Mrs. Billionis

Phone: 523-3334

EMAIL

Ms. Horras

Phone: 523-3335

EMAIL

News and Events

Foundation Grant Award:

Middle School Day of Caring - This grant will provide transportation funds to take our classes out for a day of caring in which they will work with a variety of service organizations in downtown Springfield.

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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A MIDDLE SCHOOL WINGS STUDENT...
The instructional day at WINGS is divided into three sections. These sections are Thinking Skills, Major Unit, and Personal and Group Dynamics.

In Thinking Skills, students have four objectives: to develop critical thinking skills, creative thinking skills, analytic skills, and organizational skills. Research skills and questioning also play a major role in our thinking skills curriculum. According to Ronald Hyman of Rutgers University, "The secret to effective research with new electronic information sources is the use of powerful questioning strategies. In fact, questions may be one of the most powerful technologies invented by humans. Even though they require no batteries and need not be plugged into the wall, they are the tools which help us make up our minds, solve problems and make decisions."

Major Units are of great interest to the students. Unlike Thinking Skills and PGD, Major units change over the course of the school year based on student interest. Each unit is written by the WINGS staff and includes the following components:
- the BIG IDEA and essential questions associated with the topic,
- the goals and measurable objectives the student is expected to master,
- a unit rationale that describes the ways in which this unit will benefit gifted students,
- topics, activities, and events scheduled for the unit,
- a means to assess student outcomes, and
- a syllabus.

In Personal and Group Dynamics (PGD), the third portion of the day, students work to understand themselves and how they relate to others. The PGD class is a very important part of the WINGS day. This time, specifically allotted to affective education, is part of a comprehensive curriculum designed to meet the needs of gifted children. Linda Silverman, author of Counseling the Gifted and Talented, and Nicholas Colangelo, a contributing editor, define goals and objectives that provide the framework for the WINGS affective curriculum for gifted students.