Presenting the Class of 2017

District-Wide Graduation Ceremonies Adult Basic Education Tuesday, June 6 7 p.m. Discovery Center Auditorium

Phoenix Learning Center Thursday, June 8 7 p.m. Buffalo High School Performing Arts Center

Buffalo High School Friday, June 9 7 p.m. Buffalo High School Gym

Approximately 24 adults will be recognized for having earned their GED diploma during the West Adult Basic Education (ABE) graduation ceremony in Buffalo (at least five of the graduates attended Buffalo ABE). Over 30 individuals will also be recognized during an awards presentation for other achievements earned. The public is invited to attend the ceremony and reception following the event.

Graduation ceremonies for Phoenix Learning Center (PLC) will take place in the Performing Arts Center at Buffalo High School. PLC is an alternative to a traditional high school setting. The public is encouraged and invited to attend the event and reception for the graduates. This year, 11 students will receive their diplomas.

Buffalo High School (BHS) will have close to 440 graduates participating in the ceremony (one of the largest classes to date). Each student will have a limited number of tickets for family and friends to watch the ceremony in person. Others are invited to watch a live video broadcast in the air conditioned BHS Performing Arts Center.

PRIDE Transitions Wednesday, June 7 1 p.m. Lakeview Mall in Buffalo In PRIDE Transitions’ ninth year, five students will graduate from the program. Family and friends are invited to attend graduation at PRIDE, located in the Lakeview Mall in downtown Buffalo. PRIDE is a program designed for 18-21 year old students who are in need of additional services to make the transition from school to work and independent living.

The “Quest” to Graduate

By Rob Nosbush, High Potential Services Coordinator

“M

ost gifted learners frequently do not show academic growth at the rates we would expect based on their intellectual capacity due to lack of opportunity to learn at their own level through the regular curriculum,” was read in a proposal to the BHM School Board in early 2010 to offer a revised program for accelerated learners. That task force report came after nearly a year of research and exploration. To address this student need, the proposed school-within-aschool model of programming for highly gifted learners was established. Quest was born. Quest serves highly gifted students from across Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose. A student in the Quest program is not only in the top five percent of their class academically, but they also have a unique thought process to make connections to the world around them. The program is meant to support those thought processes while challenging them academically. In addition, teachers work to offer the emotional support which many gifted students need. As the bell rang in September of 2010, 50 students began in the Quest program. One

The very first Quest students, who began the program in 6th grade, will graduate June 9 from Buffalo High School. Pictured left to right: Row 1–Emma Henne, Jilli Hovland, Nicole Kuitunen, Meghan Cahill and Taylor McNitt; Row 2–Elizabeth LaCasse, Max Nagel, Tyler Dirks and Ryan Dirks; Row 3–Thomas Rooney, Josh Skarin, Jake Hendel, Carson Reichardt and Sam Halvorson; Row 4–Andrew Scherber, Anthony Muhich, McKael Loomis and Nels Raisanen. Not pictured, Maykala Owens.

elementary classroom for grade 4-5 students, and a 6th grade middle school program covering the core areas of English, math, science and social studies was the extent of the original plan. As those 6th grade students grew, the Quest program grew with them through grade 9. In 2012, students in 2nd and 3rd grade were also added. Currently, the Quest program serves over 180 students in grades 2-5 at Parkside Elementary, 6-8 at Buffalo Community Middle School (BCMS) and grade 9 at Buffalo High School (BHS). Once Quest students reach grade 10, they have the opportunity to take accelerated classes through the College in the Schools (CIS) program, Advanced Placement (AP) classes and Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO). Here they are able to focus on their passions and intended career choices. In June, the original 6th grade students from Quest will take another first step by becoming the first Quest students to graduate from BHS. As can be expected, the academic accomplishments of these students, and those who joined in the following years, is exceptional. These students were allowed to take advanced and CIS classes early, earned

the highest possible score on their AP tests, were nominated for the BHS Hall of Fame and are leaders in the National Honor Society. However, these students, and all Quest students, are much more than the academic stereotypes which may first come to mind. In the initial group alone, members play in various varsity sports, work with adaptive sports, prepare for the seminary and can be found on stage in music and theatre performances, just to list a few. Although the graduates will be leaving BHM and going on to do many amazing things, they take with them the thread that connected each of the students. This thread connected them throughout their time in the program. They became like a family. Each understood what it meant to be gifted. Each understood the unique learning style of the others. The Quest program continues to evolve to meet the needs of the district’s gifted learners while staying rooted with the ideals set forth in 2010. For more information about the program or to see if this program might be a fit for your child, please visit www.bhmschools.org and search for Quest Program or contact Rob Nosbush, High Potential Services Coordinator at 763-682-8766.