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Diners on a fundraising quest

An innovative, award-winning program at a local high school is hoping to raise some funds through a special event to help send students out on character-building wilderness adventures.
Oilfields High School students involved in Quest take part in one of the program’s outdoor excursions. A fundraiser to support the program will be held Feb. 11.
Oilfields High School students involved in Quest take part in one of the program’s outdoor excursions. A fundraiser to support the program will be held Feb. 11.

An innovative, award-winning program at a local high school is hoping to raise some funds through a special event to help send students out on character-building wilderness adventures.

The Friends of Quest Education will host a fundraiser dinner and auction for the Oilfields High School’s Quest program Saturday, Feb. 11. The evening will feature a barbecue bison dinner, live and silent auctions and a performance by the Travelling Mabels.

Organizers have already received interesting auction items from a handmade log bed, to massage and golf packages and Calgary Flames tickets. Up for bid will also be Quest student services such as delivering and stacking chopped wood and housework.

“We have a lot of items coming in rapidly right now so our community really supports us when we start soliciting donations, but we’re always looking for more,” said Oilfields High School vice-principal Cynthia Glaicar.

Funds raised will go toward the school’s two-year-old Quest program, which incorporates wilderness and service learning along with self-paced academic learning, Glaicar explained.

“All of our feedback and our data is showing that this program is really benefiting kids academically and socially, emotionally.”

The program is based on research suggesting what students need to be successful after high school and helps foster skills such as teamwork, creative thinking, leadership, problem solving and thinking globally, she said.

“The character development side of this program is very unique and different from what kids would get in a traditional classroom model.”

Alberta Education does not fund the outdoor education part of the program, leaving costs up to families and fundraising, Glaicar explained. She estimated the cost for students to go on the outdoor trips to be between $40,000 and $50,000 per year.

Proceeds from the fundraising dinner and auction will help with the upcoming winter expedition where students will go on a three-day snowshoeing or cross country skiing trip. Students are challenged physically and to work as a team to survive, Glaicar said of the expedition, which is one of three trips students partake in during the year.

“They’re very expensive to run and so the funds (from the event) will go directly to getting kids out the door onto those expeditions,” she said.

Grade 11 student Mandy Abraham said she joined the Quest program because she became bored in a traditional classroom setting and liked to work at her own pace and do more hands-on activities. She said she thought the academic side would enable her to independently pursue her learning, which could be helpful preparation for university and she enjoys outdoor activities.

The expedition at the beginning of the school year allowed her to get to know other students, overcome obstacles and do things she usually wouldn’t do such as the high ropes course due to her fear of heights, she explained.

“When I got with my partner she really helped me to face them and then now, I’m not very scared of them,” Abraham said.

Since joining Quest, she said her grades have improved and she believes the skills she has acquired will help her in the future.

Glaicar said many students joined the program last year who might not have graduated, whereas this year the program has appealed more to academic students.

“We still have some youths that did not enjoy school in this program so they’re finding their way differently and so it’s a wide variety of students, but they all come out with those real self-reliance skills.”

The Quest Auction and Dinner will be held Saturday, Feb. 11 at the Flare ‘n’ Derrick Community Hall in Turner Valley at 5:30 p.m. Tickets cost $30 and must be purchased by Feb. 3. Contact the school at 403-938-4973 or email [email protected] for tickets or to donate an item for the auctions.

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