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Gifted Program & Enrichment @ The Ridge

IROQUOIS RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL

Grade 8 Parents Night

Nov 15, 2018

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David Pearce & Karen Normet

Special Education (Gifted) Resource Teachers

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A special shout out to

our two helpers:

Thisari

&

Miles

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The Special Education Resource Teacher

  • Supports classroom teachers and students
  • Meets with gifted students throughout the year, monitors their progress, and updates the IEP as required twice per year
  • Develops transition planning for students going into post-secondary
  • Maintains and updates Enrichment webpage
  • Coordinates Enrichment activities outside of the school

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Topics to be Covered

  • Teaching Gifted & Highly Able students
  • How One Gets to be in the Clustered Classes
  • Enrichment Opportunities

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  • Teaching Gifted & Highly Able Students

Definition of “Giftedness”:

An unusually advanced degree of general intellectual ability that requires differentiated learning experiences of a depth and breadth beyond those normally provided in the regular school program.

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Ontario Min. of Ed.

Special Ed. Guide for Educators 2001

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Learning in a �Clustered Enriched Class

  • Differentiated curriculum (environment, process, content, product)
  • Greater depth (deeper into topics), breadth (beyond the curriculum) and a faster pace.
  • Evaluated on the same scale and expectations as Academic classes
  • In-class enrichment opportunities – often field trips, guest speakers, etc.

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Our Philosophy

  • Students are offered choices to meet their learning needs.
  • Provide challenging work outside of their areas of strength to precipitate personal growth
  • Always, students are encouraged to challenge themselves to learn
  • Plan extension projects

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2. How Clustering is Done

  • Students are clustered by:

a) identification (Gifted) or

b) marks (Highly Able)

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  • Clustering in Grade 9 occurs in:

Math, English, Science, Geography

& Core French

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  • Students cannot be clustered AND in French Immersion unless timetable easily permits it

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Placement in Clustered Classes for Students with an IEP (Gifted)

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  • Formally identified “Gifted” students are placed in clustered classes first

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  • They may choose to be in all or some of the clustered classes offered in grade 9

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Placement of Highly Able Students

  • Highly Able students fill the classes according to their Grade 8 Winter Term marks, beginning with the student with the highest mark in each of the five subjects.

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  • Students can be invited into more than one clustered class but in each case it depends on their marks for that subject.

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Placement continued

  • Invitations are issued to the highly able student and parents, & they may choose to accept or turn down that invitation.
  • Once the classes are filled to approx. the same size as Academic classes, the class is “closed”.
  • Continuation in the program is dependent on their grade 9 marks and new invitations are issued in the spring for grade 10.

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Process for Identification

  • If your child was identified in another school board

OR

  • If you would like to see if they meet the criteria to be identified “Gifted” in the Halton District School Board

1. Send either a copy of their elementary gifted screening results or their psychoeducational test report to me, David Pearce

2. It is then reviewed by our Board Psychological Education Consultant

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3. ENRICHMENT AT IRHS

Enrichment

is for

EVERYONE!

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ENRICHMENT WEBSITE

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ENRICHMENT WEBSITE

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Enrichment Opportunities

  • Advanced Placement Exams
  • Spring program (Queens)
  • Encounters with Canada
  • SHAD summer camp
  • Rotary Camp Enterprise
  • Ontario Student Leadership Conference
  • COLs Leadership
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Enrichment Opportunities

  • Specialist High School Majors
  • Writing & Speaking Contests
  • Math, Comp Sci, Science Contests
  • Language & Cultural Exchanges
  • Summer camps
  • Outreach (U of Waterloo)
  • Duke of Edinburgh
  • Brain Bee

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Further Information

Feel free to contact us at any time

David Pearce pearced@hdsb.ca*

*Until January 29th 2019*

Karen Normet normetk@hdsb.ca

Phone: (905) 845-0012

Website: http://mrpearce.weebly.com

Enrichment: http://enrichridge.blogspot.ca/