Important Dates to Remember
Guest Speaker - Carolyn Coil
Carolyn Coil, internationally known speaker, author, and educator will be sharing
information on ways parents can support and nurture the achievement of students.
Stay tuned for more information!
Carolyn Coil Workshop for Teachers
April 3rd, 4:30-5:30pm
Carolyn Coil Workshop for Parents
April 3rd, 6:30-7:30pm
2014 Laureate Symposium
May 20th, 6:30pm
Gulf Coast High School
Welcome from Superintendent of Schools
Dr. Kamela Patton
As always, I am very excited to share with parents the wonderful learning experiences that are planned for our students.
I particularly want to bring to your attention and have you mark your calendars for the parent workshop scheduled at the MLK Administrative Center on April 3, 2014 from 6:30-7:30. Carolyn Coil, an internationally known speaker, author, and educator will once again be in Collier County. This presentation is designed for parents of gifted students who want to do their best as they raise their children in an ordinary, normal home. She will explore ways parents of gifted children can provide appropriate enrichment for their children and encourage them as they journey to adulthood.
Message from the Director
The third issue of the Advanced Academics in Action Newsletter exemplifies the accomplishments of our students and teachers. Throughout the year, professional development opportunities are scheduled for teachers to share and learn from each other about the wonderful learning opportunities that are developed to support our students.
In this issue, you will read about activities developed for advanced and gifted learners in Language Arts, Social Studies and Science. With our focus on STEM, we are pleased to share the Big Winners at the 2013-2014 Regional Science and Engineering Fair. Michelle Hankey our Chemistry teacher at Palmetto Ridge High School shares information on the many CSI-type of activities which engage students in classroom investigations. Our students do start at an early age to be engaged in exciting problem-solving journeys. Please plan to read about the intermediate team of Pelican Marsh on the Odyssey of the Mind, “Seeing is Believing” challenge.
~ Irene Benfatti, MS., Ed.M.
Director of Advanced Studies & Gifted Learners
The Gifted Conversation Series Language Arts Enrichment Activities for Advanced and Gifted Learners The College of William and Mary's Center for Gifted Education is one of the nation's foremost leaders in the development of curriculum materials and instructional and assessment approaches for gifted learners. The lessons included in this resource packet are condensed versions of those lessons. Throughout each lesson, two models are frequently used to encourage close interaction with the text: The Literature Web Model and Vocabulary Web Model. The Literature Web Model encourages students to consider five aspects of the selection they are reading: keywords, feelings, ideas, images or symbols, and the structure. This web helps students organize their initial responses and provides them with a platform for discussing the piece in small or large groups. Whenever possible, students should be allowed to underline and make marginal notes as they read and reread. After marking the text, students then organize their notes into the web. Similarly, the purpose of the Vocabulary Web Model is to enable students to gain an in-depth understanding of interesting words. Rather than promoting superficial vocabulary development, the web approach allows for deep processing of challenging and interesting words. Vocabulary Web components include: word, origin, part of speech, word families, synonyms, antonyms, sentence from the text using word, student example using word, stems, and dictionary definition. With these curriculum extensions, teachers are able to enrich and differentiate the curriculum. The original, unabridged lessons can be found in the designated teacher's editions published by the College of William and Mary. Social Studies Enrichment Activities for Advanced and Gifted Learners My presentation on Social Studies Gifted Extensions gave an opportunity for teachers and administration to have an open discussion on how to use the extensions in the classroom setting. Gifted Extensions help to meet the needs of all our students. Extension lessons provide an opportunity for students to extend their learning while applying higher order thinking skills. We also discussed the importance of writing across the curriculum in all subject areas. While sharing student examples we practiced making a template of a colonial cabin using kinesthetic learning. We put ourselves in the mind of the gifted student understanding their desire to learn at a faster pace and to deepen their knowledge base. We all agree that our students would find the Gifted Extensions valuable and interesting. Science Enrichment Activities for Advanced and Gifted Learners At the Gifted Conversation Series entitled “Electricity is Electrifying!” teachers experienced many different ways to use technology and science to further the educational success of all students, especially those who are high-level thinkers. The presentation began by teaching a lesson as if it were K-5 classroom of students. Through this lesson, different teaching ideas about technological advances and ways to build knowledge were shared. The teachers came together to work with an application that allows students to create their own videos and at home. It allows teachers to check for students’ understanding of the content. The application is Animoto. The teachers then created their own Animoto about the information they learned during the workshop. Click the link below to view a video created by Mr. Winkle explaining the concept of diffusion. |
Odyssey of the Mind Takes Students and Teacher Odyssey of the Mind encourages young people to explore many possible answers and to be creative in finding a solution. Since there are no wrong solutions, teams are free to take calculated risks in attempting to solve their chosen problem. Odyssey of the Mind allows kids to use their imaginations to interpret and solve complex problems in a fun way. Odyssey of the Mind is a hands-ON program for kids, but a hands-OFF program for adults. A coaches’ role is that of a facilitator. They helped to coordinate schedules and keep track of their ever evolving to-do list. They are also a supporter when things didn’t go as planned. Most importantly, they ask question after question to promote effective communicate of ideas between group members. This year, Pelican Marsh's intermediate team chose “Seeing is Believing". The kids planned and executed every facet of their performance. They did everything, including script writing, set designing, prop creating, and costume producing. To see initial ideas evolve into their finished performance is something coaches and students treasure forever. The camaraderie built between students of various backgrounds and grade levels, as well as the bonds of friendship that have developed, will stay with this group for years to come. My Pelican Marsh students and I were so excited to hear our names announced as first place winners out of all five counties, affording our team to represent PME at the upcoming State competition at UCF in April. The sheer joy on the faces of the students, combined with screams of excitement, made every after-school and weekend meeting, worth it! The kids will continue to work on their performance in the upcoming weeks and are sure to create more lasting memories that will carry them always. ~ Marlana Rodriguez, Odyssey of the Mind Coach at Pelican Marsh Elementary School |
Odyssey of the Mind is an international program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Team members use their creativity to solve a variety of spontaneous and long-term problems. Each team selects one long term problem to develop and solve over a period of several months.
Collier Middle School Advanced Students Big Winners at the
The Regional Science Fair was held on January 31 at the North Collier Regional Park. Over 100 projects were entered into the competition. These projects had been chosen as the top winners in individual middle and high school Science Fairs held earlier this school year. Sixth grader, Evan Cohen, from Oakridge Middle School (OMS) was named Grand Champion at the Regional Science Fair. Will Beddow from North Naples Middle School, Jenna Burns from Oakridge Middle, and Bradley Pinosky from Pine Ridge Middle School also received the FGCU four year scholarship valued at $22,000. Evan’s project was entitled Fibonacci Solar Array vs. Flat Panel Array. Evan set out to see which type of solar panel array generated more energy, the Fibonacci Tree or the Flat array. “When I first heard that I was the Grand Champion I was shocked, excited, and surprised all at the same time. I was competing in a Math Counts tournament at the same time the winners were being announced. My Dad showed me a text from my Mom that was a picture of the $1000.00 check with my name on it,” said Evan. “I would summarize my overall Science Fair experience as very interesting. I have learned a lot from it.” Evan and twelve other finalists from Collier will be attending the State Science and Engineering Fair to be held in Lakeland, Florida in April.
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Earning a four year scholarship to a Florida university is quite an achievement for a middle school student, but four Collier County Public School students have done just that. The top winners at the 2013-2014 Collier Regional Science and Engineering Fair were awarded full scholarships to Florida Gulf Coast University.
High School Feature
Michelle Hankey - Palmetto Ridge High School
With the focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) for college and career readiness, Collier County Public School classrooms are building rigorous academic opportunities for the students at all grade levels. AP Biology, AP Chemistry and AP Physics have just undergone major curriculum re-writing processes to incorporate more inquiry into student's scientific learning. The open-ended investigations and hands-on, real world learning experiences are reflected in weekly laboratory activities in our classroom. Students use BYOD technology to record their experimental results and themselves as "scientists in action".
My students are working hard to develop 21st century skills that enhance their creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication. Actively engaged in a variety of sensory learning experiences, as well as higher order thinking and analytical questioning, we are developing the scientists, engineers, and business owners of the future. By taking advantage of more independent learning and student-directed choices, students can pursue topics they are passionate about. A recent project connecting Chemistry to the "Real World" brought investigations into topics as varied as cosmetics, musical instruments, fireworks, internal combustion engines and jellyfish.
Michelle Hankey is a Chemistry teacher at Palmetto Ridge HS. She is currently undertaking a Master’s Degree in Forensic Science from the University of Florida and incorporates many CSI-type activities into classroom investigations.
2014 Laureate Presentations
High schools all over Collier County are gearing up for the 2014 Laureate presentations. While some schools have one or a few Laureate Candidates that will present, others have up to and even over 40 presenters. Along with the Laureate Candidates exhibiting their research in the form of a 20 minute verbal and visual presentation, each complete with an audience of peers, faculty, administration, and a panel predominantly made up of community members who have read the Candidate’s research and are ready to critique and challenge.
The CCPS Advanced Studies Laureate Diploma is the highest achievement for a high school student. There are many criteria involved in receiving a Laureate Diploma, some of which are: A student must take and pass at least 6 AP or AICE courses; they must have at least two performances of excellence during high school (such as band, chorus, drama, and/or competitive academic teams); the student will then choose a topic, write a 5,000 word research paper, and then present their findings in front of a panel and audience for the purpose of defending their research. Once this is complete, the Laureate Candidate will receive the high honor of Laureate Diploma as well as a $1,000 scholarship.
Each high school has a Laureate Coordinator who sees the students through the entire process and passes on information within the district. Each student has at least one mentor with whom he or she works closely in an effort to not only write the best paper possible, but to ensure the soundness of his or her research. And finally, there are multiple community members involved in making all of this happen. These community members generally take part in the panels as described above and sometimes as an extra set of eyes to help move the Candidates through the process.
The Laureate Diploma has been a part of CCPS for a number of years, but has recently seen a surge in popularity. This is most likely due to the incredible community involvement. These students have to prove that they are not only high achieving, but they have a strong work ethic. From the standpoint of the community members involved, the parents, the faculties, and even the students themselves… it is clear that these Laureate Candidates deserve their top accolades. If anyone is interested in seeing a glimpse of these achievements, please consider attending the Laureate Symposium which will be held on May 20, 2014 in the Gulf Coast High School auditorium.
~ Marsha Layne, Gulf Coast High School
Advanced Studies & Gifted Learners Department
Collier County Public Schools
5775 Osceola Trail • Naples, FL 34109
(239) 377-0102 • Fax (239) 377-0165
