Quade has many nicknames, but to most of his friends he is just "Q."
Quade is currently 11 years old and lives in San Diego, California with his parents and sister.
He is loved by his people for his earnest approach to learning, his passion for creative new ideas and his heart for giving. Quade really wants to make a positive difference in his community and in the world.
Q is a competitive athlete in multiple sports. He enjoys being outside, traveling and inventing new games. He is an ambitious student of math and history. He is an avid reader.
As of the this post date, Quade has read 265 book titles in his 5th grade school year. Thats 7,071,737 words (as measured by Renaissance Learnings Accelerated Reader program.)
Quade was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder at the age of 6. As a differentiated learner, Q relies on kinesthetic, project based education to make sense of the world and his place in it. Handwriting is a specific struggle that he has managed with hard work and creative visual tools. Chewing gum really helps him focus, and he draws laughs on the baseball field for blowing bubbles the size of his head (he says he can still see the ball through the bubble.)
At the age of 9, Quade went to camp and encountered children from inner-city schools. He learned that they required sponsorship for attendance. Quade spent the next 16 months raising money to provide those children sponsorships. He shared how camp helped him to see Love in the world, and to embrace his own personal challenges and differences. His public speaking to audiences of adult campers sparked significant campership donations. He is just "happy that kids get to go to camp."
That experience, sparked something in Quade. He realized that even though he is a child, his voice can make a difference. That lead to a huge change for our family. For the 2019-2020 school year, we decided to homeschool. We had no idea that the rest of the country would be joining us in the Spring due to a global pandemic. We do our best to support local families while they find educational balance during this uncertain time.
A big cornerstone of this year was Quade's discovery of the fist National Who Was? History Bee. The program is an exciting opportunity for children 3rd to 5th grade, to participate in historical trivia competitions with the information they acquire by reading The Who Was? book series (published by Penguin Random House.)
Quade has dedicated hundreds of hours to reading the library of titles. He participated and won the school bee rounds. The semi-finalist exam was completed in February and proctored by his homeschool educational specialist at Pacific Coast Academy (Inspire Charter.) Quade had a perfect score on the multiple choice and open-ended questions portion of the proctored exam that was 75% of his total score. The remaining portion of the exam score was based on his short essay. This is no small feat for a child with dysgraphia. Here is a partial excerpt from the essay portion of Quade's proctored exam:
"I admire Mother Teresa because she was an ordinary person who showed great compassion and is an example of how love can change the world and make it a better place. "
This experience has provided some creative learning opportunities for Quade and his family. For example, after reading Who Was Anne Frank? Quade went to hear holocaust survivor Rose Schindler. That lead to the discovery that Anne Franks stepsister, Eva Schloss, was coming to town the next week after recording new 3-D video for the Shoa Foundation. Quade used that opportunity to learn about the foundation by reading Who Was Steven Spielberg? Less than 2 weeks after reading the book about Anne Frank, Quade was hearing first hand accounts of Anne Frank at a rare public community event. These two amazing women, embraced Quade and shared some sage advice: "Keep learning history. When you remember, you honor those who have passed and you can work to prevent terrible things from happening again." The stories of the past, have touched him directly and given him vision for the future.
Ten days after meeting Eva Schloss the COVID-19 pandemic changed the world. Using all of the new information he has acquired in his studies, Quade would share how he thought the greatest individuals in history would act. It was always hopeful and inspiring to hear. This lead to the creation of The Who Is Q ? videos, a 2 video project meant to bring joy and encourage others. We used the first video to tell Quade he was a finalist. He was most excited about meeting the other 9 finalists, going to New York city and meeting the Bee hosts Jeff and Patrick Kinney.
Quade has received several letters from authors of early Who Was titles. His eyes light up with such genuine joy and excitement. To Quade, authors are the heroes of every story. Quade was humbled by the many letters and new stories that were published about him and the Bee. He used this opportunity to highlight his heart for charity by donating a significant amount of his winnings to a literacy based organization that supports military families that are separated by service commitments. "It makes me feel so happy to give this money to Uniter Though Reading, because it helps connect people and promote reading, " Quade said. Quade is also distributing his championship books to local children and libraries.
A part of winning the national history bee was press interviews and articles. After having a great experience with CBS feature reporter Jeff Zevely and Photojournalist Scott Hall, Quade applied to be a national "Kid Reporter" for Scholastic Kids Press. Scholastic Kids magazines have a reader base of over 20 million children internationally and Quade has enjoyed reading them in school. He was so honored to be selected as one of 45 reporters for the 2020-21 year.
Quade is using his love of learning and knowledge of history to complete in the 2020-21 academic pentathlon . He will continue to complete as a multi-sport athlete and is pursing his interest in journalism with a variety of exciting middle school opportunities, even in an uncertain global environment.
So who is Q?
Q is a joyful kid with big ideas and huge heart. In a world that is rapidly changing, he is a reminder that the hope of a child can bring the promise of a brighter future.
Coming next: Book review podcast, educational history resources for middle grade readers and updated Kids Press stories.
Copyright © 2020 WhoisQ? - All Rights Reserved.
Powered by GoDaddy Website Builder