FOURTH NINE WEEKS
2025 - 2026
QUEST stands for Question, Unite, Explore, Strive, and Think. These active verbs describe what you will see happening in our pull-out classes with gifted and highly capable students. This newsletter is distributed quarterly to QUEST families to provide a bit of information regarding what is going on in HEB ISD QUEST!
Please note: Check out the Family Resources tab on this page! Past issues of this newsletter are located on the Archives tab.
What a fantastic third nine weeks we had in QUEST classes in HEB ISD!
This is our fourth issue of QUEST Family News for 2025 - 26. This quarterly newsletter for families of QUEST students is one important way that we keep you informed about what's going on in QUEST classes. QUEST Family Engagement opportunities are also announced in this newsletter, so you will want to check out each issue!
Our partnership with you in the education of your children is of the utmost importance. Please reach out to your campus Advanced Academics Specialist with any questions or concerns. You can find his/her name and contact information on the QUEST Staff tab in this newsletter. There you will also find contact information for our Advanced Academics Coordinator, Cheryl Harris, and Advanced Academics District Facilitator - Elementary, Emily Biggers.
Scroll down to learn more about QUEST and see what will be happening during the fourth (and final) nine weeks of the school year!
QUEST Family Engagement
QUESTconnect26! was a great success! We had a great group of QUEST parents and students/siblings there on February 12th. Thank you to all who came! The students had a great time playing strategy and board games with one another while parents/guardians connected with one another and with QUEST staff. We hope you all picked up something helpful from the sessions you attended.
Many of you also visited the Enrichment Opportunities booth as well as the QUEST Readers booth. If you missed QUESTconnect26! or if you want to revisit ideas from a session or check something out that you missed, we encourage you to take a look at this website which contains all of the presentations and handouts.
If you were in attendance, please take just a few moments to give us your feedback on this survey if you have not already done so.
5th Grade QUEST
Purposeful Passion Project Showcase
We had an amazing turnout at our annual 5th grade QUEST Purposeful Passion Project Showcase at Pat May Center! Thank you to all of the presenters and families!
Parents/guardians of 5th grade QUEST students that attended the showcase, please take just a few moments to share your feedback with us on the survey (if you have not already done so). This will help us as we plan future showcases. Thank you!
Click through to view some photos from the district showcase in the photo carousel below!
2nd Annual QUEST Family Picnic
Save the date!!! Our second annual QUEST Family Picnic will take place on Monday, May 11th at Arbor Creek Elementary School. This will be our final QUEST Family Engagement event of the 2025 - 2026 school year. Check out the "Save the Date" flyer below, and watch for an email soon with more details. We hope to see all of our QUEST students and their families there for a fun time! This is a great way to get to know other QUEST families from your own school and across the district!
Follow QUEST on Social Media!
QUEST social media flyer.pdf
Independence
Critical Thinking
Creative Thinking
Communication
Research
Collaboration
Leadership
QUEST curriculum is centered around year-long universal themes and generalizations. It is made up of student learning experiences that integrate STEAMSS (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, Math, and Social Studies) and Reading. Creative and critical thinking skills are woven throughout with focused attention on developing both independent and collaborative learning skills. The elements of Depth and Complexity as well as Content Imperatives help students reach those highest levels of thinking as they tackle QUEST challenges.
2025 - 2026 QUEST universal themes:
Grades 1, 2, and 3: SYSTEMS
Grade 4: POWER
Grade 5: CHANGE
Assessment in QUEST classes is aligned with our program standards. At the end of each nine weeks, you will receive your child's QUEST progress report so that you may track his/her growth. Below you will see a list of dates you can expect a QUEST progress report to be sent home with your student.
QUEST Progress Report Schedule
2025 - 2026
Week of October 15 - 17
Week of January 5 - 9
Week of March 23 - 27
Week of May 18 - 21
Scroll down to learn more about QUEST!
Fourth Nine Weeks in QUEST
Kindergarten
The Advanced Academics Specialist meets at least twice per month in March, April, and May with newly identified kindergarten QUEST students. They will be working on challenges and tasks which ignite critical and creative thinking and help them transition into first grade QUEST.
We are excited to welcome these new students to QUEST!
Grades 1, 2, and 3
QUEST students in first through third grades are blasting off into a study of solar system this nine weeks! These learners are sure to enjoy learning about the sun, moon, and planets.
They will explore the distance of each planet from the sun, solar energy, the layers of the earth, space travel, and more.
Students will surely come home singing some of the fun solar system songs from this unit! Students will self-select some of their reading related to the solar system, and exciting titles we will use as whole class include:
The Sun is Kind of a Big Deal
by Nick Seluk
My First Book of Planets
All About the Solar System for Kids
by Bruce Betts, Ph.D.
I Am Neil Armstrong
by Brad Meltzer
Mae Among the Stars
by Roda Ahmed
If You Had Your Birthday Party
on the Moon
by Joyce Lapin
Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race
by Margot Lee Shetterly
These students will also write and perform skits related to common issues faced by gifted and advanced learners such as making mistakes, taking responsibility, honor and integrity, and asking for help. In addition, we will be looking at how differences make us special!
Grades 4 & 5
Fourth and fifth grade QUEST students are wrapping up Purposeful Passion Projects which pertain to an area of personal interest. The process is comprised of what we call "the six P's":
Passion
Plan
Pitch
Project
Product
Presentation
Fourth grade Purposeful Passion Project showcases will take place on campuses. Fifth grade QUEST students presented at our district showcase at Pat May Center on March 24th.
These QUEST students are reading their second novels of the school year as well as working through fun math challenges that enrich their regular math curriculum this nine weeks. They are also learning about various types of engineers and participating in some engineering challenges that require critical and creative thinking.
QUEST fourth and fifth graders will also take part in science lessons this nine weeks that extend their learning from the regular classroom. Topics center around the big ideas of Adaptations and Traits (4th grade) and Inherited Traits and Learned Behaviors (5th grade).
Finally, these QUEST students will explore computer coding. They will complete some coding tasks that challenge their skills!
Grade 6
While gifted students are served through AdvAc classes in sixth grade, our service model includes designated time with the campus Advanced Academics Specialist for this group. These students are hard at work completing their campus service projects and they are also preparing for the transition to junior high school.
QUEST Classes with the Campus Advanced Academics Specialist:
Grades 1 - 3 4x per week 45 minutes per session
Grades 4 - 5 4x per week 60 minutes per session
Grade 6 2x per month 60 minutes per session
This schedule may need to be modified during certain weeks due to circumstances such as school holidays and STAAR testing.
The Advanced Academics Specialist visits kindergarten classes on a periodic basis in the fall to teach whole-class lessons and will begin serving QUEST kindergarten students in the spring when the kindergarten GT identification process is complete.
If you would like more information regarding the QUEST schedule on your campus, please check with the Advanced Academics Specialist.
Below find highlights, news, and events of state and national organizations related to giftedness.
Check out the Texas Association for the Gifted & Talented here: https://www.txgifted.org/
Check out the National Association for Gifted Children here: https://www.nagc.org/
