QUEST: Bishop Leibold’s Math and Science Enrichment Program
Students in Grades 4-8 will have the opportunity to participate in the QUEST Math and Science Enrichment Program at Bishop Leibold. QUEST is designed to take the students "one step further" beyond what is available in a normal classroom setting. Hands-on learning, experimentation, critical thinking, the application of mathematics, and teamwork focusing on the scientific method are important components of every session. This after-school program (once a month, from 3 to 5:30 PM) was established in 1998 to provide our students who display a strong interest in Math and Science with activities that will enrich their experiences in these areas.
For grades 4 through 6, the sessions are generally held by grade level (around 28 students per session) on a Monday or Tuesday of each month in the fully-equipped Science Center at the East Campus. Due to the rotating curriculum, a student in QUEST for 5 years will never have the same session twice. Junior High students take a variety of off-site tours through their two final years, including all day sessions at Miami University exploring biology, geology and other natural science study fields, and hands-on invention at the Dayton Engineers Club. Wright State Medical School, The University of Dayton Research Institute, Motoman, Kodak, and a flight check and flight through the Young Eagles Program are favorite trips.
QUEST students are strongly encouraged to develop their personal interests in the sciences, explore a wide variety of professional careers within these fields, and pursue the challenges of continued focus in Math and Science in their high school courses.
QUEST students are strongly encouraged to develop their personal interests in the sciences, explore a wide variety of professional careers within these fields, and pursue the challenges of continued focus in Math and Science in their high school courses.
Most of the students beginning QUEST as Fourth Graders stay in the program all five years. The program serves approximately 150 students each year, and the retention rate is approximately 92% from year to year. The scientific equipment acquired for QUEST through program grants or donations in purchased sets of 30, and thus is available for any BLS classroom teacher to borrow for their classroom instruction.
The QUEST Program is taught by Mrs. Beth Allaire, who has over 15 years experience as a classroom educator, a teacher with the NASA-sponsored SEMAA (Science, Engineering, mathematics and Aerospace Academy), and as an instructor of Talented and Gifted students. She is a two-time recipient of the Miami Valley Catholic Educational Council Innovative Teachers Grant, as well as McDonald’s MAC (Make Activities Count) grants and a Wallace Foundation grant. Mrs. Allaire has designed the QUEST program specifically for Bishop Leibold School and is beginning her thirteenth year of the program at BLS.
