PENNCREST Gifted Program

Parents who would like to keep their child challenged over the summer should check out Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page at http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/  This site is packed full of  challenging activies and on line courses to keep your child motivated.  There is also a “parents” page that contains links to a wealth of both general and specific information about gifted.

Thank you to all students and parents for the timely return of your Allegheny class selections. Signs ups are complete and scheduling will begin soon. We will do our best to assign students to their first choices. Once the scheduling is complete and the next year’s calendar for Allegheny is set, students will be notified of their classes and dates those classes take place. Please address any further questions to Mrs. Mumford, Mr. Nicolazzo or Mr. Harakal.

The 2008 MASTERS Summer Program for students in grades 2 through 7 with a passion for math and science will be June 23 through June 27 at Edinboro University. This is a five day, hands on, high level, intensive science and math labratory experience. Students must have high ability, motivation, a serious attitude, and a favorable teacher recommendation. Tuition is $200 with full and half fee scholarship money available for those who qualify. Programs this year include Get Smart abut Energy, DNA-The Code of LIfe, Who Wants to be a Meteorologist, Forces of Nature, and Mock CSI:Can you Solve the Mystery?. Parents are responsible for providing transportation and lunch. For more infomation or an application contact Mrs. Mumford, Mr. Nicolazzo, or
Mr. Harakal.

For those of you who are new to the high school,  pull out is done differently than it was in the elementary. First of all, it is optional. In the elementary, pull out was done on a regularly scheduled basis. In the high school, a student may choose to come to pull out or may choose to remain in the regular education classroom. Students may attend gifted pull out one period per week if they attend the Allegheny program or two periods per week if they do not. If a student does opt to come to pull out in the high school, it is necessary to get the permission of the class room teacher. At times, the teacher may feel that missing that particular class would be detrimental to the student and may ask that the student select another time. The enrichment teachers are available at the high school on a regularly scheduled basis. Mrs. Mumford is at Maplewood High School on Mondays. Mrs. Mumford and Mr. Nicolazzo are at Saegertown High School on Thursdays. Mr. Nicolazzo is at Cambridge High School on Monday and Wednesday. See or e-mail them if you have any questions.

Need some advice about investments for retirement? Just ask the students at MES and SES. A MES team of fifth graders finished first in the region. During a time when investing in the market was a roller coaster ride of ups and downs, this group of young analists turned their $100,000 into $111,466.25.  They also have a solid national ranking. Not to be outdone, a team from Saegertown Elementary was able to make a profit of $10,098.13 with their initial $100,000, resulting in a grand total of $110,098.13.  “GO PENNCREST ELEMENTARY!”

The Gifted Individual Education Plan (GIEP) of each student identified as gifted must, by law, be reviewed each year and revised as needed. The fist step to this review is the invitation, which is sent to the parent or guardian by their child’s respective enrichment teacher, listing a time and place for the meeting. Included is a stamped, addressed envelope for the response. Since these meetings are held during the day, and so many parents work and are unable to attend, the parent may choose to reschedule, have a “phone” meeting, or ask that the paperwork be sent home for review. Once the GIEP meets the satisfaction of the parent or guardian, they sign and date a NORA form. Then, the invite, updated GIEP, and NORA are all filed in the special education office at Central in Saegertown. A copy is also filed in the guidance office at the child’s school. This procedure is mandated by law (Chapter 16) and is strictly enforced in the PENNCREST School District.

• Pullout: Students in grades 7 though 12 may elect to spend one to two class periods per week interacting with students of like ability. .Students at Cambridge High School attend pullout with Mr. Nicolazzo on Mondays or Tuesdays. Students at Maplewood High School attend pullout with Mrs. Mumford on Mondays.  Students at Saegertown High School attend pullout with Mr. Nicolazzo and Mrs. Mumford on Thursdays. While in pull out students have the option of training for the academic games, participating in the stock market game, working on various logic activities and/or working on a self selected, self designed, teacher approved project.
• Stock Market Game: The Stock Market Game gives students the chance to invest a hypothetical $100,000 in a real-time portfolio.  Teams of students in grades four through twelve are eligible to participate in the Stock Market Game. At the secondary level, scholarship money to Gannon University is given to individuals on the winning teams. For more information, click on the Stock Market Game  link under Academic Competitions on the Gifted Website home page.
• Creek Connections:  Creek Connections is an ongoing project done with the help of Allegheny College students.  Once a month, students may sign up and participate in collecting and analyzing water for eight key water quality parameters. Students will enter their data on the Creek Connections website. In April students will attend a Student Research Symposium at Allegheny College, where they will present and display their water data as well as selected independent research projects.  For more information follow the Creek Connection link under Resources on the home page. 
• Academic Games: In Academic Games students try to “outthink” each other in the areas of math, language arts or social studies. Students learn and practice the various games in pullout. Then, depending on their grade level as well as their comfort level, they may sign up to go to Slippery Rock University to play against students from surrounding districts. As many as 600 students have been in attendance at some of the games! For more information, such as age requirements and dates and game descriptions, follow the Academic Games Schedule link as well as the Academic Games link under Resources.
• Allegheny Arts, Critical Thinking, French Creek: Students in grades seven and eight may choose to attend Allegheny Arts Immersion, Critical Thinking, or French Creek Outdoor Learning Center every other Friday, for a total of 12 sessions. At these programs students interact with Allegheny College staff, Outdoor Learning staff and students from Crawford Central and Conneaut school districts. While there, they have the opportunity to participate in such activities as creative writing, drama, art, music, critical thinking, or outdoor activities. Sign ups for these programs take place each spring. Once a student elects to attend, attendance is mandatory.  For dates, click on Arts Immersion on the home page. 
• Allegheny College Collaborative: Students in grades nine through 12 may choose to attend the 12 scheduled sessions of Allegheny College Collaborative. The collaborative consists of a series of seminars in a variety of genre. Students have the option of signing up for three seminars per time, and may choose from 20 different selections. Also, two additional offerings this year during the lunch period are ball room dancing and guitar. Both are extremely well attended. Sign ups for these programs take place each spring. Once a student elects to attend, attendance is mandatory.  For dates, click on Allegheny College Collaborative on the home page. 
• Precision Manufacturing Institute:  PMI is available for students in grades nine through 12, and may be taken multiple years. PMI attendees are provided training on metal working equipment and the use of advanced software for machining intricate shapes and parts. Students are given hands on training in 3D Design and CAD/CAM. PMI has an impressive new facility for this training. Sign ups for this program take place each spring. Once a student elects to attend, attendance is mandatory.  For dates, click on Precision Manufacturing Institute on the home page.