Orenda

6/1/2022  Mr. Baldasaro, Calvin's Dad, came into our class today.  He brought so many cool experiments that taught us about the different types of engineering.  I was so much fun and we learned a lot.  It is hard to say which experiment was the best!  Thank you for coming to our QUEST class, Mr. Baldasaro!  Parents ask your child what is happening in each photo.

5/25/22 Today was seminar.  Our seminar topics included NOAA's Sail Drone and Should All Zoo's Be Banned? Check out the photos below!

5/18/22 Today in QUEST we read for 30 minutes. Next, we did our book consultant, JP, who did the Narnia book. After that, we did a series of events including our thinking like an engineer, seminar questions, the breathing guide and the mind map.  Ben T.

5/11/22

First, we read for 15 minutes. Then we used something called BOLTs which are little round robots. After we used the BOLTs for about an hour, we traveled down to the kindergarteners room to show them the bolts and let them drive them around and they really enjoyed it. the last thing we did was listen to The Book of Three. Katy G and Sam A.

5/4/22 

Today was very enjoyable! The word of the day was venerate. Venerate means to respect. The book consultant was Ben. He shared the book Kane Chronicles: The Red Pyramid. After that, we watched a video about the man who made the Ferriss wheel. Then we talked about making our OWN Ferriss wheel! Later in the day, we read articles and then found the main ideas. Finally, we had some fun with Soma Blocks! JP found 3 ways to solve the puzzle and Ellie solved it first!

4/13/22  Today was a fabulous day!  The kids built towers that could sustain harsh wind speeds (by a fan).  The kids learned about collaborating and consistently used their Habits of Mind during the build, as it was frustrating at times.  Enjoy the photos below - Mrs. McElhinney

4/6/22 The first thing we did when we walked in was 15 minutes of reading. Then we did the word of the week which was acute. After that, we worked on our poem grapefruit and we started our own poem as well. We then came up with an idea to make tall structures with toothpicks that also had to be able to withstand wind made by a fan. The last thing we did was read aloud. Ben C. read it this time and did great at it, even though it was a hard read. 

By Katy G and Addison H.

3/23/22 The word of the week was grotesque. It means distorted, or very bad looking. Today's book consultant was Taber he presented the book Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. We also got into pairs and worked on our engineering unit . We are learning about different types of engineers such as biomedical and civil engineers.  One of the last things we did was decoded a poem titled Grapefruit. After this we looked at some other poems and rated them.

3/16 Today, we started with morning reading for 15 minutes. Then the book consultant was Ben T. he told everybody about The Wild Robot. After that, we got in groups and had a contest to make the tallest and sturdiest tower out of index cards. We only had 15 minutes, the tallest tower was built by Sam A, Ben T, Matthew, andEllie. The winning tower was created by JP, Avi, Katie P, and Sam H. Then, we did Grapefruit, we had to write short sentences about it. At the end of the day we read The Book of Three. 

Written by Sam Auletta, and Addison Hagin!!!

 3/9/22 Today we started out by reading for about 15 minutes. Then transitioned over to our engineering unit. After that, we read WHOOSH! a book about the first super soaker. Then, wrote down some of Lonnie Johnsons characteristics while having snack. After that, we read Grapefruit a poem by Emily P. Rapoport a 7th grade poet. We then finished out with The Book of Three.     Ben C. and Matthew

 3/2/22 First, we had our weekly reading session.  Afterward, we did book consultant. Then we watched the last of the IR presentations while eating snack. Next, we began our engineering unit. We started by drawing a picture of what we thought is an engineer. Then we watched a video on what an engineer is. After that, made a chart of the characteristics of an engineer. Finally we wrote our weekly reflection in our engineering booklet, while listening to The Book Of Three.  Patrick and Sam H.

1/26/22 First, we did our February Socratic Seminar vote. At the end, we resulted with the NOAA and Opinion writing about zoos as our articles for the next seminar. After that, we read Book of Three. We spent the remainder of class doing Industrial Revolution research. We also started to plan the Industrial Revolution Project!

1/19/22  We started the day with 15 minutes of reading. Then we had snack and Mrs. McElhinney read the Book of Three. Next, we did the seminar about Afghanistan and endangered animals and discussed questions about the seminar.  Finally, we did some research on our Industrial Revolution project.

Written by, Addison Hagin and Ava Nagy

1/12/22  Today, we began with a fun 15 minute reading session. After this, we worked on our papers to prepare for our Socratic seminar coming up by  continuing our work from the previous week on either a article on either Afghanistan or saving endangered species. When we all had finished with this activity, we began eating snack while listening to one chapter of The Book Of Three.  Next, we resumed our Industrial Revolution project by researching questions we had come up with for our topic we chose on the Industrial Revolution. Lastly, we packed up and headed back on the Quest bus to return back to Orenda. - Patrick, and Heather

1/5/22  First, when we came in we read a book of choice for 15 mins. Then we read a small passage about either Afghanistan or  helping endangered species and did a seminar paper on these passages. The last thing we did was worked on notes for the IR project.   Remy and Katy

12/15/21: First we read some books for 15 minutes while Sam passed out folders and took attendance. Then we took a vote on books. Our word of the week was countenance. It means someone's facial expression. The habit of mind was creating, imagining, and innovating. We saw lots of pictures of creativity. Then we did the line of creativity. Then, Addison, our book consultant shared the book Kingdom Keepers. We had read-out-loud and snack. We read about Fflewddur Fflam and then we added some things to our mind map. After that, we did decision and outcomes on the Industrial Revolution. We read some articles and found out the main idea and a decision and outcomes. After that we did some fun puzzles called Grid Perplexors. That ended our time at Q.U.E.S.T. Wait, no. We, Ava and Cindy ended your time at Q.U.E.S.T.   Bye!

12/08/21 We read just like always, then brainstormed ideas for our Industrial Revolution project.  Afterward, we did book consultant and learned about the book: Fortune Falls. Heather was our book consultant.  We had snack while reading The Book of Three and created analogies. Then, it was time for weekly reflection. by Addison and Sam H.

12/1/21 Today we talked about the poem, I Hear America Singing.  We had our first seminar about the poem.  A seminar is when we sit in a circle and have a discussion about the topic.  We had partners watching us while we were having the seminar.  The outside circle took notes on how often the inside/talking circle spoke, invited other to speak, and if we used scholarly language.  We swapped spots so each person could talk and watch their partner.  We really liked the seminar.

11/24/21 Today we finished our notes on the Industrial Revolution.  We were able to read another chapter in The  Book of Three.  We also began to organize our class library!  There are tons of books to sorts.  Mrs. McElhinney really likes books, especially fantasy.

10/27/21  We sat down and read our books for the first little bit.  Then we learned about Flexible Thinking with the Habits of Mind.  Next, we did posters on Systems questions to explain our thinking.  Then we presented the posters to the class.  Mia was our book consultant she suggested the book Wild Bird.  Our word of the week is visage.  We read from The Book of Three, Taran and Gywdian have been captured by the Cauldron Born.  We worked on our creative letter drawings too!  By Sam Auletta and Katy Gosier

10/20/21  First, we did word of the day. The word clamour means an outcry. Then we did book consultant. The book Percy Jaxon sounds interesting. Afterward, we did a skit. It was HILARIOUS! Since the internet was out and we could not do the online lesson, we got an early snack! During snack, because we could not do anything else, we did read aloud. And our mind maps. We added to our letters and did a categorizing project. Mrs. McElhinney was very annoyed with the no internet, but we were flexible. To top the day off we did a explore and explain video. By Ellie.

10/13/21 We learned the word Eccentric, it means your a little different. We talked and learned about Empathy, we finished our engage projects, we had free read. we filled out the settings in The Book of Three mind map. Our reflection was about what was the most interesting part of quest..We did quantity vs quality. Sometimes less is more, aka quality over quality. -By. John Paul Galarneau, and Sadie Hale. 

10/06/21  we refreshingly walk in the classroom and started reading. Then we learned the word Magnanimous. The definition being generous, kind, and humble. Calvin then shared his book report about The Super Life of Ben Braver. A kid who eventually gets super powers and during the book kids disappear and come back acting weird.. After that we learned about the industrial revolution and the factories, through photographs, such as cigar and textile . After, we read the read aloud about the fantasy Book of Three while snacking. Lastly, we did our reflections and  letter drawings.. _ By Mia DiGianni And Ayden Homawoo.

9-29-21  We started the day with reading for around 10 minutes. After that we did that we did questioning and posing problems which included Christo's central park art piece The Gates, curling, and Machu Picchu images for about 35 minutes.  We had snack and worked on identifying different systems.  We did our calming weekly breathing exercises to settle us for the read aloud.  Our story was the second chapter of The Book of Three and continued our mind map.  Lastly, we started the Industrial revolution by examining photos and deciphering them.  The bus came too quickly.  Written by Ben E. (Cunningham) and Katy.  

9-22-2021 In the morning, Parker told us about the first book of the Warriors series. Then we learned about controlling impulsivity and came up with strategies such as making lists. We learned about systems and how they are interdependent. The word of the day was undulate which means wavy pattern or motion. We also saw the video of the book zoom, did a systems assignment and a breathing activity. After that, we finished chapter one of The Book of Three and learned how to make a mind map. Written by Ellie and Eli

September - 15  Today we got to know about everyone and shared about each other in class.  We began our read aloud, The Book of Three.  Mrs. McElhinney left it at a cliffhanger, as usual.  We wrote about our favorite part of QUEST in Google Classroom.