Middle School Newsletter
Winter
SAGE Center Mission
As the heart of the gifted community, the mission of the SAGE Center is to ensure all students, as members of a global society, foster their uniqueness, develop their potential, and embrace their true belonging through learning experiences distinguished by:
*Courageous exploration and discovery of passions in a flexible and innovative environment
*Support systems for students, staff, and community
*Ownership and self-regulation in a student-driven culture
Program Goals
To provide curricula that focuses on more elaborate, complex, and in-depth study of major ideas, key concepts and themes that integrate knowledge within and across disciplines and encourages the use of higher-level thinking skills.
To provide curricula that sets high standards and that demands rigorous expectations for student work and performance demonstration.
To provide instruction that allows for the development and application of productive thinking skills and enables students to re-conceptualize existing knowledge and/or generate new understandings that deal with real-life problems and issues.
- To provide instruction that is flexibly paced and matched to the student’s ability, pre- assessment data, learning style, interest, and motivation.
- To provide opportunities for students to develop leadership and group interaction skills that allows student-centered discussion and Socratic questioning.
To require project based learning of gifted students that represents application, analysis, and synthesis of knowledge.
To encourage an environment that fosters a positive attitude toward creative challenges, investigative activity, and knowledge creation.
High School Enrollment
Eighth grade students have recently received enrollment information and advice from the gifted resource specialists at each of NKC’s four high schools during their day at SAGE. They will also hear a presentation about the IB program at Northtown.
The SAGE high school resource specialists will then return in Feb. to meet with students and their IQ teacher in small groups to work on creating their individual four year plans. If you have questions about the high school enrollment process, please contact your student’s SAGE teacher.
Spelling Bee
Congratulations to our own Jamie Comer who is the spelling Bee champion at Eastgate 6th grade center. He will compete next at the Jackson-Clay County Semifinal spelling bee on February 16th. Good luck Jamie!
Science City Student Opportunities
7th and 8th Grade Field Experience
SAGE Alumni
First Lego League
What We Are Learning Now
Forensic Science
Botany
Stock Market Challenge 1.0
Stock Market Challenge 2.0
Kitchen Chemistry
Advanced/Intro Graphic Design
Character Animation
Architectural Design
SAGE Startup
Digital Communication
Students will learn a variety of digital communication skills, including filming and editing skills, storyboarding and scripting, special effects techniques, and on camera presentation skills. They will create short films, news stories, personal narrations and commercials using digital film cameras, green screen technology, and Adobe editing software.
Advanced Digital Communication
Future Cities
FAB LAB
Special Effects
Textile Studio and Advanced
Bio Medical Engineering
Gifted Symposium
Here is an upcoming date to keep in mind. We will be holding our district's GAM Family Day on Saturday, April 6th at Union Station in Kansas City. Please mark this date on your calendar. Attending GAM Family Day is a great opportunity to connect with teachers, parents and students in our district. On GAM family day, parents and students are provided with great learning opportunities. For this year's family day, we have partnered with Science City to allow students admission at a reduced rate as part of their GAM Family Day entry fee. Students will enjoy Science City with gifted teachers, while parents attend the Gifted Symposium with the following speakers:
:
Sheila Bonner-parent and teacher of gifted
Topic: "Parenting a Gifted Child" resources and ways to communicate with the classroom teacher?
Dixie Youngers - Vice President School Board
MSBA Delegate, City Council Rep-Gladstone, Community Education, Executive Committee, Marketing Advisory Council, PTA Council and SAGE
Topic: Advocacy for gifted children
Dr. Sherri Fy-Wendt
Dr. Sherri Fry Wendt, PHD is a psychologist in Kansas City, MO. She specializes in gifted children psychology
Topic: unique mental health needs of the gifted child and will discuss perfectionism, anxiety, and depression as they pertain to the gifted population.
Dr. Rita Barger
Dr. Barger has a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction: Mathematics Education, University of Missouri-Columbia; an M.S. in Education: Gifted Education,. She is currently at the University of Missouri- Kansas City as an Associate Professor in the Division of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies
Badges
To continue to be innovative and above the curve we are using a badging system with our Middle School curriculum.
How do badges benefit SAGE students?
In addition to motivating students to develop specific skills and competencies, both individually and collectively, badges offer the following benefits to students:
- Enhance CANVAS assignments by providing evidence of a completed task and knowledge gained through the completion of that task and or assessment.
- Focus learning on specific goals, which can lead to improved quality of work as students revise and resubmit their work through an open badging system.
- Provide a supportive environment in which students’ learning emphasizes and encourages an action-oriented understanding of course objectives.
- Foster deeper learning of course material, as the badges are content driven, specific to the course goals and content.
- Creates a positive environment and holds kids accountable to a professional standard in behavior.
- Create practical ways for students to learn in the classroom and to share what they have learned in our SAGE progress reports.
- Add an element of fun to the classroom in a gamification type of platform.
Middle School SAGE Team
Robotics and Forensic Science
816-321-4009
Melissa Duffett
Kitchen Chemistry
melissa.duffett@nkcschools.org
Jennifer Koch
Graphic Design & Photography
816-321-6710
Cassandra Shaffer
Fab Lab & Arduino Programming and Coding
816-321-5988
cassandra.shaffer@nkcschools.org
Lara Owsley
Broadcasting & Future Cities
816-321-4216
Lara.bradleyowsley@nkcschools.org
Cassie Fogel
Robotics & Forensic Science
816-321-4605
Wendy Rust
Biomedical Engineering and Textile Studio
816-321-6558
Melissa Torres
SAGE Start Up & Interior Design
816-321-8719
Northland Innovation Center
Website: https://www.nkcschools.org/page.cfm?p=2774
Location: Northland Innovation Center - Northwest Missouri State University, North Oak Trafficway, Gladstone, MO, USA
Phone: (816) 321-5350
Facebook: facebook.com/NKCSAGE
Twitter: @NKC_SAGE