Weekend Update

From the Design Team:

Thanks to the PTCO for surprising our students on Friday with cookies, hot chocolate, and festive singing in the courtyard with CQ parent Maggie Brown.

Thanks to all who came out for our Holiday Family Event. We showed an eclectic set of
holiday videos and we heard from some of our CQ poets, who have been working with
BSP 7 teacher, Nancy Nassr, in her "Mind Matter" Advantage Hour class. We were
amused by the videos and filled with pride by the performances of our ChicagoQuest
students. Big thanks to Ms. Nassr for working with the students to develop their writing,
voices, and stage presence. And a HUGE round of applause for our spoken word
artists, many of whom were on the big stage, sharing their poetry, for the first time!

2012-2013 Student Recruitment
We have started recruiting students for next year. We hope that you will join us in this
effort. We want more students and families like yours to join us at ChicagoQuest! Many
of you said that you'd be willing to help with recruitment. Please join us at a
Recruitment Meeting on Wednesday, January 11th, at 8am or 6pm (there will be 2
meetings to accommodate schedules) to learn more about our plans. Our applications
are attached to this update. Feel free to share them with friends.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

6th Grade Domain Updates

TWTW
The students this week wrapped up their first quest for trimester 2. In order to improve
their mapping skills, the questers created a treasure map with clues of the area
surrounding CQ. We worked on using legends, compass roses, coordinate systems,
and map scales in order to guide our hunters to their treasure. Our next quest will
introduce us to our first natural disaster, the earthquake. We developed inquiry
questions this week that will guide our thinking throughout the trimester and uncovered
some myths that pertain to earthquake knowledge.


SFTM
This week in SftM students dove deeper into the world of game star mechanic. We were
able to tinker with some more top down and platform games as well as engage in basic
game repair. Students were aiming to complete episodes 1-5 by the end of this week
and are highly encouraged to continue with their quests at cq.gamestarmechanic.com if
the holiday schedule permits. Students also experienced the first game star quiz this
wednesday, students will have a quiz every wednesday during trimester 2. Upon return
we will review a bit but then delve into serious system thinking by developing our first
games in the game star space.


CW
Students this week dug into the details they would need in order to launch our
spacecraft on Friday. Students learned how to calculate percents and unit rates, and
how to use these tools for comparisons in different situations. We also began to identify
different parts of a paragraph, an important skill for composing our ship's logs in the
coming weeks. After performing a Systems Check performance task on Thursday,
students launched for the edge of the Solar System in the 5 ships they had named in
their 5 sections. The Galactic Metro, The 2211 Star Rider, The Flaming Dragon, The
CQ1 and The Galaxy are being commanded by Admirals Spacecraft and Starman, and
are ready to find new planets to colonize. They are now officially crew members of
CQUEST: Deep Space Vanguard.


BSP
Students took the knowledge of superheroes and super-villains they had acquired from
research last week to write their own characters and comics this week. By applying
their knowledge of character traits and basic character origin stories, students
developed their own heroes and single pages of their comics. Upon coming back from
our winter break, students will begin to deepen their knowledge of heroes, villains, and
other characters, in a more complex medium: novels.


Wellness
Well we have made it! Mr. Crum and Mr. Wright have both posed a challenge to the
students for over the break. The challenge is a project, developed around the idea of a
food cycle, and how it applies to the earth, a business, and the human body. Students
in each class have received a handout explaining what is expected along with exactly
what elements need to be included and answered. A rubric has also been provided.
We will post the handout on our iremix pages as well, just in case the handouts don't
make it home. We will be available to reach by email over the break in case of any
questions regarding the project.
______________________________________________________________________
7th Grade Weekly Update:

Being Space and Place (Mrs. Kelly and Ms. Nassr)
In BSP, students worked toward understanding the causes of The American Revolution.
Students considered viewpoints of the British, French and Native Americans and
analyzed the effectiveness of strategies employed in The Seven Years War. We also
studied and worked with more vocabulary words: parliament, legislature, tax, tariff, and
treason. After winter break, students delve into British, Colonial, and Native American
perspectives as we enter the war.


The Way Things Work (Ms. Olin, Mr. Kuzma, and Mr. LaBonte)
This week we wrapped up our first quest for the second trimester. The students took an
assessment that tested their knowledge of the activities from the past two weeks. A
smart tool was created for their reference during the test that had them thinking about
the components of the cell system and their functions. Students spent the week
preparing by reviewing mitosis, meiosis, and other cell ideas that answered our
essential question of how 1 cell becomes 75,000,000,000 cells. What awaits the
questers for the next mission?


Code Worlds (Ms. Olin and Ms. Redila)
This week in Code Worlds, CQers have been getting more in depth with ratios and
proportions. They've been seeing how ratios and proportions are present in the real
world. They are beginning to discover how the worth and cost of a product are
determined. To prepare for the next Quest, CQers are asked to find the cost of a loaf of
bread at their local grocery store. This would be great activity to complete during the
break while shopping for the holidays!
See you next year!


Wellness (Mr. Crum and Mr. Wright)
Well we have made it! Mr. Crum and Mr. Wright have both posed a challenge to the
students for over the break. The challenge is a project, developed around the idea of a
food cycle, and how it applies to the earth, a business, and the human body. Students
in each class have received a handout explaining what is expected along with exactly
what elements need to be included and answered. A rubric has also been provided.
We will post the handout on our iremix pages as well, just in case the handouts don't
make it home. We will be available to reach by email over the break in case of any
questions regarding the project.


Sports for the Mind(Mr. Khan and Mr. Williams)
This week in SftM students dove deeper into the world of
game star mechanic. We were able to tinker with some
more top down and platform games as well as engage in
basic game repair. Students were aiming to complete
episodes 1-5 by the end of this week and are highly
encouraged to continue with their quests
at cq.gamestarmechanic.com if the holiday schedule
permits. Students also experienced the first game star
quiz this wednesday, students will have a quiz every
wednesday during trimester 2. Upon return we will
review a bit but then delve into serious system thinking