Virtual Saturday Enrichment Programs (SEP)
Spring 2021: Registration closes February 1, 2021!
SEP Program Philosophy
SEP is an academically challenging program with an emphasis on inquiry-based learning for students. The program is not meant to supplant the regular school curriculum; rather, it recognizes the importance of allowing able youngsters to explore additional specialized areas of science, mathematics, humanities, and arts. Course activities are compatible with the expected achievement of talented students at specific grade and age levels. Spring course offerings listed below.Register Here
Spring SEP Session 1:
February 13, 20 & 27
Create Your Own Pop Up Book February 13, 20 & 27
Grades: 6-8 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructor: Jennifer Callison
Course Code: 21SPR1 - 01
Flames pop off the page during a battle to save civilization as we know it. With the slide of a tab, tears fall down the face of a broken-hearted teenager. A moving magnifying glass reveals hidden hieroglyphics that could change history. These are just a few of the ideas you can bring to life when you create your own pop-up book during this course. Choose your genre, your characters, and the style of your book. You’re in charge! Get ready to write and craft your way to an interactive story-telling hour with your peers. Participants will need to have the following supplies available:
Colored Paper (ex. construction paper, cardstock, thin poster paper, scrap booking paper)
Sharp Scissors
Glue (bottle or stick)
The World is a Cartoon! February 13, 20 & 27
Grades: 6-8 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructor: Steve Prince
Course Code: 21SPR1— 02
In this intense three day workshop participants will learn how to create popular cartoon and anime characters based upon knowledge derived from drawing the human figure proportions. Participants will develop their own original characters and create a short comic strip to create a new world for their characters! Participants will need to have the following supplies available:
Pencils (Ebony, or 6B)
Paper (11" x 14" Sketchpad)
Erasers (Pink Pearl and Kneaded Eraser)
Sharpie Markers, (Fine, Medium, Bold)
Colored Pencils (Prismacolors 12 - 18 Pack)
12" Ruler
Engineering at Home February 13, 20 & 27
Grades: 3-5 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructor: Pennie Brown
Course Code: 21SPR1 - 03
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. Participants will need to have the following supplies available for this course:
Plastic Straws
Balloons
Pull back car (Available at most dollar stores)
The Human Body: A Marvelous Machine February 13, 20 & 27
Grades: 3-5 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructor: Colleen Ignacio
Course Code: 21SPR1—04
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!!
Worth a Thousand Words:
A Multimedia Writing Adventure February 13, 20 & 27
Grades: 7-9 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructor: Renee Kingan
Course Code: 21SPR1—05
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!
Intro to Computer Science February 13, 20 & 27
Grades: 4-6 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructor: Ciara Prevall **1.15.21 Update - this course is now full
Course Code: 21SPR1 - 06
This course blends instructor guided, online, and self-paced tutorials with a fundamental computer science curriculum that will help students digest complicated concepts. Diverse hands-on activities are relevant and relatable to everyday living and can be implemented with or without the use of computers. Students will be introduced to various coding languages, computational practices, binary conversions, and more.
The Magic of Coding February 13, 20 & 27
Grades: 3-5 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructor: Katina Acree-Williams
Course Code: 21SPR1 - 07
**1.5.21 Update - this course is now full.
Do you like mazes, games, and online puzzles? Do you ever imagine what it would be like to create your own computer software? This coding course uses coding.org and scratch software to explore the world of computer science while enabling your critical thinking skills and creativity. Students will enjoy digital citizenship, sequencing, programming games, debugging mazes, and coding games such as Minecraft. Let’s explore a new adventure using coding technology.
Spring SEP Session 2:
March 6, 13 & 20
The Poetry Place March 6, 13 & 20
Grades: 7-9 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructor: Michelle Hudgins
Course Code: 21SPR2 - 01
Do you find that putting pen to paper makes a rough day better? Perhaps you love the sense of accomplishment you feel after pinpointing just the right word to convey your message? These are just two examples of the power of poetry! Participants will explore common poetic themes and investigate many of the figurative language techniques that make poetry so mighty. Free verse, concrete, found poems, and ekphrasis (poems about other works of art) are some of the styles to be covered during these three sessions. Participants will be inspired to create their own original works through writing prompts, mentor texts, thoughtful discussions, and workshop collaboration.
The World is a Cartoon! March 6, 13 & 20
Grades: 9-12 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructor: Steve Prince
Course Code: 21SPR2— 02
In this intense three day workshop participants will learn how to create popular cartoon and anime characters based upon knowledge derived from drawing the human figure proportions. Participants will develop their own original characters and create a short comic strip to create a new world for their characters! Participants will need to have the following supplies available:
Pencils (Ebony, or 6B)
Paper (11" x 14" Sketchpad)
Erasers (Pink Pearl and Kneaded Eraser)
Sharpie Markers, (Fine, Medium, Bold)
Colored Pencils (Prismacolors 12 - 18 Pack)
12" Ruler
What the Numbers Tell Us March 6, 13 & 20
Grades: 7-9 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructor: Mark Ekstrom
Course Code: 21SPR2— 03
People like to argue. Whether it’s about social justice or a new medical treatment or who was the greatest athlete of all-time, eventually someone brings out the numbers. But what do you do when both sides have “proof” that they are right? Knowing how statistics reveal truth, and how they can lead us astray, is an important skill: it is important for understanding the world and for being a clear-thinking active citizen in our democracy.
Over three Saturdays students will use some tools of the trade: graphs, measures of relative standing, significance tests and regression analysis. We use these tools and real data sets to look at hot topics of today: What do the numbers say about race and police use-of-force? How do scientists figure out if a COVID-19 vaccine or treatment works? How can surveys of a few voters predict how everyone will vote—and why were the surveys so wrong in 2016?
Engineering at Home March 6, 13 & 20
Grades: 6-8 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructor: Pennie Brown
Course Code: 21SPR2 - 04
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. Participants will need to have the following supplies available for this course:
Plastic Straws
Balloons
Pull back car (Available at most dollar stores)
The Human Body: A Marvelous Machine March 6, 13 & 20
Grades: 3-5 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructor: Colleen Ignacio
Course Code: 21SPR2—05
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!!
Create Your Own Pop Up Book March 6, 13 & 20
Grades: 3-5 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructor: Jennifer Callison
Course Code: 21SPR2 - 06
Dragons snap off the page to bite you. Bullies snatch lunch money out of paper pockets. Everyday kids transform into superheroes with the slide of a tab. These are just a few of the ideas you can bring to life when you create your own pop-up book during this course. Choose your genre, your characters, and the style of your book. You’re in charge! Get ready to write and craft your way to a fun story-telling hour with your peers. Participants will need to have the following supplies available:
Colored Paper (ex. construction paper, cardstock, thin poster paper, scrap booking paper)
Sharp Scissors
Glue (bottle or stick)
Worth a Thousand Words:
A Multimedia Writing Adventure March 6, 13 & 20
Grades: 3-5 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructor: Renee Kingan
Course Code: 21SPR2—07
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!
Intro to Computer Science March 6, 13 & 20
Grades: 4-6 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructor: Ciara Prevall
Course Code: 21SPR2 - 08
This course blends instructor guided, online, and self-paced tutorials with a fundamental computer science curriculum that will help students digest complicated concepts. Diverse hands-on activities are relevant and relatable to everyday living and can be implemented with or without the use of computers. Students will be introduced to various coding languages, computational practices, binary conversions, and more.
Web Design Fundamentals March 6, 13 & 20
Grades: 4-6 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructor: Katina Acree-Williams
Course Code: 21SPR2 - 09
Have you ever wondered how web pages are created? Do you want to take your coding skills to the next level? Join us for an amazing journey of designing web pages using your favorite topic such as favorite food, animal, or person. We can decide one we are in the class on more topics. Each week we will focus on a new topic as we learn to create exciting and personal web pages. The course will require an entry knowledge of coding, critical thinking skills, and the love the creativity using technology. Students will learn to use HTML basics and Google Sites to create pages.
Behaviors fostered by the gifted learner program include the ability to:
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apply process skills used in individual fields of inquiry,
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recognize problems and approaches to problem solving,
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understand and appreciate individual differences, and
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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]].