BASH Gifted Education Program

September 2026 Newsletter

• 9/4- No School, Office Open
• 9/7- Labor Day- District Closed
• 9/9- BASH CDT/Firefly Testing Schedule (Alg)
• 9/10-BASH CDT/Firefly Testing Schedule (Bio)
• 9/11-BASH CDT/Firefly Testing Schedule (Lit)
• 9/18- No School, Professional Learning Day
• 10/9- Early Dismissal Modified Schedule (PSAT, ASVAB, Etc)
• 10/9- Senior Career Portfolio Presentations in PM; BCTC normal BCTC schedule
• 10/12- No School, Professional Learning Day
• 10/28- Teacher Conferences 4pm-7pm (details forthcoming)
• 10/29- End of First Quarter

Did your AP or Dual Enrollment teacher assign summer work? If so, make sure you got it completed and turned in! You want to start the year off on a good note!

Over the summer, Dr. Maurer decided to retire from BASH to pursue other interests outside of education. After several decades of teaching in the Boyertown Area School District, his influence and guidance will be sorely missed. After 30 years in the classroom, Mr. Burychka decided to leave the social studies department and fill the void by taking over for Dr. Maurer as full-time gifted education teacher and AP Coordinator. In addition, Mrs. Shaw, who teaches math at BASH (including DE Calculus) has come on board as a gifted case manager. Mrs. Gramp and Mr. Valick continue as gifted case managers.

If you are taking an AP Course this year at BASH, you will need to register for exams that take place in May 2027. Registration and payments begin through a service we used last year called Total Registration. Complete the registration here (BASH AP Registration Link). At the end of the process on Total Registration, you will be given your join code for your AP Classroom. Additional information can be found on the BASH AP Registration Instructions document.
On a side note, TR & College Board are separate entities. You need separate accounts for each one.

1. Introduce Yourself and Show Interest
   Make an effort to talk with your teacher early in the year. Share a little about your interests, favorite subjects, or what you enjoy learning about.

2. Don't Assume Your Teacher Knows You're Gifted
   Your teacher may not know much about your strengths or previous experiences. Be willing to explain what types of assignments challenge and motivate you.

3. Ask Good Questions
   Don't be afraid to ask questions that go beyond the basic assignment. Thoughtful questions show curiosity and can help your teacher see how you think.

4. Be Open to Learning Something New
   Even if you have learned some of the material before, approach the class with an open mind. Look for connections, deeper questions, and new perspectives.

5. Do Your Best on the Regular Work
   Gifted students sometimes become frustrated when assignments seem easy. Still, completing your work carefully and consistently demonstrates responsibility and builds your teacher's trust.

6. Talk to Your Teacher When You're Bored or Unchallenged
   Instead of simply complaining that something is "too easy," explain what you already understand and ask whether there is a way to explore the topic more deeply.

7. Accept Feedback—Even When You Disagree
   Being gifted doesn't mean you're always right. Listen to your teacher's feedback, ask questions, and use constructive criticism as an opportunity to improve.

8. Don't Be Afraid to Make Mistakes
   Choose challenging opportunities even when you aren't guaranteed to succeed. Teachers appreciate students who are willing to take intellectual risks.

9. Respect Your Teacher's Classroom and Expectations
   Intelligence and curiosity are strengths, but so are patience, kindness, listening, and cooperation. Being a positive member of the classroom goes a long way toward building trust.

10. Let Your Teacher See Who You Are
    Don't feel like you have to hide your interests or intelligence to fit in. Share your enthusiasm, creativity, humor, and curiosity appropriately. A genuine relationship makes it easier for your teacher to understand how to support you.

The big idea: Your teacher doesn't need you to prove that you're gifted. They need to see that you're curious, respectful, responsible, and willing to be challenged.

The Career Portfolio is the graduation requirement for students at Boyertown Area Senior High. Students will use SmartFutures, a web-based program that provides meaningful, career-oriented experiences as part of this Career Portfolio graduation requirement. The portfolio process will give every student the maximum opportunity to research careers and make an informed decision on next steps to ensure success beyond high school. Your son/daughter’s homeroom teacher will serve as his/her Career Portfolio Graduation Project advisor. The advisor will meet with students throughout the year to assess progress toward their annual goals.

Students will have a grade recorded on their report card and transcript indicating the progress they have made toward the Career Portfolio Graduation Project requirement. At the conclusion of each quarter and school year, homeroom teachers/advisors will be required to enter either a “P” (Pass) or an “F” (Fail) for each of the students on their respective homeroom rosters based on the completion of the requirements for that particular quarter or school year.

A student with the expected completed requirements for each of the four years at BASH (9-10-11-12) will receive the “P” rating for that particular quarter/year. A student NOT completing the expected requirements for each of the four years at BASH (9-10-11-12) will receive the “F” rating for that particular quarter/year. Students receiving an “F” for either a quarter or a year will not have access to BASH privileges until the subsequent quarter/year report indicates a “P” for passing.

• 9th Grade Requirements

• 10th Grade Requirements

• 11th Grade Requirements

• 12th Grade Requirements

AP World History: Modern is a college-level course that explores global history from approximately 1200 CE to the present. Students examine major civilizations, empires, political and economic systems, cultural developments, technological innovations, and social changes across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East. Emphasis is placed on understanding connections among societies and analyzing historical developments through evidence, comparison, causation, continuity and change over time, and historical context. Through reading, discussion, writing, and analysis of primary and secondary sources, students develop the skills needed to think critically about the forces that have shaped the modern world while preparing for the AP World History: Modern exam.

AP U.S. History is a college-level course that explores the political, social, economic, cultural, and diplomatic development of the United States from the pre-Columbian era to the present. Students examine major events, ideas, movements, and individuals while developing the skills of historical reasoning, including analyzing primary and secondary sources, evaluating evidence, identifying patterns of continuity and change, and constructing well-supported historical arguments. The course emphasizes critical thinking, discussion, writing, and the interpretation of historical perspectives while preparing students for the AP U.S. History Exam and providing a strong foundation for success in college-level history and the social sciences.

1. Get to Know the Student, Not Just the Data
   Review gifted identification information, but also learn about the student's interests, strengths, frustrations, goals, and preferred ways of learning.

2. Avoid Assuming Gifted Means “Good at Everything”
   Gifted students can have significant weaknesses, learning differences, organizational challenges, or social-emotional needs. Look at the whole student.

3. Provide Appropriate Challenge From Day One
   Avoid giving gifted students extra worksheets or simply more of the same work. Look for opportunities for greater complexity, depth, problem-solving, and creativity.

4. Use Pre-Assessment to Prevent Unnecessary Repetition
   Find out what students already know before teaching a unit. If a gifted student has already mastered the material, provide an opportunity to move into more advanced or challenging work.

5. Encourage Questions and Intellectual Risk-Taking
   Gifted students often ask unexpected or difficult questions. Create a classroom culture where curiosity is valued and students feel comfortable exploring ideas without always knowing the answer.

6. Offer Choice Whenever Possible
   Allow students some control over topics, products, texts, or methods of demonstrating learning. Choice can increase engagement while allowing students to pursue areas of particular interest.

7. Teach Productive Struggle
   Gifted students may be accustomed to getting answers quickly. Give them opportunities to wrestle with challenging problems and make mistakes rather than constantly providing work they can easily master.

8. Don't Make the Gifted Student the “Assistant Teacher”
   Avoid routinely asking gifted students to tutor classmates, pass out materials, or help others simply because they finish early. Their time should also be used for meaningful learning.

9. Pay Attention to Social and Emotional Needs
   Gifted students may experience perfectionism, anxiety about failure, frustration with peers, or feelings of being different. Build relationships and provide opportunities for them to connect with intellectual peers.

10. Communicate With the Gifted Support Teacher and Parents/Guardians
    Collaboration can provide valuable insight into the student's strengths, needs, interests, and previous experiences. Don't wait until there is a problem to communicate.

A good rule of thumb: Gifted students don't necessarily need more work—they need different, deeper, and appropriately challenging work.

• “Teaching Gifted Students to Fail: Why Struggle Is Essential for Growth”

— July 2, 2026

This is particularly useful for teachers. It explores why gifted students can become accustomed to easy success and why intentionally providing productive struggle, mistakes, and appropriately difficult problems is important for intellectual growth.

• “Beyond Faster Answers: Rethinking AI in the Gifted Classroom”

— August 1, 2026

A very timely resource for teachers and students. It considers how AI can be used with gifted learners in ways that promote deeper thinking rather than simply helping students produce answers more quickly.

• Mr. B. Burychka (bburychka@boyertownasd.org)

• Mrs. M. Gramp (mgramp@boyertownasd.org)

• Mrs. E. Shaw (eshaw@boyertownasd.org)

• Mr. J. Valick (jvalick@boyertownasd.org)

• Go to pages 14-16 in the Program of Studies titled “Enrichment Courses” This section covers the gifted program, honors/AP courses, dual enrollment, etc.

• The Counseling Dept. also hosted a Financial Aid Presentation earlier this year. You can view recorded past presentations on the site. The Virtual FAFSA Support information is also listed here.
• Student Aid Guide - This comprehensive guide (which has been updated for 2025-26 school year) provides a complete overview of the financial aid process with information on most of Pennsylvania’s financial aid programs and services.

Will your student be taking the SAT in the near future? There’s lots of free and low-cost resources available. Check out this article for some ideas and resources. Here’s a few of the highlighted resources in the article:

• BlueBook Exams App

• Khan Academy

• College Board Question Bank

It is recommended that students start early, take official practice tests, focus on their weaknesses, and create a study plan.