Course Expectations

Please read the course expectations and indicate that you (a parent) have read them via this link: 

Apogee Course Expectations Confirmation

Apogee Teachers

Ms. Donna Matthews (8th grade)

Dr. Akilah Smith (7th grade)

Stephanie Wilson (6th grade)

Course Goals and Objectives

Apogee is designed to meet the unique, diverse intellectual and affective needs of identified gifted students in a supportive, differentiated, and rigorous environment.  The advanced, multidisciplinary content focuses on the depth and complexity of learning and knowledge as students develop divergent and higher-order thinking skills in reasoning, creativity, and communication.  Within the parameters of each unit, students will engage in both teacher-selected and self-chosen challenges independently as well as collaboratively.  By interacting with intellectually similar peers, students develop a healthy sense of individual uniqueness, confidence, leadership, and personal responsibility for their actions.

In all units, students have opportunities to work as a whole group, in small groups, and on individual projects.  A concerted effort is made to encourage students to explore unfamiliar, advanced content areas and integrate various methods of media and technology.  It is our goal to allow students to make choices whenever possible to support their individual abilities and personal areas of interest.

6th grade areas of study:  

Please see the 6th Grade Apogee Information page for more details.

7th grade areas of study

Engineering Strategy Games

Students will use the iterative design engineering process to create a very familiar machine--a strategy game--according to game industry standards.  Students will play and analyze existing strategy games and develop a game from an initial prototype into a polished final product.

Spy Games & Espionage

Students will study the history of espionage from the earliest days of American history to the present state of affairs to the needs of the future.  Students will explore the personal characteristics of spies to the ethics of espionage, the performance requirements of spies from creating and maintaining covers, developing spy craft technology, encryption and decryption methodologies, as well as the damage caused by double agents.  Students will participate in a simulation where they will be called upon to use all of their clandestine skills.

8th grade areas of study

In 8th grade, students will help choose the topics taught each semester as well as teacher-driven units. This is a brief listing of units that are possible.

Role Play Games

RPGs are games based on collaborative storytelling by the players. Everyone plays a character, engaged in conflict, with different goals and roles (most of the time). Decisions made and plot twists reflect the characters and the players’ choices. Settings can be anywhere, anytime, with no limits on powers. Boundaries are the rule systems and collective creativity of everyone playing it. RPG rule systems resolve conflict outcomes (often with dice for unpredictability).  In this unit, students will play a variety of games and ultimately create a game scenario or system.

Cosplay

Cosplay is a newer form of artistic expression. Cosplayers select a character from literature, film, video games, comics, anime, manga, or other sources, then create a costume based on that character. The emphasis is on creativity, craftsmanship, and acquisition of new skills.

Film

This course is about how meaning is constructed in film through narrative, dramatic and cinematic forms. Students will watch and analyze a variety of films from the early days of film to present-day, and perform hands-on and written assignments to learn how filmmakers perform their craft. By the end of this course students will not make a movie but will know enough that they probably could.

Humor

In this course, students will look at humor from its deep psychological roots to the application and demonstration through various art forms. Writing jokes and performing a standup comedy routine can be a final project.

Master in a Month

In this course, students will explore a variety of topics depending on student interests and choices. The course will include independent study, collaborative study, and group study on topics of personal interest.

STEAM

Students will undertake a variety of STEAM-oriented challenges.

Debate

Students will learn the formal structure of Congressional Debate and engage in lively, informed debates.

Crime Scene Investigation

Students will learn a variety of tools to assess evidence found at crime scenes then participate in a crime scene simulation to determine the culprit. Maybe a favorite teacher?

Medicine

Students will learn about the field of medicine and perform a variety of experiments and experiences to investigate this future career.

Student Outcomes & Assessment

The school policies as stated in the LMS Student Handbook will be followed for tardiness, absences, and behavior.  Students are expected to come to class ready to learn and prepared for class; this includes submitting all work on time.  

Apogee believes the process is as important as the final product, so many projects will have multiple “checkpoints” that students will be expected to meet for a given project. Students are encouraged to revise and edit their work as they complete projects to achieve the best possible outcomes on final project grades. We are flexible and understand that learning is an ongoing process, and we want our assessment to truly reflect what a student has produced.

The Apogee program uses a common assessment tool that incorporates process and product categories.    As appropriate, individual unit and assignment rubrics are developed for the specific process and product skills required. These scoring guides are provided to students at the beginning of the unit or lesson, and teachers and students will collaborate on the assessment of student work. Students are required to work to their full ability and to challenge themselves to strive for a high level of success.

Academic Grading Scale