Week of 11/15/25

Click here for Dr. Haddock's Weekly Communication.

Monday, November 17th, 2025 - B Day

Events

• Last Day of NJHS Food Drive

Sports

• Girls Volleyball Practice
• 8th Grade - 2:30-4:00 pm
• 7th Grade - 4:00-5:30 pm

Tuesday, November 18th, 2025 - A Day

Clubs

• Art Club - K-3rd Grade 2:30-4:00 pm in Art Rm.
• Music Studio 4th-8th Grade 2:30-3:30 pm in Music Rm.
• Science Matters 2:35-3:35 pm in Rm. 217

Sports

• Girls Volleyball Practice
• 8th Grade - 2:30-4:00 pm
• 7th Grade - 4:00-5:30 pm

Wednesday, November 19th, 2025 - B Day

Clubs

• 4th-8th Grade Art Club 2:30-4:00 pm

Sports

• Girls Volleyball Game @ 5:00 pm

• 7th Grade - Aurora Hills @ Quest
• 8th Grade - Quest @ Aurora Hills

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Thursday, November 20th 2025- A Day

Clubs

• Music Studio 2:30-3:30 pm Rm. 32
• Robotics 2:30-4:30 pm Rm. 121
• Student Council 2:30-3:30 pm
• Tae Kwon Do 2:30-3:45 pm Rm. 36

Events

• MS Conferences 3:15-7:15 pm

Sports

• Girls Volleyball Game @ 5:00 pm

• 7th Grade - Aurora Hills @ Quest
• 8th Grade - Quest @ Aurora Hills

Friday, November 21st, 2025 - B Day

Sports

• Girls Volleyball Practice
• 8th Grade - 2:30-4:00 pm
• 7th Grade - 4:00-5:30 pm

11/25 - NJHS Meeting Rm. 216 7:45-8:10

11/26-11/28 - Thanksgiving Break

12/2 - Needs & Assets Assess. Mtg. 6-6PM

12/9 - NJHS Meeting Rm. 216 7:45-8:10

12/10- Costa Rica 26-27 7th Grade Mtg. 6:00

12/12 - Winter Fest 4:30-7:00 pm (NJHS supports)

12/18 - Last day of 2nd Quarter

12/19 - Teacher Workday - No Classes

12/19 - Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast 8:00 a.m.

12/22 - 1/5 - Winter Break

• Due to a shortage of available facilities, we will only be able to offer an 8th grade girls swim team this year. The district is unable to accommodate all middle school grades at this time but hopes to resume a full middle school girls swim program next school year. We appreciate your understanding.

• Girl’s Volleyball is underway! Just a reminder that the 8th grade team practices from 2:30-4 and 7th grade practices from 4-5:30. A Talking Points group will be set up soon. Please reach out to your coach if you don’t receive the communication.

• Please Please pick up your student on time after all games and practices. Prompt pick-up ensures both staff and students get home safely and in a timely manner.

Who: 7th Grade Families

What: Costa Rica Informational Meeting

When: December 10, 2025 6:00-7:00 pm

Where: Quest Library, 17315 E. 2nd Avenue, Aurora CO 80011

Use this link to register for the meeting: https://rsvp.eftours.com/jfuh4t6

Brandon Dunkin - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4EA4AA29AAF4CF8-60005696-6th7th
Kendra Kuti - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4EA4AA29AAF4CF8-60005962-6thgrade
Shannon Parish - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4EA4AA29AAF4CF8-60006058-6thgrade
Don Sargent - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4EA4AA29AAF4CF8-60005856-6th7th
Erin Hayson - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4EA4AA29AAF4CF8-60006132-7th8th
Megan Mitchell - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4EA4AA29AAF4CF8-60006135-7thgrade
Jodi Mural - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4EA4AA29AAF4CF8-60006187-7thgrade
Mike Mural - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4EA4AA29AAF4CF8-60006080-7th8th
Scott Ramsey - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4EA4AA29AAF4CF8-60006099-7th8th

Beth Wilson - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4EA4AA29AAF4CF8-60006188-8thgrade

We’re excited to announce that applications for Epsilon Camp 2026 are now open!

Epsilon Camp is a two-week residential summer program for mathematically talented children and their parents. Students must be ages 7 to 10 at the time of first entry. Once admitted, most families return for multiple summers, and students often stay for three to five years, deepening their mathematical understanding through increasingly advanced content.

Epsilon Camp 2026 will take place July 19 – August 2, 2026, at Utah State University in Logan, Utah.

Financial aid is available, and the application is simple and straightforward. We especially encourage families with financial need to apply. If a student does not yet have an IQ score, that’s totally OK. Please refer to our website for information about provisional admission and funded testing options: https://epsiloncamp.org/how-to-apply

If you’d like to share this opportunity with families in your community, here is a ready-to-use blurb:

Challenging Summer Math Program

Application season has begun for Epsilon Camp, a two-week summer residential camp for young students who show exceptional promise in mathematics. Epsilon connects profoundly gifted children (ages 7–12) with professional mathematicians and fosters a supportive community among peers and families. The program immerses students in mathematics classes and activities tailored for aspiring mathematicians, while a concurrent parent program provides opportunities to access valuable insights and resources, gain guidance on supporting gifted children, and connect with others in similar parenting journeys. Children ages 7 to 10 are eligible to apply as a first-year camper.

Epsilon Camp 2026 will be held in person, July 19 – August 2, 2026, at Utah State University in Logan, Utah.

Thank you so much for your generous food donations to our school Food Pantry. Your kindness and support mean the world to our students and families — because of you, many children and their families will have more secure meals and brighter days ahead. Your compassion and dedication to our community strengthens and models the caring spirit we hope to nurture in our students. We excitedly anticipate receiving additional food items and hygiene products from our community to continue supporting our families.

To all our families in need, please use this link to reserve your free food items: LINK to FOOD PANTRY request form.

Starting today, students enrolled in any After School Program can register for a Super Snack Meal, available for pickup in the school cafeteria at the end of the school day (2:30 PM).

To secure their Super Snack, students must sign up each day with Mr. Adams, Family Liaison, in office #124 in the P-Pod before 1:00 PM.

Please note, students from the Boys & Girls Club are not eligible for this offer, as they receive separate meals.

For those of you who don't know me, I am Rob Lipson the Elementary School Counselor here at Quest. My main focus is working with teachers and students in classrooms on social skills, social emotional learning, appropriate behaviors for specific situations and much more. Please read the attached document where I share what we are working on currently. If you should ever have questions or concerns, pelase reach out to me at rclipson@aurorak12.org

The holiday season is fast approaching. With it comes plenty of excitement and fun. But for many, there are also times when this time of year brings stress and other negative feelings. There’s less sunlight, financial strain for some, and potential conflict with family members. Adults feel it, and teens can too. Here are a few tips on making the upcoming season filled with more joy than headaches.

• Prepare with a plan. Have a day or a dinner planned with family members that may lead to conflict? Going to an event that your child might not want to take part in? Discussing together ahead of time can help reduce big emotions by being aware of what might trigger big feelings and how to reduce them. Maybe they need to bring a book or plan to take a walk in order to have something else to focus on, or you need a plan for how to nonverbally express when your child is feeling escalated. The more you plan, the smoother things will go!

• Maintain routines. This one can be hard to follow through on, but there is a lot of research that shows how vital routines are to maintaining good mental health. As an educator I feel this myself every long break: if I start staying up way later than usual, eating at random times, and staying more sedentary than during the school day, I quickly start feeling more anxious and just “off”. Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to keep children on their exact school bedtime and wake up schedule. But maintaining some healthy sleep boundaries and building consistency around meals and movement will help children feel more centered and in control of their emotions.

• Doing good to feel good. Volunteering, donating, and other community service activities has many great benefits: increasing dopamine, feeling connected, building hope and empathy. Anything from small acts like donating a can of food to our ongoing NJHS food drive to bigger ones like helping at a food bank or an animal shelter can give these great benefits and help brighten the holiday season for you and those around you.

Time Management Matters

Talk with your child about the importance of getting to class on time and staying for the entire period. Every minute in the classroom counts! Punctuality and presence help students stay on track with learning, avoid missing key instruction, and build responsibility. A quick conversation at home can make a big difference in their academic success.

We had our last lunch and learn session for the semester this week! We are seeking feedback on topics and format for semester two. Please fill out this survey to give your input. Thanks!

Lunch and Learn Feedback

- Greta Barker & Kim Opferman