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Photo by Donna Campbell/Lipsey sixth-grader Wyatt Scott shows his mother, Kelly, some of his work completed this semester in his Quest gifted class.

Photo by Donna Campbell/Jerri McGee looks at tessellation puzzles with her daughter, D’Aza, during part of their cruise through the sixth grade Quest class.

Wyatt Scott took his mom on a cruise this week, and though she jammed 10 ports into just 15 minutes, she said the trip was thoroughly enjoyable.

Kelly Scott navigated with her son through the main hall at Lipsey School for the “Cruise through Sixth Grade Quest.” It’s a creative way to invite the parents of students in the gifted program to an open house to see their children’s work completed this semester.

Teacher Gwen Case said Quest stresses quality of work, research, creativity, higher order thinking skills, career choices, life skills, self-directed learning and even neatness.

Case teaches 25 sixth-graders on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Scott starts his week in Case’s class.

“He loves Monday. That’s Quest day,” his mother said.

She said that in the Quest program, he’s learned to think outside of the box and use critical thinking skills.

“It’s a different kind of learning than just sitting in a desk and copying and memorizing. It’s a different way to learn,” she said.

The Brookhaven School District screens students in the first grade to potentially start the program in second grade.

The state mandates that schools offer the program through sixth grade. Brookhaven continues it through eighth-grade.

Case said the Quest program helps students “think in different ways,” which carries over into their other classes.

“In my class, I want them to work up to their potential,” she said.

During the Quest cruise, parents visited ports along the sixth-grade hall, where they could view their children’s and other students’ work — haiku poems, designs, illustrations, essays and Albert Einstein personality collages — plastered on the walls.

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