Welcome to Spaces and Moments: The Unquowa Blog Page
Something is always going on at Unquowa and this is the place to keep up with all the exciting happenings. Whether in the classroom, the makerspace, on stage, or at play, every space and every moment is a chance to discover, connect, learn, and have fun. Check here frequently for news, campus-wide events, and other highlights from around campus, all posted by our inspiring teachers!
The Journey of Change 4 Change
Posted by Sarah Raggio
Change 4 Change message from ~ by Micah Esteves Cooper, Ali Mesiya, Harper Smith, Maddie Theodore and Grace Toolan.
Hi Unquowa!
We are the original members of the Change 4 Change community! We have been collecting your loose coins for Change 4 Change for a long time, and it has become a tradition.
Since second grade with Mrs. Young, we have been donating to Save the Children. It all started when we made refugee cards to send to refugee camps. We thought it would be a good idea to create an organization that would support kids in need. It was clear that we needed others’ help to make this possible. We put up posters around the school to inform others about what Change 4 Change was all about. We would like to continue this tradition until we graduate from Unquowa.
Our announcements at the weekly Wednesday assemblies reminded our fellow schoolmates and parents to donate. It was fun to write the scripts and make the announcements. This year, we also wrote and performed a rap with Mrs. Hall for a little added inspiration.
We chose Save the Children because we wanted to help kids around the world like us. We have been donating to Save the Children for three years now. It has helped them a lot, and we hope we have made a difference in their lives. We donated money to help buy food, clothes, and other essential items they needed. This would not have been possible without you.
We all worked together by sorting the money into pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters, and then putting the coins into coin wrappers. Every year, we have done this, and it has been so much fun. We all helped each other count, sort, and roll the coins!
Thank you all for your donations over the years. This community has helped thousands of people through their challenges. This would not be possible without our Unquowa community.
We would like to thank Mrs. Young again for helping us start Change 4 Change. Thank you for everything! This year, we raised $411.55! We are so proud of our class for carrying on this tradition!
_________________
Change 4 Change Update: All of the rolled coins the kids counted were taken to the bank and the check is in the mail! Go Gators!
Hula Hoop Number Bounce!
Posted by Maureen Diallo
To celebrate a wonderful year of monthly math meet-ups, our 1st and 4th grade buddies ended the year with a fun game called Hula Hoop Number Bounce!
Students tossed a playground ball into hula hoops labeled with numbers counting by 5s. Wherever the ball landed, buddies created math equations to match the number. Our 1st graders practiced addition and subtraction, while the 4th graders used multiplication and division facts.
For example, if the ball landed on 15:
- 1st grade: 10 + 5 = 15
- 4th grade: 3 × 5 = 15
The activity was a fun way to combine movement, teamwork, and math while celebrating the friendships and learning shared throughout the year!
NEW EDITION – Pen & Paper – Volume 16 – Skies Askew
Posted by Eric Snow
Dear Unquowa Community,
The next volume of our back-to-back-to-back Gold Crown-winning literary and art magazine, Pen & Paper, is here!
Congratulations to everyone who was published! Please look for your name and work in the table of contents!
Happy reading!
Eric Snow
Pen & Paper Advisor
PreK Helpers!
Posted by Faith Barbuto
Do you want to spend time with the cutest kids in school? There are many opportunities to be with PreK as items to bid on at the Spring Auction each year. Poppy joined us for lunch and playtime. Iris was PreK teacher for the day and read us stories and helped with crafts. She even got to paint some tiny toes! Harry chose to present a science lesson on insects when it was his turn to be PreK teacher. Charlie spent the whole day as Beach Day helper. She assisted with lots of beach themed activities and showed us how to hula!
The PreK students love these special days and spending time with the older students.
That’s a Wrap on 6th Grade Humanities!
Posted by Thomas Iezin
As we close out an incredible year in 6th Grade Humanities, students ended the year by taking everything they learned about ancient civilizations and putting it into action through one final collaborative project: creating their very own civilization from the ground up!
Throughout the year, students explored civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Ancient Greece, Rome, India, and China. For their culminating project, students worked in teams to combine elements from these societies and design an original civilization complete with its own geography, government, military, education system, economy, trade routes, religion, and cultural traditions.
Students carefully selected where their civilization would be located and analyzed both the advantages and disadvantages of their geography. They debated which forms of government would best support their society, how their military would protect their people, and how trade with neighboring civilizations would strengthen their economy. Each decision required students to apply the critical thinking, creativity, and historical understanding they developed throughout the year.
Once their trifold presentations were complete, students participated in a mini civilization summit where they presented and defended their societies in front of their peers. The classroom quickly transformed into a world of competing ancient empires, each with unique strengths, ideas, and innovations. Students asked thoughtful questions, challenged one another’s decisions, and engaged in respectful debate about which civilizations would be the most successful long-term.
To conclude the project, each team received a surprise “challenge card” that introduced a major crisis to their civilization. Some civilizations faced droughts, famines, plagues, invasions, civil unrest, or economic collapse. Students then had to explain how their civilization would respond and survive using the systems and structures they had created. This final challenge encouraged students to think like historians, leaders, and problem-solvers as they adapted to unpredictable events.
It was incredible to watch our students demonstrate not only their understanding of ancient history, but also their collaboration, creativity, communication, and resilience. The growth they have shown throughout the year has been truly impressive, and this final project was a wonderful celebration of all they accomplished in 6th Grade Humanities.
Congratulations to all of our 6th graders on an outstanding year!
Revolutionary Learning: Bringing the Past to Life in Fifth Grade
Posted by Sarah Raggio
Sure, you could open a textbook to learn about the Revolutionary War—but living it is much more fun!
Grade 5 is fully immersed in our Revolutionary War unit in both social studies and literature. In addition to classwork, videos, and group projects, we bring history to life through engaging, hands-on activities that reflect the era. In literature, we are reading a classic historical fiction novel set right here in Connecticut. Students create illustrations, write thoughtful responses, and even develop their own scripts to bring scenes from the book to life. Each activity is designed to reinforce a reading strategy to improve their reading comprehension. In addition to the classwork, we spent time in the kitchen churning butter the old-fashioned way and baking simple apple muffins similar to those of the time. In social studies, students write eulogies for the Acts passed by the British, participate in a mock trial of the Boston Massacre, play simulation games, and sew individual quilt squares, on an antique sewing machine, that come together to create a class Yogibo cover. The Yogibo cover is similar to a scrap quilt, which is a technique used during the Revolutionary War Era.
Studying this time period simultaneously in both classes deepens students’ understanding and strengthens their mastery of the content. At times, they even stop and ask, “Which class is this—literature or social studies?” This format is a preview of the humanities program in the upper grades.
This year, students traveled to Putnam Park to experience a Revolutionary War reenactment on the very grounds of the encampment mentioned in our novel. We visited with potters, cooks and blacksmiths, all demonstrating the techniques used in this era. We also visited a tavern built in the 1700s, also the setting of our historical novel, where students wrote with quill pens and learned more about daily life during the era through interactive games and presentations.
What a fun, hands-on learning experience to cap off a fantastic year in Fifth Grade!
Revolutionary War… or Revolutionary Fun? Fifth Grade Can’t Tell!
