School Year 2009-2010:

Brain Bowl Coming Soon for Quest Middle School Students!

The 10th annual Rotary Club Brain Bowl is coming, and we want your child to be part of our Explorer team. The Brain Bowl is an academic jeopardy style competition that is not only educational, but also fun and exciting.  We are looking for middle school students who enjoy being challenged by testing their knowledge of all subjects.
The Brain Bowl will be held on Saturday, May 1, 2010 at Explorer K-8.  More details to come soon. 

If you are interested in additional information, please contact Kathy Batchelor, National Board Certified Teacher, Explorer K-8 Quest English Teacher - 6-8th Grades, Creative Writing Teacher - 7th/8th Grades

Class Web site = www.kebatch.webs.com; Team Web site = www.questek8.webs.com 352-797-7094 x. 291

$10,000 Quest Academy Middle School Grant Award!

A huge congratulation to Quest middle school for being awarded a $10,000 "Kids Know Best" project grant!

Our "Kids Know Best" project will provide unique opportunities for more than 100 Quest middle school students to collaborate with Weeki Wachee Springs State Park educational program coordinators to revamp Weeki Wachee's youth educational programs, activities, and instructional materials. 

Our middle school Quest students will visit three other popular Florida attractions, Silver Springs, Dali Museum, and Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI), participate in their educational programs and activities, and use these experiences as a basis for developing mockups for new and/or transitions from a roadside attraction to an environmental education center. 

Geocaching activities that require use of handheld GPS devices will be core components of many gifted student groups' final proposals and the project's success will largely depend on the collaborative efforts of Quest middle school teachers, Katherine Batchelor (Language Arts), Leanne Blackwell (Science), Kristine Brown (Math and Department Head), Linda Lopez (Language Arts and Math), and Dale Travis (Social Studies) as well as Quest's administrator, Dianne Azzarelli, Weeki Wachee Springs State Park officials, a community planning committee, Quest students, and parents.

The project contains comprehensive interdisciplinary components, involves hands-on activities, and is largely student-directed in keeping with what current gifted education research suggests teachers do to maximize gifted learners' potentials.

This is the first Gifted Collaborative Curriculum Challenge Grant to be awarded to Hernando County since 2001 and many thanks are to be given to District Grant Writer, Eric Williams.

The Quest middle school students visited Weeki Wachee State Park in October and they will return in March to present their findings after researching Silver Springs in November, Dali in December, and MOSI in January.

We look forward to the student driven proposed changes to our local State park.




Quest Fifth Grade Southwest Water Management District Grant!

In an effort to make science "come alive" for students in his classroom, Mr. Haberlin applied for a grant from the Southwest Water Management District.  Due to Mr. Haberlin's efforts, it was announced last week that EK8 will recieve
$2,000 in grant funding.  The money will be used for Mr. Haberlin's and Mrs. Linstad's 5th grade Quest 
classrooms to buy science equipment to include approximately 10 microscopes as well as new water-
testing kits.  Funds also will allow students to take two funded field trips to the Weeki Wachee River to kayak and Homosassa Springs to participate in a pontoon boat ride this spring. 

While there, students will take water quality samples and study them using their new equipment.  They also will compare water quality between the two water sources.  In addition, students will chart and graph this information and craft PowerPoint presentations to be shared with classmates.  Finally, students will write editorials to the local newspapers, explaining their findings. 

Mr. Haberlin believes that for students to develop the desire to study science and truly understand its concepts, they must engage in real-world, hands-on activities, which this grant money will help make happen.

Congratulations!