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.

2024-2025 Schedule

Fall Term

 
Week 1, October 12th
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) Maggie Gunnerson
Cincinnati Area Mensa Gifted Youth Program,

Ohio Association for Gifted Children and
their Gifted Advisory Council,

Ohio Department of Education & Workforce’s
Gifted Operating Standard

 
Maggie will present three topics she is very knowledgeable about and which hold opportunities for our families.

Maggie Gunnerson is passionate about children understanding and embracing themselves — particularly gifted individuals.  Her gifted advocacy journey started at The Super Saturday Program which helped her better understand both her children and herself.  Since then, she has successfully advocated for her own children as well as many others.  Maggie is a current State of Ohio Gifted Advisory Council parent representative, Ohio Association of Gifted Children parent member and contributor, former General Chair of Sycamore GEAR (Gifted Education Advocacy, and Resources), and former board member and current avid supporter of The Super Saturday Program.  She and her husband Kory are the proud parents of Gaven, class of 2028, and Elaina, class of 2034.
 
 

Week 2, October 19th
Shelagh A. Gallagher, Ph.D.
Becoming and Being a Gifted Adolescent
 
Dr. Shelagh A. Gallagher is the Director of the Office of Gifted and Talented Education at the University of North Texas.  Previously, she served as the director of Engaged Education, providing various services to support gifted students, their teachers, and caregivers.  She has published articles on topics including the history of equity efforts in gifted education, the nature of creative expertise, personality and developmental attributes of gifted children, and gender differences in mathematics performance.  Her policy and advocacy initiatives include co-authoring the national report America Agrees and leading the North Carolina Talent Delayed/Talent Denied II and Talent Unleashed efforts to broaden support for traditionally under-identified gifted students.  Every summer she makes time to work directly with gifted youth at Camp Yunasa.

In 2016, Shelagh was recognized as Person of SIGnificance in gifted education by the National Society for Gifted Education; she is also a recipient of the Gifted Child Quarterly Paper of the Year Award, the James J. Gallagher Advocacy Award, and the Distinguished Service Award from the North Carolina Association for the Gifted and Talented, and the Provost’s Award for Teaching Excellence from UNC Charlotte.  She is a nine-time winner of the NAGC Award for Exemplary Curriculum, based on her work in Problem-Based Learning.  Dr. Gallagher served three terms as US delegate to the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children.  Having served several terms on the Board of Directors, Dr. Gallagher is the current President of the National Association of Gifted Children, the nation’s largest advocacy organization advancing the needs of gifted youth.
 
 

 
Week 3, October 26th
Samantha D. Outcalt, PhD, HSPP, ABPP
Navigating the Emotional World of Gifted Kids: Tips and Support for Parents
 
With a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and a graduate certificate in Gifted Education, Samantha Outcalt works as the staff Psychologist at Sycamore School in Indianapolis, an independent school serving gifted learners.  There she directs the social-emotional wellness program and offers individual and group counseling to students as well as consultation to teachers and parents.  Dr. Outcalt integrates her expertise as a board-certified health psychologist into her work with an emphasis on the physiology of emotion, mind-body interventions, and a prevention-oriented approach of building emotional and interpersonal intelligence.  She loves helping students learn about their own brains and how to leverage that information to navigate feelings and relationships with others.

 
 

 
Week 4, November 2nd
Jennifer Madsen
Being a Parent Advocate
 
Jennifer is the Vice President-Advocacy Chair for the New Jersey Association for Gifted Children (NJAGC).

 
 

 
Week 5, November 9th
Jamie MacDougall
The Best Books for Gifted Kids, Bibliotherapy, and All Things Literary
 
Jamie is an English teacher at University High School in Carmel, IN and has written and presented extensively on topics related to the teaching of gifted students. She was named Outstanding Teacher of the Gifted by the Indiana Association for the Gifted in 2007.

 
 

 
Week 6, November 16th
TBD
 
 
 

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.
Instructions for subscribing to the Google Calendar »

Past Speakers and Topics »