Cassidy Gifted and Talented News
February 11, 2019
Announcements
Welcome New Families and Students!
We just added a new group of students to PTP and I want to send a warm welcome! I send a newsletter out weekly with information about what we are doing. Please reach out to me at anytime with questions (contact info at the bottom). I'll be adding students to Google Classrooms and Seesaw accounts over the next couple of weeks.
4th/5th Grade Drama Field Trip:
4th/5th grade drama students have a field trip planned for February 20 in the morning to the Lexington Children's Theater for a Backstage Tour and performance of And Then They Came for Me. Because this is a small group, parents will need to provide or arrange transportation. I am waiting on confirmation for times from the theater, but will notify families ASAP as soon as they confirm with me so that you can make arrangements.
Supply Help:
The 2nd/3rd grade art students are loving projects with clay and our supply is running low if anyone would be able to donate some. We could also use some scotch tape and glue for our STEM and art groups. Thanks so much!
3rd Grade PTP/GT Parent Night This Week:
The 3rd grade PTP/GT Parent Information Night is scheduled for this week: February 13 at 5:30 in the library. This is an informational session for any Cassidy parent interested in learning about identification for Gifted and Talented in Grades 4-12.
Northern Kentucky University Summer Camps for Gifted Students
Northern Kentucky University will have several summer opportunities for Gifted and Talented Learners. Click here for the link to find out more and register if you are interested.
Sign Up for PTP/GT On the App
Make sure to sign up for the PTP/GT group on our Cassidy App! I will use the app to distribute newsletters and announce events. Here is a link to directions on how to get the app and load the group PTP/GT into your settings so that you can get info/dates/notifications from me about PTP/GT through the app. If you already have the app, just skip down to the part that says to add PTP/GT.
Save Your Bottle Caps
The 2nd/3rd Grade Leadership group is starting a bottle cap drive to support Morton's program to make recycled benches to place outside the school. Please save your bottle caps and send them in with your students. Grade levels are competing for prizes for most bottle caps collected.
5th Grade Language Arts Documentary Save the Date
The 5th grade language arts students need some more time to complete their documentaries so we set a new date for their movie debut: March 19 at 5:30 at the Farish Theater in the Downtown branch of the Lexington Public Library.
Important Dates:
Spring Showcase, May 23, 5:30-6:30, Cassidy Cafeteria:
This event is an opportunity for PTP/GT students to showcase what they have been working on during the spring semester.
What We Are Up to This Week!
Kindergarten PTP:
Kindergarten starts this week on an interdisciplinary project called Pet Parade. They will do research to select what would be the best pet for them and figure out why it would be the best pet for them. Then they will design a multimedia presentation to display their results at our spring showcase!
1st Grade LA/Math/Art PTP:
Students are finishing up the Party Plan project and will share what they came up with at the Spring Showcase! We will begin a new project called Backyard Getaway where they will research habitats and climates to design the ideal backyard for them. They will then create a multimedia display to share with you at our spring showcase!
2nd/3rd/4th Grade Art and Creativity:
Students are working on rubix cube mosaics, painting and decorating toe shoes for the Lexington Ballet, or designs for a large piece of artwork to display around the school to show our school motto: Work Hard and Be Kind. Our Rubix Cubes should arrive today! Hooray!
2nd Grade Language Arts:
Students are working on a fiction unit. They have selected books that they are reading together in book clubs. Soon, they will begin writing their own fiction piece using what they have learned about fiction texts.
2nd/3rd Grade Leadership:
Students are implementing their leadership projects that they planned in the fall.
2nd Grade (GI/Math) and 3rd Grade (GI/Science/Math) STEM:
Students are building their Rube Goldberg machines.
3rd Grade Language Arts:
Students are working on a fiction unit. They have selected books that they are reading together in book clubs. Soon, they will begin writing their own fiction piece using what they have learned about fiction texts.
4th Grade Language Arts:
Students are in the process of finishing up their myths and then we will be moving on to a non-fiction project.
4th Grade Math:
Students are finishing up the fractions unit from the M3 curriculum designed specifically for Gifted and Talented learners for math.
4th Grade Social Studies:
Students have begun planning their own government based on what they have learned about government and the history of government.
4th Grade STEM (GI/Science):
Students are doing a unit on structure and function of the human body. They will engage in a STEM project where they will design a knee brace.
5th Grade Language Arts:
Students are working on finishing up their documentary projects. We are starting our next unit on fiction using post-apocalyptic, apocalyptic, and/or utopian/dystopian literature to learn about literary elements. Students will be studying multiple texts and then write their own.
4th/5th Grade Dance:
This week students will begin working with Mrs. Williams (an experienced dancer and dance teacher, and also one of our 4th grade teachers at Cassidy) to prepare a performance for our spring showcase. This week, Mrs. Case, our district dance specialist, will also be working with them.
4th/5th Grade Drama:
4th grade students are working on writing their own screenplay to perform at our spring showcase.
5th graders are working on practicing their pre-show performance for the Constitution Musical.
4th/5th Grade Art:
Students are working on making mosaics from found objects or their own free choice project.
5th Grade Leadership:
Students are working on preparing thank you notes for all of the individuals and companies that assisted with Dance Blue. We will also begin working on getting ready for the God's Pantry Food Drive.
5th Grade Social Studies:
Students will begin a new unit where they select a topic on U.S. History to explore in depth and develop a presentation in whichever mode they choose to share what they have learned. Here is a link to our Cassidy's Catalog of Cool Current Events website where students will explore and write about what they are learning about current events.
5th Grade STEM (GI, Science, and Math)
Students are beginning a new unit on windmills to learn about weather and mechanical engineering.
Resources and Opportunities
Cassidy App
Make sure to download our Cassidy App! I will use the app to distribute newsletters and announce events. Here is a link to directions on how to get the app and load the group PTP/GT into your settings so that you can get info/dates/notifications from me about PTP/GT through the app. If you already have the app, just skip down to the part that says to add PTP/GT.
Homeroom
Within the app, we will also have a Homeroom button where I will post pictures, videos, and notes about what we have been up to in PTP/GT. To link to our homeroom, you will click here and set up an account. It will then populate in your Homeroom button on the app. If you already had this setup from last year, it should be the same.
Seesaw
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. Right now, we have it all set up in the following classes:
1st/2nd/3rd Grade PTP Art/Creativity
5th Grade STEM (GI, Science, and Math)
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.
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