmosphir 101 tutorial. Next, they explored the idea of height (moving up) within the space of a game by creating the space of a ziggurat. The goal of the ziggurat level was set in the most difficult place to reach where the player has move up to reach it. Many students realized the challenges of 3-D game design and quickly realized how difficult it is to learn a new skill that requires practice to gain comfort with.

From Ross: This week in Being, Space and Place 6, we explored the three kingdoms of Egypt: Old, Middle, and New. After doing some timeline work with the Old and Middle Kingdoms, we focused on the beginnings of the New Kingdom by analyzing the PBS documentary Egypt's Golden Empire. At home, students read Chapter 8 of their History Alive! text and were to complete reciprocal teaching for class on Thursday. Later in the week, we focused on hieroglyphs, the form of writing used in Ancient Egypt. Next week, students will be continuing their exploration into Egypt as well as taking an assessment on what we have learned so far.

GRADE 7
Note to 7th Grade Parents: Please promote Home Work Help! Very few 7th graders are taking advantage of this opportunity!

From Audrey: Power Speak Donation Request! We are working to enrich our students' language experience by building a Q2L Foreign Language Library! We are asking for donations of books in the foreign languages that the students are studying: Spanish, French, German, Latin, and Mandarin. If you have any extra dictionaries, children's books, or language guides that would help to supplement student learning, please bring them to the Quest To Learn main office- we will have a box for collection! Thanks!

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Q-dents completed Photosynthesis Expertise Inventories, which marked the end of Quest 2. They were launched into Quest 3 by a mysterious set of notes that the Gametix Game Designers found on the desk of an estranged biochemist that was recently laid off. Since they no longer have contact with their resident science expert, they need our help decoding her notebook. Q-dents deduced that that we need to learn about Genetics if we are going to help them. We participated in a lab during which we determined if dominant traits are more prevalent than recessive traits. Next week, we will continue practicing with genetics terminology and application.

From Lara: This week in Wellness 7, we began Quest 3: Are You My Friend? with a reflection and an interview about the qualities of a good friend. In this quest we will be using elements of theater to explore our own ideas and then to advise others about the ins and outs of friendships. Some important words and ideas that have come up already are: Trust, loyalty, honesty, kindness and humor. 702 & 703 this weekend have homework to tell stories about good and bad experiences of friendship (true or not) based on one of the "7 Ways to Know if your Friends Really Care About YOU." 701 will have this assignment next week. Next week, we'll be getting down to brass tacks about the rules of soccer and how soccer players function together as a team.

From Lauren: This week in SFTM 7 students began pre-production for their Zoetrope Challenge. They analyzed a zoetrope in terms of a system in order to understand how a zoetrope works and what it needs in order to function. Next, they practiced multiple iterations of action cycles with different action verbs to gain a stronger understanding of the nuances of animation and the subtlety of motion. Next week, they will be constructing their own personal zoetrope from scratch.

From Limor: This week in BSP 7, we were able to jump into our literature study of Laurie Halse Anderson's "Chains". We began the week by checking in on our understanding of the novel and the QAR reading strategy. We were then interrupted by a video clip of the Oprah Winfrey reaching out to Q2L. She heard what we were able to do for the colonial ghosts and wanted us to help her in re-teaching the American society who/what deserves power. Oprah believes that the aspects of power that we are idolizing are negative, but before she signs us on to help her, we need to prove our understanding of power. To begin preparing for this challenge, we participated in an awesome activity that put "Chains" characters in a head to head battle. Students were assigned two "rounds" where they had to take a stance as to which character was more powerful and find literary (or textual) proof to help support your point. Students then shared their points (with proof!) to a panel of judges who decided which character really held power, whether it is financial, societal, and physical or the many other types that were introduced. The decisions were different for each class - very interesting to see the power of literary proof! Parents, please make sure to check the homework website and see if your student is on task with the assigned readings. Your support is imperative!

From Margaret: This week in Codeworlds 7, we continued our study of algebra, focusing on the steps to take to solve for an unknown variable in a multi step linear equation. We started with solving equations with coins and bags and transitioned to variables and constants, which is one of the basic ideas students need to master to be able to be fluent in algebra. We will then be continuing to use algebra in our study of geometry and probability in the coming weeks.

Week of January 31 – February 4, 2011

Dear Q2L Families,

So many great things happened in the halls of Quest this week! From groups in the hall standing under a large flower cutting out molecules to create the chemical formula for photosynthesis, Clubs, students receiving individual support, teams of students laying on the floor with a laptop, researching, drawing, writing – the hum of hard work and collaboration is noted by guests to the program and teachers and students from the other schools in the building as they travel through our space. The high schoolers often say to their friends, “Man, I wish this was here when I was in middle school!” and the teachers who overhear them say, “Me, too!”

Thank you, Lauren, 7th Grade teachers, and parent chaperons for a great trip in Friday to the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens. The museum was recently renovated, so in addition to great exhibits they kept from the original space, they have added even more beautiful, state-of-the –art displays. It was a perfect fit for the current work in Sports for the Mind. Unfortunately the museum was a little disorganized, and the teachers had to make some adjustments on the fly (changing the number of groups, not having access to the lunch room at the time we were scheduled…), but the museum itself was magnificent, and a good time was had by all!

2010-2011 Q2L School Trip: While not all of the details are in place, we have set the date for our
Annual Q2L School Trip! Leaving early Wednesday, May 18, staying over-night, and returning Thursday evening, May 19, both the 6th and 7th grades are going to Sharpe Reservation in Fishkill, NY (about an hour and a half from NYC). It is a beautiful wooded area with lakes and mountains and hiking and tons of great indoor options as well. The 6th grade outdoor experience will focus on team-building, similar to last year’s 6th grade trip. The 7th grade will focus on science and the environment. There are great facilities, including lovely, heated cabins! Details regarding cost, etc. to follow shortly.

Picture Day! Re-take Day is scheduled for Tuesday morning, February 8th. We will not be retaking the larger 6th grade and 7th grade group pictures, only individual pictures. Order forms were handed out this week in Home Base. Students who took pictures before, but did not place an order may do so.

From Rebecca and Arana:
We are happy to announce the launch of our Q2L Family Resources Page. Over the past two years, we have received so many helpful suggestions from parents about ways to enrich our curriculum through field trips, guest speakers, and collaborations with outside groups. We have set up this form for families to continue to share ideas and resources that can enrich our curriculum and community.

We welcome all suggestions, but we are primarily interested in resources that can help us bring real-world experiences to our students through integration into our curriculum. For example, you might have a connection to individuals who we can bring in as guest speakers or judges, such as when we brought in a professional architect, software engineer, and photographer to judge the 6th grade Rube Goldberg competition. In addition, we welcome suggestions for outside groups, museums or institutions that we can co-develop curriculum with or take our students to for field trips. If you'd like to submit more than one entry, please fill out a separate entry for each resource.

Please click here to make submissions: Q2L Family Resources Page

7th Grade Human Development Series: Tuesday afternoon 7th graders began a three-part science series on Human Development. Looking at human development and adolescence through a “scientific” lens, Leah and Ameer began the discussion around the “nuts and bolts” of anatomy and the changes the human body experiences as it matures.

Valentine’s Day Teen Dance: The PTA is sponsoring a Valentine’s Day Dance this Friday, February 11, at Parson New School -Lang, 55 West 13th, 5:30 - 8:30 pm. There is a modest fee to help cover the costs of refreshments. Tickets went on sale February at school for $2.00, and will be on sale through Thursday. Tickets will be available at the door for $3.00. This dance is for students only, not families. Parents interested in serving as chaperones may contact Rebecka Jerome (PTA Hospitality Committee), at rebeckajerome@mac.com.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

New! Girl Jam!
The Wednesday Girls' Jam is a girls-only, creative learning space
where Q2L girls can explore new ideas and learn new things. This week's twenty Q2L girls attended this first-ever event. They spent time getting to know one another, brainstorming and working on individual and group projects. The Girl Jammers made a list of their areas of interest and it became clear that they reached far and wide, from starting a newspaper and building websites to event planning, interior decoration and project runway-style design challenges.
The next workshop is Wednesday, February 9, from 1:30-3:30pm in the library. All Q2L girls and their friends are invited to attend!

Math Olympiad!
This week in Math Olympiad, we practiced with some problems ranging from algebra to geometry to logic in preparation for our fourth contest. Students worked in teams to solve problems and offer solutions and thought-provoking questions. Our next meeting date is Wednesday 2/9 at 7:45am. Go Mathletes!

Math Power
IMPORTANT 7th Grade MATH POWER ANNOUNCEMENT: Starting the week of Monday, January 31st, 7th Grade Math Power will be held on Mondays and Tuesdays from 3:30pm to 4:30pm (instead of Mondays and Thursdays). 6th Grade Math Power will continue with Pierre on Mondays and Thursdays. Please make the necessary arrangements so that your child will be able to attend. If you have concerns regarding this change to the 7th grade schedule, feel free to contact Audrey. Contact Pierre (PDizon@Q2L.org) or Audrey (AGeis@q2l.org) with any other Math Power questions.

Short Circuit
This week in Short Circuit participants continued to discover new skills and tools. While some students prototyped their ideas using sketchbooks and clay, others continued to explore programming with Scratch and controlling lights and animated characters with keyboards and switches.

Wednesday Kick-off
This week the students in the after-school recreational soccer program built on theirs skills by practicing a new drill that focused on the key elements of defense and positioning. Coach Rafael split the players into two sides and played a game with them that worked on ball movement, positioning and guarding. Teams earned one point for every completed pass; in order to score points the player receiving the pass had to demonstrate possession of the ball by trapping. The opposing team scored points by intercepting the pass, whereupon possession changed. Some of the key lessons the students learned were to spread themselves out on the field, which as a result, allowed the player passing more space to control and distribute the ball to teammates. While on defense players learned to guard the player by facing them instead of looking at the ball since looking at the passer would allow the other player to elude them and get open and complete a pass.

The kids are really enjoying themselves learning and playing soccer together. There are two more weeks remaining in the winter session for Q2L's Wednesday Kick-Off and the City Soccer in the Community program.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday, February 7	PTA Meeting 6:30 – 8:00
Tuesday, February 8	Picture Retake Day
Friday, February 11	Q2L Valentine’s Day Dance
Wednesday, February 16 and 17	Parent – Teacher Conferences
Saturday, February 19 – Sunday, February 27	President’s Week (schools closed)
Saturday, April 16 – Tuesday, April 26	Spring Break (schools closed)
Tuesday, May 3 – May 4	NY State ELA Exam
Wednesday, May 11 – May 12	NY State Math Exam
Wednesday, May 18 and May 19	School Trip – Hidden Valley Outdoor Ed. Center
Monday, May 30	Memorial Day (schools closed)

CURRICULUM UPDATES

Home Base Update from Rachelle This week in Home Base we condensed our time to prepare students for the NYC Acuity testing. Students participated in both the English Language Arts and Mathematics assessment. Although a practice run, the Acuity is a great predictor of how students will perform on the New York State ELA and Math examinations. Towards the end of this week, we introduced the topic of understanding Feedback Reports. As Parent Teacher Conferences approach, we challenge each student to become an advocate in their learning side by side with their parents and teachers. While our unique Feedback Reports are new to some parents, they may be new to students as well- particularly 6th graders. We want to ensure that students not only understand how to read their Feedback Reports but also analyze their areas of strength and weakness. Home Bases began with a basic activity to understand the importance of feedback. Our game, which called each student to draw an image based on teacher's directions, did not allow students to ask any questions! Students found this to be particularly challenging as the directions were confusing and tricky (intentionally!). At the end of the activity, students realized that without feedback, their was no way they could receive the proper instruction to know if what they were doing was on the right track. As we move into next week, students will gain a better understanding of the strands of assessment during a trimester and will sit with their Home Base advisor to assess their current performance in these areas.

GRADE 6
From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds 6, we revealed Quest 2, which is all about polygons and angles. We began looking at polygons and their properties, along with their kinds of symmetry. Students worked with various polygons to discover if it had reflection and/or rotation symmetry. We also reviewed for our re-test next week, covering our skills of converting between fractions, decimals and percents. Students should be working on their review packets this weekend.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, students conducted one of their most sophisticated labs yet! In order to help Fla and Mingo with their control panel and understanding what the instruments are measuring, we began to investigate "temperature". Students experimented with heat transfer and conducted a lab to determine whether soil or water would heat quicker, and which would hold onto the heat longer. After collecting the data, students learned how to and began to create a line graph to represent for this experiment. Next week to further our goal of helping Fla & Mingo with their instrument panel, we will have to figure out what an anemometer does.

From Lara: Ariel is looking for pigeons! Ali is feeling cheese! Lev is hugging schnitzel! The 6th grade is now up and running on Being Me and being very creative with their status updates! This week in Wellness almost every 6th grader logged on to Being Me and has begun to explore the many possibilities of our online community. Students have started and joined online groups, uploaded their bios and recorded their moods on the moodtracker. In the coming weeks, students will be able to join debates and forums for sharing their ideas and expertise. In the gym, we're continuing with team games that focus on soccer skills.

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6, students continued to explore 3-D game design using Atomosphir (http://www.atmosphir.com/). To begin to articulate the difference between 2-D and 3-D, the students had to create a comparison visual between the process of using Gamestar Mechanic and Atmosphir. It was clear by most of their images they are blown away by the options available in 3-D.

From Ross: This week in Being, Space and Place 6, we journeyed to Egypt and began exploring the Nile River. We focused on the physical geography of the Nile by creating detailed maps based on research from the British Museum Website. Then, we discussed the many advantages to living in the Nile River Valley. Students received their first comic from Pearson - Egypt #1, and used it to create presentations to convince people to move from Mesopotamia to Egypt. Lastly, we started a viewing of the PBS documentary - Egypt's Golden Empire.

GRADE 7
Note to 7th Grade Parents: Please promote Home Work Help! Very few 7th graders are taking advantage of this opportunity!

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Q-Dents performed and recorded “Photosyntheskits,” dramatic representations of the photosynthetic process. The skits were quite entertaining, but more importantly, they did a marvelous job of showing the recombination of molecules that happens in the chemical reaction of photosynthesis. Next week, students will choose whether their game creatures will be heterotrophs or autotrophs. In addition, they will also choose their creature’s traits and begin to analyze how a creature’s traits will determine its behaviors.

I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate and publically celebrate the following students who have completed 100% of their TWTW homework so far this Trimester!

From 701:	From 702:	From 703:
Jade Bove	Nadine Clements	Kyrese Adams
Darniece Brandon	Maya Goodwin	Nicole Dodson
Akhar Bussant	Clyde Huibregste	Kees Johnson
Isabel Clements	Neariah Mandisa	Aviv Porath
Michael Feintuch	Miya Matthews	Rocco Rinaldi Rose
Dakota Jerome-Solbakken	Liam Smith
Eva Roso
Brianna Tse Wall

Please note, there have been many absences in the month of January due to snow and illness. If your child does not have 100% homework at this point, they are still able to turn in late assignments.

From Lara: This week in Wellness 7, we had lively debates about self-esteem and how it relates to things like body image and what kind of clothes and "stuff" a person has. Students wrote advice for a 13 year-old we're calling "S" who is having a hard time accepting compliments from friends because she (or he?) was feeling so bad about her/his body. After reading an article about self esteem and reflecting on their own experiences, our budding Tweenlineq Help-deskers had some really caring, smart advice for "S" like: "You can raise your self esteem by writing down your good qualities and thinking about what you did well today", "You’re going through changes and a lot of people feel like you. Don’t worry", "Compliment yourself every day...since you hate other people to compliment you, you should face your fear by doing it yourself." In the gym, we're still keeping in shape and having fun with Frisbees.

From Lauren: Students in SFTM 7 watched student examples of different types of animations in which they had to describe the narrative, the visuals, and audio of each. On Friday, we went on an adventure to Astoria, Queens to the Museum of Moving Image. Here the students learned about the creative process of image making.

From Limor: This week in BSP 7, we were introduced to Laurie Halse Anderson's historical fiction novel, Chains. Chains is a great connection in between our trimester 2 learnings of the Revolutionary War and the literary elements and devices that we will be introduced to. We learned about a new, helpful reading strategy known as QAR (Question Answer Relationship) and began to utilize this tool (and will continue to) throughout our reading of Chains. Before we opened the pages to the novel, we relied on our astute observations of the cover, accolades and other noticings of the book. Parents, please discuss the readings with your child and ensure that they are staying on track with assignments, which will be found both in their planners and on the homework website.

From Margaret: This week in Codeworlds 7, we finished our unit on linear equations, and students will be working their final unit project over the next several days. The project involves designing a visual pattern in 5 different sizes, creating a table of increasing sizes of their pattern, finding the equation that this represents, and then graphing this linear equation on a four quadrant coordinate graph. Projects are due on Tuesday. Next week we will work on solving one and two-step algebraic equations.

Week of January 24 – January 28, 2011

Dear Q2L Families,

Yesterday both 6th and 7th students were again sent home with some preparation materials for the Acuity Predictor that they will be taking this Monday and Tuesday mornings. While not a “high –stakes” assessment, the Acuity Predictor serves as an interim assessment for the NY State exams in May. We will not have covered all of the material in the Predictor at this point in the school year, but an item-analysis of the results will inform teacher planning as we approach the May exams. In additional to the “test preparation” embedded in Domain missions and quests during the trimester, we will be offering explicit “test preparation” after school beginning in early March. We will provide the schedule for these sessions before we leave for President’s Week vacation.

Snow Safety and Dismissal: While it is very difficult to expect for there to be piles of snow and no snow balls… At dismissal on Friday a snowball was thrown and it hit another child in the eye. He is fine, but it does highlight a need to address behavior at dismissal. Every afternoon Home Base teachers escort students downstairs, and students are picked up by an adult or leave to go home on their own. Teachers used to wait downstairs for late pick-ups, but we are now asking teachers to bring students who are waiting back up to the office so that we are not encouraging students to stick around and wait with their friends in front of the building. Please remind your kids that they are to leave the area immediately, and that they are still bound by school rules until they reach home. As we remind them often, they are “Quest to Learn” outside of the building, walking down the street, in the subway or on the bus!

7th Grade Human Development Series: Tuesday afternoon we will begin a three-part science series on Human Development with the 7th graders. Looking at human development and adolescence through a “scientific” lens, Leah and Ameer will present the “nuts and bolts” of anatomy and the changes the human body experiences as it matures. Parental acknowledgement forms were backpacked home yesterday. Please make sure to dig them out of backpacks to sign them and return them Monday.

Quest to Learn Presents: It is a pleasure to announce that Institute of Play has been selected to present at the 2011 Digital Media and Learning Conference, March 3 -5 in Long Beach, California, and Ameer has been invited to attend the conference and present his work with them! We are also very excited that the PTA has agreed to cover travel and accommodation costs for Ameer in support of the Seven Dimensions of a Quest to Learn Teacher: teacher as leader. (Thanks, PTA!)

Valentine’s Day Teen Dance: The PTA is sponsoring a Valentine’s Day Dance on Friday, February 11, at Parson New School -Lang, 55 West 13th, 5:30 - 8:30 pm. There is a modest fee to help cover the costs of refreshments. Tickets go on sale February 4 at school for $2.00, or $3.00 at the door. This dance is for students only, not families. Parents interested in serving as chaperones may contact Rebecka Jerome (PTA Hospitality Committee), at rebeckajerome@mac.com.

Picture Day! Re-take Day is scheduled for Tuesday, February 8th. A reminder will be sent home to students who were absent or arrived to school late on Picture Day. We will not be retaking the larger 6th grade and 7th grade group pictures, only individual pictures.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

New! Girl Jam!
The Girls' Fashion Jam workshop is Wednesday February 2, from 1:30-3:30pm. The workshop is free and open to all Q2L girls interested in fashion and design. During the workshop, students will design projects and create something special to wear home. Materials will be supplied for all workshop attendees. Interested students can sign up outside of Mission Lab by Monday, January 31 at 3:30pm. We're very excited about this new program and hope to see your child there!

Math Olympiad!
This week in Math Olympiad, we practiced for our next contest, which is on February 9th. We worked independently and together to complete practice problems, sharing our different strategies to think about and solve each problem. Students are doing amazing work and improving their logic and mathematical skills with every session! Go Mathletes! See you all bright and early on Wednesday at 7:45am!

Short Circuit
The Short Circuit program returned this week with new activities, new participants and a new mentor. While some students reviewed their circuits and helped the new Short Circuiters light LEDs using conductive paint, others built circuits and lit up their LEDs using a computer program called Scratch. It was great to see the kids collaborating, teaching their peers and designing creatures and machines that incorporated their new skills. Short Circuit also had a surprise visit from MAKE magazine's Dale Dougherty, who inspired the Short Circuiters with do-it-yourself projects and inventions.

Wednesday Kick-off
The kids in the after-school soccer program were ramped up for soccer this week. During the first half of the afternoon, back by popular demand, the students played a game of “Soccer Tag.” After dividing into two sides each team took time in their groups to strategize and create a game plan. The final score of the match was 10-8 and the kids all collaborated well throughout. After the match Coach Rafael named a student for MVP – Kofi Williams! And Outstanding Play of the Game – Xavier Nieves!

The students then took a break from the action to rest and enjoy a snack break. They finished the day by playing a regulated soccer game that ended in a 2-0 score, both goals scored by Taj Primus-Dawson! The students got in a good workout and had a ton of fun playing together. It was an awesome day of soccer!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday, January 31-February 1	Acuity Predictor Assessments ELA, Math
Monday, February 7	PTA Meeting 6:30 – 8:00
Tuesday, February 8	Picture Retake Day
Friday, February 11	Q2L Valentine’s Day Dance
Wednesday, February 16 and 17	Parent – Teacher Conferences
Saturday, February 19 – Sunday, February 27	President’s Week (schools closed)
Saturday, April 16 – Tuesday, April 26	Spring Break (schools closed)
Tuesday, May 3 – May 4	NY State ELA Exam
Wednesday, May 11 – May 12	NY State Math Exam

CURRICULUM UPDATES

Home Base Update from Rachelle This week in home base we continued to focus on study skills in preparation for next week's Acuity test. Students took a survey that gave them insight as to how they learned. For those that prefer written directions and may struggle with long lectures, visual learner was their choice. Auditory learners found out that they may like to have directions read as well as listening to lectures. The kinesthetic/tactile learner related to hands on activities, experiments, and physical movement. After we identified our main style of learning, we were able to see how we could differentiate our own learning. We also took a look at examples of careers that fell under each category. Now that students have a clear understanding of how to engage themselves in their learning, they can be better equipped to study and thus, better equipped to perform well as we progress through the academic year. Stay tuned for more tips and tricks catered to your child's form of learning and studying!

GRADE 6
From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds 6, we finished up our work with FDP (fractions, decimals & percents) and began our journey through geometry. We completed our FDP Math Masterpieces, which showed our math skills and creativity to the New Parks Initiative Project at Six Flags. The last day to submit a (late) Masterpiece will be Monday January 31. We finished our FDP exploration with the game Math Miners on Friday with our second test directly following the game. We began to look at shapes and their properties this week and will be exploring Shapes and Designs throughout this trimester.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, students began Quest Two. After successfully completing their Keynote presentations to Fla and Mingo about which layer or the atmosphere to travel in, Fla and Mingo had a new request for the students. This time we will be learning about the different weather related instruments in the balloon and creating our own instrument panels to help Fla and Mingo navigate their way home. Stay tuned for more updates from the fish out of water!

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6 we focused on ourselves as members of a team. In the classroom we played a musical team game where some students grappled with the challenges of being a team leader and all students grappled with the challenges of being a part of many different teams at the same time. A BIG shout-out to 601 for their musical collaboration during this game. Being Me, Q2L's closed social networking site, is now up and running. Some sixth graders were able to log on this week and begin creating their profile pages and interacting on line. Everyone else should be on by next week!

In the gym, we've been playing a "modded" (modified) soccer game that allows students to focus on passing, strategizing and other team-work skills while having the satisfaction of scoring more often than in a full-on game.

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6, students continued to explore 3-D game design using Atomosphir (http://www.atmosphir.com/). They are quickly becoming familiar with this new platform for game play and game design and are noticing how it compares to Gamestar Mechanic's 2-D game play and game design.

From Ross: This week in Being, Space and Place 6, we received our first official correspondence with Pearson Education Publishing. They have tasked the 6th graders with a "BSP Collector Card" challenge. Students will be downloading a series of "collector cards" from the homework website (hmwk.q2l.org). These cards are editable PDF's that will run on Adobe Acrobat software. As this is a MAJOR ONGOING PROJECT, it is essential that parents are supporting the work at home. Please have your children show you how to "pick-up" cards at the homework website, download them, save them, and send them out to the Pearson email address as an attachment. Additionally, the homework website contains directions on how to do this activity - a copy of what all students received in class. To better support students with this assignment, please feel free to email me (rflatt@q2l.org) with any questions or concerns regarding these collector cards. We are very excited to be doing this project for the 2nd year in a row and I look forward to seeing the students' work!

GRADE 7
Note to 7th Grade Parents: Please promote Home Work Help! Very few 7th graders are taking advantage of this opportunity!

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Q-dents completed their biome research and became teachers in an "Each One Teach One" activity, in which every student presented about a biome to their small group. After students became biome experts, they were able to take the first steps in their Gametix Creature Kits. They named their creatures, chose a biome, and described the environments their creatures will inhabit. We then received another correspondence from Gametix in the form of a webquest. They want us to teach them about photosynthesis since their biochemist was recently laid off (budget cuts!). Next week we will be completing the photosynthesis webquest. The goal of the webquest is to create educational and entertaining skits that will teach even the most uninterested game designer all about the fascinating photosynthetic process..

From Lara: This week in Wellness 7, everyone finished up Quest 1 with presentations of commercials and ads they created to make us want to buy things that we don't need. A special shout -out to 701 for finishing ahead of everyone and 703 for their creativity, excellent performing skills and professionalism! Then we dove right into Quest 2, which was inspired by a question posted on the Tweenline Q Blog under the title “I Feel Ugly". We explored what it really means when we say someone is attractive and what is considered good-looking in some other cultures around the world currently and historically. Next week, we'll do some reading about extremes that people go to when they confuse how they're feeling inside with how they look on the outside: Anorexia/Bulimia (not just a girl's issue any more), using steroids, plastic surgery, etc.
In the gym, we're staying active with our frisbees--702 & 703 are playing Ultimate and 701 is playing Frisbee Golf.

From Lauren: Students in SFTM 7 this week reflected about their learning experience with the Flipbook Project. They also began to think about the meaning of Animation. Next Friday, the students will have the pleasure of attending a field trip to the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, where they will be immersed in the creative process of making moving images. We are aware of the short notice of this field trip and appreciate your understanding. Field trip slips were sent home this week and are due signed by Tuesday February 1.

From Limor: This week in BSP 7, students had an introduction to power, our overarching discussion, or learning point of the trimester. We brainstormed what we thought makes someone powerful, and got to express our (very varied) opinions when we played “The Human Barometer”. The human barometer measured our opinions by where we physically placed ourselves on a scale ranging from agree to disagree on a selection of statements about power. There were no wrong answers, as long as students could express their reasoning. We then saw a slide show that had very diverse images matched with thought provoking questions. Next the students had an exciting challenge - Could YOU be a minuteman? A minuteman was a colonist who was ready to join the patriotic militia in "a minutes notice". Students were given one minute to put on their uniform of a button down shirt (four buttons had to be closed!), a pair of khakis (zipped/buttoned!) and a buckled belt. Many of our kids are now certified “Minute Men”! We ended class playing great board games with boards students created and Revolutionary War game cards with vocabulary we have learned throughout this Quest. Students either landed on a "draw it", where they had to draw the term, a "describe it", where they had to find synonyms and their knowledge of definitions to get their group mates to guess the term or "act it", where they had to silently act out the term. Students also included "special" boxes that either had a positive or a negative effect on the other player by connecting them to Revolutionary War events - for example, King George passed a new tax on the colonists. Move back 4 spaces. We had a lot of fun and Limor was greatly impressed by the display of student knowledge. We also finished our Liberty Tree.

From Margaret: This week in Codeworlds 7, students deepened their understanding of patterns by learning to identify a particular type of a pattern, linear patterns. Students timed how long it took for them to walk 100 meters, and found their average walking rate in meters per second. They then used this rate to project times and distances they might walk if they continued to walk at this constant rate. This data was used to examine how linear relationships are expressed in tables, graphs and equations. Students also had a unit test this past week. Please note that this Friday, February 4th will be the last day that late homework will be accepted for this unit.

Week of January 18 – January 21, 2011

Dear Q2L Families,

Feedback reports were mailed home yesterday afternoon, Friday, January 21. Thank you for your patience!

As a faculty we felt that because Boss Level is such a valued assessment space in the Quest model, we wanted Boss Level feedback to be made explicit to students and parents and to be included in the Feedback Reports. We are really pleased that the 2010-11 Trimester 1 Boss Level assessment information is included in Feedback Reports in the Home Base section. The first two competencies listed under Class: Home Base, (ELA/Independent reading and Design Thinking: Listening) were assessed by Home Base teachers over the course of the first trimester. Boss Level competencies were assessed during the week of Boss Level (December 16 – December 23), and data was collected and entered by the teacher who led your child’s Boss Level Challenge: for the 6th graders the assessor was their Home Base teacher, for 7th graders the assessment data was collected and entered by the team of educators in whose Boss Level Challenge they participated. The competencies assessed were Systems Thinking/Dynamic Thinking, Digital Medial Use, Iteration/Tinkering, Iteration/Receptivity, and Iteration Listening.

Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, February 16 and Thursday, February 17, but if there are any pressing concerns or questions about your child’s Feedback Report, please feel free to contact her/his Home Base teacher or the teacher of a specific domain. As always, you are also welcome to contact me directly.

Assessment Information: For the second Friday in a row students were send home with some preparation materials for the Acuity Predictor that they will be taking January 31 and February 1. We will be challenging students with weekend test prep assignments leading up to the Acuity Predictors. We ask that students do the best they can, and their work will be reviewed in Home Base groups, with guidance from the core domain teachers. While not a “high –stakes” assessment, the Acuity Predictor serves as an interim assessment for the NY State exams in May. We will not have covered all of the material in the Predictor at this point in the school year, but an item-analysis of the results will inform teacher planning as we approach the May exams. In additional to the “test preparation” embedded in Domain missions and quests during the trimester, we will be offering explicit “test preparation” after school beginning in early March. We will provide the schedule for these sessions before we leave for President’s Week vacation.

Power Speak: There are some super motivated 7th grade foreign language students who have moved ahead in their Power Speak lessons at an amazing speed! Unfortunately there are some students who are not keeping up with the calendar of lessons in the Power Speak program, and who are not working to the best of their ability. We encourage parents to sit with their 7th grader for an introduction to Power Speak and to review where they are in the calendar of lessons. Lessons listed in red indicate that students are behind the pacing calendar. Scores from quizzes and exercises are also available.
There have been some connectivity problems and Power Speak itself experienced some technical challenges before the vacation, but students should still be keeping pace with the calendar. Students who feel that they are not able to complete all of their work in the two class periods during the week and at home are strongly encouraged to attend Homework Help! Danke! Gracias! Merci! Gratias ago!

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
New! Girl Jam!
Short Circuit is creating an afterschool space that the girls can claim as their own! We are rolling out a special "girls only" design jam starting this Wednesday! It’s free and any girl from Q2L can come and bring a friend or sibling on Wednesday afternoons, 1:30-3:30-pm. Topics will vary from week to week based on what the girls want to learn and do. Quest Girls can bring even bring siblings or outside girl friends to enjoy the fun! Students will enjoy an introduction at Morning Meeting on Monday. For more information feel free to contact Paola or Leah G. at shortcircuit@q2l.org

Math Olympiad!
This week in Math Olympiad, we participated in our third contest! Students worked incredibly hard to complete these challenging problems, most finishing in less than the given time! Over the last three contests, each student has made incredible progress and is now able to complete at least one or two more questions correctly than they did when we began! Go Mathletes! We will meet again this Wednesday, January 26 at 7:45 am in my room!

Math Power
6th grade Math Power will continue with Pierre on Mondays and Thursdays. Starting the week of Monday, January 31st, 7th Grade Math Power will be held on Mondays and Tuesdays from 3:30pm to 4:30pm (no longer on Thursdays). Please make the necessary arrangements so that your child will be able to attend. If you have concerns regarding this change to the 7th grade schedule, feel free to contact Audrey. Contact Pierre (PDizon@Q2L.org) or Audrey (AGeis@q2l.org) with any other Math Power questions.

Short Circuit
The Institute of Play's afterschool program, Short Circuit, starts this Monday, January 24! Short Circuit is a multi-disciplinary program where participants create products, explore new materials and imagine new possibilities. During Short Circuit, students work at the intersection of physical and digital materials, exploring everything from cardboard and conductive ink to iPads and illustration. Short Circuit is a fun and engaging learning space where electronics, programming, systems-thinking, problem-solving and iteration are explored in a creative, studio-like environment. Enrollment is on-line, at:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFV0NFZ6RzV5Q1czaVkyYVp...
For more information see instituteofplay.org/details, or email us: shortcircuit@q2l.org. Best, The Short Circuit Team

Wednesday Kick-off
It was another exciting day of recreational soccer this week. The students warmed up with a series of relay races that included their favorite of them all, the “crazy-wacky” jumps up-and-down the gymnasium. It was then time for a modified game of “Soccer Tag”, as it was coined by the Q-dents, which they learned from coach Rafael. The game was a great way for the students to build on teamwork while focusing on the key element of positioning on the field.

The main objective of the game is to get the soccer ball to the opposing teams side of the field and tag the wall with the ball in order to score a point. The main rules of the game are: a team player must carry the ball with their hand(s), the player can pass the ball any direction or distance, and if/when the player is tagged while in position of the ball or it hits touches the ground then the ball possession changes to the other team. The soccer practice ended with another closely contested scrimmage game that ended in a 3-2 final score. The kids all got a good amount exercise for the day and had a great time playing soccer this week.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday, January 24	Winter Trimester Short Circuit begins
Monday, January 26	Wednesday Short Circuit Girl’s Jam! 1:30 – 3:30
Monday, January 31-February 1	Acuity Predictor Assessments ELA, Math
Monday, February 7	PTA Meeting 6:30 – 8:00
Tuesday, February 8	Picture Retake Day
Friday, February 11	Q2L Valentine’s Day Dance
Wednesday, February 16 and 17	Parent – Teacher Conferences
Saturday, February 19 – Sunday, February 27	President’s Week (schools closed)
Saturday, April 16 – Tuesday, April 26	Spring Break (schools closed)
Tuesday, May 3 – May 4	NY State ELA Exam
Wednesday, May 11 – May 12	NY State Math Exam

CURRICULUM UPDATES
Home Base Update from Rachelle This week in Home Base, we learned about how we study. Students participated in a brief study that measured their study habits. The results of the survey showed us how we perform in the following areas: Concentration, Remembering, Studying a Chapter, Organizing Time, Listening and Taking Notes, Taking Tests, and Motivation. Students received an informal assessment of which areas they needed support in and which areas of study they were excelling in. A fun word search was also given where students learned the various elements associated with studying and test taking. We found out that things such as nutrition and sleep also play a big part in our test performance. After identifying our strengths and weaknesses, home bases created goals around test performance. What types of studying skills are we going to commit ourselves to? What do we need to change about our current study habits? Creating a schedule with your child around studying and organization can help support them in these goals.

As we prepare for the Acuity Test for January 31st and February 1st, students will use this newfound information to perform well and enhance their test performance. In addition, students will learn how the Acuity can be a useful and valued tool to prepare them for the State Examinations.

GRADE 6
From Alicia: This week in Codeworld 6, we were sent our first information packet from Six Flags! They wrote to us asking for proof of our knowledge of converting between fractions, decimals and percents. In the packet, we were sent instructions to make Six Flags foldables that we filled in with our FDP (fractions, decimals & percents) knowledge and official notes. We were also sent an art-inspired project we will complete next week, so students should be brushing up on their FDP conversion skills over the weekend! Next week, we will work on our Six Flags budgets and begin our exploration of geometry!

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, students continued their study of density as it relates to air pressure. Students also witnessed two cool science demonstrations involving air pressure that involved a hard boiled egg and an empty soda bottle. We also received another letter from Fla and Mingo asking us to help them navigate their balloon. Fla and Mingo are two fish out of water, literally. They accidentally found their way into a hot air balloon and have no idea what is going on and need to choose a layer of the atmosphere to travel in to find their way home. Using their knowledge of matter, mass, density, air pressure and the atmosphere, students began to create a Keynote presentation that demonstrates these understanding and help Fla and Mingo decide what to do!

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6 we continued to think about how we present ourselves to our community. Students wrote a first draft of a "bio" that they will include on their profile page of Being Me. Students in 603 get a shout out for their excellent class discussion about what's appropriate to put online and what isn't. In the gym we did ball control drills to continue our mission to not only be excellent team members, but also better soccer players.

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6, students were given a 3-D Space Challenge by Gamestar Mechanic game designers in order to move onto 3-D game design. In teams of 2 or 3, they had to build one of four buildings (house, skyscraper, medieval castle, or ziggaurat) using random Lego parts. All of the students who participated did an amazing job with their buildings and are able to move on to 3-D game design using Atomosphir (http://www.atmosphir.com/). Please note that the Atmosphir accounts that the students use at Q2L do not require the students to spend any money. We want all the students to have the same experience using Atmosphir. As a result, students are not permitted to have Atmosphir accounts used in class that have real money value added.

From Ross: This week in Being, Space and Place 6, students wrapped up their Sumerian Civilization Thesis essays by peer editing each other's work. After publishing these pieces, students then began an exploration into Egyptian Civilization by annotating source material as well as completing reciprocal teaching assignments. Parents: Please take some time this weekend to visit the homework website. Throughout this trimester, the homework website will serve as a very important tool for daily homework assignments. This week, you will notice pages from our text available to download, as well as an informational handout about reciprocal teaching. Additionally, the homework website will include resources that students can use in their ongoing research this trimester.

GRADE 7
From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Q-dents wrote persuasive letters to the game company, Gametix. Students argued that sexual reproduction leads to more genetic variation and therefore greater biodiversity. In addition, their "GCK's" or Gametix Creature Creation Kits were revealed this week which contained the first steps in the process of creature creation: 1) determining the biome which creatures will inhabit and 2) choosing a method for obtaining energy. Next week, Q-dents will become biome experts and explore photosynthesis as a method for obtaining energy.

From Lara: This week in Wellness 7, our 7th graders took on the role of advertisers and used their newly researched specialist language to try to manipulate us into spending our money on things we don't really need: A pencil that gets all the right answers on tests; A revolving hairbrush that makes the task of hair brushing sooo much easier. But wait! There's more! One group wants us to spend our money on an invisible football, another on a machine that actually makes money! Everything is two for the price of one and at a $100 value in only 4 easy payments of $24.99! We're all excited about the presentations we'll see next week. In the gym 702 played it's first ultimate Frisbee game and 701 played Frisbee golf.

From Lauren: Students in SFTM 7finished their Hand-drawn Flipbooks. They colored and bound them. Some of the students produced some incredible flipbook animations!

From Limor: This week in BSP 7, students were exposed to the Revolutionary War! We started off the week by discussing what function a Liberty Tree held in colonial times and how colonists used it for communication and propaganda. We were then assigned specific topics from the Revolutionary War to become experts in it, and analyze what a neutral or Loyalist colonist should know if we wanted to persuade them to join the Patriot cause. Students then created a poster, a pamphlet or a letter to post onto our own "BSP Liberty Tree". We also learned more about the Revolutionary War and practiced our summarization and note-taking skills through an interactive presentation that included cartoon video clips and heavy metal songs. The students organized their information on a chart. Next week, we will be discussing the notion of power.

From Margaret: This week in Codeworlds 7, we finished our unit on patterns and variables this week and will be moving on to a new unit about linear functions starting on Monday. Students learned to use tables, graphs, and this week equations to identify patterns and solve real world problems. A unit test will be coming up next Tuesday. We also continued our new once a week game day format and students took on the challenge! This week we played an order of operations card game. The games are chosen to reinforce various topics that are part of the 7th grade curriculum. We look forward to enjoying (and learning
from) the games being designed right now by our Q2L game designers over the next several weeks!

Week of January 10 – January 14, 2011

Dear Q2L Families,

Working together with the PTA, we will soon be taking a survey to gauge interest in additional after-school activities. There is the possibility of including music, starting with an ensemble for students who are already proficient in an instrument, and possibly beginning piano, art, drama, dance, or a Book Club. We will also be asking students about the types of school enrichments and activities they would like to see develop this school year. Thank you, parents, for all of your ideas, suggestions, and especially for your support!

Assessment Information: On Friday students were send home with some preparation materials for the Acuity Predictor that students will be taking January 31 and February 1. We will be challenging students with weekend test prep assignments leading up to the Acuity Predictors. We ask that students do the best they can, and their work will be reviewed in Home Base groups, with guidance from the core domain teachers. While not a “high –stakes” assessment, the Acuity Predictor serves as an interim assessment for the NY State exams in May. We will not have covered all of the material in the Predictor at this point in the school year, but an item-analysis of the results will inform teacher planning as we approach the May exams. In additional to the “test preparation” embedded in Domain missions and quests during the trimester, we will be offering explicit “test preparation” after school beginning in early March. We will provide the schedule before we leave for President’s Week vacation.

Picture Day! Thank you to 7th grade parents Dasi Wiliams and Kathia Boisrond for facilitating Picture Day. In addition a traditional school “Picture Day” experience, this event also served as a fundraiser for the PTA. Individual student poses as well as 6th Grade and 7th Grade group pictures with grade teachers will be available. Late orders are still being accepted! Re-take Day is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, February 8th.

Another Power Speak “thank you” to 6th grade mom Beatriz Coles for continuing to volunteer on Mondays to speak with our 7th graders in their foreign language class, Power Speak! Students taking on-line lessons in German, French, and Spanish were given the opportunity to practice conversational use of their newly acquired knowledge! This week 6th grade parent Veronica Braun will begin working with our Power Speak students that are taking Spanish!

Feedback Reports will be distributed this week. For the first time Feedback Reports will include a new section with teacher feedback specifically around Boss Level assessments. Including Boss Level in our Feedback Reports better reflects the value of student work and summative assessments made during this key time of our academic year. Apologies for the unexpected extended delay!!!

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Math Olympiad!
Unfortunately Math Olympiad was cancelled this week due to the snowstorm! Sessions resume bright and early Wednesday morning!

Math Power
Math Power 6 and 7 continues! Students are working with Pierre (6th grade) and Audrey (7th grade) to strengthen their skills. Please feel free to contact Pierre (PDizon@Q2L.org) or Audrey (AGeis@q2l.org) for any additional information.

Short Circuit
This week Short Circuit continued to get ready for the start of afterschool on January 24. We backpacked information home on Thursday, so please be on the look out for our flyer! Online registration for Short Circuit begins Tuesday, January 18 at www.instituteofplay.org/register.

On Tuesday, January 18 from 5:30pm–6:30pm in the library, we will be holding an informational workshop for families interested in learning more about Short Circuit. We'll introduce the mentors, answer any questions and run a short activity that will help you learn more about our program. Everyone is welcome, so feel free to drop in.

Wednesday Kick-off
The kids in our Wednesday Kick-off recreational soccer program have really stepped up their game. This week coach Rafael taught the students a number of drills that are really honing their skills. As a way of setting the right pace needed for ball control, they started by dribbling with their hands and walking the soccer ball with soft rolls. Next, they used their feet to make push-passes by topping and rolling the ball with their foot, walking to catch it, and alternating feet. They then moved onto trapping the ball by tossing it in the air and trapping it on the ground to show possession gained. Another drill worked on dribbling by walking, then jogging the ball, gradually increasing the speed up-and-back. The main objective was to keep the ball in reach in order to show control of the ball. Lastly, they had to dribble the ball while looking up to ceiling, which demonstrated their ability to set the perfect pace for ball control.

They finished the practice by playing a friendly scrimmage game. It was an invigorating game as there were five lead changes in the match. The game ended with a 6 to 5 score and they players showed outstanding teamwork.

Homework Help:
REMINDERamourad@Q2L.org) with any questions.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday, January 17	Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (schools closed)
Tuesday, January 18	Parent Informational Workshop: Short Circuit Library, 5:30 – 6:30 pm All are invited!
Monday, January 24	Winter Trimester Short Circuit begins
Monday, January 31-February 1	Acuity Predictor Assessments ELA, Math
Monday, February 7	PTA Meeting 6:30 – 8:00
Tuesday, February 8	Picture Retake Day
Friday, February 11	Q2L Valentine’s Day Dance
Wednesday, February 16 and 17	Parent – Teacher Conferences
Saturday, February 19 – Sunday, February 27	President’s Week (schools closed)
Saturday, April 16 – Tuesday, April 26	Spring Break (schools closed)
Tuesday, May 3 – May 4	NY State ELA Exam
Wednesday, May 11 – May 12	NY State Math Exam

CURRICULUM UPDATES
Home Base Update from Rachelle In Home Base, this week was our last week to take an in-depth look at our Core Values. We learned all about how to Play Fair and Play Fully. Students learned that this phrase is applicable to various settings including play, academics, and even peer relationships. In the beginning of the week, we played a game where some student actors were selected to intentionally not follow the directions (play unfairly) and not put their all into the game (not play fully). Without knowing, students experienced firsthand the effects of being dishonest and not giving 100%. We also explored this value through role-play. Students created an imaginary conflict and two students took the role of the disputants. The disputants first had to act out a role-play based on how they believed students would resolve the issue. The rest of the Home Base then gave feedback and came up with a set of skills that would help the disputants come to a better and more positive resolution. Students realized that playing fair has a lot to do with integrity. We must be honest to others- and ourselves even when no one is looking. If we cheat to get ahead, we will actually fall behind. Even though we have finished taking a deep look at our values in Home Base, we expect to see them modeled in students daily. In addition, as Home Base continues, students should be able to easily identify core values hidden in activities!

As we approach a holiday this coming Monday, students explored how they can “play fully” in their community. As Martin Luther King, Jr. once did, we challenged students to serve their community- no matter how small the task. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day has been named a Day of Service and we look forward to hearing about every student’s good deed!

"Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?" – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

GRADE 6
From Alicia: This week in Codeworld 6, we worked though converting between decimals and fractions to prepare a budget plan for Six Flags. We used our new fraction/decimal benchmark knowledge to use our three-step method for moving from fractions to decimals for less-than-friendly fractions. Students should be working on homework, especially HW #3.3 if you received a HW reflection form for that assignment - both are due on Tuesday morning. Next week, we will use our fraction-decimal conversion skills to add percents to our repertoire.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, students conducted two exciting laboratory experiments. The first experiment dealt with exploring whether or not air had mass. The second experiment was the most complicated and detailed lab yet! Students were investigating density and which is more dense, oil or water. Using graduated cylinders and triple beam balances; students measured and calculated the densities of water and oil empirically! Ask them to see their results and lab reports.

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6 students created their own avatars for Being Me! Students thought about how they wanted to represent themselves to the school community and created Manga images of themselves on the website www.faceyourmanga.com. In the gym, students continued to practice this week's Q2L Value of "Get in the Game: Play Fair, Play Fully" with our pinnies game. In 601 a student "modded" the game by suggesting a way that all students could play at the same time--a perfect way to end the week!

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6, the students began to think about the difference between 2-Dimensional space and 3-Dimensional space to get ready for the transition from Gamestar Mechanic (2-D) to Atmosphir (3-D). Next week, they will be creating 3-D models of 2-D images of different spaces. To help inspire them, they watched Toy Story 3.

From Ross: This week in Being, Space and Place 6, we ended our first quest of Trimester 2 by presenting our collages on the components of civilization. Students got to see how each of these components manifests themselves in the civilization we live in today. In addition, students had the opportunity to make a short presentation in front of their classmates. We then began our second quest - in which Pearson Publishing has asked us to write a thesis driven essay that proves that the Sumerians were indeed a civilization. Students will select three of the ten components to focus on in their essay. After researching those components, students will then write a five-paragraph thesis essay that they will submit next week.

GRADE 7
From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Q-dents received a letter from a game company called Gametix. Gametix wants Quest to Learn's seventh graders to help develop and beta-test an educational game about Genetics, Evolution, and the history of Life on Earth! Q-dents were super excited to approach their first task this week: differentiating and exploring the advantages and disadvantages of various reproductive processes. They participated in two labs this week: the first lab explored the mathematical idea of exponential growth; which occurs when colonies of bacteria reproduce asexually. In the second, they dissected flowers and explored the sub-goals of each of the flower's reproductive components. Over the weekend, they must create an outline for a persuasive letter they will be writing in class to Gametix. The letter will argue Q-dent's opinions on this question: "How should the creatures in the game reproduce, if we are trying to create a genetically diverse virtual universe?"
Next week students will receive a Creature Creation Kit and begin building characters for the game.

From Lara: This week in Wellness 7, we analyzed the kinds of advertisements we see every day. We discovered that they use many different techniques to lead us to believe things that are less than true. For example, if you see the phrase, "As seen on ABC" it might not actually mean that it's been on ABC news. It probably means that the company bought time from ABC to air their "infomercial" (which is a commercial designed to look like news). We saw that advertisers use many techniques to make us trust them, like using words that have to do with science, celebrity spokespeople and quoting one person who was really happy with the product even if there were other people who were really unhappy with it. We also analyzed some ways that advertisements might purposely make us feel like we're not good enough and need to buy something to make us more like everybody else. Next week, we'll see how well we understand these techniques by making our own ads for totally useless products. In the gym we worked on our Frisbee-throwing accuracy.

From Lauren: Students in SFTM 7this week continued to work on their Hand Drawn Flipbook Project. They are beginning to realize the subtlety of animation. Their bound & colored Flipbooks will be due at the end of next week (701 & 702- Thursday January 20; 703- Friday January 21).

From Limor: This week in BSP 7, we tried a new (and fun!) approach to understanding the causes of the Revolutionary War. Students were exposed to a choose your own adventure video game, where we helped Nat Wheeler, a 14 year old apprentice, make choices that helped him learn about the conflict between the Patriots and the Loyalists. Throughout the game, we focused on vocabulary, on making predictions, comprehension questions and how choices affect outcomes. We also took time to discuss characterization and character traits in literature. Towards the end of the week (and continuing next week), we will learn about the Revolutionary War and how the colonists grabbed their independence.

From Margaret: This week in Codeworlds 7, we finished up our second investigation this week, examining the costs of putting a bicycle tour together and continuing to analyze tables and graphs. We looked closer at the stories that graphs can tell, and also at how graphs can be misleading. Finally, we began working with rules and equations, and explored how an equation can be yet another way to show how variables are related. We will continue working with equations next week and examine how they relate to tables and graphs.

Week of January 3– January 7, 2011

Dear Q2L Families,

Another “landmark” day in the life of a school community has arrived! Picture Day is this Tuesday, January 11th! It is important that all students arrive promptly at 8:30 am! We will begin with our 7th grade and our 6th grade group pictures. Individual student pictures are scheduled by class throughout the morning. Late students will have to be rescheduled – make-up date to be announced.

A Power Speak “thank you” to Beatriz Coles, mother of 6th grader Alberto, for volunteering on Monday to speak with our 7th graders in their foreign language class, Power Speak! Students taking on-line lessons in German, French, and Spanish were given the opportunity to practice conversational use of their newly acquired knowledge!

Student Accolades!
As we successfully close out Trimester I, we congratulate Home Bases who have accumulated the highest number of points as a result of dedicated independent reading and outstanding demonstration of Q2L Core Values. First Place winners receive a pizza party, second place winners receive a Certificate of Achievement, and third place winners receive a shout out during morning meeting. Let's take a look at our winners!

Grade 6	Grade 7
1st Place: Audrey's Home Base	1st Place: Ginger's Home Base
2nd Place: Limor's Home Base	2nd Place: Alicia's Home Base
3rd Place: Rachelle's Home Base	3rd Place: Ross' Home Base

Congratulations to all Q-dents for their hard work for our Independent Reading Program! New logs have been distributed this week and will be collected on Monday. More reading = More Points!!!!!!

Attendance Awards were presented during Morning Meeting on Friday to 25 students who have had perfect attendance since September! The list award winners is posted outside of the main office. Congratulations!

Student Journalist! An article written by Q2L 7th Grader Rocco Rinaldi Rose was published in the Canadian publication for kids aged 9 – 13, OWL Magazine. Rocco’s article explained his opinion that Q2L’s use of games and game-like instruction served to enhance students’ engagement and learning. Super job, Rocco!

“Shout Outs “to 7th graders Liam S., Clyde, and Charles, from Brendon, for coming down during lunch this week to repair The 3rd Kofi! Said Brendon, “It's pretty cool of them to remain invested in their boss level project in the new trimester.”

“Shout Outs” to Rocco, Nadia (7th grade), and Uriel (6th grade), who submitted games to the National STEM Challenge (www.stemchallenge.org), President Obama’s initiative to promote a renewed focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Math Olympiad!
This week in Math Olympiad, we practiced for our third contest, which takes place next week, January 12th. As students arrived at our first meeting for the new season, they got straight to work solving challenging problems and then practiced in pairs to prepare for next week. During this session our amazing Mathletes used an exciting variety of strategies as tools for solving problems, highlighting the immense pool of talent we have on our Math Olympiad team! Mathletes: Please arrive on time next Wednesday (7:45 am!) for our next contest!

Math Power
Math Power continued this week on Monday and Thursday. Parents, please remind students that attendance is mandatory! Appointments and play dates should be scheduled at times that do not conflict with these important math instruction and support sessions.

Gamestar Mechanic:
The Gamestar Mechanic Lunch Club is a student led game design space that allows kids to explore even further their game making skills, exchange expertise with each other and submit their work to design competitions. A big “shout out” to Club Q-dents Rocco, Nadia (7th grade), and Uriel (6th grade), who submitted games to the National STEM Challenge (www.stemchallenge.org), President Obama’s initiative to promote a renewed focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education. The National STEM Video Game Challenge aims to motivate interest in STEM learning among America’s youth by tapping into students’ natural passions for playing and making video games.
For more information about the Gamestar Mechanic Lunch Club, contact faculty sponsors Lauren or Chloe.

Short Circuit
Short Circuit returns on January 24 with a new schedule and new activities. Workshops will be Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 1:30–3:30pm and Wednesdays from 1:30–3:30pm.

There will be an evening workshop the week of January 18 for all interested families and students. All are welcome, to learn, make and share the Short Circuit experience. For more information, click here

Wednesday Kick-off
The students in the after-school soccer program started off by warming up with relay races. They broke up into four teams and did a number of soccer drills up and down the gymnasium. They then split up into two groups to work on a possession drill. The goal of the exercise was for the player in the middle of the group circle to gain possession of the soccer ball while the players on the perimeter worked to maintain their possession, with the ball moving in and around the circle. After taking some time to refresh and enjoy a snack break, the kids got to play a full-out match. The game ended in a nail biting, 2 scores to 1, goal kick shoot out.

Homework Help:
REMINDER: The Q2L Homework Help program will resume this week, Tuesday, January 11th, and will continue Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 3:40 – 4:40pm. Each session a 6th grade and a 7th grade teacher will be available to provide support to students as they complete current homework assignments. Please contact Ameer (amourad@Q2L.org) with any questions.

NOTE: Feedback Reports will be distributed this week. It will include a new section with teacher feedback of Boss Level assessments. Including Boss Level in our Feedback Reports better reflects the value of student work and summative assessments made during this key time of our academic year.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday, January 10	PTA Meeting 6:30 – 8:00
Tuesday, January 11	Picture Day
Monday, January 17	Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (schools closed)
Tuesday, January 18	Parent Tech Workshop: Short Circuit
Monday, January 24	Winter Trimester Short Circuit begins
Monday, January 31-February 1	Acuity Predictor Assessments ELA, Math
Monday, February 7	PTA Meeting 6:30 – 8:00
Friday, February 11	Q2L Valentine’s Day Dance
Wednesday, February 16 and 17	Parent – Teacher Conferences
Saturday, February 19 – Sunday, February 27	President’s Week (schools closed)

CURRICULUM UPDATES
Home Base Update from Rachelle This first week of the New Year, students focused on the Q2L Core Value: Experiment and Imagine Possibilities. What better way to start off a new trimester!! Each home base created specific goals that will be measured in the weeks to come. After sharing their individual goals, students used their imagination to create artistic expressions of these goals. These drawings became collages that Home Base Advisors will post as a creative motivation for students to stay on the right path.

As the school year continues, we also remind students of expectations and set higher yet attainable responsibilities. Advisors met with their Home Base to discuss policies around technology use. A new contract has been created and distributed to all students to help them understand the specific protocols around technology and what is allowed and against Q2L policy as it relates to equipment care, internet and email usage, and appropriate use of technology during the school day in and out of domains.

GRADE 6
From Alicia: This week in Codeworld 6, students returned to a new mission that was revealed on Thursday. Our new mission is to plan, design and build a brand new theme park for Six Flags (location TBD). We prepared for our new mission by comparing fractions and playing a challenging game of Fraction Feud in order to reinforce our comparing fractions skills. We began our mission by looking at decimals, tenths and hundredths to be precise. A HUGE shout out to all classes that played Fraction Feud, because many students were able to do the math in their head super quick each round, which shows that your skills are improving! We also learned that we must use our mathematical vocabulary when we describe our ideas (i.e.: a decimal is expressed with "zero and" its place value, "bigger" or "smaller" is not as accurate as greater than and less than, etc.) Students should be working on their homework and preparing to delve even deeper into decimals and percents next week.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, students wasted no time getting back into the swing of things and completed two labs already this week! Students learned about matter, atoms, the composition of the air around us and how to measure mass using a triple beam balance. The Candle Lab was a great success as students hypothesized whether the number of lit candles would affect how quickly the flames would suffocate in a jar. Go ahead and ask them about the results. Next week we will be investigating volume, density, and air pressure as they relate to the atmosphere.

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6 we've been preparing for Being Me, Q2L's internal social networking website. Students are reflecting about how they want to represent themselves as a member of the Q2L community and how to identify their mood and energy level. In the gym, we've been playing a fun new steal-the-pinnie game to get us ready for the team sport we're going to learn this trimester.

From Lauren: Happy New Year! This week in Sports For The Mind 6, the students played Animals of the Winter in Gamestar Mechanic to earn winter sprites and a newly released Quest with 2 episodes called Dungeon of the Rogue. To review their Game Design skills, at the end of the week, the students had to create a new 3 level game in Gamestar Mechanic using their new sprites.

From Ross: This week in Being, Space and Place 6, we began our second mission: "Graphic History." This trimester, students will be stepping into the role of publishers as they work with Pearson Publishing to develop a proposal for a comic series based on Ancient Egypt. Before we could do that, though, we started to analyze the civilizations and 10 components that are needed for a civilization to exist. To explore these components, we have continued to study the Mesopotamians and link their achievements to the components of civilization.

GRADE 7
From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Q-dents delved into cell division. They explored the division of Eukaryotic Cells, and through text, video, a virtual lab and role-play! They practiced data gathering and calculating percentages during the Mitosis lab in which they discovered that cells spend most of their time in Interphase, replicating their DNA. Next week we will be looking at the various ways that unicellular and multicellular organisms reproduce!

Special “Shout Out” for 703 for having the highest collective score on the TWTW Holiday Packet! Way to show TENACITY 703!

From Lara: This week in Wellness 7, students were introduced to their new mission to "Help the Help Desk!" Apparently, Lara is one of the professionals on the helpdesk for a blog called Teen-Line Q where "Tweens" and teens get to ask questions about important real-life issues and get straight answers. There have been so many questions recently that Lara needs some help answering all of them. 7th graders this trimester will be conducting observations, reviewing reliable resources, interviewing people and reflecting about their own thoughts, feelings and ideas in order to come up with answers to the questions that other tweens ask. In the gym, we started to practice our frisbee throwing and catching skills so that we can eventually play Ultimate Frisbee!

From Lauren: Happy New Year! This week students in SFTM 7 began the process of creating a flipbook. They first had to list 2 action verbs for each letter of the alphabet. Then, drew a letter out of a plastic baggie. This letter represented the letter of the verb they had to use for the action driving their flipbook. They created a sentence for this action and then storyboarded out the beginning, middle, and end of their flipbook narrative. For this trimester, the students will be learning different types of animation. ,

From Limor: This week in BSP 7, we began to expand on our knowledge of early America. We watched an animated film to learn more about the causes of the Revolutionary War and filled out a sheet that both tested and captured our knowledge. We also had a short writing assignment that questioned what we would do if we were colonists faced with the decision of being either a Patriot or a Loyalist and reasons why. We got into a heated debate by the students in the class who were very divided on the issues! This week, we also focused on the important skills of recognizing cause and effect and using context clues to decipher vocabulary words. We created a great tool known as vocabulary flaps to help us recall important Revolutionary War terms. We were also introduced to a new way of learning vocabulary and practicing our use of context clues. We listened to a hip-hop song called "How Else to Be", which used 15 high level words within the catchy tune. We used the context clues within the song to define them and practiced by writing our own sentences with context clues, completing a reading passage that used the words and played a fun game! The game had all of the Flocabulary words on a bingo-like grid and asked students to either draw a picture of the term, or write a sentence using context clues. I then read out definitions of the terms but (a twist!) I also read out definitions of terms that were not on our lists to test the students' knowledge. We then took an expansive exam that covered the causes of the Revolution, Revolutionary era terms, cause and effect, context clues and the Flocabulary words. Be on the look out for the grades that follow...

From Margaret: This week in Codeworlds 7, we started a unit on Variables and Patterns, where we are following a group of students putting together a bicycle tour and analyzing the data they collect along the way. Students learned about coordinate graphing, independent and dependent variables, and scale, through creating tables, creating graphs from tables, creating tables from graphs, and analyzing how a graph can tell a story. Next week we examine ways that the students can price the tour through analyzing tables and graphs of various bike rental companies. Codeworlds 7 will also be starting a new routine of having a "Game Day" approximately once a week where students’ skills are reinforced through a variety of games!

SPECIAL EDITION: BOSS LEVEL CHALLENGE
December 20 –December 23, 2010

Dear Q2L Families,
It was more than exciting to have so many families present to experience our five 7th grade Boss Level presentations in the morning and our 6th grade Rube Goldberg Machine Competition this past Thursday afternoon, December 23rd! The teachers, game designers, students, staff – each one of us gives their “all” during Boss Level, and we were really proud of the quality and creativity evidenced in the student work!

TOTAL THANKS TO ARANA AND REBECCA for such a successful Boss Level. The amount of planning, scheduling, (and re-scheduling) is unbelievable (my head hurts just thinking about it!)! Coordinating how to run simultaneous 6th and 7th grade Boss Levels was a daunting challenge. Synchronizing space, teacher breaks, “strands”, books, building supplies, planning technology use, working with the teacher teams on planning…. Such detailed, thoughtful planning is absolutely a labor of love! Thank you both!

REMINDER: Feedback Reports will be distributed during the week of January 3rd. instead of the week of December 27th and will include a new section with teacher feedback of Boss Level assessments. Including Boss Level in our Feedback Reports better reflects the value of student work and summative assessments made during this key time of our academic year.

BOSS LEVEL REPORTS

6th Grade

For their very first Boss Level, our 6th Graders were challenged with working with their Home Base teams to create Rube Goldberg Machines- very complicated machines that complete a simple task. During Phase One, students participated in “Strands”; workshops that included research, teamwork, SmallLab, as well as time in the gym. Then the wild tinkering and building ensued! The week ended in a competition of incredible, creative… and functioning machines!

From Rachelle: For our very first boss level, Rachelle's Home Base had the challenge of creating a Rube Goldberg machine that could open up a locker! Students started immediately building an incline plane and brainstorming ways to build a machine that would successfully complete the task. Although they came across many obstacles, every student contributed a pivotal idea that changed the outcome of the machine. Some of the special effects include:
- Creating a "doggy door" that captured the marbles and pushed the ping-pong ball down the ramp.
- Filling the ping-pong balls with marbles so they would have enough force to knock over the soda bottle.
- Filling the top of the soda bottle with a tray of marbles that would allow the bottom of the bottle to fall but also provide the top with enough force for the locker to open.
Students also created podcasts of their daily progress, which include pictures of the machine in its beginning stages.
The locker opening challenge was successful and our students created a cheer to celebrate: “1, 2, 3, 4 we opened the locker door!!”

From Ameer: This week in Boss Level, all home base groups worked extremely hard to put together their Rube Goldberg machines. A lot of metaphorical blood, real sweat and tears went into these machines and it was truly a sight to behold when the judges came around and watched as all of the students' hard work was put to the test. Our homebase (Leah’s and Pierre’s kids- Brandon R., Ethan P. Derian L., Mallory P., Louie V., Justin B., Ellis P, Tia M., Fatme K., Finn G.) was an amazing team that although at times had many difficulties and frustrations, came out with an award for the most creative in the end! Happy Holidays!

From Alicia: This week with Alicia's Boss Level Home Base (Audrey’s Home Base), students worked to plan and build a Rube Goldberg machine that turned off the lights. Our group realized we were a great group of planners that "planned, then built." We worked in pairs to iterate, iterate, iterate and build many versions of our machine. Magically, they decided on a Professor Pie/Creepytown theme, complete with a story and reason for turning out the lights. After being kidnapped, Professor Pie wants to just lie in bed and do mathematical research in the dark needing the lights turned off, naturally. Thanks to Sammy for writing the story! We worked up until the last minute before the judges and audience arrived, even spending our recess break making final changes (shout out to Ty, James, Tristahn, Sammy, & Nicholas). We played the theme to The Nightmare Before Christmas” to get our audience in the creepiest of moods as well. Congrats on all your amazing hard work, boss level home base! Practice your wave!

From Lauren: Lauren’s Home Base stood up to some tough questions by the judges, and impressed everyone with their natural, thoughtful answers and enthusiastic presentation…. Congratulations to the 2010 Winners of the Rube Goldberg Competition!

From Ross: This week, I worked with Margaret and Limor's homebase to complete a Rube Goldberg machine. Our mission was to build a complex machine in 7 parts, including 8 required items, as well as 3 simple machines - a pulley, a lever, and an inclined plane. The end goal was to turn the page in a book. After 3 days of extremely hard work, and a final 3 hours on Thursday, we worked through lunch to produce the first machine in the exhibition that went off successfully on its first try! Congratulations to the students in Margaret and Limor's homebases for the hard work they did during Boss Level.

7th Grade

For this, our very first 7th Grade Boss Level, teachers and game designers worked in teams to develop five different Boss Level Challenges. Challenges were then “pitched” to the students at a morning meeting, and our 7th graders selected which challenge they wanted to participate in for the week. The deliverables were AMAZING!!!

Greemix
Teachers: Audrey and Brendon Students: Beauchamp Baker, Shyaka Colimon, Armani Carela, Alessandro Ferran, Laszlo Jelisavcic, Clyde Huibregtse, Kees Johnson, Sojourner Kossi, Abel Orellana, Rocco Rinaldi, Liam Smith, Charles Raben, Dimitri Williot, Kofi Williams

Students in Greemix found artistic inspiration in contemporary art and then worked together to complete their masterpiece, “The Third Kofi”, a recycled art project. The first two days were dedicated to researching various aspects of recycling and activism, visiting two local exhibits at the Educational Art Alliance and the NY Studio Gallery for inspiration, and tinkering with the materials that the students would be working with, “garbage” collected by students in their own homes over one weekend. The last three days were dedicated to planning and building. Students developed ideas and voted on the piece they would ultimately create. They decided on an 8 foot tall replica of a student in the group. The students planned out the various stages of the project, split into different groups that focused on different parts of the piece, and worked on their design. They faced their biggest challenge towards the end of the project- getting their creation to stand. After extensive work and multiple iterations, the art piece entitled "The Third Kofi," was installed outside the elevators by the proud creators.

iPads, Light, Magic
Teachers: Ginger and Claudio Students: Liam Clayton, Burgut Dellenbaugh, Maya Goodwin, Brandyn Colon, Kai Goree, Luis Leon, Tia Hull, Miya Matthews, Anson Morales, Aviv Porath, Raku Shigematsu, Kenneth Valles, Nicolas Yaary, Jonathan Hurt, Amanda Feliciano

The 7th graders in this Boss Level challenge experimented with the technique of light painting. These students were tasked with creating a short animation to illustrate the 10 Core Values of Quest to Learn. They worked tirelessly to storyboard their ideas, gave each other helpful feedback, revised their ideas, and patiently animated their stories by drawing each frame with multi-colored LED lights in our darkened studio space. A camera set to a slow shutter speed captured their drawings as mesmerizing light creations. Students also created soundtracks to accompany their animation and filmed tutorials to teach the technique of light painting. Congratulations to all of the ILM students for a job well done!

Q2L Adventures, Inc.
Teachers: Leah H. and Margaret Students: Nicole Dodson, Isabel Clements, Isis Goodwin, Ellisa Mendez, Nicholas Charity, Annika Jerome-Solbakken, Neariah Mandisa, Willem Taghon, Imani Thomas, Henry Zhu

This week in Boss Level, Q2L Adventures Inc. traveled the city in order to explore the flavors, history, and culture of some of New York's most exciting neighborhoods. Students challenged with the task of creating a travel website for three unique New York City neighborhoods: Chinatown, the Lower East Side, and Harlem.
After researching on-line travel sites, learning about the early history of three New York City neighborhoods, and reviewing tips on travel photography, our group traveled to each of these neighborhoods and experienced them first hand. We visited museums, took walking tours, and sampled the local cuisine. Students took field notes and photos, capturing the history, culture, and “flavor” of each neighborhood and then compiled all of our research, photography, and field notes to create our very own Q2L Adventures Inc. travel site!
To view our final product, complete with slide shows and student supplied narrative, please visit our website: https://sites.google.com/a/questtolearn.org/q2l-adventures-inc/ Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

Byte by Byte
Teachers: Limor and Chloe Students: Nadine Clements, Julia Campbell, Darniece Brandon, Akahr Bussant, Graeme Cohen, Nadia Cianca, Jake Dropkin, Zakiyyah Mandisa, Dakota Jerome -Solbakken, Dameon Lawlor, Maria Sidibe, Shianne Perez, Eva Roso, Web Wines, Nuridin Wilkerson, Brianna Tse-Wall

In this amazing project, students worked together to create the ultimate workout video for other teens, entitled "Hip Hop 'Til You Drop". Q-dents worked on all aspects of producing a workout video; selecting music, choosing a theme, story boarding, shooting/recording, creating workout/dance moves that sync with the music, editing, acting, leading a workout and monitoring their heart rate. High energy, creativity, loving to work with others and an interest in technology are some of the many habits we worked on for this project. Get ready to sweat with technology while you watch our video at http://server.q2l.org/~ashapiro/streaming/Sweating_Technology_Final.m4v (you may need to cut and paste URL)

Totally Twisted Tour
Teachers: Lara and Leah G. Students: Kyrese Adams, Jade Bove, Jahmar Millien Maxi, Rahmeek Robinson, Nathaniel Butler, Kea Edwards, Michael Feintuch, Luna Leon, Nyssa Slavena, Danaeyah Reynolds

The Totally Twisted Tour took parents and students into corners of the Humanities Educational Complex where most had never been before. Students brought to life the story of a "Taco Apocalypse" that involved zombies, ninjas, King Arthur and a giant golden taco that was inspired by the architecture of the various spaces where the story took place. In this Boss Level project, students were challenged to create unexpected events that were designed for specific spaces.
To create the “tour”, we scoured the school building and selected the five sites that were the most interesting to the group, then took a closer look at the architecture and environment of each space. We experimented with our own sounds, movement as well as set and prop design, “tinkering” with how we could affect the way an audience would experience the spaces we had chosen.
Click here for the video of Ninjas entering and searching the building that was projected during the tour.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Math Olympiad!
This week in Math Olympiad, our mathletes competed in their second M.O. contest of the year! They trained hard and competed successfully! Students also elected to keep the same meeting time for trimester 2: Wednesdays at 7:45am. If any M.O. parent has any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me (aiannucci@q2l.org). Go mathletes!

Math Power
Students have completed their first trimester of Math Power! During the first trimester, students have made progress in gaining a foundational knowledge of fractions, working on following complex directions, and bolstering work that they've been doing in Codeworlds. Math Power will continue for the same group of students during Trimester Two on Mondays and Thursdays.

Short Circuit
Winter trimester will begin on January 24, 2011.

Wednesday Kick-off
This past week the students in the after-school recreational soccer program enjoyed the last session before winter break by playing a regulated soccer game. The players divided up into two teams and split up into different positions on the field: offense-strikers, mid-fielders, and defenders. Coach Rafael refereed the games and they all play each of the positions, players took turns rotating in units. The Q-dents are collaborating well, developing their skills and having a lot of fun! Wednesday Kick-Off Soccer will continue, uninterrupted, Wednesday, January 5th.

Homework Help:
The Q2L Homework Help program will resume in January, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 3:40 – 4:40pm. Contact Ameer (amourad@Q2L.org) with any questions.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Friday, December 24 – January 2	Winter Recess (Happy New Year 2011!)
Monday, January 3, 2011	School Resumes
Monday, January 10	PTA Meeting 6:30 – 8:00
Tuesday, January 11	Picture Day
Monday, January 17	Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (schools closed)
Monday, January 24	Winter Trimester Short Circuit begins
Monday, February 7	PTA Meeting 6:30 – 8:00
Friday, February 11	Q2L Valentine’s Day Dance
Wednesday, February 16 and 17	Parent – Teacher Conferences
Saturday, February 19 – Sunday, February 27	President’s Week (schools closed)

Week of December 13 - December 17, 2010

Dear Q2L Families,

Our PTA Hospitality Committee hosted the Q2L Second Annual Holiday Party on Friday evening! Families contributed food and ,students exchanged “Secret Snowman” gifts. There was dancing and great fun!

Before our party on Friday, Q2L parent Alexandra Pomerantz conducted a “Q2L Friend-raising” community tour around the Humanities Complex neighborhood! A group of about ten Q-dents prepared some of our signature Q2L holiday cards with the names of businesses and merchants in our immediate neighborhood. As they walked from school to the holiday party, the Q-dents presented the personalized Quest holiday cards, raising awareness of Quest’s move into the neighborhood. Great job, everyone!

BOSS LEVEL
TRIMESTER ONE BOSS LEVEL kicked-off on Thursday, December 16!
6th grade students were presented with their challenge - to work in their Home Base groupings to build a Rube Goldberg Machine! Phase One has students traveling to various workshop strands to prepare them for the challenge. Classes include teamwork, pod casting, script writing, and research. Phase Two – Planning, Phase Three- Building!
Our new and exciting 7th Grade Boss Level offered students the opportunity to select from a number of unique projects developed by our teachers and game designers. Challenges include creating a workout video (Wellness, research, development, production), creating “green art” out of found objects, iPad digital animation using light, and creating a travel website that highlights neighborhoods in New York City! Excited 7th grade students all received either their first or second choice of challenges, and jumped right into the work!

FEEDBACK REPORTS will be distributed the week of January 3rd. instead of the week of December 27th and will include a new section with teacher feedback of Boss Level assessments. Including Boss Level in our Feedback Reports better reflects the value of student work and summative assessments made during this key time of our academic year.

WELLNESS PERFORMANCE CHALLENGE on Wednesday, December 15, Lara’s 7th grade classes presented Bones & Muscles & Joints: Let's Move!, original dances created by students in response to their research about the human body. The performance began with 6th Grade classes demonstrating the skills they learned to earn their Q-DO Level 1 Certificate! It was truly amazing to see such joy in movement! Thank you to Lara, Israel, students, Richard and his tech crew, and to all of the families who came!

T-SHIRTS
Q2L Evolution T-Shirts and Sweatshirts have arrived! Orders will be labeled and given to students to take home early this week. If you didn't get a chance to order, you will have a second chance! T-shirts and sweatshirts will be sold on Boss Level Exhibition Day (Thursday, December 23).

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Mathematical Olympiad!
This week in Math Olympiad, our mathletes competed in their second M.O. contest of the year! They trained hard and competed successfully! Students also elected to keep the same meeting time for trimester 2: Wednesdays at 7:45am. If any M.O. parent has any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me (aiannucci@q2l.org). Go mathletes!

Math Power
Students have completed their first trimester of Math Power! During the first trimester, students have made progress in gaining a foundational knowledge of fractions, working on following complex directions, and bolstering work that they've been doing in Codeworlds. Math Power will continue for the same group of students during Trimester Two on Mondays and Thursdays.

Short Circuit
Our Short Circuit After School ended the trimester with a bang last Friday. Students presented their work and spoke very eloquently about their inspirations, working process and circuits. One student even sold t-shirts from her own fashion line, customizing and Bedazzling shirts on the spot. We ended the event with a special performance by two amazing Italian artists Pedro and Natan aka Abstract Birds are going around the globe on tour to perform their audiovisual creations.

This week, the Short Circuit team has been hard at work, analyzing the lessons learned from the last trimester and planning, prototyping and exploring materials for the Winter trimester. Winter trimester will begin on January 24, 2011, we hope to see you there.

Check out the pictures and videos from the Short Circuit Animation Festival and Fair:
Flickr

Wednesday Kick-off
This week the students got a chance to put the skills they have are learning into action by playing a friendly series of games against each other. The last game in the afternoon was a 10-9 thriller! They showed good teamwork skills and displayed nice use of the skills they have learned in their play. Everyone had a great time, Coach Rafaela got in the action and work with players on their passing and positioning throughout the games.

Homework Help: The Q2L Homework Help program will resume in January, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 3:40 – 4:40pm. Contact Ameer (amourad@Q2L.org) with any questions.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Friday, December 23	Boss Level Demonstrations! (Families Invited!)
Friday, December 24 – January 2	Winter Recess
January 11, 2011	Picture Day
Monday, January 17, 2011	Dr. Martin Luther King Day (schools closed)
January 24 – March 31	Short Circuit
Monday, February 7	PTA Meeting 6:30 – 8:00
Friday, February 11	Q2L Valentine’s Day Dance
Wednesday, February 16 and 17	Parent—Teacher Conferences
February 19—February 27	President’s Week (schools closed)

CURRICULUM UPDATES
Home Base Update from Rachelle
This week we learned how to win and lose with grace. Home Bases came up with a list of phrases that are banned from our vocabulary such as "ha- ha, you lose!" As we move forward in Boss Level, students will need to implement all of the values they have learned this trimester in Home Base. On Exhibition Day, winning and Losing with grace will be critical as students are judged on their work. Next week, students will implement the Q2L value, experiment and imagine possibilities as they move into the building phase of Boss Level. B-O-S-S GRRRR!!

GRADE 6
From Alicia: This week in Codeworld 6, students finished up Professor Pie's trimester one work. Each class tied in last week's pie-making-point competition, but the score was evened out by Monday: Congratulations to class 602 for their win! We made the pie and using our excellent conversion skills and quick wit, we converted recipe improper fractions to mixed numbers and discovered Napoleon to be the kidnapper (gasp!). I'm very proud of all the code breakers who worked hard and made mathematical improvements this trimester; let's keep the momentum going!

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, the trimester concluded with students' group presentations on how to solve the Troggle problem. I was very proud to see the level or dedication and professionalism students put into their presentations. I recorded all presentations and will make them available to parents shortly. Happy Holidays!

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6, every student who presented himself or herself as a candidate for the QDO Level 1 certificate received one! Everyone was focused and tenacious as they went through the series of balances and other physical challenges to prove that they were ready to move on to the next level of QDO. Thank you to all of the parents who attended the ceremony.

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6, the students played the Holiday Game Off Challenge. They were divided into teams and challenged other players in other teams to play their selected Holiday Game in front of the class. The winning team received a Game Designer Ninja sticker for the Game Design Badge. The students who exhibited sportsmanship earned the Team Player sticker. It was a great way for the students to play other students’ Holiday Games and to see how they played as the entire class was watching them play.

GRADE 7
From Audrey and Pierre Students have completed their first trimester of Powerspeak! While students may move at their own pace in the program, they are required to at least keep up with the pace of their Powerspeak calendars. Students should be at least through lesson 30 by the time they return from Winter break. Additionally, students are required to start attending or watching the virtual class provided by the Powerspeak teacher who grades their work. These classes are a chance for students to practice their speaking and get live help from a teacher who can answer all of their language classes. Have your child check the messages section in their Powerspeak account for a link to the virtual classroom. They can catch up on past classes by watching the recordings.

From Lara: This week in Wellness 7 students presented their choreography based on their study of bones, joints and muscles. The live audience saw a parade of Silly Walks, a Gesture Train, two dances in chairs, and lots of "middles" moving. Thanks to Shianne and others, there were fun facts written on big cards carried across the stage, so the audience would know about how our dances were inspired. Thank you to all of the parents who attended the performance!

From Lauren: This week in SftM 7 created handmade frames for their “best in show” photographic image for the trimester and hung these images in the hallway of Quest. How interesting and diverse the images and homemade frames are!

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Q-dents staged their final quest - a debate in front of a panel of doctors from Shrinkley Labs. In the debates, one side argued that the Immune System is a more important body system than the Nervous system, and the other side argued the Nervous System is the more important body system. In 701 the Nervous System won! In 702 and 703 the Immune System won! All students presented excellent arguments despite their nerves (no pun intended). It was a wonderful way to wrap up the trimester.

From Limor: This week in BSP 7, our mission came to an exciting end! Classes 701, 702 and 703 received their phone calls from their mystery ghosts! Luckily, all of the ghosts managed to listen to the student's convincing, persuasive, fact filled advice without getting too angry or hanging up on us. Our students were prepared and excited to finally speak with our ghosts, even though the ghosts had such bad service/reception in the sub-sub-sub basement. Each class was competing with one another for the magic key, which would undo the remaining locks of the door to the sub-sub-sub basement. The winner of the key was...701! Great news too - the ghosts are willing to leave the basement! Amazing job, Q-dents!

From Margaret: This week in Codeworlds 7, we began the week practicing variable substitution. Students learned about algebraic expressions, and algebraic equations, and proceeded to translate English phrases into Algebra. Students, a.k.a. Op3rators, were then presented with their final challenge from M.A.T.H. The ancient supercomputer, the Abacus, was now complete, with all of its gems, but needed a password to be input in order to unlock it. Groups of students used their skills in algebra to break the code and unlock the Abacus. Our mission was now complete! The ancient supercomputer produced a series of beautiful patterns as it came back to life.

Parents, please have students clean out their Codeworlds binder, and fill it with fresh loose-leaf and graph paper. Notes and handouts from Trimester 1 should be saved in a folder at home for future review.

Week of December 6 — December 10, 2010

Dear Q2L Families,

Plan to come to the Q2L Holiday Party, presented by the PTA Hospitality Committee!

WELLNESS PERFORMANCE CHALLENGE
YOU ARE FORMALLY INVITED TO ATTEND! Wednesday, December 15 12:20 – 1:20pm in the 7th floor playground, Lara’s 7th grade classes will present Bones & Muscles & Joints: Let's Move!, original dances created by students in response to their research about the human body. The performance will begin with 6th grade classes demonstrating the skills they learned to earn their Q-DO Level 1 Certificate!

BOSS LEVEL CHALLENGE
New Item: To help with the 7th Grade Boss Level, we are challenging you to collect the non-food items that you would normally throw away this weekend. Instead of throwing things in the trash can or recycle bin, please collect these items. Include any items that you would normally toss out such as cereal boxes, newspapers, notebook paper, bottles, cans, plastic bags, and any other items that you would have thrown away. Please wash out anything that once contained food or drink so that we won’t have to encounter sticky containers. Please do not donate previously used items such as dirty napkins or paper towels that can’t be cleaned.

IMPORTANT!font color="FF4500"> Boss Level Books: Families, please make sure your children return the slips indicating if they will be purchasing a boss level book (list attached here) as soon as possible. If you indicated that you are purchasing a book, students should bring them in to school before Wednesday, December 15. (If any 7th graders would like to donate their Trimester I Boss Level books, they would be appreciated! Please bring them to the Main Office!)

AND we are still in need of material for the 6th grade Boss Level Challenge! We are happy to have donations from both 6th and 7th grade families. The list of the materials we are requesting is attached.

Keep the Date:
Boss Level Presentations Thursday, December 23

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Math Olympiad!
This week in Math Olympiad, our mathletes competed in their second M.O. contest of the year! They trained hard and competed successfully! Students also elected to keep the same meeting time for trimester 2: Wednesdays at 7:45am. If any M.O. parent has any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me (aiannucci@q2l.org). Go Mathletes!

Math Power
Short Circuit
This week the students worked hard preparing their animations, videos, jewelry, inventions and creations for the Short Circuit Animation Festival and Fair. They were rewarded for their efforts with a live audiovisual performance by the Italian audio visual artists, musicians and programmers Abstract Birds. It provided the perfect example of creativity and innovation at work and inspired both students and mentors immensely.

It's been a great trimester and we'd like to thank our wonderful mentors—Paola Guimerans and Israel Tavares—our amazing visiting artists and all of the Short Circuiters for their brilliant work. Congratulations, we couldn’t have done it without you.

Wednesday Kick-off
This week our after-school recreational soccer program “kicked-off “ the session by watching three different video clips before heading to the playground. Coach Rafael showed a highlight film from the 2010 World Cup, a clip about soccer fans and the impact which the crowd has on players, and a third video about Rio de Janeiro, Brazil the city selected as the host city for the 2016 Olympics, depicting soccer as a way of life for many of the people who live in Rio.

Afterwards, they headed upstairs and worked on a soccer drill that focused on passing (lead passes), trapping and dribbling. The kids did an excellent job with the drill and demonstrated great footwork as they completed the exercise with fluidity. They ended the practice by splitting up into four teams and playing scrimmage games against each other - It was an exciting day of soccer!

Homework Help: he Q2L Homework Help program will resume in January, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 3:40 – 4:40pm. Contact Ameer (amourad@Q2L.org) with any questions.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Tuesday, December14	Trimester Ends(Families Invited!)
Wednesday, December 15	Trimester 1 Demonstration Day. Families invited!
Thursday, December 16	Boss Level One begins!
Friday, December 17	Q2L Family Holiday Celebration
Thursday, December 23	Boss Level Demonstrations! Families Invited!)	Trimester 1 Feedback Reports
Monday, January 24 – Friday, April 1	Short Circuit
December 24 – January 2	Winter Recess
Monday, January 3, 2011	School Resumes/td>
January 11, 2011	Picture Day
Monday, January 17, 2011	Dr. Martin Luther King Day (schools closed)
February 19—February 27	President’s Week (schools closed)

CURRICULUM UPDATES
Home Base Update from Rachelle
Students learned about tenacity this week during Home Base. A crossword puzzle helped us to learn that tenacity means holding strong, persevering, being firm, and having determination. Students explored these words in challenging and competitive activities. Their tenacity affected the success of the group and they found out that, with tenacity, they were able to do more than they ever thought they could! Students learned that tenacity helps us get closer to our goals in school and is vital for accomplishing things we may initially think about as near- impossible. We closed out our week considering how we can use tenacity to implement acts of kindness. If we stand strong and determined to help others, we can ensure a happy community!

GRADE 6
From Alicia: This week in Codeworld 6, students moved three steps closer to finding the location of our beloved Professor Pie. We followed his directions to the letter (just like in his recipes!) in order to discover the necessary components to his decoding perfect pie recipe: equivalent and benchmark fractions. Students worked in pairs and teams to complete Professor Pie's many challenges to unlock the three steps that will deliver us (almost) to his recipe for the Pie Competition happening next week. Students should be preparing their binders for a final check and doing any late work that will be accepted by Monday 12/13. The only late assignments I will accept Monday are any of the five parts to the My Special Number essay project and any homework from the last week (12/6-12/10). Please email me if you have any questions or concerns. I will not be able to accepting any late assignment after 3:30pm on Monday.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, students began to prepare materials, set goals and make plans to build their Troggle Models that they will be using in a end of trimester group presentation. Throughout the trimester, students have been learning and applying their knowledge to help the Troggles solves their problems. The end-of-the-trimester presentations will take place on Wednesday Dec 15th. This weekend students should be working on creating a final version of their scripts and trying their best to remember assigned parts without having to read it directly from the paper. It has been a fun and exciting semester in TWTW. Student presentations will be recorded and made available to parents afterwards.

From Lara: we are gearing up for the QDO Levelling Up ceremony! The QDO Masters are sending certificates for each student who is able to perform the entire ceremony with power, focus, tenacity, correct alignment, flexibility and, of course, balance.
Please join us on Wednesday, 12/15 at 12:20 in the Playground on the 7th floor to see your child earn their QDO Level 1 certificate. Students should be practicing at home to be ready for the big day!

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6, tudents were given the Easiest Hardest Holiday Game Quick Challenge in which they had to design a 3 Level Holiday themed game in Gamestar Mechanic that represent the easiest level, the hardest level, and a balanced level. To complete this challenge successfully, they had to meet the criteria within the allotted double period. Some students were able to showcase their holiday quick challenge by having it projected and played in front of the class. In addition, SFTM6 had the lucky pleasure of Chloe, Shula, and Brendon modeling playtesting. Afterwards, select students had the opportunity to exemplify playtesting in front of the class with holiday games showcased and other students playing.

From Ross: In our final full week of Being, Space and Place 6, we began our study of the Mesopotamians. Students began their study by completing a Reciprocal Teaching reading on Chapter 4: The Rise of Sumerian City-States. From there, we analyzed the different problems and the solutions that the Mesopotamians faced when settling down in the Fertile Crescent. We then completed a web-quest using two websites that we will be using for the rest of the year —Mr. Donn's History Page and the British Museum. Check out the websites on the homework page for more info!

From Lara: This week in Wellness 7, we have been gearing up for Bones & Muscles & Joints: Let's Move!
Please join us on Wednesday, 12/15 at 12:15 in the playground on the 7th floor to see your child perform dances that s/he made in response to their research about the human body.
Students should be practicing at home to be ready for the big day!

From Lauren: SftM 7, worked this week on compiling their Photolands #3 image from the Highline last week to exemplify David Hockney’s photo “joiners.” Also, this week was the final week for all photo work to be completed. Students selected their best photographic work that they produced these past weeks. Next week, they will hang their handmade framed images in the hallways of Quest.

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Q-dents finally helped Dr. Smallz to diagnose his patient. We compiled all of our data and clues about her recent travel (Indonesia!) and used an internet symptoms search engine to determine that indeed, Kelly J. has Dengue Fever! Because it is a viral infection, not a bacterial infection, a dose of simple antibiotics will not do the trick. Shrinkley Labs sent us 2 commercials for 2 experimental Dengue Fever cures it is developing: Dengithan and Pepto-Dengol. They both have some pretty serious side effects: Dengithan might damage the Nervous System; Pepto-dengol could damage the Immune System. In order to choose the best cure, students will put on the hats of medical researchers and debaters this week and next. They will be staging a formal debate on Tuesday that will look at the question, "Which system is more important: the Nervous System or the Immune System?" Presiding over the debate will be a panel of researchers from Shrinkley Labs. This debate is their final Quest of the Mission, and so it is very important that students spend time at home preparing and practicing their portions of the debate. They are in groups of two or three and may need to be in contact with their group members over the weekend.

From Limor: This week in BSP 7, we have gotten everything ready for our Skype calls from the ghosts! We've worked on doing historical research on the events the ghosts experienced. We organized our information and showed our ghosts that we understand their conflicts and their him period. We also looked at persuasive strategies and were exposed to the different strategies or appeals advertisers (and we, as writers) can use to help persuade the ghosts to leave the sub, sub, sub - basement and attend their trial. We selected our personal strategy choices to use on our ghosts and the counselors wrote their points down, and then iterated their work. We are very excited for the mystery ghost phone calls!

From Margaret: This week in Codeworlds 7, This week in Codewords 7, students completed a unit on factoring and had a cumulative exam, winding down our first mission. We had a little preview of the next unit, which will be on Algebra, which students are excited to learn more about. Next Tuesday, our first mission will have it's final conclusion, with a challenge to break a secret code and earn the final gems, which will allow them to replace all the missing artifacts needed by the ancient supercomputer, the Abacus!

Week of November 29 - December 3, 2010

Dear Q2L Families,

We are happy to announce the launch of our Q2L Afterschool Homework Help. This study space will provide students with the opportunity to work in a quiet environment on their school assignments with support from Q2L teachers. This afterschool program will run from 3:40 - 4:40pm Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Two teachers will be present each session, one from 6th and one from 7th grade.

As Trimester I ends December 14th, the afterschool program will be offered on the following days this trimester:

December 7, 2010 • December 9, 2010 • December 10, 2010

The purpose for offering these three afternoon sessions now is to provide students the opportunity to make sure they are up-to-date with assignments before Feedback Reports are issued. After School Homework Help will resume the week of January 10, 2011, and continue through Trimester II. Beginning January 10th after-school snacks will be provided by the Office of School Food.

Detailed information about our new Q2L After School Homework Help was back-packed home Thursday, with permission slips that are to be returned to Ameer before attending. A copy of that form is also attached here. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Ameer, at amourad@q2l.org

BOSS LEVEL INFORMATION
Families, please make sure your children return the slips indicating if they will be purchasing a boss level book as soon as possible. If you indicated that you are purchasing a book, students should bring them in to school before Wednesday, December 15.
AND... we really need materials donated for the 6th grade Boss Level Challenge! We are happy to have donations from both 6th and 7th grade families. The list of the materials we are requesting is also attached.

Keep the Date: Boss Level Presentations are Thursday, December 23! Families invited!

EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Mathematical Olympiad!
This week in Math Olympiad, we worked on getting to know our fellow mathletes by compiling data and comparing/organizing that data in Venn diagrams. Many students had adjectives in common and we definitely discovered some new things about our classmates! Next week, we will be preparing for our second M.O. contest on December 15th! Go Mathletes!

Short Circuit
This week in Short Circuit, the students worked diligently preparing websites, collaborating on a giant mural, making computer music, drawing on iPads and paper and testing circuits. On Tuesday, students took a break from their projects to work with multi-media artist Caroline Woolard, drawing pictures with lasers and tapping into their inner Picassos. Friday will be part Materials Jam while the Short Circuiters will continue their projects and experiment with making light-up holiday cards using copper tape. These project-based "open studio" sessions are in preparation for the
SHORT CIRCUIT ANIMATION FESTIVAL AND FAIR!
The Fair will be Friday, Dec 10, 4 —6p. Everyone is invited!

Wednesday Kick-off
Quest to Learn and City Soccer Initiative have teamed up again—the recreational soccer program is back in full force for the winter season. The players from the fall season have returned for another round of soccer and are joined by more Q-dents. The main focus of the practice was on ball control and coordination; players divided up into two groups to do a friendly competition in which they had to maintain possession of the soccer ball while dribbling inside-and-outside of cones before shooting at the net for a goal. The group with the most goals scored at the end of each game won the round. For the second half of practice, the kids split up into four teams to play small-sided scrimmages games. They all had a good time playing soccer together and we look forward to more fun!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday, December 6	PTA Meeting
Friday, December 10	Short Circuit Animation Festival and Fair: 4pm - 6 pm (all are welcome)
Tuesday, December 14	Trimester 1 Ends
Wednesday, December 15	Q2L Demonstration Day (Families are invited!)
Thursday, December 16	Boss Level 1 begins!
Friday, December 23	Boss Level Demonstrations! (Families Invited!)
Friday, December 24 – January 2, 2011	Winter Recess
January 3, 2011	School Begins
January 11	Picture Day
Monday, January 17	Dr. Martin Luther King Day (schools closed)
Saturday, February 19 – Sunday, February 27	President’s Week (schools closed)

CURRICULUM UPDATES
Home Base Update from Rachelle
All ideas are improvable during this week of Home Base!! Students applied their knowledge of iteration, creating stories on the spot and then modifying and improving them. In addition to iteration, students also had to tap into their collaboration and creativity skills as they worked on a Storytelling Telephone Challenge and became actors in the game React and Act. We learned that it can and should be fun to work on our ideas multiple times. We should never expect for our first iteration to be perfect and can produce a great product the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time around- especially with the help of others! To close out the week, advisees put these tools into action by providing input on common area rituals at Quest to Learn.

GRADE 6
From Alicia: This week in Codeworld 6, students worked more on Professor Pie's Quest: Bits & Pieces in order to prepare for the pie competition in less than two weeks! We worked specifically on ordering fractions, making fraction strips, simplifying fractions and discovering that not all fraction data is created equal. Students worked hard to find examples of FDP (fractions, decimals & percents) in their everyday lives as well. Next week we will delve deeper, looking at equivalent fractions and simplifying fractions. Students should be working on any late My Special Number essay pieces they have yet to hand in - last day I will take any essay pieces is Monday 11/15 by 3:30pm.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, as the trimester is coming to an end, students learned about their final simple machine, the pulley. There was also another exciting visit to SMALLab, a larger interactive learning space housed inside of the SFTM classroom that allowed students to interact with and play games that built upon their knowledge of the lever. Next week will be an exciting one as students begin to create models to help the Troggles with the problems that they are having. Students should continue to bring in supplies with which to build their models and study for their final in-class assessment next week, it will be given on the second class of the week for 601, 602 and 603. Students should be using their Troggle review packet to help guide their studies. A copy can be found on the HW website if a student looses theirs.

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6, we took turns being each other's coaches to see whether or not we have actually met the goals that we set for ourselves last week. We also reflected on whether our plans did indeed help us to achieve our goals. We've been practicing our QDO moves so that next week we'll be ready for the QDO lesson that Jeedo will send us next week. In the gym we've been playing group games that increase our aerobic capacity and increasing our badminton skills.

For homework we're keeping a log of how much sleep we get and what kinds of food we eat to move us along to Quest 5 "Power Up/Power Down".

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6, students finished their first iteration of “Choose your own space” Platformer Challenge. Next week, we will be discussing the importance of constructive feedback and play testing.

From Ross: This week in Being, Space and Place 6, we continued our exploration into the beginning of early human culture. Students played a game called "Last System Standing" where they completed systems maps on the Neolithic Revolution and presented their maps out in an elimination game. Then, students partnered up to complete pamphlets advertising the advantages of the Neolithic Revolution. Students in 602 and 603 completed a test on the entire Quest, while 601 will be taking theirs on Monday.

GRADE 7
From Lara: Wellness 7 is gearing up for our performance which will now take place on Exhibition Day, Wednesday, December 15. In the classroom and in the gym, we've been developing our choreography, based on our knowledge of bones, joints and muscles. We hope you will be able to join us!

From Lauren: This week in Sports for the Mind 7, students learned about the artist David Hockney and the photo “joiners” he created as a way to use perspective and to create a narrative. For their Photolands #3 activity, the students went to the Highline, where they needed to choose a component of the Highline and recreate this component in the style of David Hockney’s joiners using 24 or more photographs.

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Q-dents presented their "Digest This!" projects, took a pop quiz on the digestive system, participated in a kinesthetic digestion simulation, and researched the six major nutrients required by the human body. Next week, they are hoping to hear from Dr. Smallz and continue to help him re-enlarge himself and diagnose and cure his ill patient.

From Limor: This week in Being, Space and Place 7, we completed Quest 3! All of the Q-dents are incredibly proud of their hard work in showing their knowledge of point of view and historical perspective. The exhibit in the classroom is reminiscent of a museum, complete with antiqued frames and explanatory plaques. We were also introduced to our final quest! The ghosts are reluctant to leave the sub-sub-sub-sub basement for their ghostly trial due to their inability to compromise and accept each other’s different historical perspectives. Ratatat and I convinced them (due to their new found obsession with technology) to communicate with the Q2L community through Skype! Each student group has been assigned a historical conflict and has begun to brainstorm the historical events that led to this conflict and will prepare a persuasive argument that convince the ghosts to leave the basement and attend their trial. Students have assigned specific roles to themselves to follow throughout the quest. Some classes have begun to research the time period to aid them in proving their knowledge to the ghosts. This quest will decide our fate!

From Margaret: This week in Codeworlds , we worked on prime factorization, greatest common factors and least common multiples. Though many students worked with GCF and LCM in earlier grades, in Codeworlds they learned how to find these using prime factors, which is very beneficial when dealing with larger numbers. We then applied these new techniques to various types of word problems. There will be a final quiz next week where q-dents will have chance to earn all of the gems to complete the abacus super computer. After that we will be winding down our mission for the trimester!

Week of November 22–November 24, 2010

Dear Q2L Families,
Thank you all again for a wonderful Thanksgiving Pot Luck Luncheon! There was a wonderful community spirit, as well as delectable holiday treats!

Thanksgiving break also signals the final weeks of Trimester 1, which ends on Tuesday, December 14. Please check in with your children regarding results of any domain assessments and to see if they have any outstanding assignments, homework or Reading Logs. Once Boss Level begins, teachers will no longer be able to accept any “make-up” work as they prepare Student Feedback Reports. Feedback Reports are scheduled to be mailed home December 22nd.

A Q2L Thank You!
Many thanks to Wendell Lissimore, who has been acting- Assistant Principal this fall at Quest. We congratulate him as accepts a position that allows him to return to high school, as an Assistant Principal at Harlem Renaissance High School. The students in the morning Chess Club will especially miss you!

AFTER-SCHOOL UPDATES
Short Circuit
The Short Circuit Design Studio will premiere its first product line at the Short Circuit Animation Festivaland Fair on Friday, December 10. Everyone is welcome, so please join us at the premiere in the library and check out the great work!

Wednesday Kick-Off
We are excited to have teamed up with City Soccer Initiative again, to continue with our Wednesday Kick-Off soccer program at Quest. The program will resume next Wednesday, December 1, 2010 and goes until February 9, 2011. If your child is interested in signing up for the winter recreational soccer program, please return the permission slip, which was sent home with students earlier in the week. You may contact William by email: wmoyet@q2l.org if you have any quest-ions.

The students had a great time working with coach Rafael this season. They all gained important fundamental soccer skills, and most important, had fun learning and playing with friends. We look forward another round of soccer starting this Wednesday, hope that you will join us!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Wednesday, November 24	Family Thanksgiving Pot-Luck Luncheon
Monday, December 6	PTA Meeting
Friday, December 10	Short Circuit Animation Festival and Fair (all are welcome)
Tuesday, December 14	Trimester 1 End
Wednesday, December 15	Q2L Demonstration Day (Families are invited!)
Thursday, December 16	Boss Level 1 begins!
Friday, December 23	Boss Level Demonstrations! (Families Invited!)
Friday, December 24 – January 2	Winter Recess
January 11, 2011	Picture Day

CURRICULUM UPDATES
HOME BASE UPDATE FROM RACHELLE
This week in home base it was all about giving thanks!!!! Students identified people who have impacted them greatly and positively in their lives. We then created thank you cards that students presented and distributed during our Annual Thanksgiving Pot Luck Lunch. Students received a Thanksgiving Break Kindness activity that they must complete and return to their home base advisor on Monday. Have a wonderful and fruitful thanksgiving and thank you for your continued support!!

GRADE 6
From Alicia: This week in Codeworld 6, we began Bits & Pieces 1, which is a text that Professor Pie helped write. We are moving from number facts and operations to parts of a whole, focusing on fractions, decimals and percents. Students also received their Quest email accounts, set up their first Google doc and logged on to their Mangahigh accounts. Their homework for the break is to familiarize themselves with Mangahigh and complete each challenge.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, students learned about a new simple machine, the lever. When students return from their break they will continue to work on the Troggle problem. Have a great thanksgiving!

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6, we've been setting goals and making plans to meet those goals. Over the Thanksgiving break, students should be working toward their personalized goal of holding one of three yoga poses for a period of time that each student set for himself or herself using their personalized plan. Next week, we'll see how close we have each come to meeting our goals!

: This week in Being, Space and Place 6, we continued our exploration into the history of early humans. We discussed the Neolithic Revolution and discovered how human beings used agriculture and domestication to change from hunter-gatherers to food producers. Next week, we will continue this process by creating pamphlets for the Springfield Museum.

GRADE 7
From Lara:This week in Wellness 7 we've been intensely collaborating. Our movement phrases became sentences and our movement sentences became paragraphs. In other words, we've been choreographing our work to be ready to show it off. Please join us on when we'll be presenting the work we have created over the past three months. Our performance is tentatively scheduled for Friday December 10 at 5:30. More details to follow!

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Q-dents worked super hard on their "Digest This" projects. It is so fun to see their creative wheels spinning. They discovered Dr. Smallz might be heading down a dangerous path into the stomach's gastric juices! Next week, they will be delving deeper into digestion when they present their projects and explore the nutrients that we need for survival. They will also need to map out a plan for Dr. Smallz' survival...

From Limor: This week in BSP 7, we continued to plan for our current quest! We have been working on how we can take on a colonial ghost's perspective and capture their point of view through a photograph of another member of the colonial times. We have been focusing on the relationship (positive and negative) that they ghosts might of had, and the historical reasons for the interactions and physical positioning, actions and emotions of their subjects.

From Margaret: This week in Codeworlds , we continued our work with factors and multiples. Students diagrammed all the possible rectangular arrays using factor pairs of numbers from 1 to 30, and discovered that the perfect squares have an odd number of factors, while other numbers have an even number of factors. We identified common factors and common multiples, and we reviewed Venn diagrams. Next week we will work on word problems and determine when we need common factors or common multiples, review factor trees and prime factorization, and practice finding greatest common factors and least common multiples.

Week of November 15 - November 19, 2010

Dear Q2L Families,

We organized our Parent-Teacher Conferences differently this go-around. Home Base teachers scheduled appointments with the families of their Home Base, as it made it simpler for each Advisor to be responsible for scheduling PT conferences for only 10 or 12 families.

On the evening of Monday, November 15 and the afternoon of Tuesday, November 16, families met directly with four domain teachers for four minutes each– almost like speed dating, as some parents noted! Because Lara (Wellness) and Lauren (Sports for the Mind) teach both the 6th and 7th grades, we split forces. Lara met with the 6th grade families to make sure everyone was familiar with our Wellness domain that combines Health, Physical Education (including all Physical Education State Standards) and social-emotional learning. Lauren, teaching the Sports for the Mind domain, met with the 7th grade families. The 7th grade curriculum in SFTM builds upon, although is quite different from, the 6th grade curriculum. We thought it was important for families to have the opportunity to ask questions and see examples of some of the amazing student work that has been produced this year.

While this new Parent–Teacher Conference model involved some waiting between meetings with teachers, and also limited the overall amount of “face time” families received, the feedback from parents and families was extremely positive. Families and teachers alike seemed to prefer having the opportunity to directly share information about how students are performing in each domain instead of meeting with Home Base teachers who shared information they had gotten from each domain teacher. Now that we have tried it this way once, with a few scheduling tweaks we should really have a very smooth Parent-Teacher Conference in March!

Please contact your child’s Home Base advisor if you were unable to attend so that we can set up an alternate conference date.

FROM THE PTA
Parents are invited to attend our annual Q2L Thanksgiving Feast Wednesday, November 24! Lunch begins at 11:50 am, and set-up is in the 4th floor library beginning at 11:15. If you are unable to attend, please consider sending a sweet or savory dish with your child to share.

Also, any monies from our catalogue fundraiser were due this week. Please submit any outstanding payments on Monday. Thanks for contributing!

AFTER-SCHOOL UPDATES
Short Circuit: This week, students received diplomas in honor of their great work as novice Short Circuiters. To commemorate leveling up, the students created a company to showcase their skills and talents. The Short Circuit Design Studio will premiere its first product line at the Short Circuit Animation Festival and Fair on Friday, December 10 at 4:30pm.

Everyone is welcome, so please join us in the library and check out the great Short Circuit work!

Mathematical Olympiad!
This week in Math Olympiad, our excited (and a little sleepy) team met for the first time this Wednesday at 7:45am. They had already been warming up over the past week with practice problems in preparation for our first contest. Our mathletes were amazing during our first contest of the year! We will meet again next Wednesday at 7:45 am to crunch numbers, solve logic problems and further our mathematical thinking!

Wednesday Kick-Off: This week the students in the recreational soccer program built on the key technical skills of ball control and possession. Coach Raphael set up a drill for everyone by lining up a several chairs to create a dribbling course – the objective of the drill was to dribble the soccer ball up to the end of the course, without letting the ball touch any of the chairs, and keeping the ball in bounds.

For the first part of the drill, they used the chairs as an obstacle course while dribbling the soccer ball around the chairs, working their way in-and-out. Next, they added an element by working on possession. They had to pass the ball with the inside of their foot through the legs of the chair, and then trap the ball behind the chair; the players all took turns and repeated the drill until the course was completed. The practice concluded with four-on-four small-sided scrimmage games. The kids demonstrated great teamwork in their play and sportsmanship by ending with a round of high-fives.

Next Wednesday is the final Wednesday Kick-Off of the fall season. We are negotiating to “re-up” immediately, so that there is no break in the schedule. We need at least 20 students who are interested in participating to continue the program. Please feel free to contact Will at wmoyet@Q2L.org for any additional information or to answer any questions.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Wednesday, November 24	Family Thanksgiving Pot-Luck Luncheon
Monday, December 2	PTA Meeting
Friday, December 10	Short Circuit Ends
Friday, December 10	Short Circuit Animation Festival and Fair (all are welcome)
Tuesday, December 14	Trimester 1 End
Wednesday, December 15	Q2L Demonstration Day (Families are invited!)
Thursday, December 16	Boss Level 1 begins!
Friday, December 23	Boss Level Demonstrations! (Families Invited!)
Friday, December 24 – January 2	Winter Recess
January 11, 2011	Picture Day

CURRICULUM UPDATES

HOME BASE UPDATE FROM RACHELLE
Diversity remained the focus for Home Base this week. Students learned about accepting difference by using analogies such as different color crayons living in one crayon box. Students also used their analytical skills to interpret a poem Where Monsters Can Grow. Through this poem, we learned that the act of mistreating and separating others because of their differences is a monster that can overcome the mind and breed negativity and hurt. Spending two weeks on our Q2L Value Diversity Creates Balance really helped us understand that diversity comes in many forms and does not only pertain to color, gender, or size. In addition, we created concrete views on what it means to accept others and how we can implement those techniques in our community. Check out these wonderful insights students had on diversity:

"It doesn't matter what color we are, we are all still crayons. Just like it doesn’t matter what color or ethnicity we are, we are all human."

"The people that you aren't acknowledging move into the darkness."

A 6th grade student remembered this quote: "If you judge people, you have no time to love them."

6th GRADE
From Alicia: This week in Codeworld 6, we worked on our My Special Number essay submissions to Professor Pie. We worked through the writing process that our code breakers are using in BSP in order to provide Professor Pie with the very best reading material for his confinement in who-knows-where. Students used their brainstorming information to draft a five-paragraph essay about their Special Number. Students worked with partners to peer-edit each other's essays and provided very useful feedback so students could craft excellent final essays to submit on Monday 11/22. This weekend, students should be working on their essays and using the feedback from their peer editing partner to write a final essay for our audience: Professor Pie and his kidnappers!

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, students learned about their first simple machine, the inclined plane. Using their knowledge of force and work, students explored this machine as a system, defining and understanding all of the parts of the system. Inclined planes can be found everywhere from staircases to access ramps for wheelchairs. Students should be able to show you examples of how to calculate the amount of work done pushing an object up and inclined plane. Go ahead! Ask them how to calculate work! Next week, students will learn about my favorite simple machine, the lever!

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6, class meetings were brief because of Acuity Testing. Students set their own fitness goals for the check-in assessment they will take at the end of November. We also learned a new movement improvisation structure called "flocking", because, when it is done well, movers resemble a flock of birds moving in unison, even when they change directions quickly.

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6, students focused on brainstorming platformer games, learning how the space of a game affects its core mechanics, learning to identify the components of a game, as well as being able to describe the qualities and attributes of a component. The students have been given a game design challenge: Create a platformer-game with the theme “Choose your own Space.”

From Ross: This week in Being, Space and Place 6, we peer-edited our personal memoirs with writing partners. Later, we published our personal memoirs and added them to our writing portfolio. Many thanks to the students who were willing to share their memoirs with the class! Finally, we have begun our penultimate quest for BSP—a study of the history of early man and human geography. We began by analyzing ancient artifacts from the Çatalhöyük civilization, followed by some historical reading in our History Alive! text. Students will be given a copy of this text to take home and should use that as a text book. Please ensure that these copies remain organized, as only a set amount of copies can be made per student. We will be using this text throughout the rest of the trimester. Also, be sure to check out the BSP 6 homework website for some additional resources including typing exercises, ELA resources, and Social Studies enrichment.

7th GRADE
From Lara: This week in Wellness 7, we completed our second Head to Tail challenge called, Moving My Middle; My Middle Moving Me. Students were asked to use their abdominal muscles to create shapes that twist and shapes that bend forward. With these shapes, students created choreography in small groups using a complex time pattern.

The 7th graders have done so well with their challenges in the past few weeks that Elisa has given them a new challenge: create an evening-length presentation for the PTA and the entire school community! The announcement was met with some excitement and some apprehension. Our next few weeks will be busy!

In the gym, we are continuing to work on our endurance, strength and creativity.

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Q-dents navigated their way around the Circulatory System from the perspective of a red blood cell. They played a round of Circulatory System Jeopardy to summarize and consolidate all of the information they have gathered throughout the week, and then responded to an email from Dr. Smallz, who is stuck in an artery in the abdomen. The email will be graded as a quiz since they enlightened the forgetful doctor all about the components and core mechanics of the Circulatory System. The students all agree: we need to learn about the Digestive System next - Dr. Smallz appears to be headed for the stomach! Next week, we will re-enact the Digestive System's absorption of nutrients, take a look at how "we are what we eat," and continue to gather clues about our patient's mysterious health condition.

From Lauren: Students in Sports For The Mind 7 continue to train their photographic eye. They are compiling their photographs into PowerPoint presentations, identifying the specific design and composition each photograph represents. Students who completed the Journey Between School and Home (homework) and Photolands #1 (class work) assignments advanced to Photolands #2- the 7th Floor Playground-where their photographic focus was on the perspective of the photograph… bird’s eye level, your eye level, and snail’s eye level. It is very exciting to see what the photographic eye of each student is like and how the details of space, objects, and shapes affect their design, composition, and perspective.

From Limor: This week in BSP 7, we were introduced to Quest 3! We began to discuss whether or not who the photographer is has influence on how the subject is depicted. We looked at many popular figures in history that were shot in positive and negative views, and examined which aspects of the photograph caused them to be perceived differently. We noted that facial expression, body positioning, posture, hand positioning, eye contact, movement, lighting, character traits, and the action your character is “caught” doing influences how we feel about them.

From Margaret: This week in Codeworld 7, we began a new unit on factors and multiples. We played the "Factor Game," analyzed the strategies behind it, and discussed prime numbers, composite numbers and that special number, which is neither prime or composite: 1. Next week we will be working on prime factorization, greatest common factor, and least common multiple.

Week of November 8 - November 12, 2010

Dear Q2L Families,

During Friday’s Morning Meeting, we informed students that 6th and 7th graders would be taking NYC Acuity tests in English Language Arts and Math on Tuesday and Wednesday. Each test takes only about one class period. There is nothing to study for, as it is a formative assessment, measuring current levels of knowledge and skill. The item analysis will let us see which questions the students were able to answer and inform us about areas in the curriculum that may need to receive more focus.

On Friday at dismissal, students were given samples of the English Language Arts and Math assessments to complete over the weekend. These samples were distributed more as an opportunity to gain familiarity with the format of the test than to measure readiness. Please review these practice exercises with your child and remind them that standardized assessments only measure one dimension of their learning, so it should not be a cause of anxiety as long as they know they are working to the best of their ability. The completed exercises will be collected by Home Base advisors on Monday.

REMINDER: Early dismissal Tuesday, November 16, 12:00 noon

FROM THE PTA
Big Apple Fundraiser:
Quest PTA is sponsoring a fundraising drive with Big Apple Fundraising. Packets with Big Apple Fundraising catalogs and order forms went home in student backpacks this past Monday. If you did not receive a packet, please contact the PTA, at q2lparents@gmail.com. This fundraising sale provides a small window -of-opportunity, and will end Wednesday, November, 17, 2010. Orders can be paid with cash or checks made payable to Quest to Learn PTA. The more Quest families that place orders from the catalog, the more money Quest will make. Please share the catalog with friends and family.

Q2L T-SHIRTS
Designed by Q2L parent, Jeanne Greco, these amazingly cute and smart Q2L T-shirts will soon be available to order on-line as part of a PTA fund raiser. We’ll keep you posted!

AFTER-SCHOOL UPDATES
Short Circuit: It's been a noisy week at Short Circuit. Students applied their knowledge of circuits to create 30-second recordings that turned on and off with a switch. The week also brought more Dance Dance Revolution warm up time; hacking noisy, old toys to make them new; electronic music composition and website creation. This week also marks the end of our time with the multi-talented visiting artist Cecilia Elguero. Thank you Cecilia for your time, resourcefulness and ingenuity, we really enjoyed working with you.

Mathematical Olympiad!
The e-vites were sent out last week, and the team comes together for the first time on Wednesday, November 17!

Wednesday Kick-Off: The students had another fun day playing soccer on Wednesday after-school. This week they demonstrated good teamwork by working in groups on three on an advanced soccer drill, which focused on coordination and agility. It was a challenging exercise for the students, but they collaborated well and were able to run the drill smoothly by the end of the practice. They finished the practice by breaking up into teams of three and playing friendly small-sided scrimmage games.

Flag Football Fun!
The Q2L Varsity and JV Flag football teams have ended their season and are eager to begin participating in their next sport. The teams both had an amazing season and played with grace, talent, and immense courage! We are all proud of our students for their dedication and output. Simultaneously, we thank all of the parents and teachers who made the season possible with your questions, suggestions, presence, support, and participation!!! Special "shout-out" goes to the ladies of the Varsity team who were responsible for all goals—Jade and Brianna. Students built team work and leadership skills, in addition to endurance, during our season by continuously displaying enthusiasm as a team! Updates will continue for the next season's sport. Great job, all!
Email Israel Taveras with any questions: itaveras@q2l.org
Go Quest, Go Team!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday, November 15 • Parent-Teacher Conferences (Evening)
Tuesday, November 16 • Parent- Teacher Conferences (12:00 dismissal)
Wednesday, November 24 • Thanksgiving Pot-Luck Luncheon
Monday, December 2 • PTA Meeting
Friday, December 10 • Afterschool Finale (Families are Invited)
Tuesday, December 14 • Trimester 1 Ends
Wednesday, December 15 • Q2L Demonstration Day (Families are invited!)
Thursday, December 16 • Boss Level 1 begins!
Friday, December 17 • Q2L Family Holiday Celebration
Thursday, December 23 • Boss Level Demonstrations! (Families Invited!)
Friday, December 24 – January 2 • Winter Recess
Monday, January 3, 2011 • School Resumes
Tuesday, January 11, 2011 • Picture Day

CURRICULUM UPDATES
HOME BASE
From Rachelle: During Home Base this week, DIVERSITY was key! Students dove into the Quest to Learn Value: Diversity Creates Balance by identifying similarities and differences within themselves and the Q2L community. We learned through the activity Doctor's Orders that the same remedy doesn't work for everyone. Not only do we need to acknowledge and respect the differences in each other, but we must also adapt the way we think, work together, and solve problems to accommodate those differences. By creating a chain of diversity, we will see-literally-how our similarities and differences bring us together.

6th GRADE
From Alicia: This week in Codeworld 6, students worked on solving the famous Locker Problem sent to us by Professor Pie. By working together, code breakers were able to see many different patterns emerge. This led us to the discovery of perfect squares! Also this week, Professor Pie sent us his first exam in order to prove our skills and ability to help him escape his kidnapper/s (he is getting rather fearful he won't be released before the Creepytown Pie Competition). Students were assigned the My Special Number project over the weekend to provide Pie with some extra reading material as he waits to be rescued; the first iteration is due Monday 11/15. Next week we will begin looking at pieces of pie, or fractions to us Americans, in order to submit our pie recipes to the competition.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work 6, students put their learning to the test as they examined and created blueprints for the Troggles. Each group was tasked with explaining what FORCE and WORK are and how they might be used in each of the situations to help remedy the problem presented. Afterwards in their groups, students began to create a three dimensional model that they will use to explore and experiment in the upcoming weeks. I look forward to meeting parents next week for parent teacher conferences, please come prepared with specific questions if you want to make the most of the time we have together.

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6, we began learning the Q-DO ritual with a focus on "Power", the first component of the 5 components of balance. We discussed how balancing for a long time requires both physical and mental power and that there are many different kinds of power. The kind of power that is most important for Q-DO is power to control yourself--your actions and your thoughts. For example, being able to focus requires self-control and building physical strength requires focus.

In the gym, we continued our endurance and strength training and continued working on basic Badminton skills. For homework over the weekend, students should be working on their Focus & Distraction arrows for the Focus Spiral display that Jeedo sent to us.

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6, students finalized their Top-Down Birthday Games and created a final Birthday Card Game Manual to accompany their birthday game. To publish their Top Down Birthday Games, the students needed their games to go through a variety of play -tests and iterations until their games met the constraints of the Game Design Challenge. The published Top-Down Birthday games are found in Game Alley or the student’s Workshop in Gamestar Mechanic. Please play your child’s game by asking your child to log in to Gamestar Mechanic and navigate you to his/her game. It will be such a treat!

From Ross: This week in Being, Space and Place 6, students took an assessment on chronological order and using a timeline to tell a story in history. After, students created personal timelines and have selected one event on that timeline to write about in the style of a memoir. After reading and analyzing several different memoirs to discuss the importance of subject and purpose in a story, students will begin to draft their personal memoirs for next week.

In the gym, we are continuing to work on our endurance, strength and creativity.

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), students participated in a virtual lab about Homeostasis and circulated through Circulatory System Stations. In the stations, each student is accountable for designing their own learning program in order to learn the content in a way that best suits their learning style. For example, some are choosing to explore the Circulatory System through reading and writing, some through internet videos and interactives, some through a kinesthetic heart rate lab, and others by creating a visual representation of the journey of a singular red blood cell. Some students worked so efficiently that they got through almost all of the stations! Next week, we will be advising Dr. Smallz on which body system he should travel to next, and continue compiling clues and data about our patient's health.

From Lauren: Students in Sports For The Mind 7 worked on Quest #2: Training Your Eye: Design & Composition of an Image. 703 students completed the homework assignment Journey Between School and Home as well as their first in class Photolands activity.

701 & 702 students worked on compiling their Journey Between School and Home (homework) images and Photolands (class work) images from last week into 2 Power Points in which they identified the composition examples for each assignment. By completing these 2 Power Points, each student individually will move on to the next level of Photolands, which will either be the recess area or the neighborhood.

From Limor: This week in BSP 7, we worked on completing the writing process by publishing our historical fiction journals! Some classes caught up by peer editing and having conferences with the teacher to perfect their writing. The students then worked very hard on expanding their writing pieces and used Microsoft word following specific expectations to complete and individualize their journal pieces. Classes 701 and 702 printed out their writing and used tea to stain and distort the paper to make it believable! We are excited to complete this quest and are curious to know what lies next...

From Margaret: This week in Codeworld 7students were challenged by a creature in the Real Jungle, Expo, to write very, very large numbers in an easy way, and so they practiced using scientific notation to accomplish this! Our guide, Hippa, then shrunk Expo to a fraction of his former self, and we had to find Tiny Expo and use scientific notation to record his size. Q-dents also continued using www.mangahigh.com, an online math gaming system, to practice these skills, and earned bronze, silver and gold medals in the process. We will begin working on prime factorization next week.

Week of November 1- November 5, 2010

Dear Q2L Families,

FROM THE PTA
Big Apple Fundraiser:

Quest PTA is sponsoring a fundraising drive with Big Apple Fundraising. Packets with Big Apple Fundraising catalogs and order forms went home in student backpacks this past Monday. If you did not receive a packet, please contact the PTA at (q2lparents@gmail.com). This fundraising sale provides a really small window -of-opportunity, and will end Wednesday, November, 17, 2010. Orders can be paid with cash or checks made payable to Quest to Learn PTA. The more Quest families that place orders from the catalog, the more money Quest will make. Please share the catalog with friends and family.

HOME BASE UPDATE
From RachelleThis week during Home Base, we learned all about what it means to be a team player. Students worked together to identify the important concepts of the Quest to Learn core value: Collaboration Matters. We found out that in a group each person has a role and it is our responsibility to fulfill that role so the goal of our team can be accomplished successfully.

Q2L T-SHIRTS
Designed by Q2L parent, Jeanne Greco, these amazingly cute and smart Q2L T-shirts will soon be available to order on-line as part of a PTA fund raiser. We’ll keep you posted!

AFTER-SCHOOL UPDATES
Short Circuit: During Monday’s Materials Jam, students learned how to paint with something that was both decorative and functional—conductive ink. First students drew pictures and used the conductive ink to draw lines that became a simple circuit to light up an LED. Then they created a 9-scene storyboard that explained their drawing, and most importantly it lit up. On Thursday, Short Circuit went digital and students created their first flipbooks using the bennetonplay online drawing tool. There are a few kinks to work out there but everyone learned a lot and is eager to connect with the larger community of users. Friday participants will get things moving with a few rounds of Dance Dance Revolution, then make their own websites using the www.wix.com.

SHORT CIRCUIT PARENTS: Next week, visiting artist Cecilia Elugero will work with participants to hack old noisy toys and make them new again. If your Short Circuiter has any noise-making toys that you’d like to get rid of, please have them bring them to Short Circuit next week.

Mathematical Olympiad!
The e-vites were sent out on Friday!

Wednesday Kick-Off: This week in soccer the students began the afternoon by warming up with a fun game of Simon Says! From there the students worked in pairs on a new defensive drill. Coach Rafael paired kids up and gave each group of two a soccer ball. The goal of the drill was to protect the soccer ball from the opposing player. The defensive player stood facing the soccer ball while the opposing (offensive) player started the drill behind that player. The offensive player’s goal was to evade the defender by gaining a clear pathway on the ball. The defensive player used an important technical skill in which they tried to maintain outside foot position depending the direction of movement by the opposing player.

Next, they played two-on-two scrimmage games and the first team to score were the winners. The particular focus of the games was on teamwork and ball control. In the first round of games, both players had to hold hands or lock arms in order to ensure good teamwork. Any separation resulted in the other team winning. As part of the focus on ball control, anytime one team kicked the ball out of bounds they other team won. The students worked well together and had a great time learning and playing soccer!

Flag Football Fun!
Tuesday our Q-dents really played with heart! We have our last game of the season this week. Go Quest!

Go Quest, Go Team!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Wednesday, November 10 • School Leadership Team Meeting 4:30 - 6:00
Thursday, November 11 • Veteran's Day (schools closed)
Monday, November 15 • Parent-Teacher Conferences (Evening)
Tuesday, November 16 • Parent- Teacher Conferences (12:00 dismissal for students)
Wednesday, November 24 • Thanksgiving Pot-Luck Luncheon
Monday, December 2 • PTA Meeting
Friday, December 104 • Afterschool Finale (Families are Invited)
Tuesday, December 14 • Trimester 1 Ends
Wednesday, December 15 • Q2L Demonstration Day (Families are invited!)
Thursday, December 16 • Boss Level 1 begins!
Friday, December 17 • Q2L Family Holiday Celebration
Thursday, December 23 • Boss Level Demonstrations! (Families Invited!)
Friday, December 24 – January 2 • Winter Recess
Monday, January 3, 2011 • School Resumes

CURRICULUM UPDATES
6th GRADE
From Alicia: This week in Codeworld 6, we worked on common multiples and common factors of numbers in order to help the kidnapper solve codes given to him by Professor Pie. We also looked at Ferris wheels and cicada cycles in order to practice our least common multiple (LCM) skills and discover how they matter in our world. Students worked to discover how many cycles and seconds on a Ferris wheel, depending on its size, it would take for two siblings to reach the bottom at the same time again. We also worked to figure out how many years it would take for 13 and 17 year cicadas to reemerge onto the Systemia campus and what we should do to prevent their impending devastation in the future. Next week we will continue looking at factor and multiple problems from Professor Pie that include his famous locker number nine. Students should be working on their homework and reviewing their factor and multiples notes.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work, students got to visit one of the shining gems here at Q2l, SMALLab. No other school in the world has anything even close to SMALLab, which is a giant interactive space where students get to engage to play educational games. This week's visit involved helping the Troggles push a hat up various inclined planes (ramps) and collecting data from the game. We are going to analyze and make sense of what we discovered next time students meet for TWTW. Next week as we continue our learning and understanding of FORCE and WORK, we will begin to see how these have a role in simple machines.

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6, our classroom became a Q-DO studio! Jeedo's teachers sent Lara a package of Q-Do materials to post around the classroom. We discovered that in Q-Do, there are five components to balance: Power, focus, tenacity, alignment and flexibility. Jeedo sent us his first lesson which we tried out. It teaches the beginning of the 1st QDO form which addresses all five elements.

We also explored our Focus Toolbox which comprises a number of focusing tools suggested by students like "See Success" and "I Can Do It!" and "I'm the Leader". 6th graders have been encouraged to continue to use these when they feel themselves being distracted and/or are trying to do something that they need to focus to be able to accomplish.

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6, the students were given the challenge to be playtesters for their three level top down birthday games. They needed to take on the role of a serious game reviewer, realizing the importance of being fair and constructive with feedback to fellow game designers. Being specific and explaining why something in a game is a success as well as why something needs improvement is challenging, both for the playtester to say as well as for the game designer to hear. To help with this process, the playtesters had to complete a playtester feedback form to give to the game designer. Many found it difficult to express their feelings in written words, as they had to be very selective with the way they expressed themselves to the game designer.
Next week, the students will finalize their three level top down birthday games, using the feedback they received from their playtesters. They will also create a final iteration of their birthday card to accompany their birthday game.

7th GRADE
From Audrey and Pierre: Students have been working really hard in Powerspeak and have been advancing with their languages! All lessons are unlocked and students can move through the program as quickly as they want. At this point, students should have completed at least through lesson 12. We encourage students to complete additional lessons at home if they are motivated and ready to advance.

In other exciting news, students have been contacted by the Powerspeak teacher who will be grading and reviewing their work. These teachers hold additional "virtual classes" to support student learning as well as "virtual office hours" through Elluminate classroom. To read the message from your child’s teacher, have your child log on to their Powerspeak account and click on their messages tab. While these additional classes are not mandatory, they are HIGHLY recommended. If students have any questions about their language or need extra support in any particular area, they shouldn’t hesitate to contact their individual Powerspeak teacher.

From Lara:This week in Wellness 7, we explored our skeleton's Head to Tail and then tried our hand at the Posture challenge. We were choreographers and performers who, in groups of three or four students, created and performed dances using 3 different ways of sitting in a chair and time patterns. The performances were a great success. I think we were all surprised by how many different variations there were.

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), students play-tested each other's games on the Respiratory System. They had tons of fun and provided each other with excellent warm and cool feedback. After the Game Jam, students sent emails to Dr. Smallz to teach him about the components of the Respiratory System. He wrote back to say thanks, share a Body Map from his ship's radar console which is tracking his location and his patients vitals (http://btrombley.com/body_map/, and to inform us that he remembered his patient is on Twitter (@KellyJtravels). We were able to explore her tweets and learn some clues about her symptoms and interests. Since Dr. Smallz appears to be heading towards a major artery, he needs us to learn about the Circulatory System next week. In addition, the information provided by the Body Map has created a new "need to know:" how does the body maintain homeostasis; and what happens when this balance is disrupted?

From Lauren:In Sports For The Mind 7, students in 701 and 702 began Quest #2: Training Your Eye: Photographic Composition. They learned about framing, filling the frame, moving vs zooming, leading lines, balancing the foreground & background, frame within a frame, composing off-center, and rotating the frame. For homework, using a digital still camera, they had to “train their photographic eye” by photographing their journey between school and home. In class on Thursday, they continued to “train their photographic eye.” They were each given a word and needed to find a way to photograph this word using the photographic principles of composition in the TWTW6 classroom and the hallway. Every week during their double period of SFTM, the students will be training their eyes in a new location. The goal is to document NYC.

Students in 703 watched an amazing documentary, Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working With Time. “Landscape sculptor Andy Goldsworthy is renowned throughout the world for his work in ice, stone, leaves, wood. His own remarkable still photographs are Goldsworthy's way of talking about his often ephemeral works, of fixing them in time” (http://www.skyline.uk.com/riversandtides/index.html). Next week, 703 will begin Quest #2: Training Your Eye: Photographic Composition.

From Limor: This week in BSP 7, we continue the writing process! Thus far, we had written one vignette from a chosen ghost character's point of view facing conflict during a historical event. We then chose a second ghost character/historical event/conflict and drafted our second vignette. We self-edited using an organizer and re-wrote our vignettes. We then worked with partners by using specific information being asked for from the rubric to read both vignettes and select which one had perfect combination of interest level and expected components. We learned how to expand for the written three paragraphs to five paragraphs - we focused on sensory details, figurative language, physical descriptions and strong verbs and juicy adjectives to bring our writing alive! Once students produced a 5 paragraph piece of historical fiction writing, we worked in peer editing groups to find places of commendations and recommendations. Our writing pieces are coming together; beautifully merging creativity and historical fact into works of perfection and balance!

From Margaret: We continued our work with exponents this week, deriving the rules for multiplying and dividing exponential expressions with the same bases and with different bases (and the same exponents). We analyzed powers of powers, and zero powers. We explored the meaning of negative exponents and how negative exponents compare to positive exponents, through a short video, "Powers of Ten". Next week we will be meeting up again with Expo, a creature in the Real Jungle who makes small things big and big things small, preparing for Expo's challenge, and starting to work with scientific notation.

Week of October 25-October 29, 2010

Dear Q2L Families,

Our 2010 “Halloween Boo-Bash” was a hoot! Spider webs, pumpkins, posters, and crepe paper transformed our 7th floor gym space into a real live Creepytown! Thanks so much to the PTA Hospitality Committee for organizing everything and for the decorating help provided by students who stayed after school to lend a hand. A number of parents served food and helped with set up and clean up. There were so many families that came in costume and added to the festivities. Costumes ranged from beautiful, to creative, to down right creepy. Both 6th Grade and 7th Grade families arrived with casseroles, pizza, sushi, salads, cookies, cakes, soda, and juice. I’m not sure the kids ate as much as we thought they would, because they were too busy playing and dancing. The Community Officers from the 10th Precinct that we met at Morning Meeting on Monday even came to check out the festivities, dressed as police officers! Great fun, Q2L!

Q2L T-SHIRTS
Designed by Q2L parent, Jeanne Greco, these amazingly cute and smart Q2L T-shirts will soon be available to order on-line as part of a PTA fund raiser. We’ll keep you posted!

HOME BASE UPDATE
From Rachelle: This week in home base, students focused on the Q2L Core Value, “Nobody Walks By.” Students participated in team building activities that helped them understand the following concepts:
1) We must always hold each other accountable.
2) No matter how our goals change, we must always make sure everyone is involved.
3) We are all an integral component to making this system functional.

The long-awaited ARIS login letters have arrived and will be distributed to students in sealed envelopes on Monday to take home.

AFTER-SCHOOL UPDATES
Chess Club
A number of Q-dents have been coming to school early to meet in the cafeteria at 7:30 for chess instruction from Wendell and then to play from 8:00 – 8:30. The enthusiasm is growing, and the numbers of students playing chess during recess increases daily! Information regarding weekend chess matches has been given to interested students. We hope that Quest Knights takes off!

Mathematical Olympiad!
Q-dents with who have excelled at math and have been nominated by teachers for their academic abilities have been selected to participate in this Middle School competition! Invitations will be extended this week.

Math Power!
Week two of Math Power, and students are getting into their math groove! Day One is skill development lead by Audrey and Day Two, facilitated by Leah, is practice, application and reinforcement of the skill of the week. Wendell contributes push-in, pull-out support to allow for differentiated instruction. Math is Power!!

Short Circuit: This week, Short Circuit was invaded by Halloween fever, with students showing up almost every afternoon to design and customize Halloween costumes. Visiting artist-mentor, Cecilia Elugero, showed students how to turn paper into modular tubes and fueled the creation of many awesome three-dimensional costumes. Students also worked with the re-usable connector system Makedo, joining paper, cardboard and other recycled materials to create even more Halloween accessories and fashions. On Thursday, participants created scary soundtracks and Halloween-inspired movies. Friday marks the end of the weeklong Halloween Prototype Party. Short Circuiters will put finishing touches on their final designs, stabilize their prototypes and get ready to present their costumes at the Q2L Halloween party

Wednesday Kick-Off: This week was the most impressive soccer practice yet! Students elevated their game by demonstrating proficiency of the fundamental skills gained in the previous weeks. The practice started with relay races and moves to an advanced passing drill. They worked in two groups on directional passes by passing straight, running a full lap, then passed diagonally, running another lap around the playground. After a short recess, everyone paired up to play

Flag Football Fun!
The Q2L Varsity and JV Flag football teams are vigorously preparing for their next challenge against MS 131 on Wednesday, November 3rd. Unfortunately, our last game was rained-out and cancelled. We are in contact with NEST for a re-schedule! We have been working on the team’s ability to secure a pass when "blitzed" in addition to securing those under-pressure passes on offense! Students are building their team work and leadership skills by continuously displaying enthusiasm and being accountable for their shortcomings as a team! Updates will continue. Great job, all!

Email Israel Taveras with any questions:<“a href=”mailto:itaveras@q2l.org” target=”new”>itavares at q2l.org

Go Quest, Go Team!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday, November 1 • PTA Meeting 6:30 - 8:00 pm (Library)
Tuesday, November 2 • Election Day (non-attendance day for students)
Wednesday, November 10 • School Leadership Team Meeting 4:30 - 6:00
Thursday, November 11 • Veteran's Day (schools closed)
Monday, November 15 • Parent-Teacher Conferences (Evening)
Tuesday, November 16 • Parent- Teacher Conferences (12:00 dismissal for students)
Wednesday, November 24 • Thanksgiving Pot-Luck Luncheon
Monday, December 2 • PTA Meeting
Tuesday, December 14 • Trimester 1 Ends
Thursday, December 16 • Boss Level 1 begins!
Friday, December 17 • Q2L Family Holiday Celebration
Thursday, December 23 • Boss Level Demonstrations! (Families Invited!)
Friday, December 24 – January 2 • Winter Recess
Monday, January 3, 2011 • School Resumes

CURRICULUM UPDATES
6th GRADE
From Alicia: This week in Codeworld 6, we finally received instructions from Professor Pie and his kidnappers! We were given instructions in parts on how to locate the mysterious "E. Machine" he spoke about on his twitter, which should give us clues to his final pie recipe. We grouped factors, multiples, and primes together using Venn diagrams and used the diagrams to find the common factors of a set of numbers. We also explored finding the greatest common factor of two or more numbers according to the directions Professor Pie left us. Students worked to complete Pie's three-part mini-quest to locate the directions to successfully operating his "E. Machine," which we hope to use beginning next week! Students should be organizing their binders and reviewing their factors and multiples notes for next week.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work, students took a major assessment that covered all of the science and math that we have covered so far. Students worked in their groups to discuss and synthesize their learning and newfound understanding of force and how that applies to the Troggle's problems. The week concluded with students taking part in a lab about work. Next week students will get to visit SMALLab a giant interactive space where students will explore and get a first glimpse into the world of simple machines.

From Lara: This week in Wellness, we took stock of our immediate environment and how it impacts our ability to focus. Jeedo wrote to thank us for sharing our best balancing shapes and sent us a picture of his room where he practices balancing. We noticed that he was probably being very distracted by his little brother's toys all over the floor, the radio, the TV, and, of course, his little brother. We looked at some of the components of the rooms where we practice balancing to see if they were helping us or not. Some of us were affected when a room was too bright or dark, by the size of the room, the smells in the room and certainly by the other people in the room and the amount and quality of the sounds. Next week we'll see what Jeedo's teacher sent and begin our preparation for an upcoming event!
In the gym we've continued our endurance, speed, strength and flexibility training. Next week we'll begin to learn skills for a new sport.

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6, the students were given the challenge to design a three level top down birthday game for someone special in Gamestar Mechanic with specific constraints. To accompany their birthday game, the students had to design their first iteration of a birthday card for this special birthday person. All students should have their birthday themed games published in the next few days, so that next week their games can be play tested and reviewed.
Also, there is a special opportunity in Gamestar for the students to earn more sprites for their toolbox if they play the Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) Channel Games found in Game Alley. There is a time-limited Halloween theme game called Monsters of the Night. See SFTM 6’s homework link for more details:

From Ross: This week in Being, Space, and Place (BSP), we wrapped up our 3rd Quest, which focused on physical geography. After researching terms, students then played Sculptionary and an amazing mapping game called Galactic Mappers. Please review all flashcards and notes this weekend for Monday's assessment.

7th GRADE
From Lara:This week in Wellness, we completed the Shoulders to Fingertips challenge by exploring how we can use gestures to tell stories. Students were silent movie actors for a day, communicating with their audience using only arm and upper-body movements that they had invented. During the in-class performances students also had a chance to practice their videography, production and audience skills.

In the gym, we're continuing our endurance strength and flexibility training. This we week we also developed our creative movement skills by using inventing unique ways of traveling through low, medium and high space.

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), students discovered that Dr. Smallz is in the Nasal Cavity, a part of our Respiratory System (R.S.). They became experts on the Respiratory System by doing internet research, taking notes in class, collaboratively creating an R.S. systems diagram, completing homework puzzles, and making flashcards. Students are in the midst of completing Respiratory System Games, which they should work on at home (701's and 702's games are due Monday, 703's are due Wednesday). Next week they will prove what they have learned when they play each other's games during our R.S. Game Expo and by completing a vocabulary quiz on R.S. components. Later in the week, we will advise Dr. Smallz where to go next, post blogs on his behalf to his company Shrinkley Labs, and learn how the human body regulates itself!

From Lauren: In Sports For The Mind7 this week, the 7th graders had a major project due . The 5-Frame Visual Story Final Project is the culminating activity for Quest #1. This project will be a large component of each student's assessment for parent teacher conference, as the final assignment is the application of the student learning over the last few weeks. The deadline was posted on the homework website and in class last week and the requirements/rubric was handed out to the students in class as well as posted on the homework website. Please see the following this link for more details.

It was disappointing that several students either did not turn in the assignment or handed in incomplete work.

Some students have been resistant to the fact that SFTM has a 7th grade curriculum that looks and feels very different from 6th Grade. Please help them to understand that they cannot repeat what they have learned, and in fact need to build upon it. They are being asked to apply what they learned through game design and to take it further – using writing, observation, and a range of media, including digital media, to tell a story. Also, please check in with your 7th graders about SFTM homework that is being assigned regularly.

From Limor: This week in Being, Space and Place 7, we've been writing! Our quest has been clearly introduced to us— we have to re-create the destroyed journals that the colonial ghosts had once written. We did our historical research and used our newfound knowledge of literary conflict to decide what historical events our assigned ghosts may have been exposed to or involved in and picked which conflict we wanted our protagonist to face. We began the vignette writing process by pre-writing, brainstorming, and using graphic organizers to collect our thoughts. We then wrote our first drafts, or our rough drafts in first person narration from our ghost's points of views. The next step was to re-read and re-visit our own work, and we used a checklist to make sure that important components like engaging first lines, physical descriptions, word choice, sensory details, figurative language, character traits and clear conflict existed in our work. We then took our revisions and re-wrote our vignettes in a second draft! Some classes have also begun working on their second ghost’s vignette! Once both vignettes are done, students will select one writing piece to expand on and continue the writing process with.

From Margaret: This week in Codeworld 7, after practicing order of operations and absolute value expressions this week, we completed our integer unit and had our final integer challenge (quiz) this morning. Students were complimented by the Integer Tribe for a job well done, and then we learned about our next quest. We observed some strange things happening in the Real Jungle where small things were getting large, and large things were getting small and were introduced to Expo of the Exponent Tribe. This was the beginning of our study of the laws of exponents. We will be continuing our training on exponents next week and after that, scientific notation.

Week of October 18-October 22, 2010
Dear Q2L Families,

Thank you for attending Curriculum and Assessment Night! It was a great opportunity for families to get an overview of the Q2L model, learn about the specific missions and quests in which students are currently engaged, as well as ask questions of Arana and Rebecca, Elisa, Katie, Rachelle, and all of the domain teachers and the Instructional Strategy Team. We have an awesome year ahead! While we can say that some of the things that make Quest so special are our pedagogy of “game-like learning” and the meaningful integration of technology, it is the collaboration with families and the involvement of parents that truly separates us from other schools. Thank you!

Designed by Q2L parent, Jeanne Greco, Q2L T-shirts will soon be available to order on-line as part of a PTA fund raiser. We’ll keep you posted!

Short Circuit
This week, Short Circuit welcomed Hillary Kolos, a visiting media artist who worked with students on sharing work and giving productive feedback. During this week's Prototype Party, Short Circuit brought out the sewing needles, glue guns and iron-on transfers to customize t-shirts. During Tuesday's Materials Jam, students explored "e-toys," making small stuffed toys that behave like light switches, turning LEDs on and off when they touched. The toys were cute and fluffy on the outside, but on the inside, they were all systems—simple electronic circuits made of conductive fabric, batteries and LEDs. Students also made paper characters and then worked with Hillary in groups to make short webcam movies. The whole Short Circuit team was very impressed and the students had a great time making movies and “soft” circuits this week. On Friday, Ameer and Lauren will join Short Circuit on a field trip to the Asia Society Museum. We look forward to the trip and are excited to introduce students to the multi-talented king of Japanese “Neo-Pop,” Yoshitomo Nara.

Rosanna Lopez, who joined the Institute of Play and the afterschool program last January, will be leaving Q2L to explore new opportunities. We'd like to thank Rosanna for the many gifts she brought to the afterschool program, Boss Levels, Mobile Quest Summer Camp and to the entire Q2L learning community. We'll miss her warmth, thoughtfulness and appreciation of the creativity and singularity of our wonderful Q2L students. We wish Rosanna the best of luck in her future endeavors.

Wednesday Kick-Off: The kids have all shown real progress in their skill development as this week marked the midway point of the Q2L After-School Soccer Program. They are having fun learning and playing soccer. They focused on their accuracy working in groups of three by making a short pass to one player, following the ball and then making a long pass to the third player in the group. Each player went through five rounds of passes and the players all took turns before completing the passing drill.

After taking some time to refresh and enjoy a snack break, the players divided up into three teams and played games against each other in a round-robin format. They played one point matches and winners got to stay on for another game. The kids demonstrated good teamwork and sportsmanship throughout their play

Flag Football Fun!
The Q2L Varsity and JV Flag football teams both played games on Wednesday afternoon. The Varsity Team, while filled with talented players, has not yet perfected their "team work" and are finding their first win illusive. The JV Team worked together and earned a proud tie score! Great job, all!!!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Friday, October 29 • Family Halloween Party! (At Q2L)
Monday, November 1 • PTA Meeting 6:30 - 8:00 pm (Library)
Tuesday, November 2 • Election Day (non-attendance day for students)
Wednesday, November 10 • School Leadership Team Meeting 4:30 - 6:00p
Thursday, November 11 • Veteran's Day (schools closed)
Monday, November 15 • Parent-Teacher Conferences (Evening)
Tuesday, November 16 • Parent- Teacher Conferences (12:00 dismissal for students)
Wednesday, November 24 • Thanksgiving Pot-Luck Luncheon
Monday, December 2 • PTA Meeting
Tuesday, December 14 • Trimester 1 Ends
Wednesday, December 15 • Boss Level 1 begins!
Friday, December 17 • Q2L Family Holiday Celebration
Thursday, December 23 • Boss Level Demonstrations! (Families Invited!)
Friday, December 24 – January 2 • Winter Recess
Monday, January 3, 2011 • School Resumes

CURRICULUM UPDATES
6th GRADE
From Alicia: This week in Codeworld 6, students worked as "stretching" employees at a stretching factory. We worked to build machines and eliminate machines using factors of various stretching functions (multiplication in our case). As their boss, I also needed them to develop a list of machines to consider buying or not buying, using prime and composite numbers, as well as factors. From there, we used our new knowledge to write out factor trees of given stretching machines using prime factorization. Next week, we will be using prime factorization and factor trees to strengthen our knowledge of multiples and greatest common factors (or GCF). Students should be organizing their binders, studying their notes (every night!) and working on homework for next week.

Professor Pie UPDATE: He is alive and (we hope) well, sending cryptic BBM messages to Systemia issued BlackBerry phones. We have also located a mysterious machine we hope will help us decode these messages we receive from Pie and his kidnapper/s.

From Ameer: This week in The Week In The Way Things Work, students had an exciting week where they were contacted by the Troggles again for some more help. Quest three began and the Troggles have a huge request this time. Students. They have three different scenarios which requires them to work in groups and explore as a class the related math and science content necessary to understand and solve the problems. Next week in their first class all students will have to take an assessment that is very similar to the assigned HW for the week. Please check in with your children and make sure they study.

From Lara: This week in Wellness we displayed our new improved applications for Q-Do level 2. 7th graders have since been spotted in the hallway checking out the photos of our best balancing shapes and trying them out. Then we got started with Quest 3--Out of Focus. We thought of a number of activities that require focus for us to do well, from skateboarding to video games, from beating Dad at cards to learning new dance moves and, of course, being able to balance one foot for a long time. For homework, students made lists of what helps them to focus and what distracts them. We discovered that we have different preferences about things like the amount of light we need, being around people or not and whether or not eating helps. Everyone, though, agreed that it is easier to focus better when there is quiet and not a lot of movement. Next week we hope to hear whether or not our suggestions helped Jeedo!

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6, the students continued to use GameStar Mechanic as a learning tool for game design and for making connections with systems thinking. While trying to add complexity to their thinking about the question “What is game design?” this week’s focus was on the player. Students had to think about the questions: “What role does the player play in game design?,” “What is the process a player goes through to play a game?,” “What/who does a player interact with to make relationships when playing a game?” and “How is the player connected to a game designer?.” To answer these questions, the students were challenged to create an image of a player, a diagram of a player’s process/steps when playing a game, and images that illustrated the relationships a player makes when interacting with a game and how these relationship create an experience. It was impressive seeing the students apply their knowledge and vocabulary into the creation of complex and diverse images about the player of a game.

From Ross: This week in Being, Space, and Place (BSP), students officially published their Ultimate Room Writing pieces! In class, they collected their brainstorm, outline, first and second drafts, peer reviews, and their final published pieces and submitted the entire body of work to me. It was certainly a weight off of their shoulders! From there, we moved right on to planning our Museum Scavenger Hunt. Students used practice maps to brainstorm their routes with their teams and completed final maps to use at the museum. On Thursday, the 6th grade took their first field trip to the American Museum of Natural History where they embarked on a rigorous scavenger hunt in teams of 6-8, using the maps they created in class and completing challenges along the way. Congratulations to class 602 for getting the most points and winning the overall challenge! Next week, we will continue to sharpen our BSP with physical geography.

7th GRADE
From Lara: This week in Wellness we continued our strength training and learned how to run on a track to improve our endurance. Then we got some creative juices flowing by ramping up our silly, crazy and cool walks from our Hip-to-Toe class last week. We had an assessment of organizational skills by taking stock of how many homework assignments each student had completed on time. Then we moved on to our Shoulders to Fingertips homework and discussed the research we had done about the bones, muscles and joints of the upper limb. Next week, students will be presenting the three gestures they invent over the weekend.

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), This week in The Way Things Work, students were introduced to the metric system and they became experts with measurement tools. During Measurement Boot camp students rotated through stations to practice measuring liquid volume and the volume of regular and irregular objects, using triple beam balances, and measuring microscopic specimens. Next week they will be assessed on their measurement and microscope expertise, and they will get in contact with Dr. Smallz to teach him about what they learned about measurement. Dr. Smallz will share more clues with the students about his whereabouts within the human body, his patient's symptoms, and what the students can do to help him cure her.

From Lauren: In Sports For The Mind 7 this week, the students wrote a new 50 words exactly (no more, no less) Mini-Sagas for homework about something inspiring. The challenge was for them to create a narrative that could be translated into 5 pictures for the 5-frame visual story. In class, the students sketched out their ideas for their images for the 5-frame visual story, indicating the shape of frame, the shot type of the image, and the materials that will be used to create the 5-frame story. Once they completed the 5-frame visual story preparation, the art making began. Next week, the final 5-frame visual story is due and Quest#1 will be complete.

From Limor: This week in Being, Space and Place 7, we unveiled our secret, challenge game! Students have been preparing for "Map It—a Trivia Game" by creating their student information cards on the Thirteen colonies. Groups were given a stack of trivia questions and had to answer all of the information on the cards (using their student created tools) while being timed! Once they had completed that round, they flipped the trivia cards over to reveal a map of the Thirteen Colonies and England. Groups had to use their knowledge of geography to quickly put the cards in the right places. After the maps were completed and checked by the "trivia master", students used an answer key to check their work. Groups were scored based on placement and correct answers. The students were quite excited and worked beautifully as groups to complete this task. We then began to discuss the four types of conflicts in literature, identifying protagonists and antagonists and categorizing types of conflicts based on examples. Once we had a strong understanding of conflict, we played a creative writing game! Student groups were given three stacks of cards: characters, conflict and setting. Each table was given (at random), two character cards, one setting and one conflict and brainstormed with one another to come up with a story that encompassed all of the components studied. The final products blew me away! We are going to take this creativity and our newly acquired knowledge of conflict in creating our ghost journals, based on historical events.

Week of October 12-October 15, 2010

The annual Middle School Search is officially on! We have begun our Tour and Open House schedule, hosting our first of each last Thursday. Our Q2L faculty (both Department of Education and Institute of Play) dedicates a lot of after-hours time and effort to this very important recruitment process. Many thanks to the Q2L parents who have taken such an active role in making connections with their former elementary schools, so that we can schedule special tours, and work with guidance counselors and parent coordinators, to make sure they all have information about Quest and our Open Houses.

A number of 7th grade Quest parents came together in a cosmic creative burst to design and print new publicity materials for us that look amazing! The hours of work and talent that were donated could have never been afforded! Thank you Jeanne, Toon, Joel, Sue, Janet and Carol! (Apologies if I left anyone out!)

We are asking schools to reach out to our guidance counselor, Rachelle at rvallon at q2l.org. Individuals can also sign up on our Q2L website at www.Q2L.org/visit or by clicking on the “Plan A Visit” link on the home page. We will also have a table at the District 2 Middle School Fair on Tuesday, October 19.

We have Open Houses scheduled on the following dates:

Thank you to the Q2L parents and students who are participating!

We have “school specific” tours scheduled for the following elementary schools:

We have selected a terrific group of Q2L students to act as tour guides!

The best advertisement is word of mouth! Please let us know if you came from an elementary school that we have not yet made contact with. Help us to make the connections with the parent coordinator or guidance counselor so that we can schedule a special tour or visit their Middle School Information nights. I have also been informed by some Q2L parents and Q-dents that they have been asked to speak at Middle School Information meetings for their old schools. Please let Rachelle know, and we can prepare packets of information and copies of our beautiful new fliers to take with you!

We are building the Quest Community as a community!

MORE GREAT MATERIALS TO SHARE!
The Pearson Foundation's New Learning Institute created a video about Q2L and Katie Salen! Click here to watch the video. It is an awesome piece!

AFTERSCHOOL UPDATES
Math Power!
Math Power!!! After taking a short diagnostic test, students exercised their Math Power during a competitive round of Math 24! As the students acquire skills, their Math Power Points will accumulate! Math 24 Fever is growing at Quest!

Mathematical Olympiad!
Q-dents with who have excelled at math and have been nominated by teachers for their academic abilities will be selected to participate in this Middle School competition! Invitations will be extended next week. Please contact Alicia (aiannucci@q2l.org) with any questions.

Short Circuit
This week in Short Circuit, students worked with guest artist, Jennifer Dopazo, in a series of workshops. Jennifer, a multi-talented designer who creates whimsical toys and products for kids and adults, gave Short Circuiters a peak into her creative process by showing examples of her work. Next, she led a workshop where students created plush toys and stuffed animals using felt, paper, conductive fabrics and LEDS. Jennifer and the Short Circuit team also introduced students to conductive thread, a magical material that carries electricity with every stitch. By the end of the week, participants were using their sewing skills, conductive thread and entrepreneurial ideas to design their own line of toys.

Short Circuit Field Trip
Next Friday, Oct 22, Short Circuit participants will take a field trip to the Asia Society to explore the work of Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara. His first NYC retrospective promises to be an exciting and Inspirational affair, to which ALL Short Circuit participants are welcome to attend. Field trip forms will be backpacked home and also emailed to parents.
To learn more about Yoshitomo Nara's work go to: http://sites.asiasociety.org/yoshitomonara

Wednesday Kick-Off: The students really found their groove this week as they took all of the skills learned in the previous weeks to another level. The afternoon started with relay races up and down the playground. First, they sprinted without a ball, then coach Rafael added one soccer ball to both groups, and on the third leg the students had to maintain possession, up and back, with two soccer balls.

Building on last week’s passing circuit, students then performed a full-out routine in which they passed the soccer ball in a continuous cycle through six different stations until everyone completed the circuit. It was a challenging but thrilling feat. Afterward, the kids all took a break for snacks and juice, and finished the day by playing scrimmage games.

Flag Football Fun!
Despite their exhibition of spirit and determination, neither the JV or nor Varsity Q2L team was able to pull off a win at our game yesterday! Thanks to the cheering support of on-lookers (Thanks, families!) the kids still had fun! The tired team arrived back at school for a few slices of pizza to rebuild their strength. The team will be ready to work toward next week’s challenge! The next game is Wednesday. More details to follow! GO QUEST, GO TEAM!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Thursday, October 21 • 6th Grade BSP trip to Museum of Natural History
Thursday, October 21 • Curriculum & Assessment Night (6:00 - 7:30p)
Friday, October 29 • Halloween Party!
Monday, November 1 • PTA Meeting (6:30 - 8:00 p) (Library)
Tuesday, November 2 • Election Day (non-attendance day for students)
Wednesday, November 10 • School Leadership Team Meeting (4:30 - 6:00p)
Thursday, November 11 • Veteran's Day (schools closed)
Monday, November 15 • Parent-Teacher Conferences (Evening)
Tuesday, November 16 • Parent- Teacher Conferences (12p dismissal)

CURRICULUM UPDATES
6th GRADE
From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds 6, students worked on their monster book entries, adding input/output machines and factors. We worked on improving our order of operations (PEMDAS) skills with extra practice and power ups. We also spent Friday organizing our binders, folders and planners; and reflecting on our performance in Codeworlds, note taking and study habits. Next week, we will be looking further into factors and multiples. Students should be working on organizing their binders, making corrections to work and completing all their work this weekend.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work, students continued to explore the scientific method a system for investigating everyday problems and natural phenomena. The troggles contacted us this week with two problems that they needed our help with. The first issue they were having in their world was that they wanted to figure out if M&M's makes more of some colors than others. Students used the scientific method as a lens with which to approach this problem and practiced creating bar graphs to display their data. After the success of the M&M lab, the troggles asked us to see if we could determine how many drops of a mystery fluid could fit on top of various coins, and the students approached the problem like seasoned researchers following all the steps of the scientific method. Next week kicks off with Quest 3 and students can look forward to more exciting and interesting adventures involving energy, force & work.

From Lara: This week in Wellness 6, we finished our new improved applications for Q-Do level 2 to send to Jeedo. We included photos of our selves in our best balancing shapes, our best time and the mind work we use to each stay in our shape as long as possible. Each student also wrote a letter to Jeedo to persuade him to choose their shape to be the one of the three that he uses for his new application.

Students have been practicing balancing on one foot and filling in their balancing logs. So far, the record is just over 10 minutes for balancing with eyes open. Next week, we'll move on to eyes closed! In the gym we began some endurance training and a baseline assessment for our Fitness Gram skills, which we will strive to improve little by little as we approach the big test in March.

From Lauren: This week in Sports For The Mind 6, the students continued to use GameStar Mechanic (http://q2l.gamestarmechanic.com/) as a learning tool for game design and for making connections with systems thinking. While trying to add complexity to their thinking about the question “What is game design?” this week’s focus was on the creative process of designing games. Students had to think about the questions “Where do ideas for games come from?” “How does a game designer create a game?” and “What steps do game designers take in creating a game?” To answer these questions, the students were challenged to list as many new/original game ideas as they could think of in 10 minutes. Then, the students had to develop one of their new/original game ideas by listing the core mechanics, rules, components, space, and goal. To conclude the week, the students created drawings/diagrams of the process/steps a game designer goes through to design a game. It was impressive seeing the students apply their knowledge and vocabulary into the creation of complex and diverse images about the creative process.

From Ross: This week in Being, Space, and Place (BSP), we continued our "Writing Process" Quest. Students began to draft their "Ultimate Room" 5-paragraph essays. From there, we then looked at sample essays and learned how to assess an essay at different levels based on a formal rubric - the same one used in the NY State ELA exams. Students then used that skill to reflect on their own pieces and have begun the 2nd draft. From there, students will then peer edit each others' pieces and use the feedback of their classmates to craft the final, published piece.

7th GRADE
From Lara: This week in Wellness, we focused on the bones, muscles and joints between our hips and our toes. We watched a short clip of Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks, then prepared and performed our own silly, cool and/or crazy walks. Students demonstrated a great variety in possible uses of the bones, muscles and joints of their lower limbs.

In the gym we began endurance training and a baseline assessment for our Fitness Gram skills, which we will strive to improve little by little as we approach the big test in March.

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work (TWTW 7.0), Students got back their first summative assessment - a QuestTest on Cells and the Scientific Method. Students that scored below Apprentice Level 2 were sent home with a letter for parents or guardians to sign describing the implications of this and suggesting a variety of methods to improve their performance for next time. Overall, I am extremely proud of how the seventh graders performed on their first content-specific, written assessment! In addition, students honed their microscope skills, which came in handy after a set of mysterious “micropostcards”, appeared in my closet. On each microscope slide, students expected to find a plant cell specimen, but instead they discovered microscopic text. The messages were sent to them by Dr. Smallz, an employee of Shrinkley Labs, who (in an attempt to cure an ill patient) shrunk himself and voyaged into one of the organ systems of his patient's body. Unfortunately during the shrinking process, he lost his medical and scientific memory and so he our assistance. The doctor sent us these "micropostcards" so that we can help him cure his patient, regain his scientific vocabulary, get out of his patient's body, and re-enlarge himself! The first step will be to determine his measurements (height, mass, and volume) using the metric system, and to report back to Shrinkley Labs with our discoveries. Next week, we will be exploring the Metric System and measurement tools; hopefully, we will get some more clues about Dr. Smallz, his size, his whereabouts, and his patient's condition.

From Lauren: In Sports For The Mind 7 this week, the students continued to grapple with the questions “What is a frame?” and “What shapes create my visual culture?” To apply their understanding, students had to create a variety of iterations of “frames within frames” that were inspired by dissecting objects into shapes and using those shapes to create design patterns. The designs evolved from pencil drawings to adding texture and 3-D elements with construction paper. Through this process, the students proved that they are ready to create their 5-frame visual stories. To help put into context the skills they have learned the past few weeks and to help inspire them to create amazing 5-frame visual stories, this upcoming week the students will be asked to think about the creative process an artist/storyteller goes through to create by viewing a documentary called Worst Possible Illusion: The Curiosity Cabinet of Vik Muniz (http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/worstpossibleillusion/film.html).

From Limor: This week in Being, Space and Place 7, we assessed ourselves and our newly acquired knowledge of 300 plus years of history by doing We were able to rely on our prior knowledge and fact recall, and it pumped us up to move forward in our Quest! So far, England has seemed like a great "mother" - she gave us food, land and support. However, her "babies", the colonists, have grown up and are beginning to questions her parenting skills. We looked at the rising conflicts happening between the colonists and England and discussed the points of views from either side. We discussed the power of propaganda in both present and historical times, and looked at the Boston Massacre as an example; the colonists used it to vilify the British and to create a unity of hatred amongst the colonists! We then tried our hand at creating historical propaganda and came up with some amazing work! Next week, we will start off our lessons by playing a great trivia game that the students have (unknowingly) been preparing for.

From Margaret: This week in Codeworld 7, we began our first web-quest, an Internet investigation of integers (positive and negative whole numbers), the history of negative numbers, and real world applications. Students practiced using a method of simplifying integer subtraction by changing subtraction of negative numbers into an addition problem. We reviewed order of operations, and then groups worked together to win a special competition that required this skill. Winners will be announced on Monday. Next week we will begin working on prime factorization.

Week of October 4 - October 8, 2010

We have all been following the tragic story of the young man man at Rutgers bullied by another student to the point that he felt that the only way out was to take his own life. Sadly, this is only one of many such cases that have been highlighted in the news.

At Quest, we have a "zero tolerance" policy for bullying. This has been a part of an on-going discussion in Morning Meeting and Home Base. Tying it in with Quest Core Values "Diversity creates balance," "Respect all things," "Lead by example," and "Nobody walks by," we are encouraging students to stand up for themselves and their friends against "bullies" or students that are mean to them by telling an adult—either a parent, a teacher, or any staff member. There is a tipping-point between "teasing" and hurting, and therefore none of it is allowed.

We have invited Rachel's Challenge (www.rachelschallenge.org) back again to present their very moving middle school assembly on Thursday morning. Rachel's Challenge uses the topic of bullying to rally students to be kind and to build a community of kindness.

Please make this a topic of conversation at home: Why shouldn't we make jokes, tease, or "poke fun"? Why do some people become bullies? Short of responding physically (zero tolerance here, too), what are some ways you might respond? If you see bullying, what is the best way to react? Have you ever bullied or joined in with a group of kids laughing at someone else? What if the person being made fun of isn't one of your "friends"? What if one of your friends is bullying another student?

The words "ugly," "stupid," "retarded," "fat," "dumb," and "gay" are thrown around very casually. Even uglier words—stronger and more hateful words about being homosexual, have also been used. Please know that the few families we have had to contact in these cases have taken swift action at home and have supported "consequences" at school.

At school, we will vigilantly listen to student conversation and follow-up when we are given information by students or families. Families, please have these sometimes uncomfortable conversations at home. Please let us know of any concerns you may have. Reach out to your child's Home Base teacher, the guidance counselor Rachelle rvallon at q2l.org or me earagon at q2l.org with any questions or concerns.

Quest must be a safe community for all students!

Curriculum Night
This year, Curriculum & Assessment Night will be held on Thursday, October 21st, from 6:00 - 7:30 pm. Co-directors of Curriculum and Instruction Arana and Rebecca will present the Q2L model. Teachers will also be present to discuss domain curriculum for 6th and 7th grades.

Independent Reading
Daily Independent Reading is a great way for students to earn points for their Homebase. It's also an important component of students' individual Feedback Report. Every student is required to read for a minimum of 30 minutes every night. It is important that students complete their Daily Reading Log.
Directions and downloadable book logs are also available on the Q2L Homework Website. Happy Reading!

Flag Football Fun!
The first Q2L Co-Ed Flag Football game was played at East River Park yesterday, to a roaring crowd of supporting parents, families, teachers, and students! (FYI - High heels and astro-turf are not the best mix!)

Under the leadership of Head Coach Israel, and supported by Coach Wendell and Ref Will, the intrepid team was divided into three "squads." Each squad was given the opportunity to play a quarter, with the final quarter played by "All Stars!"

If you have any questions about the team or the schedule, please send an email to Israel at a href="mailto:itaveras@q2l.org">itaveras at q2l.org. Specific game dates and times, will be emailed the families of the team.

Mathematical Olympiad!
Q2L has joined Mathematical Olympiad, a city-wide mathematics competition, that culminates in a big end-of-year challenge! Next week we will be sending out invitations for students to become members of our Mathematical Olympiad Team! We are focusing on students who have demonstrated scholarship, talent, and interest in Math!

AFTERSCHOOL UPDATES
Math Power!
Our after-school Math support will begin Tuesday, October 12! After reviewing Math skills assessment results, teachers have identified students needing targeted intervention in Math. These students were sent home with information and permission slips necessary to participate two days a week, from 3:30 - 4:30. Students have been given the option of attending either Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday. Please note that parents who opt out of this program will be sent a "waiver" to sign, indicating that they understand that they will be responsible to securing the extra support their child will need to meet proficiency necessary for promotion.

We will soon be reaching out to students that scored high 2 and Low 3 on standardized Math exams to provide after-school "Power Up", to push students to the next level!

Short Circuit: This week in Short Circuit we continued to explore the relationship between the physical and the digital as spaces for creativity and invention. We continued our investigation into the properties—and unique functions—of different materials through our "Materials Jam" sessions. We began brainstorming and designing t-shirts for a fictional company during Monday's "Prototype Party," and spent Thursday's "Hacker Hour," using everything from paint to electronics to modify Twister, Bananagrams and other games. One of the many highlights of the week was Tuesday's Materials Jam, in which the Short Circuiters imagined intricate back stories and created inventive designs to make their first electronic switches. The Short Circuit team could not be happier! For regular updates, check out the flickr links above.

Wednesday Kick-Off: The Q2L After-School Soccer Program had another fun week playing soccer and building on the foundation set in the prior two weeks. They warmed up with relay races and then got going with more basic drills including a passing circuit. Coach Rafael wrapped up the dills with a focus on defense; one player focused on shadowing another offensive player as they dribbled the ball up the field. Students then teamed up to play small-sided scrimmage games. The afternoon concluded with a cool down stretch and short recap of the day’s workout.

Interested in joining this free sports program offered on Wednesdays, 1:30 - 3:30? Contact Will Moyet at wmoyet@q2l.org.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday, October 11 Columbus Day (schools closed)
Thursday, October 14 Rachel's Challenge presentation
Thursday, October 21 6th Grade BSP trip to Museum of Natural History
Thursday, October 21 Curriculum & Assessment Night (6:00 - 7:30p)
Friday, October 29 Halloween Party!
Monday, November 1 PTA Meeting (6:30 - 8:00 p, in Library)
Tuesday, November 2 Election Day (non-attendance day for students)
Wednesday, November 10 School Leadership Team Meeting (4:30 - 6:00p)
Thursday, November 11 Veteran's Day (schools closed)

CURRICULUM UPDATES
6th GRADE
From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds 6, we are taking small steps to locate our kidnapped Professor Pie. We used inquiry and logical deduction to sift through evidence, patterns and suspects. Each suspect is associated with a specific number prefix which means we had to become experts with reading, interpreting and writing words that begin with number prefixes. Students also worked to create and name monsters with specific numbers of appendages using scientific terminology (including number prefixes) to input in Wordix's Monster Book. Students should be reviewing their notes, completing their bi-paragraph biographies of the monsters they created and looking out for tweets from Professor Pie.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work, students began quest 2 and investigated what it means to approach a problem scientifically. The troggles sent us a gift as a token of appreciation for helping them out with their previous problem that involved measurement and unit conversion. They sent us a few cartons of eggs, however they only hard-boiled some of the eggs while others were left raw. Student worked in groups to try and determine which eggs were hard boiled and which were cooked. Without even realizing it, students naturally employed and followed the steps of the scientific method! Later on in the week, the troggles asked for our help yet again with their trogglecopters, and students conducted their first laboratory experiments and lab write-ups. The homework packet that was given out at the beginning of the week will be collected next week in their first class and a new weekly packet will also be distributed on this day as well. Next week, students will continue to learn and apply the scientific method to the problems/questions that the troggles have in store for us.

From Lara: This week in Wellness, students discovered that being able to balance for a long time requires making the right shape with their bodies. Students have begun regular balance practice sessions with the goal of balancing on one foot with their eyes closed for twenty minutes. We are embodying the Q2L value, Lead By Example, in order to help Jeedo to do his best. Next week, we will send our own applications for Q-DO level 2 to Jeedo, in the hopes that he can use some of our shapes to do a better job than he did the last time that he applied.

In the gym, we continued to perfect our push-ups and "curl downs" which will prepare us for the Fitnessgram test in the spring. Next week, we will have our first assessment so we can track our progress over the coming months.

From Lauren: This week in SFTM 6, the students qualified for the GAMEMANIA competition: READY! SET! GO! and began using GameStar Mechanic (http://q2l.gamestarmechanic.com/) on the school laptops. They will have to play through Factory 7 and begin to imagine how game designers come up with their games. To encourage the students to always be thinking as a game designer, they were given official game designer badges. In addition, the students will always have to summarize their learning experience at the end of each class by completing a What Did I Learn? Activity. Although all the students are eager to be using the laptops and are recognizing how challenging and exciting it can be to design and play games, everyone still needs to remember that when the computers are at 45 degrees or 0 degrees, excellent behavior is expected.

From Ross: This week, in Being, Space, and Place, we began our 2nd quest... "The Writers." This focuses on the Writing Process. In this quest, students will be writing a 5-paragraph essay about their "Ultimate Room," using the components of the room that they designed in the first quest. This week, students began the brainstorming and outlining process. What we start in class will carry over to homework, as students continue the process outside of school. Next week, we will draft, peer edit, and start to publish! Also, we have begun to focus a bit more on grammar. Each week we will tackle a new skill. This week, we focused on capitalization. These grammar skills will help students when it comes time to edit their classmates' papers!

7th GRADE
From Lara: This week in Wellness we discovered how muscles work by moving bones to create movement. Students used their x-ray vision to imagine where muscles attach to bones to create specific movements in the body.

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work, Q-dents presented their Cell City Models at Q2L's first annual Cell City Exhibition. They worked so hard to meet today's deadline, and 95% of students completed their models. We are so proud of their accomplishments! It was incredible to walk around the library and get to view each group's creative and unique interpretation of the project. Be on the lookout for an email with a link to the exhibition photo album so that the Cell Cities can live forever in a digital space. The final challenge of the Cell City Quest will be on Tuesday as students show me what they know about cells and the scientific method in a Post-Quest Test. Each student has been sent home with a TWTW study packet, and their homework for the long weekend is to make flashcards and use other study strategies in order to prepare. Later in the week, we will be honing our microscope and measurement skills in preparation for our next Quest. Have an ex-CELL-ent long weekend!

From Lauren: In SFTM7 this week, students are continuing to prepare for their 5-frame visual stories by focusing on the idea of a frame. They spent the beginning part of the week refreshing their game designer memories with systems thinking vocabulary and applying their game designer skills in creating a scavenger hunt that incorporated what the students have learned for the preparation of the 5-frame visual story (materials, shot types, basic design with basic shapes). This scavenger hunt would start in the SFTM classroom then move to the building and then to the neighborhood over the course of several class periods. Realizing the students needed time to grapple with the idea of how frames are formed as well as how shapes create designs, they were asked to draw a projected image and then identify the components (shapes) of the image as well as its attributes (materials). After the students began to see how images could be dissected into shapes and form frames, they applied this knowledge to objects in the classroom. With a better understanding, the students created new games that helped find shapes and frames.

From Limor: This week in 7th grade BSP, We continued working with sensory details, hyperboles, similes and metaphors. We came back to the short story "Eleven" to pinpoint examples and explain our reasoning behind categorizing the figurative and descriptive language. We also had the amazing opportunity of coming up with our own sensory details to describe a school and a day at the beach, as well as write our own examples of figurative language. The creativity was astounding! We kept talking about points of views and where they come from. We are practicing the act of seeing situations from other people's points of views, and responded to some crazy, new (fictional) laws being proposed by the government. We highlighted both our own points of views and the government's point of views. We then got some more exposure to colonial history by looking at "A Cartoon History of the United States" and worked with our new groups to uncovered interesting and important facts to share out with the class. We also received our quiz and take home test back, and all scores under an 80 must be signed by a parent. Next week, we have a fun, mystery challenge game that we will be competing for!

From Margaret: In Codeworlds 7, we completed Part I of our Integer Unit, culminating in a Tribe Challenge (assessment) in which the students are hoping to be awarded with gems. We then began integer multiplication and division, as well as working with word problems, where we began decoding language. We will continue with word problems and integer review next week, more complex absolute value problems, order of operations, and start our first project, an integer web quest.

From Audrey and Pierre: This week in Power Speak students have selected the language they will study - Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, French, German, or Latin. They have shown great dedication and focus during classes this week, and seem exciting by all they have learned! We are encouraging students to assess Power Speak at home, to review lessons from the week, or to catch up on any missed work. Please ask your child to log in at home and to share the program with you!

Week of September 27 - October 1, 2010
Last week, Home Base groups planned and performed their own "home base cheer", with the goal of creating a team-building experience and group identity. As the "reward" for their creative efforts Friday's Morning Meeting ended with the staff performing our own team cheer. The most important thing to know is ... there were cartwheels involved! (Go Q2L!)

Independent Reading
Daily Independent Reading is a great way for students to earn points for their Homebase. It's also an important component of students' individual Feedback Reports.

How it works:

These directions and downloadable book logs are also available on the Q2L Homework Website.

Happy Reading!

We will soon be reaching out to students that scored high 2 and Low 3 on standardized Math exams to provide after-school "Power Up", to push students to the next level!

Short Circuit
The week began with a Short Circuit "Huddle Up" in which kids were introduced to the program, their lead mentors and the activities for the day. During Monday's "Materials Jam" students explored simple electronic circuits and lighting up tiny LEDs. Tuesday was "Hacker Hour," where students used their circuits to create strange mutant creatures out of Legos. On Thursday, the students continued to explore their new found skills—hacking games like Twister, Jenga and Banagrams with paint, electronics and elaborate physical motions. Artist Tom Russotti participated in the Short Circuit physical activity component "Warm Up" this week. Tom introduced students to everything from animal dodge ball to Maori Hakka chants, wrapping up his visit with helping students to design their own sports activities.

Attention Short Circuit parents: Please don't forget to send extra t-shirts on Monday. But don't expect the T-shirts back in the same state—Short Circuit students will be re-designing and customizing them with everything from lights to iron-on transfers. In addition to T-shirts, parents are also encouraged to send in old magazines.

Wednesday Kick-Off:
Q2L has teamed up with the City Soccer Initiative (CSI) offer a free recreational soccer program Wednesdays 1:30-3:30 pm!

Kids have the opportunity to learn soccer skills and play small-sided games with friends in the upstairs playground (7th Floor).

The Q2L After-School Soccer Program continued this Wednesday with our second session of recreational soccer. The kids spent most of the session focusing on fundamentals. They worked in groups of three on ball control: trapping, dribbling and lead passes by moving the ball from one end to the other across the playground. Next, they split up into two groups and did an exercise that combined dribbling with shooting. By the end of the session they divided up into four teams and enjoyed playing games against each other.

To sign-up your child, please contact William Moyet by email: wmoyet@q2l.org.

Flag Football Fun!
The first Q2L Co-Ed Flag Football team enjoyed our first practice on Tuesday! About 20 students enjoyed running drills and scrimmages. If your child interested in participating in our middle school Flag Football program, or if you have any questions, please send an email to Israel at Itaveras@q2l.org. Updates, including specific game dates and times, will be emailed to all who express interest. Girls and boys are both encouraged to participate!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday, October 4 Parent-Teacher Association Meeting 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm (Library)

Monday, October 11 Columbus Day (schools closed)

Friday, October 29 Halloween Party!

Monday, November 1 PTA Meeting 6:30 - 8:00 pm (Library)

Tuesday, November 2 Election Day (non-attendance day for students)

Wednesday, November 10 School Leadership Team Meeting 4:30 - 6:00

Thursday, November 11 Veteran's Day (schools closed)

CURRICULUM UPDATES
6th GRADE
From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds 6, students worked on restoring Professor Pie's notes on patterns from his library that were mysteriously stolen from his office. We worked to restore his notes on numerical patters like Pascal's triangle, exponents and the order of operations. We began to believe these random acts against Pie might be over, but he was kidnapped late on Wednesday night right from his office. Nobody has seen or heard from him since then. We are now looking at clues he left that point to cracking open his safe. Students should be reviewing their notes on order of operations in order to help discover the new passcodes to accessing Professor Pie's highly guarded secrets.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work, students finished up Quest 1 and successfully helped the Troggles figure out the solution to their problems. The topics that were covered in this quest include: Standardized measurement & unit conversion. Students will continue to use these essential math and science skills throughout the year in TWTW. Next week begins with an exciting new quest and exploration into what it means to conduct "scientific investigations."

From Lara: This week in Wellness, we got our first glimpse of Jeedo the robot. Jeedo sent us the application that he submitted to his teachers so that he could move on to training level 2 in Q-DO. They gave him on F on his application because his balancing shapes were not good enough. He was not even able to balance for more even 3 seconds in his crazy shapes and he needs to be able to balance for at least 20 minutes and with his eyes closed!

Students practiced balancing in their own shapes this week, looking for the ones which they can stay in for the longest time. They also did some "Mind Work" by thinking about one specific thing that helps them to balance longer.

Next week, we'll send Jeedo some of our ideas for his next attempt at Level Two.

From Lauren: In Sports For The Mind 6 this week, students participated in the Game Design Challenge, “Board Game Geeks.” The students had to apply the games system vocabulary (components, core mechanics, rules, space, and goal) they have been learning by designing, creating, and executing a simple, but effective board game within specific parameters. Each student was supposed to bring in 2 found objects to add to the materials in class to personalize their game board design. As game designers, they worked in small groups to brainstorm the story and world of their game by defining a goal, rule, players, and actions. Once they agreed on a rough version (iteration#1), they made their board games. Next, they play-tested their board game with their group, taking notes on what was successful and what needed improvement. Based on their notes, they improved (mod-ed) their board games and created a second version (iteration #2). As a group, they played their mod-ed game. After making minor tweaks, they wrote official rules for other players. Finally, they shared their games with other students in class. After going through this game design process, one student reflected, “it was easy to play the game we created, but once other students tried to play our game it seemed to get too complicated. I also felt that way when playing other group’s games. Man, it’s not easy being a game designer J”

From Ross: This week in Being, Space, and Place, students were assessed on their map skills. On Monday, students took a "Map Skills Assessment" test that assessed their general knowledge of map terms, skills, and analysis. These tests will be given back to students early next week, so parents, please ask your children if you could take a look at the results. Later in the week, students worked hard to iterate and finalize their "Ultimate Rooms" - the room of their dreams. Students who did not finish their final maps today must finish them for homework this weekend. Next week... the Writing Process!

7th GRADE
From Lara: This week in Wellness, we had our first assessment. In groups, students completed between one and three challenges that required them to present in front of the class. The presentations were about Planes of Movement, Joints and the relationship between the two.
The group that earned the most points (that got the highest grade) for this challenge will have the right to name our skeleton.

Next week, on to muscles. Students should be doing their preliminary research using a search engine.

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work, Q-dents began constructing their Cell City Models. It has been wonderful to watch creativity and ingenuity flow through each group as they design amazing and educational models! Each Q-dent has also been spending time in TWTW reflecting on what it means to be a collaborator, and practicing collaboration skills as they build their models. Next week, we will finish our construction and Q-dents will complete peer and self-evaluations during a Cell City Exhibition.

From Lauren: In Sports For The Mind 7 this week, students are continuing to prepare for their 5-frame visual stories by focusing on the idea of a frame. First, the students learned about different shot types for a frame…. extreme close-up to extra long shot. They applied their understanding of these shot types by drawing one of their characters from their 50 words mini-saga, noticing the difference in what is inside the frame and how that affects the point of view of what the audience sees. Next, they began tinkering with basic design with basic shape. They played with the design of 7 shapes on a page. First, only rectangles. Second, rectangles and circles. Third, rectangles, circles, and triangles. For each set of 7 shapes, they created 3 iterations. This week’s process was beginning preparation for the students to begin looking at how basic shapes in our visual culture create designs and frames. Next week, there will be scavenger hunt combining the relationship between materials, shot types, and shapes found in the real world.

From Limor: This week at Being, Space, & Place, we began to add to our knowledge on the Thirteen Colonies. We watched an animated video and worked on our listening and note taking skills to answer both factual and inference based questions. We then added some competition to the mix and went on a scavenger hunt back through time to answer specific questions about the colonies and occurrences. We even had a quiz to test our retention of this information! Then, we heard back from Ratatat, who gave us the bad news about how the ghosts rejected our point of view videos. Apparently, we only know about modern views and aren't fit to help them! We made a vow to change their minds, and after Ratatat found ripped up journals written by the ghosts during the times of colonization, we collectively decided that re-creating the ghosts thoughts would show them that we DO understand their struggles and that we ARE capable of helping them. In response, we studied "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros to give us a model of how a first person narration should sound/look to grab the reader and give them a snapshot of our feelings, thoughts and experiences. We began looking at the uses of sensory details and figurative language (hyperboles, similes and metaphors) and practicing them ourselves.

From Margaret: In Codeworlds 7 this week, we began navigating the Real Jungle and had our first tribe encounter. We encountered the guards for the Integer Tribe and they did not look friendly! We then trained on some of the integer operations to prepare for their challenge: absolute value, opposite numbers, integer addition and integer subtraction, using number lines and chip boards. We will have our Integer Tribe challenge (assessment) coming up on Tuesday of next week. Students who meet the challenge will be awarded with a gem.

Next week we will continue working with integers in the form of word problems, as well as integer multiplication and division.

Week of September 20 - September 24, 2010
We have enjoyed another great week at Quest!

At Morning Meeting Home Bases presented their individual cheers, but the staff had to request an extension! Remember to ask your kids next week how ridiculous we looked!

In Morning Meeting and in Home Base this week students were introduced to the Q2L Core Values. Each domain class will highlight specific values and students will be accruing points (tickets) by engendering and exhibiting these values. Points will be calculated both by individual tickets and by Home Base totals! High point values will earn certificates, acknowledgement at Morning Meeting, and prizes. The Q2L Core Values are attached. Please review them with your child and possibly think of ways to apply them at home.

Another aspect of Morning Meeting is our "Silent Friday Meeting." This Quest tradition continued from last year is a tool used by many schools and communities to create a space of quiet reflection. Based on the Quaker tradition, having the opportunity to sit quietly is a bonding experience - and more challenging than it may sound! Three minutes can seem like forever for 11- and 12-year-olds!

Homework Update
The Q2L Homework Site is updated for the new school year. Parents should review homework assignments with your children to help them keep up. Many students struggle with the transition from elementary to middle school and being held accountable for completing assignments.
http://sites.google.com/a/q2l.org/homework/

To provide further support, we provided every student with a Student Planner at no cost. Please check each day to make sure that your child is keeping up with assignments. All students are required to bring their planners to school with them everyday. Lost planners must be replaced- there is a $5.00 fee.

Parent Connect: ARIS Access
Parent Connect is the NYC Department of Education tool for recording student test scores.
Please contact Rachelle (rvallon@Q2L.org), our amazing new Guidance Counselor, for individual Log In and Password information.

Curriculum Night
All families are invited to Curriculum Night, Thursday October 21, 2010, from 6:00 - 7:30. Co-Directors of Curriculum Development and Instruction, Arana and Rebecca, will present the Q2L standards- aligned model, and our awesome teachers will give a Trimester 1 overview, discussing domain missions and academic expectations.

Humanities Educational Complex
We have enjoyed a surprisingly smooth transition to our new home! The close communication between principals as well as our decision to hire a Campus Building Manager, Nick Fiore, to represent unified campus interests has proven effective. As we put all of the pieces in place, there have been some areas that have needed some attention.

Bathrooms: The CBM and I have met with BREC and building school safety officers to coordinate our "bathroom policy" to assure both schools sharing the 4th floor have access to bathrooms and feel safe. This, in addition to having a Q2L staff member stationed in the main hall, seems to have clarified the process. Please check in with your children to make sure that they are aware of these precautions, and that they feel comfortable.

Lunch Room- Our carefully planned lunchroom schedule did not go quite as easily as planned! The separate schools in the building have slightly different bell schedules and there is some unexpected "over-lap" during lunch. The good news is that each day has gone more smoothly than the day before. The other schools have been really cooperative and are dismissing their students a few minutes early and our teachers are keeping our students another minute or two. There was also a bit of a hold-up on the food line as students were assigned code numbers necessary to receive lunch. Students finally received cards with their codes on them, and yesterday the line moved pretty well. These little changes have made for much smoother transitions!

School Safety- When we first planned our move to Humanities Campus, all of the building principals met with School Safety to outline our needs in this growing community. When the school year began we were concerned when we didn't see the "corridor of safety" from the school to the 14th Street station. Quest had staff walk with students to make sure students felt safe in our new neighborhood, but the role of School Safety did not materialize as promised. I am happy to say that after meeting with representatives from the local precinct, transit police, school safety and borough commands (and some pressure added by our support organization New Visions), they have begun providing a"corridor of safety" on 8th Avenue as students walk away from the school toward 14th Street. As an additional precaution, please speak to your children about keeping expensive technology (iPhones, games) put away, so as not to attract unwanted attention.

AFTERSCHOOL UPDATE
1. Short Circuit activates on September 27 at 3:30pm. Students should line up in front of Mission Lab (Room #401) after dismissal.
Registration for our new after-school program, Short Circuit, is still open. During Short Circuit students will explore everything from iPads to magnetic paint, and produce creative projects such as t-shirts that light up and stop-motion animation. Contact Rosanna Lopez (rlopez@Q2L.org) for more information.

2. The Q2L After-School Soccer Program kicked-off this Wednesday! The students started off with a good warm-up and then got going with a number of one-on-one drills that targeted key technical skills of the game. Afterwards, they all got to play small-sided scrimmage games against each other. At the end they finished up with goal kicks against the new soccer coach, Rafael, as the goalkeeper. The kids had a blast! If you have any questions about the recreational soccer program you may contact William by email: wmoyet@q2l.org. This exciting activity at provided at no cost! We look forward to another round of soccer next Wednesday, September 29th.

3. Flag Football Fun!
The first Q2L Co-Ed Flag Football team will hold practice this Tuesday, September 28th, from 3:30 - 4:30! If your child interested in participating in our middle school Flag Football program, or if you have any questions, please send an email to Israel at Itaveras@q2l.org. This team in part of the Middle School sports program, and will include games against other schools.
Updates, including dates of games and practices, will be emailed to all who express interest. Girls and boys are both encouraged to participate! There is no fee to participate!

4. Math Power After-School Support
Teachers will be reviewing results of in-class math assessments and will identify students in need of additional Math support. Parents will be contacted this week.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday, October 4 Parent-Teacher Association Meeting (6:30 - 8:00 p, (Library)
Monday, October 11 Columbus Day (schools closed)
Tuesday, October 19 Curriculum Night! (6:00 - 7:30p)
Friday, October 29 Halloween Party!
Monday, November 1 Parent-Teacher Association Meeting (6:30 - 8:00p)
Monday, November 15 Parent-Teacher Conferences (5:30 - 7:00p)
Tuesday, November 16 Parent-Teacher Conferences (1:00 - 3:20p)

CURRICULUM UPDATES
6th GRADE
From Alicia:This week in Codeworlds we began Quest 2: Numbers are a Pie's Best Friend. We worked through various ways of expressing a number (standard notation, expanded notation, place value and word form). Students worked to decode a letter from Wordix to Arithmus, applying their new knowledge. They also completed their first weekly evaluation (quiz) on everything we have covered so far. Next week we will be looking at number patterns and submitting work for Professor Pie's codes. Students should be working on their "Wanted" posters and studying their notes this weekend.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work, students met the Troggles, little alien-like creatures that have contacted Quest to Learn for help with problems they have been having in their world. This week students helped the Troggles figure out why they having trouble building their tents accurately and after giving it a try themselves, students realized that what was missing was standardized measurements. This week students also continued to review some more mathematical properties and have been assigned a review challenge to finish over the weekend. Please continue to check the HW website for updates.

From Lara: This week in Wellness, students have started to practice balancing on one foot just like Jeedo the robot is trying to do. Jeedo contacted Lara through email because he is having trouble learning how to balance on one foot with his eyes closed for a long time. He needs to be able to do this because he is in a martial arts academy studying something called Quest-Do or Q-do (rhymes with "Judo") for short. Q-do was invented by a robot with no arms so students of this form must be able to stand on one foot for a long time in order to move on to the next level.

Students are learning to lead by example and help Jeedo with his problem by figuring it out for ourselves first. This week, students wrote a letter to Jeedo in response to his plea for help. Over the weekend they should be trying out balancing shapes and timing themselves to see which shapes they can hold the longest. Next week we'll work in team to figure out why some shapes work for balancing and some don't.

From Lauren: In SFTM 6 (Sports for the Mind 6th Grade), the students are continuing to earn the hats of novice game designers through the Qualification Quest, “Takin’ It Old School”, learning the basics of systems thinking. This week the students learned about iteration through the Visual Dictionary Creature Challenge. To use as a smart tool and to decorate the classroom, students created creatures to visually represent the Game System terms (components, core mechanics, rules, space, and goal). As a class and individuals, we are continuing to focus on the importance of hard work, respectful behavior, brainpower, problem-solving, and creativity associated with being game designers.

From Ross: This week in Being, Space, and Place, we finished discovering the components of a good map. Students explored the NYC Subway map to see how a system of symbols, shading, a key, and a compass rose are used to help a map reader. We continued the week by exploring how cartographers use map distortion to project a 3-D space on a 2-D surface. Finally, we reviewed how a map scale bar helps a reader measure space and distance on a map. With those skills in place, students then worked in groups to map the floor and space of the BSP classroom. Each student received his or her own section to map which will be submitted to the final group as a whole class map. Next week, students will be assessed on their map making and map reading skills before we move on to writing!

7th GRADE
From Audrey and Pierre: All 7th grade students are beginning an exciting, interactive on-line foreign language program- Powerspeak. More accessible than a traditional language class, this independent program will give each student the ability to learn a new language both during class time and at home.

Students have the opportunity to choose between Spanish, French, German, Mandarin (Chinese), and Latin as their language of study for the year. We want students to pick a “just right” language for them, taking into account their individual interests and language difficulty. While students have been exploring the program in class for the past week, we also encourage students to log in at home or at a local library to further familiarize themselves with the program. To log in with your child, go to pglms.com/users/login and enter the username and password that your child has been given and has written in their planner.

After exploring the program with your child and discussing the language options, please sign and return the attached Powerspeak Language Permission Slip, certifying that you have approved your child’s language choice. If you have any questions, please contact Pierre (pdizon@q2l.org) or Audrey (ageis@q2l.org). We look forward to working with you to ensure that your child is successful in their language of study! In order to be enrolled on time, students must bring back Powerspeak Language Permission Slip forms in Monday, September 27th.

From Lara: This week in Wellness we focused on joints, the places where bones meet each other. Joints are also what make it possible for us to move. By experimenting with some "Human Origami", we became aware of the places where our bodies bend. Our full-sized skeleton, generously on loan from Julie Gage and Jim Huibregetse, has been a great resource for understanding the difference between hinge joints and ball and socket joints.

Over the weekend, students should be experimenting with which joints are necessary for a variety of movements and what happens when they limit the number of joints they use to do everyday tasks.

From Lauren: This week in SFTM 7, (Sports for the Mind 7th Grade) the students began thinking about the idea of visual storytelling by brainstorming the idea of telling stories using pictures by translating their 50 word mini-sagas into a 5-frame visual story. To begin this process, the students were asked to think about “How do the materials we choose to use affect the product we create?” Students tackled this question by focusing on specific materials individually to create a variety of iterations of their character, action, and setting. Each task was given specific parameters to complete, such as drawing two versions of a character using only a lead pencil. After the students completed this task, they reflected about the process and how the materials they used for each specific iteration affected the experience they had with creating art, following directions, and illustrating their words into images. As a class and individuals, we are continuing to focus on the importance of hard work, respectful behavior, brainpower, problem-solving, and creativity associated with being storytellers.

From Leah: This week in The Way Things Work, Q-dents worked in groups to become experts in a series of topics all meant as an entry point into the cell. They participated in a Gallery Walk to evaluate each groups' work and learn about: amoeba, bacteria, prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, levels of organization within organisms, and the Cell Theory. All students are now in the final Cell Research Phase of the Cell City Design Competition. They are working in teams of two or three to learn about the organelles found within plant and animal cells. They are wearing the hats of researchers and gamers as they "level up" through nine levels of cell research. At the completion of each task they receive a puzzle piece. Once they piece together their puzzle - they may begin the design phase of the competition! Next week, I am hoping all teams will complete their puzzles and be building and designing by Wednesday. I can't wait to see how they collaborate, apply what learned during the research phase, and creatively use the materials that they have been bringing in!

From Limor: This week in Being, Space and Place, we built on last week's work. As you may recall, we had choice of three different situations written in third person narration, and discussed (in verbal and written form) what each individuals perception of the incident may have been, and why and how they felt this way. This week, we took the first person accounts and created two different scenes. Our script writing included stage directions, dialogue, narration and blocking to fully express each character's point of view, which we had time and direction in editing/formatting. We then performed our scenes for our classmates (and captured it on video) in order to pass it onto Ratatat, who will in turn pass them onto our Colonial ghosts. Next week, we will be focusing more of the specifics of colonization, and differentiating between the colonies and settlers who arrived there.

From Margaret: This week in Codeworlds 7, students completed their first guide challenge, in which they placed numbers on a map of the Real Jungle (Real Number System). They learned to identify square roots of imperfect squares as irrational numbers, and created a smart tool to help them determine their location on the number line. They then prepared for and completed their first assessment by the secret M.A.T.H. agency to evaluate their readiness to interact with the various number tribes. If students have missed any homework up to this point, this is the weekend to catch up. All Codeworlds 7 homework is now posted in electronic format on the Q2L homework site.

Have a great week!
The Q2L Team

QUEST TO LEARN CORE VALUES

All Ideas are Improvable

Diversity Creates Balance
Being different is ok and our unique characteristics help build our strong community

Win and Lose with Grace
Winning and losing are a part of every game. When we lose, we learn how to improve and when we win, we have successfully implemented what we learned.

Respect all Things
Everything and everyone in our community is important to us. Always remember to treat our community with dignity and integrity.

Collaboration Matters
Two heads work better than one. We need the support, ideas, and respect of others to truly succeed.

Get in the Game: Play Fair, Play Fully
Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty! Take positive risks in your future and play to achieve!

Experiment and Imagine Possibilities
Use your imagination and creativity to invent; use the resources at your fingertips to bring your ideas to life.

Nobody walks by
Everyone is on the radar and we should always remind each other of why we are at Quest to Learn and what we are trying to accomplish.

Be Tenacious
Stand behind what you believe in and do not give up; when you fall, stand up and try again.

Lead by example
Demonstrate the positive behaviors you would like to see from others. Start a leadership trend!

Week of December 14 – December 18, 2009
We have had another amazing week at Quest to Learn! In Phase One of Boss Level, students moved through a series of workshops including Rube Goldberg basics, Podcast Scriptwriting, Technical Podcasting, Research, Reading, Teamwork, SMALLab and Systems Games, developing skills they needed to move ahead in the Boss Level Challenge. On Wednesday we entered Phase Two: the building of the machines! Individual Home Bases were challenged with building a machine capable of completing a specific task—from turning off a light switch to feeding the turtles! On Thursday, as construction began in earnest, we all came to appreciate all the amazing and unusual objects donated by families.

Hopefully everyone has had the opportunity to follow Home Base machine building progress each day via Podcast! Home Bases are creating new podcasts each afternoon to keep families updated with the latest successes and challenges. If you experience technical difficulty, please send your questions to Lassina, our technologist extraordinaire, at louattara@q2l.org for assistance! The podcasts are really amazing!

Boss Level will culminate on Wednesday, December 23rd with an exhibition of machines, competition and judging. Thank you to all the parents who have volunteered their time and energy to help us during Boss Level.

Kudos for Q2L Community Service! Jeanne Grecco, mother of Q2L student Liam Clayton, received a donation of soaps, baskets and toiletries. Julia, Jeanne and a group of about ten socially conscious Q2L students delivered and distributed boxes of soap at a local homeless shelter! Additionally, with tissue paper and ribbon donated by Sue Tse, they decorated and filled beautiful gift baskets to distribute at a senior center on Monday afternoon. Great work, everyone!

CURRICULUM UPDATES
From Alicia: This week, we completed our Boss Level: Phase One classes in order to prepare to work as a team to build a Rube Goldberg machine. On Thursday, we began building our machines and making podcasts to capture our progress. Our group came up with a team name and worked together to problem solve our way through building half of our machine. By the end of the week, our Home Base was working well together to accomplish our goals. Next week, we will be building Monday and Tuesday in order for our (hopefully working) machine to be judged and presented on Wednesday.

From Ginger: Ginger's Home Base has been tasked with the job of designing a machine to turn on a power strip. After finishing up our week of Boss Level Phase One training sessions, we began work to design our machine on Wednesday morning. The students in our Home Base came to consensus that it would be easier to work in smaller groups. Brandyn, Armani, and Liam C. have been working tirelessly on designing the beginning of our machine. Dakota, Zakiyyah, Danaeyah, and Liam S. have worked methodically on the middle section, and Nuridin, Charli, and Kareem have worked through several creative iterations of the grand finale of the machine. The students in each group have put a good deal of effort into goal setting, planning, prototyping, and adjusting their machines. We are working hard on learning how to work well has a team. Thursday was a particularly challenging day for the group, but I am especially proud of our team for their resilience today. We finished the week with a successful work session and higher morale. Please tune in to our podcasts to learn more about the students' work each day.

From Julia: Our Home Base started phase two of the Boss Level with a new team name: "The Dark Knights of Godzilla!" The DKOG's mission is to create a Rube Goldberg machine that turns the page of a book. The kids spent yesterday playing with materials, taking inventory, and drawing and sharing ideas. Today they designed a fantastically clever mechanism to turn the page, ingenious ramps for the middle, and a sling shot to start the machine. By lunch time they had a bunch of interesting photographs for the pod casts. There were periods of dispute and frustration, but at the end of the day the team members surprised themselves at how they cooperated and began to connect parts of the machine. Tomorrow, they will continue to refine and connect the various parts they made.

From Lara: This week in Lara's Home Base we prepared and then got started with our Boss Level challenge. At the beginning of the week we used our teamwork skills to brainstorm, vote and then compromise on a team name that everyone liked: Vamelepiremenest (the "t" is silent). On Wednesday we found out what our challenge would be: to create a Rube Goldberg machine whose goal is to feed one of Ameer's animals. We chose to feed the turtles, Lettuce and Tomato.

The students tinkered on Wednesday and Thursday and by the end of the day on Friday had a big portion of the machine up and running. The challenge next week will be to connect the beginning section to a pulley in the middle and then the final pulley which feeds the turtles.

We are all excited to test out our machine and to see what the other homebases have created next week!

From Al: As part of Phase One of the Boss level preparations, all students learned the subtleties of making interesting and compelling Podcasts using Garage Band. Students mastered trouble-shooting audio input to the Macbooks, recording their voices, adding music and outputting to the M4a format. Students also mastered taking digital photographs and uploading them onto the Macbooks and inserting them into their enhanced Podcasts.

In Al's Home Base the self-titled "I Don't Knows" group was busy constructing the first and second iterations of their Rube Goldberg machines. Several tests revealed some structural weaknesses and hasty construction methods that indicated the need for more robust construction. Students used wood scraps and became adept at using several hand tools (C-clamps, hacksaw, wood saw) to aid in the construction process. Carpenter's glue and clamps were used to make the structure more elegant and more sound compared to the early "tape and a prayer" method.

From Ameer: This week in Ameer's Home Base, students worked together in small teams to create the beginning of a very awesome Rube Goldberg machine. Working in small groups of 2-4 students each, every group was responsible for creating a different part of the machine. The goal of our Rube Goldberg machine is to turn on the faucet. So far this week, students have brainstormed daily ideas for our machine, and built a very impressive machine which starts one table and makes is way to every other lab table. Next week we will be connecting it all together, testing and perfecting the machine as a whole and preparing it for the judges coming in next week.

From Ross: This week at Quest, my Home Base began working on their Boss Level challenges! We were assigned the task of turning off our light switch, which is challenging, since it is almost 5 feet off the ground! My Home Basers did a great job completing the beginning and end sections of their Rube Goldberg machine and are ready to fill in the next few sections. Be sure to tune into their fantastic podcasts this weekend to hear from them just how well they did!

Week of December 7 – December 11, 2009
This Thursday morning students were presented with their challenge for Trimester 1 Boss Level – to work in Home Base teams to build a Rube Goldberg machine!

To provide Q2L families with some information on what our kids are so excited about, here is an episode “Tour de BBQ” from the TV Show “Design Squad showing teams working together build a Rube Goldberg machine. Go to this link, http://pbskids.org/designsquad/season3/index.html, and from the episodes pictured on the right-hand side click on the “Tour de BBQ” episode. Students will be watching this video and answering questions about it during the "Research" strand of the Boss Level.

A question that has been on all of our minds: Where will our “home” be in September? Although the official DOE announcement has not yet been made, we were informed that Q2L will be sited at the Bayard Rustin Educational Complex, 351 West 18th Street, 10011 (between 8th and 9th Avenues). The PTA Committee working on this project will be active in this process as we sit down with School Construction Authority to plan and make capital improvements before September!

The deadline for Middle School applications is Tuesday, December 15. If you are hearing questions or concerns from parents of 5th graders that you know and who are interested in applying to Q2L for next year, please feel free to direct them to call me at school (212) 679 – 4854 or to contact me by e-mail.

CURRICULUM UPDATES
From Arana and Rebecca: This was a very exciting week at Q2L as we kicked off our very first Boss Level on Thursday! Thursday morning the entire 6th grade was presented with the Boss Level challenge: to work in home base teams to build a Rube Goldberg machine. The first phase of the Boss Level, which will last until this Wednesday, involves the students moving through a series of workshops. Workshop topics include: Rube Goldberg basics, Podcast Scriptwriting, Technical Podcasting, Research, Reading, Teamwork, Smallab and Systems Games. The workshops have been designed to teach students the skills they need to be able to move into the second Boss Level phase where they will begin to build their machines. Our first two days were a huge success! The students have been working hard and learning a lot. Looking ahead to next week, students will continue working in their workshops and will start building on Wednesday. During the building phase, students will also be documenting their work via podcasts that will be available for parents to listen to daily. Details to follow soon! Boss Level will culminate on Wednesday, December 23rd with an exhibition of machines, competition and judging! Thank you to all the parents who have volunteered their time and energy to help us during Boss Level!

From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds, we worked under very strange and creepy constraints to make Professor Pie's Perfect Pie and figure out who had kidnapped him for his recipe. Our pies turned out perfectly and we were able to compose reports explaining that Mori took Professor Pie because she ate her own pie recipe! Our first case within Systemia has come to a close, but students should be working on their Fraction Check-in corrections over the weekend to turn in by Monday.

From Lara: This week in Wellness we finished the first ever Q2L Mind Balance Olympiad with an awards ceremony where students won bronze, silver and gold medals generously donated by the Parents Association. The top prize--a pizza party and gold medals--was awarded to the team who named themselves "The Something Somethings". These three students had a perfect teamwork score, earned the most points at the Teamwork challenge station and won medals in a number of the other Challenge Stations.

Amazingly, we ended the Olympiad with no single winner of the One-Foot-Eyes-Closed Balance Challenge. After a second round where 14 students stood for 8 minutes on one foot with their eyes closed, we had to move on to round three. An impressive group of nine students were still balancing after 18.5 minutes when we had to break for lunch! Thank you again to all of the parents who donated their time for this event--we really couldn't have pulled it off without you!

As a final assessment for this trimester of Wellness, students wrote letters to future 6th graders, explaining to them what the Mind Balance Olympiad is and how we prepared for it by making teams, practicing the Athletic Training Components and using the skills we had learned over the trimester.

Lara has updated the Wellness homework site with the final journal entries and assignments. Students can email or hand in late journal entries or other assignments until Wednesday, December 15.

From Al: Sports for the Mind concluded with the successful First Annual Q2L Game Jam! Students were busy rating the games made by other students. Several games were extremely difficult, so part of the process involved proving that there was a winning strategy. In several instances, the student designer could not beat their own game and it fell upon others to offer proof that the game was not broken! Several parents dropped in to playtest games. There were literally hundreds of games to play since each student produced a minimum of 4 required games plus a large number of extra games created, so the Game Jam lasted several class periods.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work students wrapped up the trimester reviewing Potential and Kinetic energy. Activities included a jeopardy review, poster creations and in-class time to finish up any of their online Google documents. Thursday marked the beginning of BOSS LEVEL where students were challenged to create a Rube Goldberg machine. Alicia and I joined forces to teach "RUBE GOLDBERG", a class designed to teach students the relevant science and math content necessary to build one of these machines. In class students working in groups are given plenty of hands-on time to tinker and plan out the details of their machines.

From Ross: This week, BSP (Being, Space and Place) concluded with a bang. Students finished up their location proposals for Hampton's reality show, Forgotten Territories and were able to put together presentations on Google Earth. Some groups went as far as to record sound and match it to a virtual tour of the planet! Hampton is in Los Angeles for the holidays, but wants to come back and see the work that our Q-dents prepared for him. Good work!

After School: It was a busy time in Mobo Studio this week. All of the pods were finishing up the work they have been doing throughout the after school program in order to prepare for the Mobo Studio Finale! Friday. The comics group presented a collaborative animation project, as well as a slide show with images and work documenting work from throughout the term. The fashion podders worked on another fashion show that they choreographed and had a great time showing off their cool and bright LED bracelets. And the generating buzz group worked on their final power point presentation, which they presented on to everyone with outstanding skill. It was an exciting fall trimester in Mobo Studio-- the kids were amazing!

In the Comics, Character and Creativity pod the young artist worked on publishing their own real comic books. They traded the comics with one another and also gave some away as thank you gifts to people. Later in the week they enjoyed rehearsing for the final presentation.

In Mobile Fashion and Wearable Technology, the fashion technologist worked hard to meet the deadline of the final Mobo Fashion Show Friday. They incorporated the soft circuit into their bracelets and made the LEDs glow. They also learned how to troubleshoot a soft circuit when it did not light properly. They used coin cell batteries and multimeters to check to see where break in the circuits might be happening or if they had attached the LED correctly. The fashion technologists were excited to perform for their parents, the staff and teachers and had a lot of fun.

This week in Generating Buzz we finalized our advertisement using our client feedback from Marc Fernandez. Students created backgrounds for their advertisements by sketching different I Heart Geeks elements on grid paper. They then used those backgrounds in Gimp (image-editing computer program) and placed the video game characters on top. Tuesday and Thursday were spent preparing and rehearsing presentations for the Mobo Studio Finale!

Week of November 30 – December 4, 2009
Our very first Boss Level begins Thursday!
During Boss Level our space will appear quite different—students will work in Home Base groups and regular programming is put on hold. During the first couple of days home base groups will participate in small workshops. They will be learning some specific skills they will need to apply during Boss Level, in addition to team building exercises, as the success of this project relies on strong team collaboration… and then the creativity begins!

CURRICULUM UPDATES
From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds we spent the week reviewing and preparing for our Fraction Check-In, which included all we've learned about fractions so far this year. Each code breaker worked diligently to complete the Check-In Thursday and Friday. We spent the last bit of our time together solving the fifth and final code of Prof. Pie's Perfect Pie Recipe. Monday and Tuesday all of our hard work this trimester will finally pay off, for we will be following the decoded recipe to make the pie and to figure out who kidnapped Professor Pie. The students should be working on completing any late or redo homework they have yet to complete (a sheet was handed to them at the end of the week).

From Ameer: This past week in The Way Things Work, students reviewed all of the content that was covered throughout the trimester. Students completed a review document containing questions about all of the topics we have covered. Towards the end of the week, students were given a more traditional assessment and were also given some time to catch up on their VOCABULARY and SYSTEMS: Simple Machines google documents.

From Ross: After compiling research on a particular biome (desert, tundra, savannah, tropical rain forest, etc), students in BSP (Being, Space and Place), are hard at work formalizing their "Location Guides" for Hampton. This involves selecting crucial information from their "Location Prep Pages" that highlight the important animals, plants, and challenges of their particular biome. As a conclusion to this mission, students will create a Google Earth presentation in an attempt to convince Hampton to select their location for his show, Forgotten Territories!

From Lara: This week in Wellness we prepared our teams and then kicked off the first Q2L Mind Balance Olympiad. Students played team-building games, made commitments to their team as to which challenges they would each take on, and play tested some of the student proposed Challenges for the Olympiad. Some classes wrote emails to Pleku as a coach or a moral supporter (a fan) to encourage her/him to continue practicing and to do the best that s/he can in the Mind Balance Olympiad.

Parents and staff joined Lara & Will in the gym on Thursday and Friday for the first two days of games in all eight Athletic Training Components. Students traveled from station to station in their teams to either compete or to cheer on their teammates at each of five Challenges. Next week, the teams will travel to the remaining stations and the games will end with a semi-school wide One-Foot-Eyes-Closed Balance Challenge.

A huge thank you to all of the parents who are volunteering their time to make this event possible!

From Al: In Sports for the Mind formal play-testing has begun! All students have been working on the Domain Game Feedback Forms. These Feedback Forms are designed to get the students more familiar with Gamespeak. Students play and evaluate different components of each others work in categories of Space, Rules, Originality, and Challenge. This is the final preparation for the First Annual Q2L Game Jam!

All parents and staff are invited to play student created games at the First Annual Q2L Game Jam! Students will be sharing their works in an open and inviting play testing celebration. Come play student games and sign in each student's Game Design Journal as if you were leaving a greeting in a Guest Register at an Art Gallery.
Game Jam Schedule:
601: Monday, 12/7/09: 1:20 - 3:10
602: Monday, 12/7/09: 10:55 - 11:50
603 Tuesday, 12/8/09: 10:00 - 10:55
604: Wednesday, 12/9/09: 9:05 - 10:00

From Afterschool, Mobo Studio: The afterschool podders are very much enjoying their time in Mobo Studio as they have been working tremendously hard throughout the trimester to become experts in their fields. Students are all gearing up for the Fall Trimester-I Mobo Studio finale next Friday, December 11, 2009. It is an exciting time as the kids will have a chance to showcase all their work from start to end. We are all looking forward to a fun exhibition of work that all of the pods will be take part in, hope you can join us for the showcase.

This week in Comics, Character and Creativity the young artists in the pod worked on mini-comics, which they will finalize in the coming week. Kids were given an assignment to write and draw an 8-page story. They wrote simple scripts, drew the pages in pencil, inked them, and started pasting them up on templates, all in pursuit of creating their own printed comic books.

Once completed next week, each student will make several copies of their comic, to trade with one another and give to friends, teachers, family, etc. In preparation of the Mobo Studio finale presentation on December 11th students will be working on compiling a PowerPoint presentation to showcase their work and share the thinking behind their comic creations.

In Mobo Fashion and Wearable Technology the podders have been exploring their inner scientist these last couple of weeks. They have been learning about circuits, power and LEDs (light emitting diodes) while gaining a hands learning experience in prototyping circuits on breadboards. On the breadboards they have been building series and parallel circuits to light LEDs. It is impressive to see how the fashion professionals have developed an excellent habit of using the multi-meter to troubleshoot and redesign their circuit when it does not work the first time around.

Now the podders have moved off the breadboards and are working on making their LED bracelets. The challenge here will be taking their knowledge from hard circuits on the breadboard to designing soft circuits make up of conductive thread and coin cell batteries. They are excited to make their bracelets and light them up!

This week the students in Generating Buzz! worked on refining their concepts individually in Gimp (an image editing program). In addition to refining concepts, students were asked to develop detailed descriptions to begin articulating their ideas. After selecting the final two concepts for the advertising campaign, students worked on placing characters, text, and objects into a draft advertisement. They discussed the sequencing of characters and objects and how these impact the overall effectiveness of the advertisement.

On Friday the pod went on a field trip to Marc Ecko Enterprises to meet with Marc Fernandez, the Executive Producer of the I Heart Geeks video game they are working on, and to take a tour of the facilities and the Sweat Equity Enterprises (SEE) Design Studio. Marc spoke to students about his role in the video game industry, and critiqued our design concepts. The critiques went well and our students left with great ideas on how to improve their advertisements. Following their session with Marc, the students were introduced to previous SEE student work and enjoyed looking around, asking questions, and relating it to their own work in the pod as a way of gaining inspiration for the presentation next week.

Week of November 16 – 20, 2009
It is totally amazing that Monday we are entering the week of Thanksgiving!! Q2L parents are planning a Thanksgiving Luncheon on Wednesday, November 25. It will provide us with the opportunity to reflect on all the experiences we have enjoyed as a community since the launch of Q2L! We are thankful for the contributions of all of our parents—for attending our meetings, participating in PTA and SLT, for volunteering on trips and chaperoning during lunch time. Thank you!

CURRICULUM UPDATES
From Rebecca and Arana: As we mentioned in last week's relay, we will begin our Boss Level on Thursday, December 10th. Each Home Base group is collecting materials to be able to complete the Boss Level Challenge, which will be revealed when the Boss Level begins. Students should have brought home a flyer on Friday with the list of materials we are asking families to donate by December 4th, but we have also attached it here for your convenience. Also, please have your child select and obtain a copy of their book choice for the Boss Level by Wednesday, December 9th. We are attaching the list again in case you need another copy. Please feel free to contact us with any questions.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work, students continued to learn about simple machines as systems. In class we learned about the three different types of levers and discovered how the arrangement of their elements determines the class of lever. Students have continued to update their "Simple Machines" and "Vocab" Google doc throughout the week. The week ended with students working collaboratively to investigate the three different types of levers, collecting data to facilitate their learning. We are waiting to hear back from the Troggles who will hopefully check in next week before the Thanksgiving break.

From Alicia:We began our week in Codeworlds working with fractions. We looked at the relationship between the numerator and denominator, and what happens when they're manipulated. Some of the things we learned about were: equivalent fractions, simplest form, LCM (least common multiple), LCD (least common denominator) and adding fractions with both like and unlike denominators. These are skills that we applied in SMALLab at the end of this week when Arithmus sent us a broken game and requested that we fix it ASAP. Our apprentice codebreakers deduced that the game worked when two fractions were added together with like denominators, but a sum larger than one whole would break our game! Arithmus is very excited to work with the game to (hopefully) make it work in the future.

Next week we will continue the development of our skill with fractions that contain like and unlike denominators, practicing addition, and progressing right into the rules of subtraction. Students should be working on the notes we've taken in class all week and the problems that accompany those notes.

From Ross: In Being, Space, and Place this week, students took Hampton's geography assessment. They were challenged on cartography skills, physical geography, and climate and weather. Hampton now knows they are ready to scout locations for his reality show, "Forgotten Territories!"

From Lara: This week in Wellness, students are gearing up for the Q2L Mind Balance Olympiad! Students deepened their understanding of the Athletic Training Components they've been working on by doing research and presenting their findings to their classmates. The students also completed personal training plans (and took on the role of "coach" to help each other to refine their plans) to get ready for the One-Foot-Eyes-Closed Balance Challenge--the one event in the Olympiad that everyone has to compete in. As you read this, the Olympiad Committee is in the process of reviewing the many Challenges that our apprentice designers have created and submitted online. The winners of this competition will be announced this week!
Parents who are interested in volunteering as score keepers/facilitators during one or all of the sessions of the Mind Balance Olympiad should contact Lara directly at lgerstein@q2l.org. The dates are December 3, 4, 7 & 8 from around 11:30--12:45. Details are to follow in a separate email.

From Al: All game design apprentices in Sports for the Mind StudioLab are finishing their work on 'non-digital' games with the completion of a technical specifications design document: a tracing on Architects Vellum that includes the rules, the title, and a detailed diagram of the game board drawn with technical pens. Playtesting is begun before any final alterations can be determined to fully complete their board game designs. Playtesting of their digital game is also beginning in earnest as the apprentices are learning protocols of proper constructive feedback for the Domain games. Students have been informed about any missing or incomplete games in order for them to complete the trimester with each of the major challenges of our Mission. The required Gamestar Mechanic games to date include: the Initial Maze, the Domain Game, the Birthday Game and the Night at the Museum Game. All published games are subjected to the play-testing and feedback process, with the goal of improving the “game play”, balancing the challenge and incorporating game labels that are descriptive, instructive and contribute to the player experience of the game.

AFTERSCHOOL
The students in Mobo Studio are enjoying their time in after school as each of the pod groups are working enthusiastically to learn the skills set needed in various professions. They continue to gain valuable insight around their respective fields of work within each of the pods and are equipping themselves with real know-how in various industries of work.

This week the Comics, Character and Creativity pod went on a field trip to First Second Publications in the Flatiron Building on 23rd street and Fifth Avenue on Monday. The students sat in the conference room like junior executives and were treated to a presentation of not-yet-published works. The presentation exhibited the entire production process: from thumbnails through blue lines, cover layouts, inked tracings, color comps, fancy printing techniques, binding and shipping.

All in all, the kids got to learn from a professional editor and designer about the process that goes into publishing and how a comic book is born. Students took part in a Q&A in which they asked questions that demonstrated their curiosity and enthusiasm for the medium. At the end, everyone got a free copy of Tiny Tyrant, one of First Second's new series aimed at young readers. Finally, on the way back to Q2L, we stopped at Cosmic Comics, a comic book store, where the owner let each student select a free comic from the Kids Comics section.

Coming up in the pod, kids will write and draw a one-page comic from the point of view of a video game character. Students used the latter half of the week to begin their one-page comic, which they will take through the production process to a finished piece of work. It will be a challenging task, but one that will be fun!

In Mobile Fashion the fashion professionals reviewed and critiqued the videographer footage from the Fashion Show, which they designed and choreographed, the week prior. The event was well attended by the other after school podders, parents, faculty and staff. The designers did an excellent job of fielding questions from the audience at the conclusion of the show, which demonstrated the amount of work they all put into the fashion show by highlighting everything they have learned leading up to the presentation. The fashion professionals are proud of their work and are looking forward to the next showcase coming up on December 11th.

During the week the students were introduced to the concept of a Postmortem, where one assesses the process of developing a product. They really enjoyed learning about how to use the sewing machines and were proud of their final product. Students are now moving on to learning about electricity and how circuits work. They have been introduced to the breadboards, the device used to prototype circuits. It was a thrill for them when they lit their first LED and they are eager to make a new fashion product, LED bracelets.

This week in Generating Buzz! students worked on Step 3: Concept Development, which is part of the 5 Step Design Process behind the research campaign and the design challenge they are taking on. Students began the week by brainstorming around project ideas and the Nintendo DS game they are working with, I Heart Geeks, to come up with new ideas for the project. They combined the sketchbook drawings they created in the week prior to share their thoughts with each other and offer positive feedback that will be used in the final design models that they are generating for the unreleased Nintendo DS video game (I Heart Geeks).

Earlier in the week, the podders in the group got to review existing advertisements that are currently being shown on the Nintendo World website. The pod also elected a team leader, Kofi, to help guide the team on generating new advertisement ideas for the project. Later in the week, the podders continued to brainstorm advertising ideas as the students began building real models on their laptops while working on concepts in Aviary, which is a vector and image editing software that they are using to generate their finished products.

Week of November 9-13, 2009
This Monday and Tuesday are our first formal Q2L Parent-Teacher Conferences. At your scheduled appointment time you will be meeting with your child’s Home Base (advisory) teacher, who is always your first point of contact with the school about your child. Home Base teachers have all met with each Domain teacher to get feedback about your child’s work in class. Hopefully you have already forwarded any specific questions or concerns to the Home Base teacher to assure that the information you request is available to you at this meeting. Each appointment should last for about 15 minutes, allowing for deep conversation about your child’s progress. At the end of your appointment feel free to e-mail any additional questions that you may have either to your child’s Home Base teacher or directly to a Domain teacher. There are about three more weeks left in the trimester, so hopefully this information from teachers will allow students to respond and to make a positive impact on their 1st Trimester Student Feedback report.

CURRICULUM UPDATES
From Rebecca and Arana: We are excited to announce that our first Boss Level will begin December 10th. The Boss Level is a two-week “intensive” where students apply knowledge and skills to date to propose solutions to complex problems. During the Boss level students are given a challenge the whole school works on together to solve, drawing on the knowledge and resources generated during the just-completed Missions. Boss levels are what we call “synthesizing spaces,” and provide opportunities both for students who need a little extra work or those seeking accelerated opportunities to extend their learning.

This week we handed out the reading list for our first Students are to obtain a copy of one of the books by December 9th and bring them into school. Over the course of the Boss Level students will be participating in reading groups during the school day and reading their books for homework. We are attaching the letter and reading list to this relay, but students should also have received a hard copy this week from Al for parents to sign and return with their child on Monday.

Next week we’ll send home a list of materials that families can donate for the Boss Level to help us with the special challenge students will be posed with at the start of the Boss Level. We are also looking for parents to volunteer during the school day during the Boss Level. A member of the PTA curriculum committee will be sending an email with more specific information on volunteering so that interested parents can sign up to help. In the meantime, please feel free to email us with any questions or concerns.

From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds, our codebreakers scanned Professor Pie's favorite cookbook in search of the fourth line of the Perfect Pie recipe! We discovered that Prof. Pie has a passion for fractions, so we've been training around the idea of "part of a whole." Students were able to learn first-hand how pies and their sales are distributed and recorded in Creepytown-- they record their sales entirely in fractions and pie charts. We finished the week working on the concepts of equivalent fractions and simplest form of fractions. Students should be working on their homework around identifying fractions and finding equivalent forms of fractions. Next week we will be working on finishing up our study of equivalent fractions and simplest form, and look into addition and subtraction of fractions.

From Lara: This week in Wellness, we began Quest 4--Not Giving Up! Pleku wrote an email to Lara saying "Thank you" to her and the students for all of their help but that s/he just wasn't going to compete in the Mind Balance Olympiad. We don't know yet why Pleku made this decision, but we're hoping to find out. In the meantime, the Q2L Mind Balance Olympiad was announced. It will take place during the first two weeks of December. Students researched online for definitions of eight Athletic Training Components and presented their findings to the class. Students have already completed their Personalized Training Plans for the One-Foot-Eyes-Closed Balance Challenge and have begun using an online form to submit their designs for Challenges in other Athletic Training Components.

In the gym we had our first experience of students as teachers when "The Dancers" who performed at Thursday’s Morning Meeting led classes 601 & 602 in "Cotton-Eyed Joe" as part of the training for the rhythm/musicality component.

From Ross: This week in BSP (Being, Space and Place), we explored how the Earth's revolution around the sun gives rise to different climate zones around the globe. We then learned how these climate zones give rise to unique vegetation zones in different regions. Students will be playing a game called "FIND IT" that uses climate and vegetation maps combined with latitude and longitude to locate particular cities on the planet. Next week, students will receive their major assignment from Hampton, who will test their knowledge on the different geographic components we studied this week.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work, students designed and tested ramps for the Troggles. Working in teams of "Researchers" and "Engineers" they investigated the inclined plane in order to construct the optimal ramp according to specifications that the Troggles had sent. After creating their posters, each team presented their work to the class in a brief exhibition. The week concluded with the students learning about simple machines as a system, exploring the various elements and rules common to all simple machines. Next week we will be learning about mechanical advantage and how to use this number to help us determine the best machine for a particular job.

From Al: The game design apprentices in Studiolab are continuing their work on the 'non-digital' games. As covered in Studiolab, game design apprentices are expected to make a diagram of the MTA System: Engine / Subway Car / Subway Map / New York City / USA / World / Solar System / Galaxy / Universe. This simplified diagram illustrates our exploration of sub-systems and the rules and goals of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA).

All students have access to the Gamepedia Google Doc for their group. Students are expected to contribute to at least three topics listed on this document. The Gamepedia is an attempt to begin to pool our collective knowledge of all aspects of Game Design covered in Studiolab to date. Please do your best to contribute your thoughts. The process for the Gamepedia will involve several iterations and the Google Doc is our first attempt to formulate definitions that will eventually be posted to a Sports for the Mind Wiki.

Students are publishing all of their digital games to the Gamestar Game Alley to allow all apprentices to play the games and give feedback as part of the Design Cycle: Design / Playtest / Iterate.

After School: It was an action packed time in Mobo Studio this week. All of the kids in after school are working collaboratively and continue to produce outstanding work in all of the pods. They have invested a great deal of time into their roles as fashion designers, comic artists, marketing campaigners and research detectives as they have gained a real identity in the roles they have taken on.

The kids in Comics, Character and Creativity were visited by two professionals in the comics industry during the week, which gave them a real taste of the work that goes into creating comic materials. Marion, a friend of Raina (pod co-mentor) joined the pod on Monday to demonstrate how digital color is added to comic drawings. They also focused closely on the idea of perspective with her, which gave them good insight into the best ways of enhancing their ideas. On Tuesday, Dave Roman, an editor from Nickelodeon magazine, visited the pod to speak to the group about crafting comics and the steps that professionals in the industry take in developing their finished product. All of the kids were thrilled by his presence and very much enjoyed the time spent with him. Later in the week students continued to create original animations and will soon learn how to export the work they create to a web site for viewing on mobile devices.

The professionals in Mobile Fashion worked on the finishing touches for their products –txt scarves and handmade purses- complimented by the use of Nokia smart phones and sema codes. The week culminated with a Fashion Show on Friday, November 13th. All of the podders took on the roles and responsibilities that lead to an outstanding fashion show performance! The theme for the event was Winter with SET Designers. They all produced a wonderful array of handcrafted snowflakes that enriched the scenery for the show. The sound designer choose the music, the co-directors made sure everyone’s products were ready for showtime as all of their pieces came in place beautifully.

Fashion Designers:
Jade Bove, Julia Campbell, Isis Goodwin, Maya Goodwin, Miya Matthews and Brianna Tse-Wall
Co-Directors:
Jade Bove and Isis Goodwin
Models:
Jade Bove, Julia Campbell and Miya Matthews
Stylist:
Isis Goodwin and Brianna Tse-Wall
Set Designers:
Julia Campbell and Brianna Tse-Wall

Generating Buzz! kids presented their final mood boards this week. At the start of the week, they selected one mood they wished to portray and then began collecting images, which matched that mood as best as possible. Each student had a chance to present their mood and a couple of initial advertisement concepts based on the mood chosen. This presentation concluded Step 2- Research and Inspiration in the 5 Step Design Process. On Tuesday the students began Step 3- Concept Development. The whole group conducted a brainstorm activity, which involved words, and then turned the words selected into individual drawings. They eventually wrote a story about the final product to recap the process involved. Ultimately, the student designers realized that creativity comes from a collection of multiple ideas. On Thursday, the podders began brainstorming drills. They used the day for drawing 1-minute sketches in their sketchbooks and quickly moving on to the each other's sketches. These sketches are concepts for the advertisements they are all creating.

Week of November 2–6, 2009
Dear Q2L Families,
We have had another action packed week at Quest to Learn! The week began with an article in Monday’s New York Times that featured Gamestar Mechanic, an educational on-line design game we use in Al's Sports For The Mind domain. The picture featured Q2L students Kyrese Adams, Liam Clayton, Dimitri Williot and Alessandro Ferron.

Later Monday the monthly PTA meeting was attended by almost thirty parents and teachers. The level of participation, interest and support is really amazing! As founding parents and faculty our participation will shape our Q2L community!

Tuesday was a non-attendance day for students, while faculty and staff participated in a variety of professional development workshops, completed final Boss Level planning and put final touches on Assessment Night.

Q2L had our first Open House on Wednesday Night. Q2L teachers, parents and students contributed their time and enthusiasm. It was a really energizing event attended by 65 families from District 2.

On Thursday ABC news anchor Art McFarland visited classrooms and taped a segment to be aired sometime during this coming week. We will send out a notice when we find out the date and time!

Later Thursday morning PBS Frontline visited classrooms and held interviews with teachers and students as part of a series on education. Our students (your kids!) were incredibly eloquent as they articulated the mission of Quest to Learn, totally impressing the Frontline cast. More information on when the segment will air to follow.

CURRICULUM UPDATES
From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds, we began Quest 6, which dealt with the four major parts of speech. We began the week by scanning the next page of Professor Pie's favorite cookbook and discovered that he wrote the third piece of the recipe in a code with lots of words. These words were grouped by parts of speech, so we spent this past week studying nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. We were also asked for lots of help from Wordix, who was in a sort-of panic over missing pieces of a story he was reading (troublesome Arithmus spilled juice all over Wordix's new book). After studying lots of methods and playing lots of games to learn those four parts of speech, we began working on decoding the third line of the recipe from Professor Pie. Students should be working on their Once Upon A Time stories and completing any late homework this weekend.

Next week, we're going to finish solving the ELA-driven code in preparation to study fractions as a part of a whole. Students should start thinking about what "part of a whole" means to them.

From Lara: This week in Wellness, students worked in teams to make another round of helpful videos to send to Pleku. This time Pleku needed help with his/her inability to focus due to a little brother's noise and strewn-about toys and Pleku's tendency to fall asleep while practicing in her/his bedroom. Students were Videographers, Secretaries, Directors and Stage Managers/Time Keepers as they wrote scripts, acted and recorded their videos. On the videos, we told Pleku about our own experiences dealing with similar issues and gave our detailed advice about how to create/find a good practice and how to focus even with the many distractions. Over the weekend Lara will be sending the students' videos to Pleku and asking again for a photo. Maybe this time we'll actually get to see a photo of Pleku... In the gym, students are continuing to practice Endurance, Teamwork, Rhythm/Musicality and Speed.

From Ross: This week in BSP, students wrote the final drafts of their Ultimate Room spaces after completing some peer editing. We also continued learning about physical geography for our friend Hampton. This week, students focused on the Earth's rotation and seasons as well as landforms. After learning the Earth's landforms, students played each other in Sculptionary, where they used clay to sculpt specific landforms (mountains, plateaus, plains, volcanoes, etc) for their partners to guess.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work, students reviewed the concepts of force and work. Students worked collaboratively in class to create posters explaining the concepts surrounding force and work. Some classes even got a chance to play Troggledy, a game that was sent over to us via the Troggle Blog which was essentially a mock jeopardy created by the Troggles. Over the weekend, students will be completing a final packet on force before we move on to Quest IV which deals with simple machines.

From Al: The game design apprentices in Studiolab are building their board games using traditional art tools and techniques: T-squares, rulers, colored pencils, etc. We are realizing how the Design Cycle (Design / Playtest / Iterate) helps us make our games better (both Gamestar Mechanic and our Board games).

All apprentices are expected to continue game design work in their Journals at home and to bring the Journals to the Studiolab as well. The apprentices should be looking for game design ideas (they can come from anywhere!), drawing mazes, sketching game avatars and pasting in photos and clippings from magazines that inspire them. Free form sketching is encouraged: the back of their Journal is a space reserved for this purpose.

After School: It was another exciting week as Mobo Studio reaches the midway mark for the 2009 fall trimester. Students are working creatively as they begin to expand their knowledge around digital literacy in today’s 21st century society. The kids have grown into the relaxed professional-like setting and are now able to think more critically about the roles they play as consumers, producers and social advocates in a range of fields within the comics, fashion, marketing and gaming industries.

In Comics, Character and Creativity students drew from different still life set-ups early in the week as a way of stretching their points of view for developing more animated artwork. As kids continued to expand their animation skills they created a storyboards for an animated sequence called “The Open Door.” Kids have also begun to explore more precisely the use of digital animation on laptops and wacom sketch tablets in the pod to help boost their digital literacy skills through self-created and entertaining animations.

The kids in Mobile Fashion are thrilled to find themselves engaged in their roles as constructive producers of “wearable technology.” In taking on the position of real fashion designers they have carried out their roles by sharing their creations in an abbreviated presentation with a Mobile Learning Institute representative. The kids are excited for the upcoming Mobile Fashion and Wearable Technology fashion show that will take place on Friday, November 13th at Q2L. They are working collaboratively to take on separate roles to help produce the fashion show. Roles include director, set designer, sound designer, stylist, fashion photographer and videographer. They all share the role of fashion designer through their hands-on work in the pod and those interested will act as runway model performers during the showcase next week.

The students in Generating Buzz! completed their interview flashcards early in the week that show the most important information obtained during their target market interviews. These flashcards will later be used at the end of the trimester for the Mobo Studio exhibition show. Students have now moved to focusing on mood boards. The idea is to figure out why designers use mood boards, how they help draw inspiration from and create projects around such tools. Kids will use an open source application call “aviary” to continue with mood boards as they develop personal ones for the Design Challenge: Generating Buzz!

Week of October 25-30, 2009
Dear Q2L families,
A highlight this week was our change to a daily Morning Meeting schedule. It is our goal to be very thoughtful as we build the foundation for our community, and to be explicit in our expectations around behaviors and consequences. In our group discussion students listed “friendship”, “knowledge” and “honesty” as some of the core values of Quest to Learn, which clearly mirrored the important values they have all been taught at home! Morning Meeting was also the venue for the super star guest we had on Monday that Arana and Rebecca describe in their update below!

CURRICULUM UPDATES
From Rebecca and Arana: This week was very exciting because Rebecca Stead, author of our summer reading book First Light, came to morning meeting on Monday to speak to the Q2L community. Our students asked many questions about the writing of the book, the inspiration of the book, and the characters and plot. As you may remember, our summer reading assignment required students to complete a project on the book. We told students that the Home Base group that completed the most projects would win a special prize. We are delighted to announce that Alicia’s Home Base group won, and each student in this group was awarded with a signed copy of Rebecca Stead’s latest book When You Reach Me, which Rebecca Stead handed out herself at the end of the meeting. She also signed autographs for students and viewed the summer projects. She was very impressed with the work students did, and she even took copies of their ghost chapters and photographs of the science presentations and game boards with her!

This week we also kicked off our independent reading program, and students are now reading for 15-minutes as part of every annex period. Students should also be reading at home for 30-minutes each night as well. We are attaching two recommended reading lists for 6th graders for families that wish some guidance in the types of books that are appropriate. We will be sending home another book list later this month for a reading project we are doing in December with all Q2L students as part of our Boss Level.

From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds, we worked on finishing Quest 5: Mysterious Evidence is Estimated. We continued our Mini-Quest from Arithmus, this time showing the twins that we could multiply and divide with integers (last week we showed them our skills with integer addition and subtraction). We also finished our training around "About or Exactly," which dealt with place value, rounding and beginning estimation. We played many games and challenges this week to reinforce our understandings of these topics as well. After working so hard with our About or Exactly quest, we were then ready to crack the second piece of Prof. Pie's Perfect Pie Recipe! This time Pie told us he had written his code in something called a key word cipher. We studied and practiced with key word ciphers and worked to complete the encoded message so we could figure out what page to scan next. Also, every apprentice codebreaker participated in our first Systemia Check-In, which the students were quizzed on their knowledge of integer operations.

Next week we will begin a quest around parts of speech and how they connect to our language of code. Students should be working on their multiplication and division of integers packet and Codebreaker Journal #3.

From Lara: This week in Wellness we continued to look into what helps us to focus, what distracts us, and how our immediate environment affects our ability to focus. We continued writing (silently) with music as a way to get better at focusing and took on some new balance challenges to put our focusing skills into practice. By next week all classes will have created their videos to send to Pleku, full of advice about how to find a good practice space, and things that will help Pleku to focus better--no matter where s/he is!

In the gym, we have added the Athletic Training Component of Rhythm/Musicality and students are learning and practicing the Electric Slide. Next week we'll move on to other line dances. The other components we're working on are: teamwork, speed and endurance. Soon students will have the chance to develop their own Mind Balance challenges based on these components.

From Ross: This week in Being, Space and Place, students used the editing process to perfect the final drafts of their Ultimate Room essays. In addition, our new friend Hampton sent students more information about his show, Forgotten Territories, asking students to collect vital information on landforms. We can't wait to see what Hampton's going to send us next!

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work, students reviewed the concept of Force and began to explore what it means to do work. The students used their data from the ramp activity last week to calculate the amount of work required to drag a 1 kg weight to the top of a ramp. Another exciting piece of technology rolled out this week as students began to use Google Docs, which provides students with the opportunity to create web-based documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Every student was able to create their first TWTW Google Doc this week. This online document is the first of many more to come.

From Al: In Sports for the Mind, the game design apprentices in the Studiolab are continuing their work in their Game Design Journals, on their video games, and on their 'non-digital' games. Students have been introduced to our latest game design challenge: design a game called "Night at the Museum" based very loosely on the movie plot of the same title, where the player is trapped in the Museum of Natural History and the exhibits come alive. While much creative freedom is left to each student, the requirements of the assignment stipulate that their game is made up of the different spaces that we explored on our most recent field trip: the World of Birds, the Age of Reptiles, the Hall of Seal Life, etc. This assignment is a chance for the young designers to really concentrate on honing their skills by using certain enemy sprites to reflect the type of creature in each specific exhibit and to realize a depiction of the spaces as part of the design.

We have also begun serious play testing of our games and learning how to give positive feedback as well as constructive criticism. Most importantly, we are learning how to listen to the players of our game, and to use that information to make our games better (the design cycle). Use of design vocabulary is being practiced at this stage in our first attempts to internalize many of the concepts we have explored: rules, space, goals, and components. We are getting ready to work on the "Gamepedia"; a shared Google Document that defines vocabulary, explores concepts and sums of our collective understanding of what we have been "learning by doing".

After School: Mobo Studio continues to be an exciting time for kids in after school as they progress on their relationships and professional skills set with peers in each of the pods. Students are gaining first hand experiences that are amounting to real expertise in respective fields of work. This week, kids built on their sense of knowledge revolving around identity and characteristics as they grow into their roles of Comic artist, Fashion designers, Advertisers and Gaming researchers.

In Comics, Character and Creativity kids began the week by experimenting with waterproof India ink, creating a portrait of their ideal character, which they came up with in the previous week’s pod sessions. Later in the week, they created a full-page comic by writing, drawing and finalizing a comic script to go along. Students also continued working on creating their animated sequences to complement their script.

Mobile Fashion designers expanded their work as prototyping seamstress, tailors and pattern designers by incorporating the concept of “usability” to see how well their newly created products -semi coded clutch purses and txt scarves- function as wearable tech clothing. Students used n85 Nokia smart phones to document the production process within the pod by taping their creation and use of products while later making adjustments where fixes were needed. In this area of work, they have gained a real comfort with sewing machines and are now at a stage where they are able to trouble shoot with more ease.

In Generating Buzz! Kids progressed with their roles as market researchers by extending their content knowledge through written interviews and photos. Kids were given specialist insight to current video game ads while dissecting themes behind the creation of such games. They explored the different areas that make certain video games appealing to the consumers and discussed areas of interest within the gaming market. They will move forward with their consumer research by designing flash cards with answers to their interview questions, which will be used to investigate the industry in more depth.

Super Sleuth kids proceeded in their work within the pod by experimenting with a new Nintendo DS game in “Possible Worlds.” They advanced their previous week’s lesson on photosynthesis by comparing and contrasting what they learned against the process of artificial photosynthesis. While some kids were less in tune with the implications behind the game(s), they gained from their play-testing experience by being able to express in good detail the processes behind both photosynthesis and artificial photosynthesis.

Week of October 19-23, 2009
Dear Q2L families,
As you will see from the updates below, this has been another exciting week full of engaging academic experiences and opportunities to grow as a community! Participation by parents in the PTA elections and as chaperones on the trip this past week has highlighted the importance of parent involvement in the success of our school!

CURRICULUM UPDATES
From Rebecca and Arana: This was a very exciting week for Q2L students. Our trip to the Natural History Museum was a big success. Congratulations to everyone for doing a great job, and especially to Lara’s Home Base group for winning the museum scavenger hunt. Thank you to all the parents who joined us! This week each class also participated in an introductory session in SMALLab, our motion capture lab. Students will continue to work in SMALLab this trimester as part of the Codeworlds domain.

We also began our school-wide Reading Challenge. Students have been challenged to read 25 books this year. Each student has a daily book log to record their reading on—they should read for at least 30 minutes every night—as well as a log for them to record books they have completed. For each completed book, students will earn game pieces that they can add to a collaborative game the school will be building in Gamestar Mechanic, a digital game that students have been using in Sports for the Mind. Students may check out books from Ross’s classroom library, and they are also welcome to read books they have obtained outside of school. We are in the process of creating a recommended reading list for students, and we will be collecting gently used books to add to the library (more information on this to come at a later date). Students will begin doing silent reading as part of their annex periods each week, and the whole school will participate in DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) every Wednesday for 15 minutes. During this time our entire staff will be reading!

This week continues to be exciting, as Rebecca Stead, author of our summer reading book First Light, will be coming to our Monday morning meeting to speak to students and look at their summer projects.

From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds we began Quest 5: Mysterious Evidence is Estimated! We began our week by scanning page 44 of Professor Pie's favorite cookbook, which was given to us when we solved the last code for the first line of his Perfect Pie recipe. We discovered that the only words that made sense were "about" and "exactly," so we spent some time going through what each word means in a mathematical context. The twins had very different opinions about both words, but the apprentice codebreakers began to work with estimation, rounding and place value regarding these two "code" words. We also played one of Arithmus' favorite games, Number Blast. In the game, codebreakers worked in pairs to solve problems of adding and subtracting integers both with and without the help of a number line. We rounded out our week by reviewing multiplication and division of integers, with a few games as well. Students should be working on homework from Systemia and a multiplication/division of integers packet.

Next week, we look forward to playing more of the twins' favorite games to deepen our knowledge of estimation and place value. We will also be learning a new cipher, a key word cipher, which was revealed in our latest cookbook scan. Our work in estimation and rounding will help us greatly as we work to decode the next piece of the recipe from Professor Pie.

From Lara: This week in Wellness students began to explore their immediate environments. Pleku was really happy to have received our corrected journal pages, the photos of ourselves in our favorite balancing shapes, and our helpful-thinking cards. But Pleku is still having some trouble with finding the right place to practice. Students became architects for a day by looking around the domain spaces and noticing colors, shapes, textures and objects in the room. We discussed how the different spaces affect our ability to focus and what the criteria for our optimum focusing (for practicing) space would be.

The students also tried a couple of new focusing techniques: Everyone walked around the room to find a space where they could focus best, then wrote about or drew anything they wanted to for as long as the music played. When it was finished they wrote about why they chose that particular spot. Up in the gym, students continued their training in the athletic components of strength, flexibility, balance, endurance and teamwork, but we also warmed up by consciously breathing with our movement. Pleku told us more about how the Mind Balance Olympiad works and it sounds like maybe something we could try to do at Q2L...

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work, students reviewed basic integer operations through practice in the classroom. They also watched as Tim and Moby (Brain POP cartoon characters) reviewed and explained the mathematical principles behind these operations. Afterwards students were introduced to a new tool, the Spring Scale, and given an opportunity to explore and examine it in order to determine its uses. The week concluded with students tinkering with a ramp that might help the Troggles get their houses onto the machine they've built. In order to figure out the optimal ramp for the Troggles, students tried out a variety of lengths for their ramps, as well as the corresponding amount of force required to pull a 1kg weight up to the top. This data was tabulated on their "Force" handout and will be analyzed in class when we explore work (W = f x d). Next week will mark the end of Quest III and students will again create a tutorial back to the troggles so that they can get back to work over in Troggleton.

From Al: The 'StudioLAB' (our name for the space where Sports for the Mind takes place) is buzzing with creativity as the game design apprentices are all working diligently in their Game Design Journals, on their video games, and on their 'non-digital' games.

Students are really gearing up for our Board Game Challenge which launched recently. While some students chose to 'fly solo', many are working in teams to create a board game of their own design. This is a long range project expected to finish by Thanksgiving with completed prototype board games, rules sets, game bits (pieces), cards, and more. Although the concept for the game may be based on an existing book, movie, or story, all student-created art, writing and design will be original.

We have made some time to play several of the student created board games from the "First Light" summer projects and have been learning much as part of the process; it is great to see these boards come to life as part of our investigations of game space and rules! We also take time for at least one student to play a digital game on the Smartboard to facilitate a feedback session or 'critique'.

Here's a quote from Christo, (a frequent visitor to our class):
"I loved seeing the examples of the students' games today in SFTM. And what a treat to see them participating in a critique; they were surprisingly serious and, well, grown up about it."

Next week, all game apprentices will be invited to contribute to "Gamepedia", our game design wiki.

From Ross: This week in BSP (Being, Space and Place), students used the writing process to begin revising their Ultimate Room essays. However, the big excitement came this week when we visited the American Museum of Natural History. Students used their map-making and navigational skills to play a scavenger hunt game in the museum. After a very successful and fun trip, students came back to the school where they skyped with Hampton Fancher, a writer and director who was so impressed with the student's map skills, that he has requested their help planning his new show.

After-School : This week, Mobo Studio proceeded with its Fall 2009 trimester as the kids in after school have settled into their studio settings with a real sense of professionalism. Young apprentices in Mobo Studio are learning about the identities and characteristics in a range of fields from designing personal comic characters, becoming real fashion designers, 21st century researchers and original game play-testers.

In Comics, kids learned the process for creating comics by exploring the procedures involved. The week began with exercises such as drawing a wide range of facial expressions that they later in the week used to create their ideal comics character (i.e. Slake Cooper- a sly and smart raccoon who avenges his enemies to restore order in the world) through a full out process of drawing with blue pencil, ink and then color.

Students became real designers in Mobile Fashion this week by creating from scratch: semi-coded clutch purses and txt scarves, integrating their use of smart phones while playing the role of prototyping seamstress, tailors and pattern designers. They learned how to design their own patterns from scratch by exploring the use of sewing machines with different cloth fabrics. The expectation for next week is to build up to a fashion show that will exhibit their newly created products.

In Generating Buzz! kids used 21st century skills sets to work on communication and presentation while offering feedback on their work as researchers and interviewers through their use of flip cams. They also used their roles as market researchers to create consumer profiles that will build on critical thinking and teamwork skills throughout the trimester.

This week in Super Sleuths, kids explored the game, Possible Worlds, where students got a chance to play firsthand the educational game designed by the Education Development Center. Students in the pod were given a brief lesson on photosynthesis in order to see how well the game could exemplify the process. Students will continue to refine the game in the weeks to come through critiquing skills as they will be looking at another new game in Possible Worlds dealing with artificial photosynthesis.

Week of October 12 - 16, 2009

Dear Q2L families,

Q2L began our recruitment of next year’s 6th graders with our first family tours this past Thursday. With tours at 10:30 and 1:30, we did our best to disturb classes as little as possible. Our kids were wonderful, continuing their work as if being observed by groups of strangers was nothing out of the ordinary! Thank you to parents who have already recommended us to your friends! We are also holding two special open house breakfasts on October 27 and 29 for elementary school guidance counselors and parent coordinators, to allow them to go back to their schools armed with first-hand information for the families of their 5th graders.

Hopefully everyone received the ‘backpack” reminders of our PTA meeting scheduled for this Monday night, October 19, at 6:30 pm, in the school cafeteria. The agenda items include voting on by laws, formally nominating and voting on officers, as well as a discussion of School Leadership Team (SLT). The proposed by laws are currently posted on the parent blog @ the Q2L website.

This Thursday, October 22nd, Q2L is taking a trip to Museum of Natural History as a part of Being, Space and Place, deepening our experience with maps, setting and geography. Thank you, Ross and Arana, for visiting the museum last weekend to plan this adventure so thoughtfully!

CURRICULUM UPDATES
6th GRADE
From Alicia: This week in Codeworlds, we worked to finish the first line of Prof. Pie's Perfect Pie recipe, which was written in a code that tried our knowledge of order of operations and integers. We also received some materials that dealt with our case from Arithmus and Wordix. We examined a letter from Prof. Pie's niece, which revealed to us that he left a diary entry that might be of great importance, but there were many words that were very difficult to understand. So, we spent the majority of our week learning about and decoding vocabulary using context clues. We decoded the mystery words in Pie's diary entry and looked at other texts to work on our ability to detect context clues. In addition, some apprentice codebreakers worked with math puzzles for extra practice.

I have also started meeting one-on-one with students regarding their performance in Codeworlds in these areas: homework, staying SHARP (class rules), codebreaking, and behavior. They are receiving graded assignments with feedback, and we are discussing future goals for their ultimate success in Codeworlds. Next week, we will be working with estimation and rounding using our newly-honed analysis skills.

From Lara: This week in Wellness, students worked hard to complete all of the items on their checklist of helpful information that we will send to Pleku. First, students worked on correcting Pleku's journal page, which now looks like what we think her/his trainer meant for it to look like. Second, students created a card with advice about what Pleku should be thinking in order to balance longer. We discovered, by timing ourselves while thinking about various things, that sometimes what you are thinking can help you to balance for a longer time. We recorded this information on a training lab page that we also used in the gym. Third, students posed for photos of themselves balancing in the shapes that they thought would be best for balancing for a long time.

Next week, we are hoping that Pleku will write back to us with a picture of her/himself as well as with some answers to our questions about who he or she is and more about the Mind Balance Olympiad! We would like to know what the events are in the Olympiad and whether or not we can also compete. Until we find out, we are continuing to work on our components of athletic training in the gym, which we'll talk more about next week.

From Ameer: This week in The Way Things Work, Quest III began when the Troggles contacted the students yet again. The Troggles were thrilled to have received the video tutorials from the students, and after learning how to build their houses correctly, they immediately resumed construction. Though the Troggles were wholehearted in their efforts, they built all of the houses in Mirrorville – even though the mayor had asked them to construct the houses on top of Mount Rolli Hill! Being a resilient bunch, the Troggles decided they would build a machine to bring the houses up to the top of Mount Rolli Hill. The problem was that in their haste to fix things, they neglected to consider how they would carry the houses onto the machine. Thus, they have asked Q2L to help them figure out a solution to their latest dilemma. To get started, this week students were introduced to the Scientific Method and next week will explore the physical concepts around force,
effort and work.

From Ross: This week in Being, Space, and Place we used our Ultimate Room Maps to begin working on a personal essay entitled "My Ultimate Room." After reviewing the five steps of the writing process, we began to brainstorm ideas into organized sections. These ideas began to take shape as we wrote our first drafts. In the next week, we will continue to explore the writing process, differences between introductory, body, and concluding paragraphs, as well as continue to draft our papers. Additionally, this week we began to explore the globe and speak about it as professional geographers using hemispheres, latitude, and longitude as our vocabulary. What a week!

From Al: Students are in the middle of a "Mini-Game Jam!" This is our first chance to learn the protocol of giving and receiving proper feedback from play testers of our games. We are just beginning to use our new 17" Fujitsu laptops to enhance our use of Gamestar Mechanic in class. In addition, we are ready to get our board game designs into full swing. Students have just about completed their second "Domain Game" using Gamestar Mechanic and will begin to work on the third assignment, "The Birthday Game". For this assignment they are to design a game for a friend's birthday, with the idea being that the game concept will be reflected in the type of game play that is designed.

AFTERSCHOOL
The Mobo Studio students settled into their pods this week and began to explore their new identities as designers, fashion professionals, comic artists and game reviewers. In Comics, Character and Creativity students worked with two different mentors and explored drawing in both digital and real-world realms. On Tuesday, students were introduced to the idea of character designs and produced an impressive range of drawings in just one afternoon. Later in the week, students were introduced to digital pens and tablets and prepared to animate their characters using Pencil. Building on their Code Worlds code-breaking skills, the Mobile Fashion podders examined their closets and de-coded their own personal style. In preparation for their assignment to design a line of T-shirts that function as a coded messaging system, the fashionistas were inspired by everyone from Chanel to Pucci. The Super Sleuths also came on the scene this week and began honing their critical-thinking skills by playing and testing games. The taste-makers in Generating Buzz also had a busy week, discussing color and the art of eye-catching design and completing a one-sketch-a-minute challenge to help them translate their ideas onto paper.

Week of October 5-9 , 2009

This week was filled with really important firsts for Q2L! Monday night almost forty parents met in the school cafeteria to develop the By Laws for our new PTA. Several parents invested hours of time in preparation and worked with a representative from the Office of Family Engagement, Rita McKnight, to make this meeting a very productive first step! The next PTA meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 19 at 6:30. We are looking forward to having every Q2L family represented!

Another successful first was Curriculum Night, Thursday night! Over a hundred very interested family members got to experience the deep instructional knowledge and passion of Arana Sapiro and Rebecca Ruffo-Teper, Q2L’s amazing Directors of Curriculum. Arana and Rebecca presented an overview of the Quest to Learn design, and the research-based, standards-driven Missions and Quests that have been fully engaged the minds and imaginations our students! Families followed their children’s schedules, meeting Home Base advisors and Domain teachers. There were a lot of “Ah - ha” moments as the Troggles, Pleku and Professor Pie were introduced in an academic context!

Mobo Studio, our after-school program, kicked off Monday. It was really exciting to walk in the different classrooms to see the kids completely immersed in their pod activities! Contact information for Will Moyet is included in the Relay below, for families who would like more information.