Gifted Community Enrichment: A Class for Grown Ups

Parents and guardians are always welcome and encouraged to attend classes with their child/children to make the most of this wonderful experience.  Alternately, join other grown-ups for Gifted Community Enrichment (GCE).  Each Saturday through our GCE sessions, The Super Saturday Program offers presenters and discussion topics to provide you with insights into life with gifted children, resources, and contacts.

  • Anyone with an interest in gifted education is welcome to come attend GCE.
  • There is no cost and no registration required to attend.
  • Sessions will begin at 9:45 a.m. and 12:45 p.m., 15 minutes after students begin morning and afternoon classes.

TSSP is a rare haven for parents and guardians of gifted children where we can talk with one another to compare notes about joys and challenges, make connections, learn what other schools are doing regarding gifted services, and simply relate in ways that others cannot. Through GCE, we actively foster this supportive communication.

For parents and guardians with a student attending class, we require attendance for the first 15 minutes of the morning or afternoon session the first week.  We need this time to communicate key information about the term.

For questions on GCE, please contact messagecenter@supersaturday.org.

We look forward to collaborating with you to help our community face the challenges of educating our children.

2023-2024 Schedule

Spring Term

 

Week 1, March 9th
1) Welcome & Orientation

 
After signing children into their classrooms, we ask everyone to stay for the first 15 minutes as we cover the most up-to-date policies including safety and security measures.  Following that, speakers for the term will be announced. The remainder of the time will be opened up for Q&A.  Because there is a wealth of knowledge among us, we encourage both new and returning parents and guardians to stay for the duration.  Our program is enriched with the diversity of every person attending.
 

2) Stan Kokotajlo
The Soap Box Derby

 
Mr. Kokotajlo is the director of the Cincinnati Soap Box Derby, the local organization of The International Soap Box Derby, a non-profit youth education and leadership development organization whose mission is to build knowledge and character and to create meaningful experiences through collaboration, fair and honest racing competitions, STEM curriculum, and other community-focused activities.  Mr. Kokotajlo will discuss the process of building and racing and hopes a number of TSSP students would be interested in participating. Cincinnati Soap Box Derby can even provide full car kits to build and complete in races.

Upcoming races:
Late April – free Fun Run for children ages 7 to 17 to test drive a Soap Box Derby car (registration opens soon)
May 5th – Golf Manor Grand Prix, which is free and valuable practice
June 16th – Ault Park, Cincinnati Local Derby Race and qualifier for All-American World Championship

Check out this news article from The Enquirer: 50th Cincinnati Soap Box Derby: Kids compete in Ault Park
 
 

Week 2, March 16th
Gina Baldwin
Ivory Tower to Real World: Discussion of the Risks and Pitfalls of Giftedness

Gifted children have risk factors that children with typical neurodiversity do not.  We will discuss some of the key risks and pitfalls that gifted children face.  We will explore how parents, educators, and other support system members can help mitigate those risks.

Gina Baldwin has been part of the Super Saturday Program for 11 years.  She has attended numerous GCE and parent sessions, finding support and encouragement on this unique parenting journey.  Compiling information from various gifted resources and her years of “listening”, she will guide this discussion.

In the lobby: Girl Scout Cookies

 
 

 

Week 3, March 23rd
Gina Baldwin & Monica Hennessy
504s, IEPs, BIPs – What does it all mean?

 
Some gifted children are “twice exceptional”.  Explore the options available to help support those students, even though they may have good grades and be in a gifted program.

Gina Baldwin has been part of the Super Saturday Program for 11 years and Monica Hennessy has been part of the program for 9 years.  The two have attended numerous GCE and parent sessions, finding support and encouragement on this unique parenting journey.  Compiling information from various resources and utilizing Monica’s first hand knowledge of these systems, they will lead a discussion on how 504s, IEPs, and BIPs can be used by twice exceptional gifted students.
 
 

 

Week 4, March 30th
School Choices – Private, Public, Online, Homeschool?

 
Join us for a discussion on school choice options.  We have parents involved in all types of school options that will discuss the advantages and pitfalls in their stories.  Bring your questions and experiences for a productive session.

Thank you to several parents who are joining us – Tedi-Lea DeBruler, Joanna Harm, Monica Hennessy, Gena Lehn, and Jessica Williams.  We appreciate them taking their time to share their experiences and thoughts on the various options.
 
 

 

Week 5, April 6th
Gina Baldwin
Acceleration, AP, & CCP

 
We will discuss the requirements and processes for taking AP and CCP classes, as well as for grade or single-subject acceleration.
 
 

 

Week 6, April 13th
The Super Saturday Program Annual Meeting

 
Voting will held at the morning session​.

In the lobby: Book Swap

The last session of every term, The Program facilitates a book exchange.  Is your home overflowing with books?  Do you have a voracious reader that you can’t keep up with?  Bring those children’s books you would like to pass along and pick up new-to-your-child books, whether or not you brought any.

Note: On the last day of the term, some classes invite parents and guardians to view students’ work or a presentation.
 
 

While great effort is made to ensure attendees can count on the schedule as published, unforeseen problems may occur which make it necessary to reschedule or replace a speaker.

In addition to being posted above, dates and speakers are also posted as Facebook events and are posted to a Google Calendar.

  • If you use Google Calendar, the calendar ID needed to “subscribe” is
    617e548525539eb62fcec45b3580075c279d7df631f55539ad9c52bce51a71e8@group.calendar.google.com
  • If you use another web based calendar, the address in iCal format is
    https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/617e548525539eb62fcec45b3580075c279d7df631f55539ad9c52bce51a71e8%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

Past Speakers and Topics »