GT

GATES services for students at Kennebunkport Consolidated School began the week of September 17^th, 2007. Students in grades two, three, four and five receive in-class enrichment services on a weekly basis, while students identified for the GATES Program, grades four and five, also receive services one each week in reading/language arts.

The Challenge Of the Week (COW) created by Erin Neale two years ago was distributed on Thursday, September 20^th, and is due each Tuesday of the following week.  Students are excited about starting up this program again.  The goal of the COW program is to see that math is everywhere and that it can be lots of fun too.

During the first two months of school, September and October, the kindergarten classes will receive consulting services from the GATES teacher once each week.  The GATES teacher will offer support services in the math program for first grade students and second grade students will be assessed using the DRA in one class, while in another, students are engaged in learning about beginning analogies through discussion, work activities and creating their own relationship analogies.  Third grade students are examining visual and verbal analogies in preparation for further extensions in critical thinking and logical thinking.  In the fourth and fifth grades students are involved in the Touchpebbles Program, a critical thinking, discussion based reading program that teaches students to become involved in their own learning. 

This week, September 24^th, students in the fifth grade will be invited to try out for the Consolidated Math Team, a six member team of the Southern Maine Elementary Math League (SMEML).  Students can join the math groups practicing different math league problems each week and completing the COWs each week.  Six students who score the highest on the practice meets will be invited to participate in the first SMEML Meet on October 30^th at the Portland Exposition Hall.