Middle School Newsletter
Northland Innovation SAGE Center
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.
Upcoming Events
Spring Break
6th-8th Grade SAGE Learning Expo
We will be hosting a student led expo. Please join us to see how your student has been progressing within their unit of study.
*If you would like to set up an individual conference at any time, please contact your student's IQ/SAGE teacher.
When April 29th 3:30-6:30
Where: Northland Innovation SAGE Center
6889 North Oak Trafficway
KC, MO. 64118
What We Are Learning
Ignite
G.U.I.L.D.S
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 have also heard a presentation about the IB program at Northtown.
The SAGE high school resource specialists will then return 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.
High School:
SAGE Specialist:
North Kansas City High School
Marcus Myers
Oak Park High School
Lori Dameron
Staley High School
Carol Toney
Winnatonka High School
Carrie Marcantonio
Botany
Forensic Science
Dectective
Engineering and da Vinci
Chain Reactions
Games
Textile Studio
Textile Studio-6th Grade
SAGE Startup
Architecture
Architecture students have been exploring architectural elements and how they relate to engineering, styles of architecture, and the career of an architect. Students have had the opportunity to meet with an architect and hear about her job and educational background, and completed an architectural activity with her guidance and feedback. Students will be designing a building using three dimensional design software.
If your student would like to practice using our design software, there is a downloadable trial version at https://www.chiefarchitect.com
6th Grade Graphic Art and Design
7th/8th Grade Advance Graphic Design
6th-8th Grade Photography
Future Cities
Interactive Fiction
Imagineering in a Box
Laser Etching and Advanced Laser Etching
Sixth graders that are in laser etching are just finishing up their first project- a tile coaster. Students used the image trace tool in Adobe Illustrator to convert a pixel image into a vector image that is etchable. Students now have a choice to make a notebook cover using layers and the paintbrush tool, make a puzzle with an SVG transfer and manipulating anchor points, or make an acrylic keychain by designing with the shaper tools.
Seventh and eighth graders that are in advanced laser etching are working through the design process to create projects of their own choosing. Some projects include wooden signs, necklaces, earrings, boxes, etc. They have the opportunity to incorporate other tools from the FabLab into their projects. For example, using the router to smooth the edges of their sign.
Arduinos
Sixth graders are building and coding circuits with Arduino Microcontrollers. So far, students have been doing an amazing job as they dive into understanding how current flows through the microcontroller, breadboard, wires, and resistors. Students are modifying code to tell their circuits when to turn on and off. Students are problem solving and rechecking their work when the expected outcome does not happen.
More Special Effects
Seventh and eighth grade students are trying out some new special effects this semester. After students finish the intro/review projects, they can choose the project they want to work on. Choices include editing videos that have lightning coming out of a magic wand, editing a video where someone is jumping into the sky and landing at a different location, adding text-tracking over the grand canyon, or creating a clip with rolling text.
Kitchen Chemistry I
Kitchen Chemistry II
Stock Market 1.0 and 2.0
KC STEMFEST at Union Station
Looking for great events?
KC STEMFEST at Union Station
KC STEM Fest is an exciting, free, one day event that features Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) as educational opportunities and viable career paths – showcasing elementary through high school student-generated work – connecting students with their community.
Purdue University Opportunity
Greetings from Purdue University! Here is a summer camp opportunity for youth with high ability currently in grades 5 through 12. Purdue Gifted Education Research and Resource Institute’s (GER2I) Summer Residential Camps will be held in July 2020! Registration is now open. The early bird discount is available till Mar 1st. For more information, please check out the attached document or visit our website https://www.education.purdue.edu/geri/youth-programs/summer-residential/
Registration link: www.purdue.edu/conferences/sres2020GAMBit
GAMBit this is the official publication of the Gifted Association of Missouri
Become a member to receive these quarterly newsletters
Middle School SAGE Team
816-321-4009
Melissa Duffett
816-321-4511
melissa.duffett@nkcschools.org
Jennifer Koch
816-321-6710
Cassandra Shaffer
816-321-5988
cassandra.shaffer@nkcschools.org
Lara Owsley
816-321-4216
Lara.bradleyowsley@nkcschools.org
Cassie Fogel
816-321-4605
Wendy Rust
816-321-6558
Melissa Torres
816-321-8719
Cindy Turner
816-321-6313
Website: https://www.nkcschools.org/page.cfm?p=2774
Location: 6889 North Oak Trafficway, Gladstone, MO, USA
Phone: (816) 321-5350
Facebook: facebook.com/NKCSAGE
Twitter: @NKC_SAGE