Holocaust Survivor Endre Sarkany

Humanities 7th and 8th grade students and parents had the privilege of hearing from Holocaust survivor Endre Sarkany, whose powerful testimony brought meaningful depth to our courses of study.

Confronting hard history and bearing witness to survivor stories is essential to honoring the promise of “Never Again”. Experiences like this remind us of the vital role honest education plays in helping students understand the past to shape a more just future.

Our Foreign Language Speakers Accolades!

Each year the Connecticut Council of Language Teachers (CTCOLT) organizes a virtual poetry competition that invites students in grades 7 through 12 from across Connecticut to recite poems via Zoom in the languages they study.

This year, ten students from Unquowa participated, representing Spanish, Mandarin, Portuguese, Hebrew, and Hindi among more than 400 language learners from independent and public schools. Students were assigned age appropriate poems, and teachers provided support to clarify meaning. During each recitation, students presented to a virtual audience and were evaluated on fluency, body language, and comprehension.

We are pleased to announce five Unquowa students placed in the top three across three languages: Sophia – 1st Place Gold, Middle School Heritage, Portuguese; Avery – 1st Place Gold, Middle School Heritage, Hebrew; Maxim – 2nd Place Silver, Middle School Level 2, Mandarin; William- 2nd Place Silver, Middle School Heritage, Portuguese; and Salma – 3rd Place Bronze, Middle School Heritage, Spanish. Congratulations to all participants for their dedication and excellent work. We are so proud and impressed of their success!

Voices of the Future: The 8th Grade Speech Showcase

It’s been a marathon year for our eighth graders, but they’ve officially crossed one particular finish line with eloquence, courage, and a whole lot of heart. Their capstone speeches create a vibrant mosaic of unique perspectives, personal passions, and the hard-earned wisdom. From poignant reflections to witty insights, these community-wide missives capture important moments in their individual journeys as they prepare to take the next step into high school. The best part? Each of these is what a particular student wanted to share with the entire Unquowa community.

As we did each week this year in Assembly, we invite you to quiet down, turn up the volume, and pay attention with your ears and your heart to these brilliant (and funny) students as share. As always, the full showcase is hosted on Vimeo.

Language Learning Meets Real Life!

Leaving the classroom to visit the Colombian restaurant Noches de Colombia, our 7th and 8th grade Spanish students didn’t just learn about Colombian culture, they experienced it firsthand. From traditional breakfast dishes like calentados to freshly baked favorites such as almojábanas, palitos de queso, and orejas, to fun drinks like limonada de cereza and limonada de coco, students explored new flavors while deepening their appreciation for the culture behind the language.

What made this field experience especially meaningful was the students’ commitment to using Spanish in real-world situations. They confidently placed their orders in Spanish and continued speaking the language throughout the entire experience. In fact, the immersion didn’t stop when they left the restaurant—on the bus ride, students were enthusiastically singing in Spanish and continuing conversations entirely in the language.

At one point, their dedication was so strong that even Mandarin students who shared the bus ride back from their field experience, jokingly expressed frustration—they couldn’t get their friends to switch out of Spanish! Moments like these highlight just how engaged and excited our students are about their language learning journey.

Fun Field Experience to G Mart

Our Upper School Mandarin students recently participated in an immersive field experience to a local Asian market designed to extend classroom learning into an authentic, real world setting. Students completed a guided scavenger hunt that required them to locate specific ingredients and products needed to prepare dishes for an upcoming Food Taste event. While navigating the aisles, they practiced conversations in Mandarin by asking native speaking staff for help finding items and confirming product details, reinforcing vocabulary and functional language used in everyday shopping situations. 7th and 8th graders also selected a variety of authentic snacks sourced from across Asia. To encourage maximum language skills every student was tasked with speaking only Mandarin while shopping in the store.

This trip emphasized practical communication, cultural awareness, and confidence building. Students experienced firsthand how language functions in daily life, negotiated meaning in real interactions, and made culturally informed food choices. After they finished shopping and had a fun scavenger hunt, all the students enjoyed a cultural treat of bubble tea (zhēn zhū nǎi chá). We are grateful for the opportunity to offer students this meaningful cultural experience outside of the classroom. Their respectful engagement, curiosity and willingness to use Mandarin in authentic contexts exemplify our school motto- Unafraid Spirit.

Global Gators in Galapagos!

Our 11-day spring break expedition to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands was a true masterclass in adventure, resilience, and wonder for our 25 students and 4 chaperones. From the historic streets of Quito to the breathtaking volcanic landscapes of the archipelago, our Global Gators embraced every moment, even the “early bird” 4:25 a.m. wake-up calls, with enthusiasm, curiosity, and unmistakable Gator energy.

In the Galápagos, we witnessed nature in its purest form. We hiked through the Santa Cruz Highlands to count giant tortoises in the wild, explored subterranean lava tunnels, stood on the edge of the massive Twin Craters and experienced the wonder of zero latitude and longitude. Whether it was snorkeling alongside sea turtles at Las Tintoreras or sharing a bench with a sunbathing sea lion on San Cristóbal, every moment was a reminder of our responsibility to the planet.

Transitioning to the mainland, we immersed ourselves in the vibrant culture of Otavalo. We stood in the shadow of the Cotopaxi volcano, learned the ancient art of Andean weaving, and listened to the melodies of handmade pan flutes. Even an unexpected “bonus day” in Miami couldn’t dampen our spirits; instead, it became a final chance to bond over Cuban sandwiches and Wynwood’s street art.

Beyond the sights, this trip was about the “Unquowa spirit”—the laughter, the curiosity, and the growth. We returned home with full hearts, a few extra souvenirs, and memories that will truly last a lifetime.