Unwrapping the Gift-ed Program
Springfield Township High School
Mission
"Educate and develop all students as learners and citizens who are high-achieving, resilient and responsible in a changing global community."
Junior Year
Charting a course through the rough waters of college admissions is challenging. In the gifted junior pull out program, your student will go on college visits, learn from guest speakers, review admissions essays, and discuss what gives colleges their own personality - and why "fit" matters more than brand recognition.
This non-credit enrichment program takes place during C block once every four weeks. Your student will miss one half of their C Block class to attend the meeting and will eat lunch during the planned activity.
This non-credit enrichment program takes place during C block once every four weeks. Your student will miss one half of their C Block class to attend the meeting and will eat lunch during the planned activity.
Senior Year
The transition from high school to college represents a huge leap for many students, and our gifted students are no different. Senior Thesis for gifted students is both accelerated and enriched. Gifted students can opt to take this class for a half-credit instead of a full credit. Additionally, gifted students are encouraged to deeply explore a topic through independent research. They are expected to find a mentor within the school, typically a teacher with whom they have an excellent relationship, and a topic expert mentor from outside of the school. The teacher and/or the gifted caseworker are available to help the student find this external mentor.
Quest Offerings
Gifted students in any year can opt to take a Quest elective. Quest classes are only available to gifted students.
Quest: Future Studies is a STEM course and meets the computer science graduation requirement. In this course students will read and write science fiction, employ the engineering design cycle to build robots, practice abstraction and computational thinking to program the robots.
Quest: Digital Storytelling is a Studio course and counts toward the humanities graduation requirement. In this course students will choose a topic for a documentary, research it, write the screenplay, film, edit and polish it for entrance in the Greenfield Youth Film Festival.
Quest: Future Studies is a STEM course and meets the computer science graduation requirement. In this course students will read and write science fiction, employ the engineering design cycle to build robots, practice abstraction and computational thinking to program the robots.
Quest: Digital Storytelling is a Studio course and counts toward the humanities graduation requirement. In this course students will choose a topic for a documentary, research it, write the screenplay, film, edit and polish it for entrance in the Greenfield Youth Film Festival.
Educational Philosophy
Springfield Township High School, a small, diverse, evolving community, nurtures integrity and respect as it empowers students through a safe school culture and pursues excellence through academic rigor, engaged learning, and professional growth.
The educational philosophy of the high school has influenced the changes to the gifted program in the following ways:
The educational philosophy of the high school has influenced the changes to the gifted program in the following ways:
- Our small size is why the Quest courses are no longer grade dependent. Any gifted student in any grade in the high school can now enroll in either of the Quest electives.
- The junior and senior gifted experiences, in particular, focus on each student being responsible for their own actions and respecting the needs of others in the community.
- The curriculum of the Quest courses has been written to high academic standards, with engaging pedagogy. Students in these courses are actively engaged in learning activities.
About Us
Email: gifted@sdst.org
Website: http://www.sdst.org
Location: 1801 Paper Mill Road, Oreland, PA, United States
Phone: 215-233-6000