Student SEP Session 1: October 16, 23, & 30
10:00 am—12:00 pm

Life of an Architect Grades: 3-5
Instructor: Kim Hundley

Are you familiar with the works of Frank Lloyd Wright? Do you like exploring nature? Do you readily notice, colors, shapes or patterns in nature? Do you like to draw, color, or create things you see in nature? Do you feel you have a skill or talent for architectural design? If you answered yes to two or more of these questions, then this is the course for you. After learning more about the famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, you will use your creative skills to create 8 projects worthy to be displayed or framed. Who knows…you may be the next Frank Lloyd Wright of this century! Note: Students need to have the following supplies to participate: Crayons/colored pencils or water colors, scissors, a computer and printer.

Habitat Helpers Grades: 3-5                     
Instructor: Brandy Metzger

Do you love animals? Are you interested in coming up with ideas that could help animals that are endangered? In this course you will embark on a journey across the planet to learn about 5 different endangered species. You will uncover the hardships these animals face that put them at risk. Then, you will work as a team to determine possible solutions to their declining numbers. You will then work to create prototypes of your innovations with simple items from your home. Get ready to spark up your imagination and become an environmental visionary!

Book Creations Grades: 3-5
Instructor: Jennifer Callison

What does it take to be Hermione Granger? Mix a bushel of book smarts with a pinch of persistence? Or how about Lego Ninjago Kai? Do you multiply loyalty by the square root of skill? And what makes up the world of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? What materials do you gather, and what foundation do you lay? In this course, you can build and create anything you want based on your favorite book. Invent a cooking recipe, restaurant menu, math equation, board game, map, video game, book trailer, or anything you can imagine.

Engineering at Home Grades: 3-5                     
Instructor: Pennie Brown

A unique opportunity to take an engineering class from your house! You will use common, everyday items found around your home to study, build, and test engineering challenges. Engaging activities to include: boat building as well as bridge and tower construction. Note: Students will need plastic straws, balloons, a pullback car (available at most dollar stores), and a few other common household items.

The Human Body: A Marvelous Machine Grades: 3-5
Instructor: Colleen Ignacio

In this fascinating world, with so many life forms, the human body is the most remarkable. The human body is an efficient and complex machine designed to adapt to the environment around it. Join us for an amazing journey exploring the human body! How many bones in the human body? What is the largest organ? What are neurotransmitters and how do they work? Where does a molecule of air go after it enters the body? What happens to those chicken nuggets you ate for lunch? How many chambers in the human heart? Find out the answers to these questions and MORE with hands on activities, anatomy models and more! You won’t want to miss this exciting class!! Register NOW to learn about The Human Body: A Marvelous Machine!!

 It's Time to Code Your Own Game Grades: 4-5
Instructor: Sue Sydow

Do you like playing games online? Have you ever wondered how these games were created? Do you want to create your own game and share it with friends? This coding course uses code.org to teach you how to design and code your own game. Students will explore JavaScript and code events to create games. Students will practice problem solving as they debug their code and critical thinking skills while programming their games. Imagine all the creativity!

Introduction to Social Science Research Grades: 6-8
Instructor: Claire Brantley

Do you want to develop your personal strengths through the power of reading, writing, investigation, and technology? We’ll look for clues we can use to be our best hidden inside stories of characters who never give up. We’ll design creative “how-to” manuals for kids’ most common problems. And we’ll utilize digital tools to produce our own inspiring stories in a cool take-home format to share with others!

Worth a 1,000 Words: A Multimedia Writing Adventure Grades 7-9
Instructor: Dr. Renee Kingan

Learn how to transform your original writing into powerful presentations that amplify your voice and move people’s minds. In this course, students will plan, write, and create original videos using hardware and software you already have at home. Writing activities will focus on using vivid description and powerful verbs to paint pictures with language designed to inspire. Video production activities will include understanding copyright and fair use, storyboarding, voice-over recording, basic animation techniques, and best practices for live-action filming. Whether you’re an avid writer or you are looking for new ways to express yourself, there’s something here for everyone!

Instructor’s note: This Fall’s session of WATW will focus on poetry, so students who attended spring and summer sessions of this course are invited to enroll again if you’d like to gain more experience in writing and video production. Writing activities for the fall are designed to take your poetry to the next level, and though the video production resources build on those you used in previous sessions, the mini-lesson activities are brand new. Consider this an opportunity to branch out into a new production method OR to take a deeper dive into hardware and software you’ve used before. As in previous sessions, students always have the option to pursue personal-interest projects in genres other than poetry. 

Student SEP Session 2: November 6, 13, & 20
10:00 am—12:00 pm

 

Engineering at Home Grades: 2-3                   
Instructor: Pennie Brown

Habitat Helpers Grades: 3-5                     
Instructor: Brandy Metzger 

Movie Soundtracks 101 Grades: 4-5                     
Instructor: Kathy Fagerland

Movies! We love the special effects, the characters, the story line but music sometimes takes a backseat & goes unnoticed. Movie soundtracks play a very important role in the film industry & add so much to the movie watching experience. The music in the background warns us if something scary is going to happen. It creates excitement before & during a big action scene. It also tells us if the character on the screen is going to be a "good guy" & save the day or if that person will be a "bad guy" & cause a conflict. We feel more connected to what is going on by listening to the music & can take that feeling with us even after the movie has ended.

It's Time to Code Your Own Game Grades: 4-5
Instructor: Sue Sydow

The Human Body: A Series for Middle School! Grades: 6-8
Instructor: Colleen Ignacio

This course will focus on the structure & function of the human body, a marvelous machine! In this course, your student will gain an understanding of the basic anatomy & physiology, the body systems, & the jobs they perform. Students will understand how we think, communicate, grow, move, reproduce, & stay alive. Additionally, your student will learn about major disorders, recent medical advances & ways to take care of their bodies. Get your student engaged with the fascinating class!

Block by Block: Introduction to Multi-Screen Music Video Production Grades 7-9
Instructor: Dr. Renee Kingan

Learn fundamental audio and video editing techniques as you create a multi-track, multi-screen music video to share with your family and friends. No prior musical experience is required, as student-driven instruction will include tutorials for creating original music videos for existing songs, student-arranged cover tunes, and original compositions ranging from 2 to 16 voices/screens. Students will learn about copyright and fair use as you dive into basic multitrack audio editing and easy multiscreen video editing. All activities will make use of free software for desktop and mobile platforms including Audacity, iMovie, MovieMaker, and OpenShot.

 

Please Note:  Our courses are designed to be for the enrichment of minors via synchronous instruction to maximize the instructional benefits through interactions among peers and instructors. Therefore, neither the Center for Gifted Education nor the SEP instructors will be video recording the Saturday/Summer Enrichment Programs (SEP) as appropriate permissions are not in place. In the event a SEP session is missed, parents may request class materials, if available, from the Program Coordinator. Recordings of missed classes will not be provided. 

Register via CampSite for Student SEP

Student Recommendation Form

SEP Payment Portal Student SEP

Parent Seminars are returning on October 23, 2021
Dealing with Perfectionism & Understanding Gifted Children
Each Seminar is $20 and will be delivered virtually. Register here for either or both. Submit payment for Parent Seminars using the SEP Payment Portal, click on Parent Seminars. 

SEP Payment Portal Parent Seminar

Behaviors fostered by the gifted learner program include the ability to:

• apply process skills used in individual fields of inquiry,
• recognize problems and approaches to problem solving,
• understand and appreciate individual differences, and
• become a self-directed learner.

 

 

---

For more information about our enrichment programs, please contact Katie Latimer at (757) 221-2166. You can also contact us by [[sep, email]].