SOAP

What is S.O.A.P?

By Emma

We all know what soap is, right?It’s the thing you’re SUPPOSED to use in the shower !Well, you’ll probably think I’m crazy but, there is a different kind of soap.This kind of soap is an abbreviation for a class (S.O.A.P.).

So, I have talked to Dr.Evans and Mrs.Ruzicka (the S.O.A.P. teachers), and asked them a couple of questions to enhance our background knowledge on S.O.A.P!

S.O.A.P. stands for School Of Advanced Pupils. How do you get into S.O.A.P. you ask? First, you have to do well on your Map test. Also, you have to be top five girls or top five boys on Map tests. You have to achieve in both categories of Map.They also use your teacher evaluation. The other advantage of being in S.O.A.P.in sixth grade is you get to be in it all the way through eighth grade.

”The purpose of S.O.A.P. is to challenge the brightest students and let them think outside of the box,” said Dr.Evans. Mrs. Ruzicka explained that it gives the students a chance to do projects you usually don’t get to do in a standard classroom, that it gives them a challenge. The person who came up with S.O.A.P., or at least at PCS is Mrs.Hawley (our Superintendent). It may have gone even further back but from the information collected from the teachers, it is thought that she taught the gifted program when she first came here to teach (which was the early 90’s). Dr.Evans has taught this class for five years and Mrs. Ruzicka for two.

Mrs. Ruzicka was not in the gifted program as a child because they didn’t have a program, but thought it would have been fun.

Evans and Ruzicka are planning to do as many activities as possible, but are hoping to get at least 4-6 done (we already did one activity called canasta and are working on the second activity as of now).

Out of all the years of their teaching S.O.A.P., Dr.Evans’ favorite activity we do or are planning on doing is Cupcake Wars which just started this year and is in progress right now. Egg Drop, which they have been doing in past years is another favorite. Mrs.Ruzicka’s on the other hand, is Cupcake Wars and possibly the Rocket unit we are planning on doing.

So, I hope that everybody has learned at least one or two things about the class S.O.A.P! I appreciate Dr. Evans and Mrs. Ruzicka for giving me all this information.

Last but not least…

Happy Holidays!