The school year is off to a fantastic start as all of our traditional middle schools are in their inaugural year of Cambridge Secondary – specialized programming for students identified as gifted or high performing. Students in Cambridge Secondary have been engaged in inquiry-based activities such as debate, Socratic Seminars, argument driven inquiry, and document based questioning. I have had the pleasure of visiting many of our Cambridge Secondary classes and have enjoyed hearing the deep conversations students are having about their learning. Students and teachers alike have commented on how much they are enjoying Cambridge Secondary.

This year is also the year of planning for Cambridge Primary, which will launch next year for grades 3 – 5. This will bring Cambridge programming into the elementary grades for those students identified as gifted or high performing. For this year, additional gifted extensions have been created for grades 3 – 5 in English Language Arts, math, science, and social studies. Additionally gifted extensions will be provided to students in kindergarten through grade 2 in January, which will allow our younger students opportunities to deepen their learning.

I am also thrilled to share that the District’s academic competitions continue to grow. Currently there are 30 Odyssey of the Mind teams which is an increase over the number of teams from last year and includes 3 middle school teams. Last year the District had tremendous success with the Noetic Learning Math Contest with over 1,500 students in grades 3 – 5 participating. This year, not only will grades 3 – 5 have Noetic Learning Math teams, but grade 6 will also participate. I cannot wait to see these “mathletes” at both the elementary and the middle school levels!

Finally, building on the success of the Middle School Debate program, the District’s comprehensive high schools will offer Debate this year as an academic competition. Who better than teenagers to compete in taking sides regarding an issue and offering their opinions? Debate will provide an opportunity for students to be analytical and reflective thinkers while also polishing their presentation skills.

All in all, I am elated to have all of these services and programs in the District and look forward to seeing the great work our students produce with the guidance of their teachers.

~ Kamela Patton, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools

• FAFSA can be submitted earlier. The 2017-18 FAFSA can be filed as early as October 1, 2016, rather than beginning on January 1, 2017. The earlier submission date will be a permanent change, enabling you to complete and submit a FAFSA as early as October 1 every year.
• Earlier income and tax information will be used. Beginning with the 2017-18 FAFSA, students will be required to report income and tax information from an earlier tax year. For example, on the 2017-18 FAFSA, you - and your parent(s), as appropriate - will report your 2015 income and tax information, rather than your 2016 income and tax information.
• An FSA ID must be created prior to completing the FAFSA. The FSA ID can be created by visiting studentaid.gov/fsaid. Click here to view an FSA ID video tutorial.

• Christopher K. Myers
• Nicholas Rowe
• Kyle Theberge

• Jake E. Fecher
• Matthew Holzaepfel

• Christopher J. Davis
• Elizabeth K. Martin

The High School Debate Program Begins This Year

by Kyle Manders, TSA for English/Language Arts

The 2016-17 school year signals even greater opportunities for academic rigor as debate academic competition offerings have expanded to include High School Debate. The thriving Middle School Debate program has paved the way for students to further develop the knowledge and skills needed to argue effectively in real world contexts.

Public Forum Debate is the core format for both the middle and high school programs. Two teams comprised of three students each prepare both pro and con arguments while extensively researching a debate resolution such as, “In response to the current crisis, a government should prioritize the humanitarian needs of refugees over its national interests”. Student debaters must be prepared to argue both the pro and con side of an issue since a coin flip determines which side a team will argue just seconds before the start of a match. Knowing both sides of an issue enriches a student’s rhetorical prowess since debaters are able to proactively formulate arguments built to weather an attack, while also planning counterarguments to invalidate an opponent’s position.

In this inaugural year, High School Debate is only offering the Public Forum Debate format to offer new teams the chance to organize. However, time demands have been increased at the high school level in order to require students to elaborate upon their contentions with greater detail supported by evidence.

The high school expansion of debate this year will propel our students toward #ccpsSuccess! If you are interested in supporting the Middle School Debate or High School Debate programs as a volunteer judge, please contact Kyle Manders at MANDEK@COLLIERSCHOOLS.COM.

Odyssey of the Mind: Great Minds DON'T Think Alike!

by Marlana Rodriguez

Odyssey of the Mind (OM) is growing at an amazing rate in our Collier County Public Schools. It is a pleasure to announce that there are now 19 schools and 30 teams honing their creative skills. OM is an international enrichment program that provides problem-solving opportunities for students in kindergarten through college. Teams apply their creativity to solve problems and then bring their solutions to competition at the regional, state, and world level. Utilizing resources, individual talents, and research skills, teams of up to seven students develop every facet of their solution. This means OM is "hands on" for students and "hands off" for volunteer coaches and parents. Teams are permitted to seek adult guidance to learn skills and techniques (carpentry, engineering, sewing, etc.) but only the students may apply the learned skills to items that are a part of the team’s solution. In addition to divergent thinking skills, through OM, student participants learn effective communication, long-range planning, leadership skills, self-confidence, as well as financial and time management.

During the OM “season” each team selects one long term problem to solve over a period of several months. The problems are designed for presentation in the competition setting, with scoring criteria, limitations, and rules to be followed. Successful teams take calculated risks in attempting to solve their chosen problem. Each performance must be completed in under eight minutes and has budgetary restrictions. While the specific attributes of each long-term problem change every year, problems fall into one of five general categories: mechanical/vehicle, technical, classics, structure and performance.

• Mechanical/Vehicle: Teams design, build, and operate vehicles of various size and with various power sources. Often vehicles must overcome obstacles or accomplish tasks.
• Technical: Teams design, build, and demonstrate various devices that complete specific tasks. They might be asked to write an original musical score to play on a "new" type of instrument, build a robot with human characteristics, or perform tasks using a chain reaction of snapping mousetraps.
• Classics: The theme of this problem is based on the classical -- from literature to architecture to art. Whether it's writing an additional chapter to Moby Dick or bringing famous paintings to life, it's always a terrific learning experience.
• Structure: This problem requires teams to design, build, and test a structure, made only of balsa wood and glue, that will balance and support as much weight as possible, sometimes more than a thousand pounds!
• Performance: In this problem, teams create and present performances that revolve around a designated theme and incorporate various required elements. Past themes include "morphing" objects or animals that express human emotions.

For additional information, contact your child’s school and visit http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/ to read the 2016-2017 problem synopsis for this year's long term problems. Volunteers are always needed to serve in a variety of capacities. Please contact your child’s school if you wish to volunteer.

"Letting Off S.T.E.A.M." with Their Dads

by Marilyn McLaughlin, 5th Grade Teacher at Calusa Park Elementary School

Wednesday, September 28, 2016, was a special day at Calusa Park Elementary (CPE) as they hosted their annual “Dads Take Your Child to School Day”. This year the high-performing students in grades 4 and 5 served as the role of STEAM Ambassadors for this much anticipated event.

STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math, and the morning was filled with opportunities for interaction in all of these areas. The STEAM Ambassadors served as facilitators for the demonstration of some of the exciting opportunities available to students at Calusa Park Elementary.

STEAM Ambassadors modeled the following activities:

• Ozobots
• Kodu Game Lab
• Block Coding
• Lego Robotics
• Math SumDog Challenges

Look for the CPE STEAM Ambassadors at the upcoming CCPS STEAM Conference in October where they will be booth attendants at the STEAM village!

Keeping Students Identified as Gifted or High-Achieving Motivated to Learn!

by Rachel Moore and Priscilla Sierens, Estates Elementary School

Keeping students engaged and motivated is very important, and Estates Elementary School works hard to ensure their students are enjoying and thriving in the learning environment.

Calling all parents! For fourth grade gifted-endorsed teachers Ysela Quintana and Tarah Delashmet, iPads are not just a tool for learning, but a catalyst for success. As avid users of digital technology in the classroom, having class sets of iPads allows both teachers to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all learners, while simultaneously providing parents opportunities to view their child’s progress on a daily basis. However, Mrs. Quintana and Mrs. Delashmet are taking it a step further. They want parents to become part of their child’s learning community! How? Through Twitter, of course!

As their fourth graders continue to work through real-world division problems, the students are given the challenge to record a video where they pose a problem via Twitter for parents to solve. Parents are encouraged to record their solution, explain their thinking and tweet it back to fourth grade.

Conversely, Mrs. Quintana and Mrs. Delashmet also call on parents to tweet out real-world problems to their student. Then the students will generate videos solving problems using various strategies and explaining their thinking. “It’s important for students to see the various strategies and thought processes used when solving problems,” says Mrs. Delashmet.

Having students examine similarities and differences in the strategies used to solve the problems helps them to deepen their understanding of critical content by using a discrete cognitive process such as comparing. “Our goal is to truly create a learning community partnership with parents,” says Mrs. Quintana. To check out all of the awesome learning activities taking place in Mrs. Quintana’s class and Mrs. Delashmet’s class, please follow them on Twitter @EES_4th_Graders and @EESPanthers! In Ms. Priscilla Sierens’ third grade gifted cluster class, motivation takes a different path. Choices are essential when it comes to the learning process. Students identified as gifted need to be offered a range of selections that are centralized not only on students’ needs but also on students’ interests. Choice boards are a great way to do that. A choice board is a graphic organizer that allows students to choose how they will learn or show learning of a concept.

Ms. Sierens’ class begins the year by creating their own choice boards, including a reading choice board. As each student finished creating his/her own choice board, she met with each student to discuss the final products and how the student would show his/her understanding of the reading learning goal, such as main ideas and details with in-depth content or vocabulary.

Creativity is an important motivator for students identified as gifted or high-performing. One of the creative choices on the choice board is called Graffiti Vocabulary Poster. Students work with vocabulary and work with synonyms of those vocabulary words. Then the students create their own artwork by drawing correlating pictures to create their “graffiti”.

Students have many other choices, including creating a PowerPoint, but the important part is that the students are motivated to learn, grow, and to take chances.

Duke TIP (Talent Identification Program)

Duke TIP is a nonprofit organization which helps identify and challenge students who are academically talented and/or gifted. As a part of its talent search, Duke TIP registers eligible seventh grade students to take the ACT (no Writing) or SAT (no Essay) as an above-level test. This allows for a further view of the student’s abilities. Eligible 7th grade students achieved a qualifying score at or above the 95th percentile on a recent grade-level assessment.

After eligibility has been attained, Duke TIP provides extra support, motivation, and challenges through educational resources. If you would like to learn more, please contact your middle school counselor or visit the Duke TIP website.

“One Work, Many Voices”: A Cambridge History Project at Gulfview Middle School

by Laura Burke, Social Studies Teacher

Whether it is Columbus unfurling a flag on Hispaniola or Washington crossing the icy chop of the Delaware, our country’s historical narratives are told through the images and colors of iconic American paintings. These are the stories of heroes, those who represent significant moments in our nation’s past. Yet at Gulfview Middle School, they are so much more.

Principal Kevin Huelsman notes, “Under the auspices of the new middle school Cambridge Secondary program, Gulfview’s eighth grade U.S. History classes are digging deeper through the ‘One Work, Many Voices’ project this year.”

Through their involvement in “One Work, Many Voices”, students study a singular masterpiece, research the underrepresented populations in the background, and present the results of this investigation in variety of self-selected, innovative media.

Student Jehyson Montano explains, “These underrepresented people deserve a voice. My work gives a voice to the natives who were treated poorly just because they had a different skin color.”

Student Monserrat Vaca adds, “This project helped me gain an open mind by imagining different perspectives. It also taught me how creative I can be.”

Over the course of the year, eighth graders might elect to research a Taino Native American hidden in the shadows of a Caribbean beach, an African-American oarsman rowing towards a Revolutionary War victory, or a modest farmer struggling to plow the Western plains. Research designs have already featured 3D computer images, plays, negative space collages, found poems, and models. Paintings scheduled for investigation in the 2016-2017 school year are John Vanderlyn’s Landing of Columbus, Emanuel Leutze’s Washington Crossing the Delaware, John Gast’s American Progress, and Winslow Homer’s Home, Sweet Home. This Cambridge Secondary project is funded with assistance from Champions for Learning, the education foundation in Collier County.

Take to the Stage!

by Lauri Garbo, Teacher on Special Assignment, Advanced Studies

Whether in the midst of a dramatic Shakespearean monologue or a peppered comedic exchange, our student thespians bask in the glow of the spotlight on various school stages throughout the district.

In his Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Howard Gardner explains how individuals learn about the world in different ways and how they benefit from focusing on their specific learning styles. Involvement in theatrical courses or clubs allows students who have strengths in the areas of interpersonal, musical, or bodily-kinesthetic to enrich their abilities and broaden the scope of their talents.

William Holt, a junior at Palmetto Ridge High School (PRHS), enjoys his roles both on and off the stage. “I have been involved in both musical and dramatic theatre,” explains Holt, “and I have found a place where I belong—where I fit in.” Holt is currently preparing a musical solo for a competition sponsored by the International Thespian Society.

The benefits of acting are numerous, and they transfer to other disciplines. Over the long-term, students who are involved in theater may experience enhancements in self-confidence, public speaking skills, and the ability to collaborate.

Ms. Machol serves as the drama director for PRHS, and her students are preparing for their two short zombie-themed plays which include a cast of 39 students and a crew of 10. Yadi Hernandez, a sophomore at PRHS who is preparing for two roles in the upcoming plays, claims that her involvement in theatre has benefitted her greatly. “As a result of being an actor in a production, I have developed more confidence and self-esteem; I have also learned how to work with others more effectively.”

According to Mr. Massari, who teaches six theatre courses at Gulf Coast High School (GCHS), “Theatre enables students to learn about projection and articulation when speaking or singing, and they also learn how to work cooperatively and solve problems together.” Additionally, students can develop poise, overcome anxiety, investigate creative expression, cultivate empathy, and explore improvisation. As lighting designer for the upcoming production at GCHS, senior Michael Bruno agrees that he has learned more about teamwork as being a member of the crew. “I have definitely become more outgoing, and I have also learned how to delegate tasks and use problem-solving to work out technical issues.”

Students who choose to participate behind the scenes may construct sets, design costumes, or create sound and lighting effects. Members of a theatrical crew hone problem-solving skills, employ engineering principles, and manage unpredictable obstacles in order to achieve a goal.

Mackenzie Morales-Black, a senior at GCHS, is serving as stage manager for the fall production and explains how this role has benefitted her. “As stage manager I ensure that the rehearsals and performances run smoothly, and I have developed many leadership skills as a result of this responsibility.”

For three years, Everglades City School, the only Pre-K -12 public school in the district, has provided a unique drama program comprised of three courses taught by Ms. Lee. “Because we share a single campus, a majority of our high school productions are designed to appeal to a younger audience. In fact, two years ago the drama classes were responsible for creating a short play about the detriment of bullying, which was well received by the students,” Lee states while sharing the benefits of this unique learning environment.

Throughout the district’s schools, drama students are employing distinct communication, organizational and technical skills to create productions designed to entertain and inspire. In addition to having a great time, students who participate in a theatre course, drama club, or community theatre may experience academic, social, and emotional benefits.

2016 Upcoming High School Productions

• Barron Collier High School - Scenario, November 10
• Golden Gate High School - Fall One-Act Plays, December 14
• Gulf Coast High School - Up the Down Staircase, October 20 and October 22
• Naples High School - TBD, December 8
• Palmetto Ridge High School - Just Add Zombies and Night of the Living Dead, October 28 and 29
• Everglades City School - TBD