Two seventh graders, Ocean Durden and David Song, ceremonially flipped the switch on more than 500 new solar panels at the 糖心原创 in Sandy Springs during an Oct. 28 assembly.

As fifth graders, Durden and Song researched solar energy鈥檚 environmental and financial benefits for a fifth-grade project and presented their recommendation to school leadership. Their proposal sparked further exploration and ultimately led to a partnership with Cherry Street Energy to bring their idea to reality.

糖心原创 partnered with Atlanta-based commercial solar power provider Cherry Street Energy to install solar panels on the rooftops of 糖心原创鈥檚 Middle and Upper School buildings.

Project spurs partnership

Since August, more than 500 solar panels have been operating on the roofs of the middle and upper schools thanks to Durden and Song鈥檚 project, which began two years ago.

Cherry Street fully financed the project and will operate and maintain the two systems, covering associated maintenance costs, while selling the energy to 糖心原创.

Combined, the systems produce more than 300,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, providing more than 15% of the facilities鈥� energy demands. The estimated annual energy production is equivalent to the electricity needed to power 25 homes and will help avoid 200 metric tons of carbon emissions.

Young minds behind project

After the assembly, Durden and Song spoke with Rough Draft Atlanta about their project. 糖心原创 has its fifth graders complete an Impact Summit, where they demonstrate their critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills.

During their project, the duo met with the CEO of a Colorado-based solar panel manufacturer, the chief financial officer of 糖心原创, and took a trip to Georgia Power headquarters. They thought it was over, but school leadership was inspired and pursued a local partnership.

Durden said he first discovered the renewable energy technology while driving past a solar farm in South Georgia. Similarly, Song said he learned that solar panels were sustainable after asking his parents about them when he was younger.

Song said he wants to know how much the solar panels will help communities save energy and reduce the need to burn fossil fuels.

Durden said other students interested in similar projects should know the project took two years and didn鈥檛 happen overnight.

鈥淚t may take time and patience,鈥� he said. 鈥淒on鈥檛 always give up on a project.鈥�

Photos by Poopak Mahdavi

School and company leadership

Courtney Stillwagon, chief financial and operations officer at 糖心原创, said solar energy offers the school a meaningful return over time.

鈥淣ot just in dollars saved, but in the values we model for our students,鈥� Stillwagon said. 鈥淲hen we invest in clean energy, we are also investing in the next generation of leaders.鈥�

Michael Chanin, founder & CEO of Cherry Street Energy, said fifth graders at 糖心原创 saw a power plant where most people saw a school roof.

鈥淭oday, that roof produces electricity that 糖心原创 buys from Cherry Street Energy at a fixed price, without putting up its own capital,鈥� Chanin said. 鈥淭hese students helped their school make a lasting decision about how it buys power.鈥�

Kristy Lundstrom, Head of School and CEO of 糖心原创 said Ocean and David started with a question, did the research, and made a case for change.

鈥淭heir idea moved beyond the classroom to become a lasting investment in our school and our future,鈥� Lundstrom said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the power of giving students the agency to act on what matters to them and create positive change for others.鈥�

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For students in Tyler Dale鈥檚 Introduction to Science Fiction course, it becomes the starting point for a challenge that has no perfect solution.

After reading , students in Grades 11 and 12 work in groups of four to develop a fourth law of robotics that addresses the limitations of Asimov鈥檚 original three. Their new law must be precise, concise, and defensible, with a limit of approximately 42 words. But writing the law is only the beginning. Students research the ethical questions surrounding artificial intelligence, anticipate potential loopholes and unintended consequences, and present their reasoning to classmates for open debate.

Then they revise.

鈥淚t is a deliberately difficult assignment, and that is precisely the point. I call it the class of the impossible task,鈥� Dale explains. 鈥淭hey do three different summative projects, and each one, I tell them, it is impossible for you to have a perfect answer.鈥�

Rather than searching for a single correct response, students learn to navigate complexity, recognize competing perspectives, and make thoughtful decisions even when certainty is out of reach.

Learning to think like a lawyer

Dale designed the fourth-law project during his first year at 糖心原创 and has continued refining it over the past five years. At its core is a deceptively simple expectation: students must understand not only what they are saying, but why they are saying it and whether their words accomplish what they intend.

鈥淚 always tell them, I say, what would I want you to do in this class? To think like a lawyer,鈥� Dale says. 鈥淭o be as precise in your wording as you can.鈥�

Students must defend both the letter of their law, or its exact wording, and the spirit of the law, or the intention behind it. During the question-and-answer portion of each presentation, Dale challenges students to examine individual word choices, identify contradictions, and consider whether their solutions introduce new problems.

Does the law accomplish what the group intended? Could a robot interpret it differently? Does it conflict with one of Asimov鈥檚 original laws? What happens when two ethical priorities collide?

The questions require students to move beyond an initial idea and examine its implications. They must listen carefully, respond with evidence, and be willing to reconsider their thinking.

Senior Cameron Flotta shared, 鈥淭o start the project, our group brainstormed as many flaws as we could think of with the original three laws. Our goal was to fix as many of those as possible through a law solving harm. However, Mr. Dale quickly penetrated our law through his questioning and our wording. We pivoted to the idea of finding the best possible action by weighing different options that the robot has in significant situations in a formula. We then built upon a framework from the book, What We Owe The Future by William MacAskill, and gave the formula to the robot so it could calculate with numbers and weigh the consequences of different decisions.鈥�

Cameron went on to share a specific experience, 鈥淚 remember using expos and the table to solve the equation with different inputs, and ended up diving deep into the math. I showed my thinking visually to help the rest of my group understand, and ended up showing a photo to the class to help convey the point.鈥�

Different ideas. Different paths to a solution.

The assignment also creates space for students to approach the same challenge in distinctly different ways.

One group, whose work has become a benchmark for subsequent classes, developed a fourth law based on utilitarian ethics, a framework for evaluating actions according to their consequences. With help from research and mathematical modeling, the students created a formula that accounted for factors such as the certainty, extent, intensity, and duration of potential harm.

They then tested their framework against hypothetical scenarios, including whether a robot should amputate a person鈥檚 trapped limb to save their life. The group used its formula to explain why causing harm in that situation could prevent a greater harm.

Another group approached the challenge differently, proposing an international governing body to guide decisions about robotics and ethical dilemmas. Other students developed simpler laws, such as prohibiting robots from deceiving humans, and made their cases by explaining how their solutions aligned with their values.

The variety is part of what makes the experience meaningful. Students are not rewarded simply for producing the most elaborate answer. They must demonstrate that their reasoning holds up under scrutiny.
Sometimes that means building a complex mathematical model. Sometimes it means identifying one important problem and making a compelling case for why it matters.

For Dale, the goal is not to teach students which ethical position to adopt. It is to help them understand the implications of their choices and develop the confidence to defend those choices with logic, evidence, and clear communication.

Using AI to challenge thinking, not replace it

As artificial intelligence has advanced, the assignment has evolved alongside it. Dale says AI has made the problem feel more immediate to students, particularly as they consider the implications of AI systems moving beyond software and into physical environments.

It has also changed how students prepare for their presentations.

Before facing Dale鈥檚 questions, students are encouraged to give an AI tool their proposed law and supporting arguments, then instruct it to act as an adversary. The AI challenges their reasoning and looks for weaknesses in their arguments, allowing students to rehearse their responses before presenting to the class.

Dale describes the technology鈥檚 role in the process as intentional: 鈥淚t鈥檚 not their collaborator, it鈥檚 their enemy. And I tell them, like, use it that way.鈥�

The approach gives students a practical way to engage with AI while remaining responsible for the quality of their own thinking. They must evaluate the challenges the tool raises, determine whether its objections are valid, and strengthen their work accordingly.

The experience also helps reduce the anxiety that can come with defending an idea publicly. Students enter the discussion having already practiced responding to difficult questions, but they still have to think on their feet when their classmates and teacher push their reasoning in unexpected directions.

Preparing students for questions that matter

Although the course centers on literature, its learning extends well beyond the study of science fiction. Dale applies similar strategies in AP Language, where students examine rhetoric, evaluate arguments, and consider how precise language influences meaning.

The fourth-law project brings those skills together with research, ethical reasoning, collaboration, and creative problem-solving. Students practice working through ambiguity, making decisions with incomplete information, and adapting when their initial ideas do not hold up.
Those skills matter in a world where technology continues to raise new questions about responsibility, autonomy, and what it means to be human.

They also connect directly to 糖心原创鈥檚 2026鈥�27 theme, Creativity Is a Choice. Creativity here is not simply the act of generating an original idea. It is the willingness to explore possibilities, test assumptions, engage with opposing perspectives, and keep working when the answer is not obvious.

For Dale鈥檚 students, the fourth law of robotics is ultimately about more than imagining the future of artificial intelligence. It is an opportunity to practice the kind of thinking that the future will demand.

There is no perfect fourth law, and that is the lesson. Students leave the experience with something more valuable than a definitive answer: the ability to ask better questions, articulate their reasoning, recognize the limits of their own ideas, and revise their thinking when presented with new evidence.
That is learning designed for a world that will not stand still, and an example of how 糖心原创 prepares students to think critically, act with intention, and turn their ideas into meaningful possibilities.

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Every Story Starts Somewhere

The work began in each of the four first-grade classrooms, where students built a learning foundation of the elements of fables: characters, settings, actions, and morals. Students analyzed story structure and character traits. To bring the learning to life, Grade 1 hosted a visiting author. Grade 1 teacher Carly Marino shared a bit about the impact on the students: 鈥淭he turning point was a visit from an author who performed an original fable inspired by one of our classroom characters, which ignited the students’ desire to write their own fables and experiment with instruments and sound effects.鈥�

Collaborating in groups, students brought their stories to their connections classes, which added more depth and dimension to their exploration of fables. They wrote scripts and developed characters with Ericka Shannon in their Performing Arts connections class, and crafted sets and costumes with Cheryl Bruno in their Visual Arts class.

Carly went on to share, 鈥淩egular collaboration between the arts team and me ensured that these creative, writing, and critical-thinking skills remained connected every step of the way.鈥�

In Ms.Marino鈥檚 class, the Mighty Marinos, dreamed up characters such as a three-headed wolf, a unicorn, and a dragon wolf. Their stories traveled through forests, castles, barns, and battlefields. Together, they organized their ideas into beginnings, middles, and endings, considering how characters’ choices would lead to consequences and, ultimately, a lesson.

The morals reflected ideas students could connect to their own lives: share with others, keep trying when something is difficult, be kind, and help people. Along the way, students discovered that a compelling story takes more than a creative idea. The characters, actions, and setting all have a role to play.

As students drafted and revised their stories, they practiced listening to different perspectives, working through competing ideas, and making decisions as a team. This is learning that asks students to do more than recall information. They must use what they know, adapt their thinking, and build something meaningful with others.

Learning Takes the Stage

When families arrived in Fellowship Hall, they entered a mystery the Grade 1 students had prepared to share. The four Grade 1 classes led by Michele Guttery, Head of Grade, and our teachers, Carly Marino, Cara Wesley, Sarah Kelly, and Chamyca Carlton, were positioned around the room like the numbers on a giant clock. Onstage, a digital Story Clock was missing four important pieces.

The mission for parents and guests was to become a Fable Detective and help put the stories back together before time ran out.

Families moved from station to station, watching students perform their original fables. Each story revealed clues about its characters, choices, and lessons. When a missing piece was found, a student Tech Crew added sound effects: a chime, a symbol to the clock, and moved the mystery closer to being solved.

Students took ownership in different ways, from performing and leading the audience to managing sound effects, music, and the clock itself. The experience connected writing, performance, technology, and collaboration, giving students an authentic reason to apply their learning and an audience with whom to share it.

One Last Clue

Just when families thought the mystery was solved, the clock stopped. One final piece was missing.

Student leaders sent families outside with their Story Finder Tickets. The seemingly blank tickets revealed hidden numbers when a section was scratched off, directing each family to a Grade 1 classroom for the final challenge.

Inside, families explored student work, collected stamps, and pieced together the last part of the mystery. The learning extended beyond the performance, giving families a closer look at the students’ thinking and the work behind their stories.

Every Piece Matters

The Great Fable Race brought together the many dimensions of learning: literacy, creativity, communication, problem-solving, and teamwork. Students learned the elements of a fable, then put that knowledge to work. They revised ideas, navigated different perspectives, took on meaningful roles, and created an experience that depended on everyone’s contribution.

This is the power of learning by doing. When students have a meaningful challenge, the opportunity to make decisions, and a purpose for sharing what they know, learning becomes something they can see, experience, and carry forward.

The final moral captured both the stories and the experience itself:

Every piece matters. Together, they make the story complete.

At 糖心原创, that lesson extends well beyond the page. It is a reminder of what becomes possible when students bring their ideas, talents, and perspectives together to create something meaningful.

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What can a sandwich teach you about language, history, immigration, and the ways cultures influence one another? For 糖心原创鈥檚 G7 French students, the answer came one bite at a time. As part of a project-based learning experience exploring how language travels around the world, students stepped beyond the classroom and into to investigate the connections between French and Vietnamese culture. Their expedition offered a new perspective on a familiar food and an opportunity to see how history lives in the world around them.The experience also offered a timely connection to National B谩nh M矛 Day, celebrated October 10, and a reminder that even an everyday meal can open the door to extraordinary questions.

In DeShawn Jenkins鈥� French classroom, language learning extends beyond vocabulary and grammar. As students explore movement, systems, and cultural exchange, they investigate how French spread across regions, including Asia, and how its influence continues to be felt today. Jenkins wanted students to experience those connections firsthand.

Rather than studying the relationship between France and Vietnam only through textbooks, students had the opportunity to experience it through food, conversation, and a firsthand account of history.

B谩nh m矛 reflects a blending of culinary traditions. The French introduced the baguette to Vietnam, where it evolved through local ingredients and adaptations, including the use of rice flour alongside wheat flour. Over time, the sandwich developed its own distinctive identity, combining bread, meats, vegetables, and regional flavors. For students, it was a tangible example of how cultures meet, adapt, and create something new.

Flynn Bernhardt shared, 鈥淕oing to a Vietnamese restaurant, I didn’t know about the connection between Vietnamese and French culture. But after going to the restaurant and making and eating a banh-mi, I started to see the connection between Vietnamese and French culture due to the fact that the banh-mi was a mishmash of French baguettes and Vietnamese fillings.鈥�

The Power of Personal Stories

At the restaurant, students learned about more than the origins of a popular Vietnamese sandwich. The owner, Ton Tran, shared his family鈥檚 journey from Vietnam to the United States, connecting France’s historical influence in Vietnam to immigration, resilience, and entrepreneurship. His mother had learned to bake French pastries while working at a French cathedral in Vietnam. After the family immigrated to the United States as refugees, she began making pastries and eventually b谩nh m矛.

That story brought history into focus. Students could see how cultural influences travel across generations and borders, carried by people whose experiences shape the communities they join. Jenkins recalled how engaged the students were as the owner shared his experiences, encouraged their participation, and answered their questions. 鈥淗is presentation was not just history; it was very inspirational about life and taking risks and making choices,鈥� Jenkins said.

The experience also highlighted the importance of learning from people whose perspectives and experiences differ from our own. By listening, asking questions, and making connections, students practiced seeing the world through a broader lens.

Learning That Opens Doors

For Jenkins, food is often a gateway to culture. A new dish can spark curiosity about the language, traditions, history, and people behind it. 鈥淚 think I hope that they see just how rich and diverse the world is that鈥檚 waiting for them. That it will push them to explore more,鈥� she said.

That sense of possibility is central to 糖心原创鈥檚 approach to learning. Students are encouraged to begin with questions, investigate authentic challenges, and connect what they learn to the world beyond campus. Experiences like this turn abstract concepts into meaningful discoveries while building the curiosity and cultural understanding students need to navigate an interconnected world.

Jenkins knows firsthand how unexpected those discoveries can be. She did not begin studying French until 11th grade, when she initially thought she needed the language only for college. Instead, it became a gateway to international experiences and opportunities she could not have anticipated. 鈥淟anguage was a tool that opened the door,鈥� Jenkins said.

The Idea Is Just the Beginning

The expedition also reflects 糖心原创鈥檚 focus on creativity: the ability to explore possibilities, make connections, and combine ideas in ways that lead to something new. The story of b谩nh m矛 is itself an example of this process, with cultural influences coming together to create something distinctive.

Ayer Ryden, a Grade 7 parent, expressed her thanks to Ms. Jenkins: 鈥淚 want to thank you for taking Erik and the others to the Vietnamese restaurant today. He came home excited to share what he learned, and he ate his leftovers for dinner, which were delicious, by the way. We will definitely be visiting there soon. Thank you for helping him love school, your class, and the French culture.鈥�

Meaningful learning does not always require a complicated plan or a lengthy expedition. Sometimes, it begins with a question, a conversation, or the willingness to try something unfamiliar. As Jenkins reminds her students, the world is full of opportunities waiting to be discovered. A classroom lesson may begin with a language, a historical connection, or even a sandwich. Where it leads is part of the adventure. Students learn to follow those questions, make unexpected connections, and discover how their learning can open doors to a wider world.

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At 糖心原创, entrepreneurship starts early. Not necessarily with a business plan or a pitch competition, but with a belief that students can identify an opportunity, ask questions, and do something about it.

That mindset grows throughout the 糖心原创 experience. Students learn to recognize possibilities, understand the people and communities around them, develop ideas, test and refine their thinking, and ultimately create something of value for others.

From curiosity to action

That journey begins as early as Grade 5 through the Impact Summit.

Throughout the year, students identify a passion or area of curiosity, research it, engage with experts and community partners, develop an idea, and put that idea into action. The result might be a business plan, a service-learning opportunity, a product, or a community initiative.

Last spring, Grade 5 student Finn Douglas wanted to create a soccer charity match. What began as an idea grew through conversations with experts and partnerships with other students and 糖心原创鈥檚 Upper School soccer program. Ultimately, nearly 20 students participated, and more than 100 pieces of soccer equipment were collected for the community.

The experience gave students an early lesson in what it means to move an idea forward: ask questions, build relationships, iterate, and act.

That progression is intentional. Students move from 鈥淚 have an idea鈥� to 鈥淚 can develop this idea鈥� to 鈥淚 can create something of value with and for others.鈥�

Entrepreneurship takes many forms

At 糖心原创, entrepreneurship isn’t synonymous with building a for-profit company.

Students have launched businesses, created products, published books, established 501(c)(3) organizations, and developed solutions to community needs while they were still in school.

Senior Phia Calvo, for example, recently became a published author with her children’s book, . What began as a student idea has become a published product that can reach an audience beyond the School.

Maddy Strudwick, Class of 2022, launched a company and product while she was a 糖心原创 student, experiencing the process of developing an idea, creating a product, and bringing it to market.

Collin Maher, Class of 2025, took a different path, starting a to raise money to purchase brand-new athletic running shoes for students in need at a nearby public school. He leaves a legacy of impact.

Each experience looks different. The common thread is student agency.

Students learn that they don’t have to wait until graduation to turn an idea into something real or make an impact on the world around them.

Real challenges. Real organizations.

As students progress into Upper School, those opportunities become increasingly complex and authentic.

Innovation Diploma gives students the opportunity to work on real challenges for real organizations. This fall, students are collaborating with organizations including Verizon, Mercedes-Benz, Chick-fil-A, and Piedmont Pediatrics. Instead of completing a predetermined assignment, students research, interview stakeholders, identify opportunities, and develop solutions.

A recent partnership with Furman University鈥檚 Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship illustrates that approach.
Furman came to 糖心原创 while developing its first summer entrepreneurship experience for high school students and asked 糖心原创 students to help design it. Six teams of Grade 10 students spent nine weeks developing the experience, from its structure and learning journey to branding, marketing, and physical materials.

Students researched their audience, developed and tested ideas, responded to feedback, and presented their recommendations to Furman鈥檚 team.

They weren’t learning about entrepreneurship through a hypothetical case. They were working as design partners on something a real organization needed.

The same approach has been applied through other partnerships, including work with Inspire Brands, where students collaborate directly with business leaders on authentic innovation and design challenges.

Creating value for others

The progression from the Impact Summit to the Innovation Diploma reflects a larger philosophy about how students learn.
Entrepreneurship starts with curiosity: What could be different? It continues with inquiry: Who does this matter to, and what do I need to understand? Then comes action: What can I create, test, and improve?

Ultimately, it leads to impact: How can this idea create value for someone beyond myself?

The scale changes as students grow. The responsibility grows with it.

But the underlying idea remains the same: students have the agency to see an opportunity, develop an idea, and make something happen.

The post Entrepreneurship Starts With an Idea appeared first on 糖心原创.

What happens when a kindergarten science lesson moves beyond the classroom?

On Lower Campus, it might look like a golf club in the hands of a five-year-old, a Middle School golfer explaining the difference between clubs, or a group of kindergarteners reminding one another that golf is a quiet sport. For Eileen Fennely, Lower School Science Teacher and Lower Campus Faculty Advisor, the experience begins with a foundational science question: How can we use force to make something move?

Kindergarten students explore that question through a series of hands-on investigations. They learn how pulleys work by tying knots and using washers to lift objects. They experiment with magnets, testing what is magnetic and what is not. They build ramps and roll cars and balls down them, observing how changing a ramp鈥檚 height affects speed. They investigate friction by comparing how objects move across different surfaces.

These experiences are part of a science curriculum aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards, designed to build knowledge and vocabulary over time. Then, students put those ideas into motion.

Golf has been incorporated into the Kindergarten Force and Motion unit. Students consider how much force is needed to move a golf ball and how that force changes depending on the club they use. They can see the result of their choices, adjust their approach, and try again.

鈥淚 try to make everything as real-world as possible and get those little hands moving.鈥�

For several students, golf also brings another kind of expertise into the classroom. Some Kindergarteners already play with their families on the weekends, giving them an opportunity to share what they know about clubs, stance, and the etiquette of the game.

That expertise has created an unexpected extension of the science lesson. When the class first went outside to practice, students reminded their classmates to find their stance and remain quiet until the ball was hit. They learned when to cheer and how to congratulate a friend.

鈥淣ow they know when to cheer and how to give a compliment to their friend, which helps them become a considerate person.鈥�
The experience also opened the door to a cross-divisional partnership. When Associate Athletic Director Rita Williams saw Eileen鈥檚 Kindergarten students practicing in the courtyard, she suggested bringing in the Middle School Golf Team. Soon, Middle School golfers were back in the science lab and outside with the Kindergarten classes, explaining the different clubs and helping younger students think about how much force was needed to move the ball.

For Eileen, the experience offered a full-circle moment. She has taught many of the Middle School golfers earlier in their 糖心原创 journeys. Now, they were returning to the science lab as coaches, mentors, and experts.

Abby Medford, Class of 2031 and member of the Girls’ Middle School Golf Team, shared, 鈥淚t was really sweet because you could tell the kindergarteners were looking up to us. London ran up, grabbed my hand, and kind of chose me. I taught her about her swing and how the motion launches the ball. It took her a couple of tries, but once she started making contact, she hit some really far and had so much fun chasing after them. It was fun to watch her figure it out and be part of her learning.鈥�

Kai Wadhwania, also Class of 2031 and member of the Middle School Boys Golf Team, said, 鈥淚t was really cool getting to work one-on-one with a kindergartener and see how excited they were to learn. It was fun to help them figure out their swing and see that moment when they finally hit the ball and how much joy it gave them to make that connection. It made me realize how much they were learning from us, but we were learning from them, too.鈥�

The Middle School students were eager to return, visiting additional Kindergarten classes to continue the experience. For Eileen, that kind of hands-on, connected learning is central to how science comes alive for young learners.

鈥淓verything is very hands-on. We鈥檙e also using pretty high-level vocabulary with the children. These activities are practical, so they can also be done at home with their families if they wanted to.鈥�

The golf experience is one part of a larger Force and Motion unit that gives students repeated opportunities to encounter the same scientific ideas in different ways. A pulley, a magnet, a ramp, a car, and a golf club become different ways to investigate the same essential concepts.

Students are not simply hearing about science. They are noticing, testing, adjusting, explaining, and trying again. And that is what makes the learning stick.

鈥淲e know from all the neuroscience research that if you鈥檙e doing it with your hands and saying it, it all sticks a whole lot better in that beautiful brain.鈥�

Whether students are exploring friction on the courtyard, experimenting with magnets in the lab, or determining how much force to use with a golf club, they are building an understanding of science they can see, feel, and apply.

The next step may take them to a golf course, where they can continue putting those ideas into practice.

When students have the opportunity to apply what they are learning in the real world, a scientific concept becomes more than something they know. It becomes something they can do.

The post A Lesson in Force, Motion, and Golf appeared first on 糖心原创.

At the start of each school year, junior and senior Innovation Diploma students in the Upper School begin with a real design brief from a real organization. Something that they have been preparing for and building towards since their freshman year.

Design Briefs are not a simulation. Not a case study. They are real challenges, with real constraints, from organizations that are genuinely curious about what a group of high school students might create. This fall, those organizations are Verizon, Mercedes-Benz, Chick-fil-A, and Piedmont Pediatrics. But before we get into the briefs, it helps to understand where Innovation Diploma fits into the bigger picture of learning in the Upper School.

One Upper School. Three Pathways.

糖心原创’s Upper School offers three pathways designed to give students more ownership over how they learn and where they want to go: Inquiry, Innovation, and Impact.

The Inquiry Pathway gives students space to follow questions, develop areas of interest, and turn curiosity into deeper study and original work. The Impact Pathway centers on the Global Impact Diploma, connecting learning to global challenges, cross-cultural experiences, and purposeful action.

The Innovation Pathway is built around the Innovation Diploma, a four-year Upper School experience for students who want to learn by tackling complex problems, working collaboratively, and creating solutions for real people and organizations.

Innovation Diploma, or iD, has been part of 糖心原创 for more than a decade. It launched in 2014 after a design sprint brought students and innovators together around a simple question: How might we make school life more reflective of real life? The premise has remained remarkably consistent: give students meaningful problems, the tools to explore them, and the space to figure out what comes next.

A Brief is Not an Assignment

Before students sketch, prototype, or pitch, they have to figure out what problem they’re actually trying to solve. A design brief doesn’t come with a prescribed question or a single answer waiting at the end. It comes with a challenge, a context, and a set of constraints. Students have to determine what matters, who matters, and where they might be able to make an impact.

Innovation Diploma gives students the opportunity to practice what it means to think and work like a designer: understand a problem, get close to the people experiencing it, ask better questions, and build toward a solution.

鈥淚n iD, our motto is ‘age does not equal capability,’ and briefs are where we get to show people that we really practice what we preach. We have 16-18-year-old kids doing real, actual consulting work with companies. They’re not working on a typical school project with a clearly defined rubric, outcomes, and objectives; they’re using design thinking to create solutions for their clients. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship that we have with our partners.鈥� 鈥� Emily Wilcox, Innovation Pathway Lead

It’s an approach iD has been refining for years. In Mod 2, iD students shift their focus from external clients to a more focused, futures-thinking design challenge in which they reimagine the future of different industries. This culminates in an immersive experience called “Future Of.鈥� In fact, previous iD students have worked on everything from the future of retail and food to air transportation, entertainment, and cities. You can explore more Innovation Diploma stories from 糖心原创, including iD’s 10-year milestone, students exploring the Future of Entertainment, and students stepping into the role of brand strategists with Inspire Brands.

Four Industries, One Classroom

Look at the Mod 1 partner list and the range is immediately apparent: telecommunications, automotive, food service, and pediatric healthcare. The variety is intentional. Each brief asks students to step into a problem space they didn’t choose and likely haven’t encountered before. That means learning to ask different questions, listen to different people, and understand experiences that may be far from their own.

For the Piedmont Pediatrics brief, Caroline Birdsey, Class of 2027, shared where they are in the process. 鈥淩ight now, we’re working to understand Piedmont Pediatrics as a whole, especially since they recently moved into a new building and are expanding the services they offer. We’ve been researching, interviewing people, and looking at the experience from both the patient and the staff side. Eventually, we want to help make that growth easier for families to navigate and make sure they can clearly understand everything Piedmont Pediatrics has to offer.鈥�

The questions change. The users change. The context changes.
The process stays the same: start by understanding.

鈥淲e’re pretty passionate about giving our students experience with as many different industries, sectors, and businesses as possible. The reason is twofold: we’ve found that it helps students get closer to finding what they want to do in the future (or sometimes what they don’t want to do), and it also expands their worldview. When they design for different people, they develop a broader, more complete perspective. We can’t “design a better world” if we’re limiting who and what we interact with.鈥� 鈥� Emily Wilcox

Before Anything Gets Designed

In Innovation Diploma, some of the most important work happens before anything gets designed.

Students start with questions.

• Who are we designing for?
• What do we actually know?
• What are we assuming?
• What might we be missing?

They observe.
They interview.
They research.
They test assumptions.
They sit with what they don’t yet understand.

It’s not always comfortable. And that’s part of the learning.

The goal isn’t to move quickly from a brief to a solution. It’s to stay curious long enough to discover a problem worth solving.

鈥淲e鈥檙e really excited to be working with Piedmont Pediatrics as they enter a period of growth. After moving into a new building and expanding the services they offer, the practice is looking for ways to make its online presence and physical space clearer, more welcoming, and easier to navigate for patients and their families. Our team is exploring opportunities in website design, marketing, branding, and wayfinding, with the goal of helping parents feel confident and supported throughout their experience. During our internal review on September 10, we shared the discovery work we鈥檝e conducted through interviews and focus groups and received pivotal feedback that will help us refine our understanding of the problem and guide our next steps. We鈥檙e looking forward to our site visit, where we鈥檒l listen to additional stakeholders and learn more about the needs of doctors, nurses, office staff, patients, and parents so we can create solutions that make a meaningful impact.鈥� 鈥� Caroline Kincaid

When the Work Becomes Real

A real partner changes the nature of the work.
Students aren’t designing for a hypothetical customer or an imaginary organization. Someone is actually going to look at what they make. The questions become more specific. The research matters more. And when an idea doesn’t work, there’s a reason to keep going.

A Shared Way of Thinking

Innovation Diploma may begin with a different question than the Inquiry Pathway, but the two share something important: neither asks students to move quickly toward an answer.
Both give students space to follow questions, develop expertise, and make meaning from what they discover.

And while the Innovation Pathway looks different from Inquiry and Impact, all three reflect a larger belief at 糖心原创: students should have meaningful opportunities to guide their learning and connect it to the world around them. The goal isn’t simply what students produce. It’s what they become capable of doing when the answer isn’t obvious.

By the end of Mod 1, students will have designed something a real organization can respond to: a concept, a prototype, a pitch, or perhaps a solution that continues beyond the classroom.

But the most important thing they build may be less visible. They learn that they can enter an unfamiliar problem, ask better questions, listen closely, make something, learn from what doesn’t work, and figure out what comes next.

They weren’t given an answer to find.
They were trusted with a problem worth solving.

The post When the Work is Real, the Learning is Different appeared first on 糖心原创.

Then it happens.
A name flashes across the screen. A photo appears. A House color is revealed.
And the gym erupts.
This is House Sorting Day.

Now in its third year, it has become one of the Middle School鈥檚 most anticipated traditions. But the spectacle is about more than school spirit. It is about belonging.

At 糖心原创, belonging is not left to chance. It is intentionally designed.

That design begins before a student ever joins a House. Every Middle School student belongs to a grade-level Community group, a home base led by an adult who knows them by name, notices when something is off, and stays connected throughout the year. These relationships create a foundation of trust and connection.

Within each grade, students are also part of Mentor Groups, smaller communities designed for deeper conversation, reflection, goal setting, portfolio design, and connection. These are spaces where students can be known more fully and develop relationships that extend beyond the classroom.

Then come the Houses. Houses add another dimension to the Middle School experience: connection across grade levels. A sixth grader cheers beside an eighth grader. A new student is welcomed by someone who has already spent two years wearing the same colors. Students don’t simply belong to a grade; they become part of something larger.

“Students thrive when they feel seen and valued,” says David Ayers, Associate Head of Middle School. “Through our house system, one of the first experiences a student has in Middle School is discovering a built-in connection with a wide array of students and faculty, developing meaningful relationships across grade levels, and gaining a sense of identity and the confidence that comes with it.”

That intentionality comes to life on House Sorting Day. As each new student鈥檚 name appears on the screen, the anticipation builds. Then comes the drum roll, not from a snare, but from hundreds of feet stomping the bleachers in unison. When the House is revealed, the students already wearing those colors erupt in thunderous cheers. For the student being welcomed, the moment can be unforgettable.

G6 student, Sage Freeman, said 鈥淚 really liked it and am really excited to be able to connect with my volleyball teammates in the same house.鈥�

Harrison James, also in Grade 6 said, 鈥� Honestly, it was cool and competitive. Being in the Green House is cool as it’s full of energy.鈥� Jane Malloy, also new to the Green House, said, 鈥淚t was fun! I have a sense of belonging because I know a lot of friends in my house (Green!). I look forward to winning and connecting with people in my house!鈥�

For students entering 糖心原创 in Grade 7 or 8, the experience offers something equally important: an immediate connection to a community.

Amelia Decker, an eighth grader, said, 鈥淚 enjoyed the experience and thought it was great to be in a house where I’m with friends that I have made so far this year.鈥�

Saeed Zahedi, a Grade 7 student, shared, 鈥淭he environment was so much fun! Exciting to watch. I’m happy to be in the Blue House and that they welcome me with open arms. Looking forward to what other House games we will be doing this year.鈥�

But belonging at 糖心原创 isn’t simply about being welcomed. Over time, students become the people doing the welcoming. The eighth-grader cheering from the bleachers today was once the sixth-grader waiting for their name to appear on the screen. The student who was welcomed as a newcomer eventually becomes one of the students responsible for making someone else feel at home.

In that way, belonging creates responsibility.

It gives students a chance to lead from where they are, to encourage others, build community, represent their House, and contribute to something larger than themselves.
For Max Hanson, Head of Middle School, that is what makes House Sorting so meaningful. In his message to families ahead of this year’s event, he described the moment when new students are welcomed by their House as one that gives him “chills.” 鈥淭his ceremony is something students will always remember.鈥�

His message to students is simple: everyone belongs.

And the pep rally doesn’t end when the last name is called. Houses immediately begin competing. This year’s celebration included a fast-paced House challenge that pushed the energy even higher. Throughout the year, students earn spirit points through participation, teamwork, and House events. The House with the most points earns the title of House of the Year, celebrated at the culminating event every Middle School student looks forward to: Field Day.

But the trophy isn’t the real prize. The lasting impact is the identity students build, the relationships they form, the traditions they carry forward, and the role they come to play in a community that is bigger than themselves. Because the goal isn’t simply for every student to be able to say, “I belong here.”

The post You Belong Here: Inside the Middle School’s Annual House Sorting appeared first on 糖心原创.

The Inquiry Pathway gives students four years to turn personal curiosity into sustained exploration, real-world experience, and original work. It begins not with a predetermined subject or career, but with a question: What are you genuinely curious about?

That approach reflects something fundamental about how learning happens at 糖心原创. Inquiry is the first of three words that define who we are: a school of Inquiry, Innovation, and Impact. Starting with questions is one of our mantras for a very important reason. Students notice, wonder, investigate, make connections, and use what they discover to create something meaningful. The Inquiry Pathway makes that approach especially intentional and sustained.

It Starts With Question Zero

Every ninth grader begins with what faculty call Question Zero.

In the Cultivating Curiosity course, students learn to distinguish between a “topic question,” something that can be answered with a quick Google search, and a “fog question,” something bigger that resists easy answers and invites deeper investigation.

“We’re learning what a good question is,” says Alan Harris, Upper School Inquiry Pathway Faculty. “Is this too broad? Too specific? Can I just answer it with a Google search? Once we give students that language, you hear them using it on their own: ‘Oh, that’s a topic question. I can answer that easily. I probably want to go deeper.'”
And students don’t need to arrive with a ready-made passion.

“This is the time to figure it out,” says Alex Sims, Upper School Inquiry Pathway Lead. “We don’t expect every freshman to know. But there’s always something, some small thread, and that’s enough to start pulling.”

Once students begin asking questions, they learn to look for connections beyond the classroom.

For their fall kickoff expedition, ninth graders explored Atlanta, visiting Oakland Cemetery, Ponce City Market, and the BeltLine’s Eastside Trail. Their assignment was simple: notice, wonder, connect.

Connections from Oakland Cemetery, lead to one student researching golf course efficiency after seeing Bobby Jones gravesite, and another made a connection through Maynard Jackson鈥檚 gravesite after learning why Hartsfield-Jackson airport was named after him. A student interested in sports medicine began thinking about connections to Emory.

“If you’re truly passionate about something, you’ll start seeing it just about everywhere,” Alex says. “That’s the bigger piece of it.”

The expedition wasn’t designed to give students answers. It was designed to give them more questions.

Question Zero is only the beginning.

• In Grade 9, Explore. They identify interests, develop questions, and build the skills to investigate them.
• In Grade 10, Frame a Concentration. They begin narrowing toward a concentration, loosely modeled on university “colleges” such as STEM or Humanities, while leaving room for their interests to evolve.
• In Grade 11, Investigate and In Grade 12 Contribute. Their interests become opportunities for internships, self-designed courses, and increasingly independent work. By graduation, students build a portfolio demonstrating not just what they explored, but what they created and contributed.

“How I would explain the Inquiry Pathway to families is that it’s going to take a student’s interest and turn it into more than just a single project or a single question,” Alex says. “We’re building a curriculum around that interest, so that by Grade 11 and Grade 12, students are going into internships, designing their own classes, and building a portfolio that shows not just what they explored, but how it could change that field.”

That’s what makes the pathway different from a collection of passion projects. A question leads to exploration, exploration leads to deeper study, and deeper study leads to real-world application and original work.

The Goal Isn’t Just to Find a Passion

The Inquiry Pathway is one way 糖心原创 students can personalize their Upper School experience. While the Innovation Pathway, featuring the Innovation Diploma, centers on design thinking and entrepreneurship, and the Impact Pathway, featuring the Global Impact Diploma, focuses on a global scale, Inquiry begins with the individual learner and the questions that matter to them.

Both reflect 糖心原创’s larger approach to learning: students aren’t simply receiving knowledge. They’re learning to use curiosity, agency, and their own ideas to shape what they learn and how they use it.

“My hope,” Alex says, “is that these students graduate having created something that changes their field, something they can point to and say, ‘I built that through the work that I wanted to pursue and it started with asking the right questions.'”

It’s early days for 糖心原创’s newest freshmen, but the pattern is already showing up in hallway conversations and advisory check-ins: students refining a question, going one layer deeper.

That, more than any single project, is the real work of the Inquiry Pathway.

The post Starting with Question Zero: Inside the Inquiry Pathway appeared first on 糖心原创.

The cheers that followed set the tone for everything that came after.

On August 21, 糖心原创 gathered twice, once for Lower Campus and once for Upper Campus, to open the 2026鈥�27 school year with Convocation, the annual tradition that calls the whole community together to set the purpose and spirit for the year ahead. And this year, that spirit had a name: Creativity.

The Lower Campus Convocation kicked off at 8:50 am after students from PK4 through Grade 5 made the walk across the street to the Upper Campus Gym. Cecelia Rogers (Grade 5) and Ada Rogers (Grade 2) led the community in the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the Invocation delivered by eighth-grader Liam Ireland. Livi Zelickson, also in Grade 8, then welcomed the younger students with warmth and clarity: “Convocation is not just about starting school; it’s about starting strong, dreaming big, and helping each other along the way.”

Head Prefect Eli Diaz took the stage next, and what he said was anything but ordinary.

The Upper Campus Convocation followed at 10:20 am, with the same electric energy. After Luca’s now-legendary entrance, the same student voices carried the program: Cecelia and Ada Rogers again led the Pledge, Liam Ireland delivered the Invocation, and Livi Zelickson welcomed the crowd.

Then Eli stepped up again and challenged his peers to rethink everything they thought they knew about creativity.

“Creativity is a choice,” he began, before leading the community on a journey that was equal parts art history and personal storytelling. He introduced the infamous artwork Comedian, a banana taped to a wall that sold for over $5 million, and used it to reframe what it means to be truly creative. But the heart of his speech was his own story: a community garden he built at 糖心原创 that was overtaken first by fire ants, then ravaged overnight by rabbits. Rather than walk away, he regrouped, designed a fence, and eventually watched vegetables from that garden make it into the Upper School lunch line.

“I used to think creativity was about being the one to come up with the idea,” Eli told the crowd. “That it was a talent, something that you either have or you don’t. But I don’t think that anymore. Creativity isn’t about the idea. It’s about what happens after the idea.”

Kristy Lundstrom’s address carried that thread forward for every age group. Drawing on the faculty’s summer read, The Creativity Choice by Dr. Zorana Pringle, she brought the science of creativity to life through two unforgettable stories: Dr. James Naismith’s invention of basketball (and the ladder required to retrieve the ball from a solid peach basket) and Greta Thunberg’s 251 consecutive Fridays of showing up alone outside the Swedish Parliament before millions joined her. Student actors Reid, Juliet, Janae, and Oliver brought the Naismith story to life in a live vignette, with Charlotte, CC, Matthew, and Nora embodying the Thunberg story.

“You are already creative,” Kristy told students. “Creativity is not something only a few people have. Creativity is a choice.” She closed with two MV commitments that will anchor the year: Start with Questions and Be brave to try and try again.

Both Convocations closed with a benediction from Stacey Lee and a performance of “Unwritten” by The Stangs, a fitting anthem for a community ready to write the next chapter.

With a completed capital campaign and a theme built for the moment, 糖心原创 is starting the year exactly the way it finishes: by choosing to create something worth showing up for. The idea is just the beginning.

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