Middle School Student Newsletter, 11/8/19

Hola Comunidad de Quest!

Over the past two weeks, we have started our first science unit of the year! We started with an introduction to the human body by coloring, cutting, naming and placing the organs that are inside our body. We learned about the different units of organization in the body, how the body works, and the specific functions of each organ/organ system. We have now moved onto focusing on the muscular, skeletal, and digestive organ systems of the body. As part of this study, we dissected chicken wings, looking for muscle, tendons, skin, fat, ligaments, and cartilage. Soon we will be moving on to dissecting earthworms. We also had a new “member” join the class, our model skeleton, Billy! We have already learned so much about the functions of our bodies, and we can’t wait to learn more.

Cross Country

Cross country has come to an end, but the practices were continued for an extra week due to the rescheduling of the state meet because of the weather. At the meet, since the Quest Cross Country team only consisted of seven people, everyone on the team who was able to make the meet had the pleasure of running in the varsity group! Because of the whole rescheduling situation, only four people were able to make the meet. But each and every one of them did amazing, beating their personal records or just doing an amazing job! Whether it was coming in the top five, top twenty, top hundred or beyond, each member of the team did well and everyone had a great time! Extra congratulations go to 8th grade student, Maddie O'Neill, who finished 5th overall and qualified for the New England Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships on November 17th.

Peace Night

In Middle School, we have been learning about the ideas and beliefs of Nonviolence. We strive to live up to things like the Six Principles of Nonviolence, being kind and open-minded about everything we come across. To share this work with others, we have prepared a presentation to showcase some of the concepts and elements of Nonviolence and are calling it, Peace Night. The event is run completely by the Middle School students, aside from the rotation from one workshop to the next, which will be orchestrated by the teachers and staff.

The four workshop topics this year are:

Mindfulness Meditation
Types and Levels of Conflict
Nonviolence versus Non-Violence, and
The Six Principles of Nonviolence

Peace Night will be held on Tuesday, November 12 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm and is open to anyone who would like to come, but the recommended audience is fourth grade and up. The only reason we recommend fourth grade and up is the fact that some of the content can be hard to grasp. However, we will not stop anyone from coming or participating in the event. Middle School has worked so hard to get here, participating in activities, writing, learning, and overall just putting great effort into the final project. We would love to see you at Peace Night and value your ideas, opinions, and amazing questions!

Adiós! ¡te veo la próxima semana!

-Sydney C., your Middle School News Correspondent