Quest

Wednesday night, Donna and I visited what we hope will be Gavin's school for Kindergarten this Fall. I will hold the entire "Holy Crap my Son is going to Kindergarten!" post until another time. We are very lucky in Hilton in that we have a choice of where to send him. Hilton has a very successful school of choice called Quest, providing an alternative to the traditional public school atmosphere and programs.

Quest is an an International Baccalaureate, Primary Years Programme school. The IB organization stresses inquiry based learning, and builds upon a learning profile for each student stressing specific principles of:

Inquiry, Thinking, Communicating, Risk-Taking, Knowledge, Principles, Caring, Open-Mindedness, Balance, Reflection

The school is set up in a multi-age format to allow the teachers to focus on the students academic and personal growth. Following his Kindergarten year, Gavin would get to spend two years with each teacher as the classes are set up as primary (grades 1st and 2nd), elementary (grades 3rd and 4th), and intermediate (grades 5th and 6th). This format drops the traditional 1st grade, second grade work of a traditional model, and allows the students to mix skills and work based upon their strengths and what they need additional support on. The profile is specifically geared towards each child's individual growth from year to year. An additional draw for Donna and I is that Quest relies heavily on Parent involvement and welcomes daily interaction up to even visiting the classrooms. Having the opportunity to know at any given moment how Gavin is progressing is a definite bonus.

Donna and I recognized while listening to the student run presentation at Quest, that the format and programs that they offer are not for every child. However, knowing Gavin, we both felt that the ability to become involved in music, public speaking, advance through coursework based on his strengths and with the support of elder students and staff, would be a fantastic and well suited program for him.

Unfortunately, as with most good things, they don't come easy. Entry into Quest is lottery based, so we have to wait until March to hear if he will be selected to attend this Fall. We will remain hopeful, but realize that regardless of the outcome, we are very lucky to have such great choices.