In Home. In School. Invaluable.
Message from the Head of School
Exploring Your Passion at Sagemont
I have been a proud member of the Sagemont family for sixteen years. Throughout the years, I have always been in awe of our students’ ability to explore their passions. With this in mind, we continually focus the curriculum on our students’ passions and guide them towards real-world applications. There are many ways in which Sagemont students explore and develop their passions. Our goal is to highlight these programs throughout the year. There is much for us to explore together.
REACH
REACH is a student-centered, project-based program. Our students in K-5th grade are all engaged in REACH, a program that is embedded into the curriculum. Through REACH our students plan, design, and carry out extended projects that culminate in a publicly- exhibited output. Curiosity and creative inquiry are encouraged throughout. REACH provides our students with a rigorous, enriched, and accelerated curriculum. Critical-thinking skills are a core component of this program and align with our Leaning Outcomes.
The Sophomore Passion Project
The Passion Project is a mandatory course for our 10th-grade students. The Passion Project is a class for students who have always wanted to build a musical instrument, find innovative ways to solve problems, have questions about a topic that they have wanted to research on their own. The Passion Project is a learner-centered, choice-based research project completed by students over a semester during their sophomore year. With standards rooted in Sagemont’s Learning Outcomes, students develop skills in inquiry, communication, and independent learning. Students utilize skills in information literacy, communication, collaboration, thinking, reflection, and transfer. Through the developmental process of self-reflection, goal development, and relationship with an advisor, students create one-of-a-kind research projects that highlight who they are, what they are interested in, and how that informs their passions. Each year we have a public display/presentations of the projects and this year we are excited to share the Passion Project with our entire Sagemont community. The Passion Project students are guided by Ms. Darcy Hildebidle, an innovative teacher who brings out the best in all students.
The Sagemont School Learning Outcomes
Sagemont’s Learning Outcomes are the foundation for our work together. Sagemont educators guide students utilizing our Learning Outcomes, which serve to develop students’ Cognitive, Interpersonal, and Self-Awareness skills. Through our curriculum from VPK-12th grade, Sagemont students become collaborators, critical thinkers, and most importantly, they understand that their purpose as an individual is to work towards the common good in their community.
Sagemont Student Spotlight
Nicholas Cushion, 4th Grade
Nicholas is a remarkable 4th grader at Sagemont. This young man has been a member of the family since 2nd grade. Nicholas has a passion for writing both fiction and non-fiction. In addition to this, Nicholas loves coding, mathematics, and reading. Nicholas’ passion for writing has certainly exploded recently because he is now a published author of his first book The Pirate and the Sword, which is available on Amazon. Nicholas has a creative voice and his recently published book takes you on a journey of exploration. The main character Dirk is stranded on an island after a storm at sea and he must now navigate a new land. Nicholas takes the reader on wonderful twists and turns to keep you engaged throughout. Like any good writer, he leaves us with a cliffhanger and we are patiently waiting on the 2nd book in this new series. Nicholas has a writing mentor at Sagemont and that is his teacher Ms. Valdivia, who was instrumental in Nicholas’ path. We admire Nicholas’ ability to share his voice with the world as a writer.
Devin McCoy, 7th Grade
Devin has a passion for coding; this was clear as day when I met him for his family interview as an incoming 6th grader. Devin is a young man who seeks to enhance his skill level with every opportunity that is presented before him. Devin has been a student at a tech camp for the past three years and during this time his creativity and skills were significantly improved, especially in the area of 3D model and coding utilizing Python, a programming language. Sagemont’s goal is to embrace our students' passions and Devin’s outside-the-box thinking and application was welcomed in Mr. Hemeon’s 2D Art Class. The course has a focus on traditional art media, however, Devin asked to walk away from this and instead utilize computer graphics on a recent project on political signs (Devin’s graphics project is pictured here). Devin’s tech work at Sagemont continues in the robotics course, where he is a diligent contributor who excels as an innovator. Outside of Sagemont, Devin’s passions carry over into personal exploration and projects with NBA2K, where Devin loves to create trading cards and enter competitions. This passion and an educational pursuit started for Devin by playing the game Roblox.
Valholly Frank, 12th Grade
Valholly has been a member of our Sagemont community for over ten years and we have been so fortunate to see this young woman grow and mature as a climate activist over the years. Valholly lives her life with passion, purpose, and meaning, and in the past few years, she has been extremely instrumental in creating a platform for the voice of young people to make a change. Valholly’s purpose and passion are to educate others on climate change at the local and federal level. This led her, along with seven other young people to file a suit against the state of Florida in 2018 (Reynolds v. State of Florida). The suit contends that Florida’s use of fossil fuels is harming the state’s resources such as beaches, coral reef, and marine life. Valholly’s passion and drive to impact change in her community and globally took her on a journey to Spain in November 2019, where her objective was to share her experience with legal action with others around the world at the 15th Annual Conference of Youth (COY15). We are so proud of Valholly’s activism and are honored to have her with us at Sagemont. Valholly will be graduating in 2021 and we cannot wait to see what the future holds for her.
Website: https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/florida-call-to-action
The Sagemont School
Email: info@sagemont.com
Website: www.sagemont.com
Location: 1570 Sagemont Way, Weston, FL, USA
Phone: (954)389-2454
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sagemont