Week of October 31st, 2026

Click here for Dr. Haddock's Weekly Communication, which covers expectations for a community built on kindness, respect and communication

We kindly ask that if you need or want to talk to your student's teacher that you schedule an appointment with them. Many times teachers have appointments, meetings, children to pick up or may be planning for the next day. When parents pop in without an appointment it creates undue stress to the end of their day. They may not be ready for the conversation and we want to make sure that any conversations you have with our staff are productive and solutionary. So please be considerate and make an appointment with teachers before going down to their classroom afterschool. Thank you.

Monday, November 2, 2026 - B Day

Clubs

• Chess Club 2:45-3:45 pm Rm. 217
• Girls on the Run 2:40-4:10 pm

Events

• NJHS Thanksgiving food drive continues
• Scholastic Book Fair begins
• Sports Picture Day 2:30-3:30 pm

Sports

• Girls Soccer Practice 2:40-4:30 pm
• Boys Volleyball Practice 2:40-4:40 pm

Tuesday, November 3, 2026 - A Day

Clubs

• Anime Club 2:50-3:50 pm Rm. 306
• Art Club for K-3rd 2:40-3:40 pm - Art Room
• Choir Club 2:40-3:45 pm - Music Room
• Garden Club 2:40-3:40 pm - Room 211 & Garden
• Last Day of Science Matters - Art w/a Twist 2:45-3:45 pm - 217

Sports

• Girls Soccer Practice 2:40-4:30 pm
• Boys Volleyball Practice 2:40-4:15 pm

Wednesday, November 4, 2026 - B Day

Late Start Wednesday- School starts at 8:55 AM

Clubs

• Art Club 6th-8th 2:40-3:40 pm - Art Club
• Band Club 6th-8th 2:40-3:45 - Music Room
• Girls on the Run 2:40-4:10 pm - Room 104
• Hip Hop Class - 2:40-4:10 pm - Common Area
• Robotics 2:40-4:40 - Rm. 121

Events

• MS Career Expo @ Gaylord Time TBD

• Girls Soccer Practice 2:40-4:30

• Volleyball Practice 2:40-4:40 pm

Thursday, November 5, 2026 - A Day

Clubs

• NO Taekwondo 2:40-3:55 Music Rm.

Sports

• Girls Soccer Practice 2:40-4:30 pm

• Volleyball Practice 2:40-4:15 pm

Friday, November 6, 2026 - B Day

Events

• Vision and Hearing Screening 7:45-2:30 pm

Sports

• Girls Soccer Practice 2:40-4:30 pm
• Volleyball Practice 2:40-4:15 pm

Per the CDPHE (Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment), flu cases are increasing early this year with CO hospitals reporting growing numbers of positive flu tests and hospitalizations. It is recommended to get vaccinated against flu today – as it takes about 2 weeks for the body to gain protection against the flu.

Ways to reduce the spread of illness causing germs:

• Wash hands with soap/water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Cover cough or sneeze
• Do no share utensils/cups/straws/water bottles, etc.

When/if your child becomes ill, please be mindful of when to keep them home and when is ok for them to come to school. Please keep your child home if:

• They have a fever of 100.4 or greater, or a fever with a new rash.
• Vomiting in the last 24 hours.
• Diarrhea that causes accidents or is bloody. Or is greater than 2 bowel
• movements above what the child normally experiences in a 24-hour period.
• Respiratory symptoms that are worsening or not improving.
• Skin sores that are draining fluid on any uncovered part of the body.

Returning to school:

• Your child has not had a fever (and is not using any fever-reducing medication)
• for 24 hours.
• Fever with a new rash has been evaluated by a healthcare provider and fever is
• resolved.
• Uncovered skin sores are crusting, and the child is under treatment from a
• provider
• Vomiting has been resolved and the child can hold down food and/or liquids.
• Diarrhea has improved and the child is no longer having accidents. Bloody diarrhea should be evaluated by a healthcare provider prior to return to school.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Nurse Kristi, kzanini@aurorak12.org or 303-326-1537. You can also use the following link, How Sick

is Too Sick?, to the CDPHE guidance on when to keep your child out of school.

Get ready to freak out with physics as you examine forces, see how physics and engineering are related as you compete in a tower building challenge, create a circuit to power a cool motorized “bristle-bot”, and explore the marvels of magnetism

Class meets Tuesdays (2:45 - 3:45 pm) in Science Classroom # 217

Tuition: $99 for each 4-week theme

Register Here: https://sciencematters.site/denver/aurora-quest/

It's not too early to start planning for your student's next journey - High School!

Private schools start their application process early. So start checking now. They will ask for transcripts, behavior reports and letters of recommendations. You want to give teachers time to do these as they will get many requests.

If your student is going to their area home school then there is nothing you need to do. Records will automatically be sent to your child's home school unless we hear from you by April 30th as to where your student will be attending high school. Waiting until end of May or August will require parents to go to your student's home school to get copies of documents you may need. If you plan on open enrolling your student in a different school then you should contact your school of choice to see what you need to do to get your student in.

Below is some information on a small and often overlooked APS High School that is small in class size and just down the street from Quest.

William Smith High School is recognized as one of the top Expeditionary Learning High Schools in the country they focus on project based learning and they have a 97% graduation rate.

They are an open enrollment school and applications will open on November 13th, 2026.

9th Grade is around the corner so be sure to do your homework for your students next journey into High School.

Upcoming Parent Meetings:

December 8th, January 20th, January 28th at 6pm

Students in grades 3-8 are invited to participate in their Classroom Spelling Bee the week of November 9-12.

Top spellers in each grade will be invited to compete in the Schoolwide Spelling Bee on December 10.

The top 3 spellers from Quest will go on to compete in the District Spelling Bee on January 30.

Here are the Classroom Spelling Bee Study Lists.

For questions please contact Kim Opferman (kjopferman@aurorak12.org) or Ellen Kruschwitz (emkruschwitz@aurorak12.org)

The APS Science and Engineering Fair will be held on February 6, 2027, and all students K-12 are welcome to participate! Your school will be receiving posters in district mail in the coming weeks to post around your building. Please check out our website or contact Ryann Patrick-Stuart at repatrick-stuart@aurorak12.org.

You can earn money for Quest every time you use your King Soopers Loyalty Card! Simply add Quest as the community program you want to support and from then on, you'll be earning a donation for our school with each purchase at King Soopers. Here's how:

In the App
1.) Open the King Soopers app and tap the profile icon (person silhouette) to access your account.

2.) Go to "Payments & Resources," then select "Community Rewards."

3.) Type "Aurora Quest K-8" into the "Search Organization" field, and select it from the results.

On the Website

1.) Go to www.kingsoopers.com and sign into your account.

2.) From your account menu, select "Community Rewards."

3.) Search for "Aurora Quest K-8" and select it to link your account.