SAS Community Norms
    •    Refraining from discrimination

    •    Sharing accurate information

    •    Contributing positively and proactively

    •    Always have a positive intent


The connection between the two topics:
Relationships are the foundations of learning. The Quest program has a centrality of community, and they prepare the students for the future which they will learn from building relationships with their mentors, classmates, and colleagues. 

The Quest Team for 2020-2021:

1. Martha Began
    •    Science and Design Thinking teacher at Quest

    •    Expat teacher for over 35 years

    •    Been at SAS for over 24 years

    •    Taught Accelerated Biology and AT Environmental Science in the science department at the high school

    •    Earned her doctorate from the University of Southern California


2. Mare Stewart
    •    20 years of experience in program educational development

    •    Came into teaching after being a military officer with a background in environmental work

    •    Worked in a STEM program then moved to international schools


3. Kristoffer Munden
    •    Sixth grade math teacher at SAS

    •    Sixth year at SAS and ninth year of teaching

    •    Third culture kid 

What is Quest?
    •    Immersive experience

    •    Full-day

    •    Not all day, there are opportunities where students can step out and complete the classes that SAS offers

    •    Personalized learning

    •    Designed for juniors and seniors

    •    Small learning community

    •    Gives the opportunity to enhance their learning to work towards what they want to do and what they want to learn

    •    They get to step outside the classroom and off-campus

    •    They get to work in industry and non-profits


The Four Pillars of Quest
    •    Community of learners

    •    Personalized learning

    •    Skills for lifelong learning

    •    Time to be inspired


The Transcript:
    •    English: (AT) Composition and Research

    •    Math: (AT) Data Analysis and Visualization

    •    Science: (AT) Conservation and Resource Studies

    •    Social Studies: (AT) Society Governance and Civic Action

    •    Elective: Systems Thinking and Global Development

    •    Optional Elective: Ethics and Leadership

    •    They may take two classes from the SAS schedule that they choose, or one of their desired choice in addition to the optional elective. 


Quest Schedule Snapshot

Quest Launch Trip 2020
    •    Launches the students into the program and allows them to become closer to the students and the mentors in the Quest program

    •    Previous trips were backpacking in Canada, canoeing in Mongolia, and getting scuba certified in Malaysia.

    •    This coming year, they will be going to the Coral Triangle in Indonesia for two weeks. It allows the opportunity for them to do everything on an interim trip and more.

    •    There is a cost to consider, but it will be solidified once they have a confirmed number of students. There is a cap on the price and it won’t be more expensive than the higher-priced interim trips.


Experiential Learning
Through Quest, the students learn skills and lessons through experiential learning. This means that they learn while being out in the field and actively learning the necessary skillset rather than passively learning in the classroom. With the flexible Quest schedule, the students have to opportunity to engage in field trips and learn while being outside of the classroom setting. 

Small Learning Community
Since Quest is small, mentors are able to interact and form tight relationships with students where they can present to small groups to sometimes even larger groups. The benefit of this is that the mentors are able to attend to the social-emotional wellbeing of the students because they are engaging in mentoring relationships every day throughout the year.

Real Work Experience
Every other day for 11 weeks, students will be working with different institutions in a field that interests them.

Quest Misconceptions
    •    It is not just independent learning without the support of teachers. Instead, it is a personalized learning experience with a lot of daily feedback from the Quest advisors

    •    It is not an opportunity for them to do whatever they want to do. It is high flexibility with high accountability in order to build independence. They are trying to prepare the students for college and life, which is learning beyond the classroom. 

    •    It is not just all skills and no content. The purpose of covering skills and content is so that they can apply it to college and to life.

    •    It is not an escape from learning. Quest is still graded with a very rigorous grading standard.

    •    It is not a disadvantage in the college admission process. It is a differentiator and makes the student stand out among the other applicants. 

    •    It is not the same thing as Catalyst. Quest is a year-long program and the students earn a Catalyst credit for.


What Colleges Say
Colleges are looking for enthusiasm and passion where they look for students who take initiative in their passions. When students take the opportunities that their high school offers - like the Quest and Catalyst programs - colleges are more likely to be interested in the student’s application. Most Quest alums are in universities - or serving in National Service - and studying the field that they completed their Student-Driven Study in.

Upcoming parent information sessions:
You are invited to come and meet next year's Quest advisors and hear from students about how Quest inspired, empowered, and differentiated them among college applicants. Quest 2020-2021 advisors, Dr. Martha Began, Ms. Mare Stewart, and Mr. Kris Munden will hold parent information sessions prior to the Interim Semester Parent meetings on November 13 and 14 in H309 at 6:00 p.m. Please RSVP here. For more information contact quest@sas.edu.sg, mbegan@sas.edu.sg or visit their Facebook or Instagram.

Personal Academic Counselors
1. Ms. Lisa Ball
2. Dr. Jeff Devens
3. Ms. Emily Hopwood

What do we do?
•  Plan various programming for parents (ie: Parenting bootcamps, dealing with teens and technology, and more) 
•  Reach out proactively to students from every grade level
•  Meet with students in smaller groups or one-on-one

How do we decide on the programming we offer to students?
• Based on the CASEL competencies

Focus on Relationships
• Objectives: Describe what relationships look like, what's healthy or unhealthy, and how to manage conflicts.
• Teens' definition of meaningful friendships and relationships — respectful and it gives them a safe space.
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Conflict of Relationships
• Deal with the conflict face-to-face. Have a conversation instead of using social media to deal with conflict.