Cassidy Gifted and Talented News
January 24, 2020
Announcements
Welcome!
We just added several new students to PTP/GT so I wanted to extend a warm welcome to everyone! I send a weekly newsletter with news and updates on what is happening in PTP/GT at Cassidy, so just scroll down and find your child's area(s) to learn more about what we are doing. Please also sign up for Seesaw and Homeroom with the links at the bottom of the page to see what we are working on.
Save the Date!
We will have a spring PTP/GT showcase (for general intellectual ability, specific academic areas, and leadership) and a spring arts and creativity showcase (for music, art, dance, drama, and creativity). These events are an opportunity for your child to share what they have been learning in PTP/GT with their friends and family.
The spring showcase is scheduled for May 7 from 5:30-6:30pm in the cafeteria.
We will also have a showcase on May 21 (time TBA) for creativity, art, dance, drama, and music students to showcase their work. Art, dance, drama, and music will not display their work at the spring showcase, but will save their pieces for the creativity/arts showcase in the spring. This is to accommodate the length of time it takes for them to complete their pieces and to also provide them with the spaces they need to best share their work and have comfortable places for their families to view their work.
The 5th Grade GT Language Arts students will also be showing their documentary projects at the movie theater in the downtown public library on the evening of April 13.
Innovation Arts Academy Spring Opportunities
Great opportunity for students in drama, dance, music, or art! Click here for more info.
Super Saturdays at WKU
Western Kentucky University (the home for the Center for Gifted Studies) hosts a series of fun workshops for GT students at the campus in Bowling Green. Click here for more info.
Duke Tip
Duke Tip is a program through Duke University that offers a variety of opportunities for GT learners in grades 4 and up. Click here for more info. Registration is now open!
What We Are Up to This Week!
Kindergarten PTP:
Students are participating in an interdisciplinary enrichment curriculum called Envision designed specifically for gifted and talented learners. Our project is called Pet Parade. Students will select a pet that interests them and then will do a variety of activities to learn about how to care for the pet. The unit will incorporate math, science, and language arts.
1st Grade PTP:
Students are participating in an interdisciplinary enrichment curriculum called Envision designed specifically for gifted and talented learners. Students are beginning a Curiosity Expedition where they will select a topic of interest, research it, and then write a non-fiction book about it to share with others.
2nd Grade PTP:
Students are participating in an interdisciplinary enrichment curriculum called Envision designed specifically for gifted and talented learners. They are doing a unit called Travel Passport where students will use science, social studies, math, language arts, art, and technology to plan a trip to a destination(s) of their choosing. Right now, they are finishing up their travel itinerary and budgets and then will work on a scrapbook of all the places to visit on their trip.
3rd Grade Language Arts:
Students are working on researching a historical time period or event. They will use that research to create an informational text to share with others.
3rd Grade Math:
I am co-teaching with Mrs. Dycus during math Monday-Thursday and will be doing a variety of accelerated math activities with students to advance their math skills. Currently, we are working on a graphing project where students will ask a research question and then choose the best graph to represent their data and do a short presentation in Seesaw to share their work. Here is the link to sign up for the Mrs. Dycus's Math class Seesaw account.
PTP Leadership:
Students are applying their leadership skills to design and execute a leadership project in their class/school/community to reduce the impact that Cassidy has on climate change. This group will meet with me a few weeks in a row on a rotating basis so they will see me for a few weeks, then work on their project for a few weeks. We will repeat this rotation throughout the year. The purpose of this is to give students longer, consistent blocks of time to work on their projects with me and their leadership projects around the school/community.
3rd Grade STEM (Science and GI):
Students will be working on a project related to sustainability. They will learn what sustainability is and decide on a project that they want to do in their class/school/community. They will then work on this project throughout the school year. This group will meet with me a few weeks in a row on a rotating basis so they will see me for a few weeks, then work on their project for a few weeks. We will repeat this rotation throughout the year. The purpose of this is to give students longer, consistent blocks of time to work on their projects with me and their sustainability projects around the school/community.
PTP Art/Music/Dance/Drama/Creativity:
Students will be collaborating together to design a production/piece to perform/present at our arts showcase this spring. Students will collaborate together to highlight each of their skills to create their pieces/productions. This group will meet with me a few weeks in a row on a rotating basis so they will see me for a few weeks, then work on their project for a few weeks. We will repeat this rotation throughout the year. The purpose of this is to give students longer, consistent blocks of time to work on their projects with me and Mrs. Gilpin, Mrs. Stringer, or Mrs. Case (our district GT arts specialist).
4th Grade Language Arts:
Students will be engaging in a unit on non-fiction text. They are conducting research on a topic of their choice and then will select what they want to create for their product to share about what they learned.
4th Grade Math:
I am co-teaching with Mrs. Valentino during math Monday-Thursday and will be doing a variety of accelerated math activities with students to advance their math skills. Currently, we are working on a fraction unit.
4th Grade STEM (Science and GI):
Students will be working on a project related to sustainability. They will learn what sustainability is and decide on a project that they want to do in their class/school/community. They will then work on this project throughout the school year. This group will meet with me a few weeks in a row on a rotating basis so they will see me for a few weeks, then work on their project for a few weeks. We will repeat this rotation throughout the year. The purpose of this is to give students longer, consistent blocks of time to work on their projects with me and their sustainability projects around the school/community. This group will also be collaborating with Mrs. Patton from Bluegrass Greensource, who will be visiting our classroom periodically throughout the year to do a variety of lessons on sustainability.
4th Grade Social Studies:
TBA
5th Grade Language Arts:
Students are engaging in a documentary project where they will research a topic, develop an argument, and then create a documentary to convince you to side with them on their topic.
5th Grade STEM (Science, GI, and Math):
Students will be working on a project related to sustainability. They will learn what sustainability is and decide on a project that they want to do in their class/school/community. They will then work on this project throughout the school year. This group will meet with me a few weeks in a row on a rotating basis so they will see me for a few weeks, then work on their project for a few weeks. We will repeat this rotation throughout the year. The purpose of this is to give students longer, consistent blocks of time to work on their projects with me and their sustainability projects around the school/community. This group will also be collaborating with Mrs. Patton from Bluegrass Greensource, who will be visiting our classroom periodically throughout the year to do a variety of lessons on sustainability.
5th Grade Art:
Students have been learning about the elements of art, art over time, and art from around the world to develop a plan for the artwork they want to create. They will then create their pieces to present at our arts showcase this spring. They will also create a piece to be considered to showcase at the Loudon House for a student art show that will be happening this spring. This group will meet with me a few weeks in a row on a rotating basis so they will see me for a few weeks, then work on their project for a few weeks. We will repeat this rotation throughout the year. The purpose of this is to give students longer, consistent blocks of time to work on their projects with me and Mrs. Gilpin.
5th Grade Social Studies
Students are engaging in an economics unit where they will develop their own government and economy.
5th Grade Leadership
Students are working on planning for Dance Blue. They will be in charge of leading the event, introducing guest speakers, running the music and slideshow, coordinating Spirit Week, and promoting the event. Please make sure your child has filled out the permission slip and paid the fee to attend the event. They can get a form from their homeroom teacher or the office and will turn in the form and fee to their homeroom teacher.
4th/5th Grade Dance:
Students will be working with me, Mrs. Valentino (our dance team coach), and Mrs. Case (our district GT arts specialist) to develop a piece to perform at our arts showcase this spring. This group will meet with me/Mrs. Valentino/Mrs. Case a few weeks in a row on a rotating basis so they will see me/Mrs. Valentino/Mrs. Case for a few weeks, then work on their project for a few weeks. We will repeat this rotation throughout the year. The purpose of this is to give students longer, consistent blocks of time to work on their projects.
4th/5th Grade Drama:
Students will be working with me, Mrs. Valentino (a skilled drama performer and teacher), and Mrs. Case (our district GT arts specialist) to develop a piece to perform at our arts showcase this spring. This group will meet with me/Mrs. Valentino/Mrs. Case a few weeks in a row on a rotating basis so they will see me/Mrs. Valentino/Mrs. Case for a few weeks, then work on their project for a few weeks. We will repeat this rotation throughout the year. The purpose of this is to give students longer, consistent blocks of time to work on their projects.
Sharing Our Work With You!
Seesaw Sign Up Links
Seesaw is an online journal where students can make posts to document and share their learning with you and each other. They can take videos and pictures, make drawings, type notes, etc. I am beginning to use it in several classes and will roll it out to more as we go along so if you do not currently see your child, please continue to check in with them or check back in to see if they have set up Seesaw yet or not. If your child participates in one of these groups, you can sign up with Seesaw to view their work by clicking on the link for their group, choosing their name from the menu, and then signing up for an account. There is also a Seesaw app you can download on your phone.
PTP/GT Dance/Music/Art/Creativity
Homeroom
Homeroom is an app/online site that lets me share pictures with you of what we are up to in PTP/GT. Here is the link to our Homeroom site!
Contact Information
Gifted and Talented Teacher
Cassidy Elementary
859-381-3018 ext 21252
angie.madden@fayette.kyschools.us
Email: angie.madden@fayette.kyschools.us
Website: www.cassidy.fcps.net
Phone: 859-381-3018