I am writing this message the morning after GATES Gallery of Discovery. Our students always amaze me with their ideas and passion for learning. I am extremely excited that we have additional offerings in Stafford County this summer for students to continue learning, ask questions, and solve problems with one of the three summer enrichment courses. If a student has the time to commit to the course this summer, I encourage them to sign up for one of the enrichment courses. We also have students who will attend Fredericksburg Regional Governor’s School and information for a number of other opportunities are included in this newsletter.

Another exciting first is happening May 15 – we will have our first pop-up field experience! The pop-up experiences are essentially opportunities for students to meet up with other like-minded students to stretch their minds and have some fun. An adult needs to be in attendance with the student the entire time. While we are not sponsoring these events, we are putting the pieces in place and providing ideas for students and families to have some fun. We do have limited space for this first experience, as it is indoors, so there is a sign up. We have others in the works ... stay tuned for details!

My hope is that all students have taken advantage of opportunities to learn and grow over the school year. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to each and every GATES teacher for everything they do throughout the year, most of which nobody has the opportunity to see except for me. Lisa Arthur (DSMS), Rachael Matern (TBGMS), Scott Trotta (RTMS), Jack Harding (SCHMS), Audra DeFiore Wood (HHPMS), Garrett Stolz (DMS), Lindsay Slivka (SMS), and Marie Schuh (AGWMS) have worked incredibly hard with and on behalf of students and staff every day. Additionally, the support of administrators at each middle school is essential for our GATES community.

This message applies to students, parents, staff, and other friends of middle school gifted:

Maybe you have some new interests or skills that you would like to further develop and explore over the summer. Whatever your plans, I challenge you to learn something new and to read each day. Enjoy time in nature. Start next year refreshed and ready to challenge yourself and exceed expectations.

Meet our SCPS High School Gifted and Talented Education Services teachers - each with a message to their rising 9th graders!

Dear Upcoming 9th Graders,

Welcome to Gifted and Talented Educational Services for the 2025-2026 academic year. I look forward to working with all of you. My primary role is to advocate for the needs of gifted students as a resource for you, your families, and BPHS teachers/staff.

I am a resource for…

• Helping teachers plan lessons and activities to be engaging for you.

• Consulting with you about grades, classes, and additional opportunities or concerns.

• Setting goals regarding where you are going with your education and how to get there.

• Aiding in applications to various post-secondary and extra-curricular opportunities.

• Providing various materials and support for gifted learners throughout the year.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Thank you,

Kevin Bouffard

BPHS Gifted Resource Teacher

Office: Room 201

Email: BouffardKJ@staffordschools.net

Phone: 540-658-6080

Website: https://www.staffordschools.net/domain/2956

I am writing this message the morning after GATES Gallery of Discovery. Our students always amaze me with their ideas and passion for learning. I am extremely excited that we have additional offerings in Stafford County this summer for students to continue learning, ask questions, and solve problems with one of the three summer enrichment courses. If a student has the time to commit to the course this summer, I encourage them to sign up for one of the enrichment courses. We also have students who will attend Fredericksburg Regional Governor’s School and information for a number of other opportunities are included in this newsletter.

Another exciting first is happening May 15 – we will have our first pop-up field experience! The pop-up experiences are essentially opportunities for students to meet up with other like-minded students to stretch their minds and have some fun. An adult needs to be in attendance with the student the entire time. While we are not sponsoring these events, we are putting the pieces in place and providing ideas for students and families to have some fun. We do have limited space for this first experience, as it is indoors, so there is a sign up. We have others in the works ... stay tuned for details!

My hope is that all students have taken advantage of opportunities to learn and grow over the school year. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to each and every GATES teacher for everything they do throughout the year, most of which nobody has the opportunity to see except for me. Lisa Arthur (DSMS), Rachael Matern (TBGMS), Scott Trotta (RTMS), Jack Harding (SCHMS), Audra DeFiore Wood (HHPMS), Garrett Stolz (DMS), Lindsay Slivka (SMS), and Marie Schuh (AGWMS) have worked incredibly hard with and on behalf of students and staff every day. Additionally, the support of administrators at each middle school is essential for our GATES community.

This message applies to students, parents, staff, and other friends of middle school gifted:

Maybe you have some new interests or skills that you would like to further develop and explore over the summer. Whatever your plans, I challenge you to learn something new and to read each day. Enjoy time in nature. Start next year refreshed and ready to challenge yourself and exceed expectations.

Welcome Rising 9th Grade Wolverines!

My name is Mrs. Cardenas, and I am the Gifted Resource Teacher at North Stafford High School. I hope your time at North Stafford HS will be exciting and academically challenging. Hopefully, you will take advantage of the many opportunities our school has to offer. As the school’s Gifted Resource Teacher, I am available to answer any questions you may have about the gifted services and programs that are available to you at NSHS. I will also help you discover enriching learning opportunities whether that be through scheduling classes or exploring extra-curricular activities. My hope is that each of you finds your time at NSHS full of rich experiences that will inspire your love of learning—both inside and outside the classroom.

I look forward to meeting you!

Mrs. Feli Cardenas

cardenasfh@staffordschools.net

North Stafford High School

http://nshs.staffordschools.net

Hello, Upcoming Freshman to SHS,

As you start your journey at Stafford High School, visit me in room A212 to say hi! I am Mrs. H. Purnell, your gifted resource teacher and SHS gifted instructional coach.

We will also meet at the 2025-2026 SHS Orientation Night at SHS. I advocate as you transcend the years as a gifted student at SHS. In other words, my primary role is to advocate for the needs of all gifted students by acting as a resource for you, your families, and SHS teachers/staff. My roles and responsibilities also include monitoring your academic success, facilitating Virginia classes, being an instructor for Independent Gifted studies, and collaborating with the teachers of SHS as a gifted instructional coach.

We must meet within the first three weeks of the 2025-2026 academic year. I am eager to meet you so we can establish the beginning of a support system for you. I am available to listen to you. Feel free to contact me, and remember you are now a member of the SHS T.R.I.B.E. ( Trust.Respect.Integrity.Betterment.Effort).

From strength to strength…

Mrs. Purnell

Dear Future Wildcats,

Welcome! My name is Mrs. Hamill, and I’m thrilled to be your gifted resource teacher beginning this fall! I’m excited to begin this journey with you as you enter high school and take on new opportunities and challenges. In just a few short months, we’ll start working together to set academic and extracurricular goals, and begin paving the way toward your bright future. As your gifted resource teacher, I’ll be here to support you every step of the way—cheering you on, helping you grow, and celebrating your successes.

If you have any questions before the school year begins, please don’t hesitate to reach out via email. I’m here to help!

All the best as you finish your middle school chapter—I can’t wait to meet you this fall. Go ‘Cats!

Warmly,

Mrs. Hamill

Sincerely,

Mrs. Hamill

MVHS Gifted Resource Teacher

hamillkm@staffordschools.net

Hello Future Colonial Forge Eagles! I am looking forward to being your high school Gifted Education (GaTES) Resource Teacher. I hope your time at the Forge will be exciting, enriching, and academically challenging through the many classes and opportunities our school has to offer. As your GaTES teacher, my primary roles are to advocate for gifted student needs and offer support to you throughout your high school career. When you arrive in August, please come introduce yourself to me. Have a terrific summer and I'll see you soon!

Susan Easter, M.Ed.

Resource Teacher for Gifted Education, Colonial Forge High School

Email: eastersl@staffordschools.net

(540) 658-6115

www.staffordschools.net

Accepted applicants from grades 6-8 are engaging in advanced learning through the summer enrichment program in a 15 day program. Curriculum and activities provide learning opportunities will develop leadership, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Students will explore these skills through courses that include real-world problem-solving challenges and hands-on experiences in science through coding and circuitry. Research projects, guest speakers, field experiences, and culminating activities will further deepen students' understanding and application of these skills. The problem-based and simulation learning components will enhance authentic connections and enrich learning. Students are experiencing advanced opportunities to explore leadership, critical thinking, and problem-solving.

We are very excited to pilot this program. Stay tuned for updates and photos of this summer's enrichment experience!

Can you figure out which book each of the nine AI artwork images below represents? Use this Google Form to submit your best guesses! Students who correctly identify all nine will receive a shout-out in our Back-to-School newsletter.

Gifted and Talented students from ALL SCPS schools were invited to participate in the 2025 GATES Gallery of Discovery on April 29th. Participating schools were split between two high school locations, providing a variety of interest and passion projects. Students proudly discussed their hard work and reasoning for selecting their pieces. Check out pictures from the event, and if you missed out this year, be sure to watch for next year's GATES Gallery of Discovery!

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, across the United States. The Lifeline is comprised of a national network of over 200 local crisis centers, combining custom local care and resources with national standards and best practices.

Suicide is not inevitable for anyone. By starting the conversation, providing support, and directing help to those who need it, we can prevent suicides and save lives.

Evidence shows that providing support services, talking about suicide, reducing access to means of self-harm, and following up with loved ones are just some of the actions we can all take to help others.

988 Lifeline Chat and Text connects you with caring crisis counselors for emotional support.

To chat with a crisis counselor online 24/7/365, please fill out the form below.

To text with a crisis counselor, send a text to 988 on your phone.

For Veterans and Service Members: Chat with the Veterans Crisis Line

Haga clic aquí para acceder al chat en español.

For Deaf/Hard of hearing: ASL now

RACSB Emergency Line: (540)373-6876
National Suicide Hotline: (800)273-8255 or 988
Mental Health Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741

Preparing for a new school year can be exciting but also daunting for many families. They have to help their children transition from unstructured to structured schedules and may worry about the children’s adjustment to a new environment—especially if attending a new school. Families of children with disabilities who have new placements may be concerned about how the change might impact their children. Being prepared and connecting with families as early as possible at the beginning of the school year can be beneficial to both school professionals and families.

How General Education Teachers can Welcome Newcomers

Once teachers receive their class list, they have access to students’ cumulative files, which consist of valuable information, such as students’ statewide assessment results, multilingual learners’ English proficiency levels, and a home language survey, which informs them if interpreters will be needed for future communications with families.

General education teachers need to review 504 plans or individualized education programs (IEPs) of their students with disabilities. These legal documents inform them of students’ strengths, needs, and required accommodations; special education services they need; and whether these services need to be provided inside and/or outside of classrooms. To avoid interruptions in learning, it’s especially important for teachers to meet with special education teachers and related service providers (such as speech and language pathologists) and discuss upcoming service schedules. To continue this article, click on the link below.

Helping Your Gifted Child Transition from Elementary to Middle School

Transitioning from elementary school into middle school is a big adjustment—both for children and for their parents. Parents of gifted children often find this transition especially trying, since the services that were available for children at the elementary level are sometimes difficult to find at the middle school—when they are offered at all.

One goal of schooling should be for all students to strive to do their personal best and extend their own learning. Although middle school enthusiasts are quick to deny it, the philosophical underpinnings of the early middle school movement in the United States were pointedly anti-gifted in nature. The movement away from providing services to gifted students can be found in the polemical statements from founders of the movement and in the decline of workshops addressing the needs of gifted students at the National Middle School Association’s annual conferences.

So what is a parent to do?

Learn About the School’s Offerings - Multiple sources at your new school can provide you with meaningful information about the services for gifted students: the school’s Web site, other parents with children in the school, and an appointment with the principal will give you a good sense of how the school addresses the needs of gifted children. In some states, the school report card highlights the services offered to gifted students, but be aware that the information presented is limited. A school might report that it offers special support for gifted students, but what does this mean? Support can range from challenging, ability-grouped classes attended by students daily to an occasional field trip with no services offered during the school day.

You know your child’s needs best. Look for a match between the school’s specific offerings and the needs of your child. Is your child gifted in math? Then see if the school offers courses such as Algebra I for high school credit. Is your child gifted in literary analysis? Then ask if the English courses are ability grouped, and request a copy of the reading list to see if it is commensurate with your child’s reading ability.

In Nashville, Tennessee, a group of parents raised questions about what they saw as a lack of opportunities for gifted and high ability students in the district’s middle schools. The school board responded by forming a task force with multiple stakeholders. Within five months the task force developed recommendations to increase the offerings for gifted and high ability students at both the middle and high school levels. Without requesting any additional funding, administrators of the Nashville middle schools were able to add 14 high school credit courses. As a result, 18 of the 23 middle schools in Nashville were able to offer a minimum of 3 high school level courses for high school credit.

Making sure that challenging offerings are available for your child might have to start long before he or she arrives at middle school. Be vigilant and start asking questions before the transition year.

Learn About the School’s Philosophy - Does the school treat giftedness as a cause for providing challenges above and beyond those of the regular classroom, or is giftedness treated as an annoyance? Does the school allow opportunities for high ability students to spend time in class together, or do the school’s grouping practices prohibit this? Does the school’s idea of gifted services include having gifted students tutor others, either individually or in cooperative learning groups? If so, be concerned. While tutoring other students can be a worthwhile activity, a child should not be expected to play the role of a teacher.

Dr. Marian Matthews of Eastern New Mexico University conducted a series of studies on the reactions of gifted middle and high school students to their tutoring and cooperative learning experiences. Across the board, she found that students are frustrated and resentful when they have to take time away from their own learning to help students who do not care about school. Repeatedly, she found that gifted students reported having to “do all the work” in group settings, a refrain that many parents of gifted students hear regularly.

Occasional tutoring can be a good thing and can help gifted students develop peer relationships and empathy for others, but excessive peer tutoring can be tedious and de-motivating. One goal of schooling should be for all students to strive to do their personal best and extend their own learning. This may not be possible if gifted students are tasked with the responsibility for the other students’ learning at the expense of their own.

Look for Physical Clues Regarding the School’s Culture - When you visit the middle school, take a good look around the lobby. Do you see display cases filled only with sports trophies? Or do you also see creative works and awards for academic endeavors, such as science fairs, essay contests, and math competitions? Your observations will tell you a lot about what the school values.

Hibbing High School in Hibbing, Minnesota is well known for producing outstanding students in math. On a visit to enquire about their excellent math program, I was amazed to see that the entire math hallway was covered with the photographs of the school’s star math students, going back for several decades. The teachers told me that students were motivated to have their photos in this “Wall of Fame.” They would even return years later with their children to tell proudly how they earned this honor.

The culture of this school valued high achievement, and the manifestations of high achievement both motivated students and honored their accomplishments.

In Conclusion - No one will be able to advocate for your child as well as you. Approach this task well-informed and pleasantly assertive (not aggressive), and you will be on the right path to ensuring that you child’s needs are met.

Members of the US House of Representatives challenge students in their districts to submit original apps that they have created and coded. Register to see the exact challenge for the congressional district in which you live or attend school. Click here for more information.

NNMC is offering several free summer camps for rising 4th through rising 12th graders. The sessions available for middle schoolers include USMC Mechanized Warfare and The Marine Corps and Pop Culture. Click here for more details and the registration form.

https://www.nctm.org/Classroom-Resources/Illuminations/Interactives/Fraction-Game/

https://www.nctm.org/Classroom-Resources/Illuminations/Interactives/Product-Game/

https://www.nctm.org/Classroom-Resources/Illuminations/Interactives/Pan-Balance----Expressions/

https://illuminations.nctm.org/Activity.aspx?id=3476

https://www.nctm.org/Classroom-Resources/Illuminations/Interactives/Algebra-Tiles/

While it may be hard to replicate the whisper of wind winding through trees or the roar of a waterfall as the mist moistens your face, there are still ample opportunities to experience Shenandoah from the comfort and safety of your own living room (or couch, or bedroom, or back porch, or...). Take some time to virtually explore the Park and then download the virtual passport stamp to add to your collection! For more information, click on the link below!

Fun Facts About Everything! Click on links for exciting options!

Discover Your World in the link below!

The Notable Children’s Digital Media list includes real-time, dynamic, and interactive media content for children 14 years of age and younger that enables and encourages active engagement and social interaction while informing, educating, and entertaining in exemplary ways. - Find out more in the link below!

Always call ahead to make sure events are taking place.

(540) 372-1144

Casual chess for all experience levels, grades K-12

Second and fourth Wednesdays from 4:00-6:00 PM.

Casual chess for all experience levels. Grades K-12.

Every Wednesday from 5:30-7:30 PM

• Comic Creators Roundtable: Consists of an overview of various art/promotional topics with open time for collaboration afterward
• Coding with Pepper the Robot: Learn about how Pepper the Robot functions and how to use block coding

Read one or more of the monthly selections and then join in a discussion in person or virtually. Grades 6-12.

Watch anime, read manga, and chat about your favorite series.

Create the most awful art imaginable and you could win a terrible trophy! Materials provided. All supplies provided. Grades 6-12.

Games, crafts, and more! Grades 6-12.

Games, crafts, and more! Grades 6-12.