For The Almanac

writer@thealmanac.net

For parents of gifted children, finding appropriate summer courses can be difficult.

Fortunately, C-MITES, Carnegie Mellon Institute for Talented Elementary and Secondary Students, is offering a number of exciting courses this summer, with many conveniently offered at Seton-LaSalle High School.

The C-MITES Summer Programs are special because they bring bright students together from many different schools to work in an academically stimulating atmosphere. Courses are hands-on, mentally demanding, and highly enjoyable for the students. Selection for classes is competitive and is based on EXPLORE scores, a teacher recommendation, and academic activities.

C-MITES offers the type of challenging material gifted students need. According to Shoplik, these students learn at a faster rate and at a higher level, and research indicates that they learn better when grouped together with other gifted students. This also allows a teacher working with a group of gifted learners to raise the level of challenge in the course and make it more complex. While Pennsylvania public schools have enrichment and pull out program programs for gifted students at the elementary and middle school level, most do not offer an all day gifted program.

Outside the box

Bethel Park's Dave Coplan, calls the C-MITES program "phenomenal." His children, Aaron, in 6th grade at Bethel's Neil Armstrong Elementary School, and Kyle, a 4th grader at St. Louise deMarillac Elementary School, have taken multiple classes with C-MITES. "The choices afforded to students is completely outside of any box," said Coplan.

Every child is different, and every gifted learner is very different, and the courses C-MITES offers appeal to a wide range of interests, from science and math to creative writing.

Coplan said that one of the classes his son Aaron took, Amusement Park Physics, was taught by a high school physics teacher. With the exception of the math component, Coplan said the teacher covered material normally taught during a typical nine-week period in just two weeks.

Aaron Coplan said he like learning physics ahead of the rest of his classmates. He said he would "definitely recommend" the C-MITES programs, because they "provide advanced skills that you can use later in life."

In addition to Amusement Park Physics, Aaron also took Programming with Alice, where he learned to create animated movies. Shoplik said that during Programming with Alice, which is geared for students in grades 4 through 6, children learn computer programming skills in a fun and creative way: by storytelling. They create animated movies and simple video games where they control the behavior of 3D object and characters in a virtual world.

Shoplik explained that the Alice software was developed by the late Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, along with several of his colleagues. The software was designed to be more user friendly for non-computer people, and a graduate student adjusted the program for younger students.

Potter Science popular

While Programming with Alice is a very popular course, Harry Potter Science Adventure for those in grade 3 to 5 is a course with a built in fan base. Shoplik said the kids are familiar with the books, and the literature is the hook that pulls them to the class which covers the science behind some of the spells. Magic meets its match in the C-MITES chemistry, astronomy, biology, and food science lab. Students learn about the physics behind levitation as they study magnetism, hovercrafts, and air pressure.

Students also learn about chemical reactions and how some real animals have chemical defenses. They simulate the "blast-ended skrewt" in the Harry Potter books by putting baking soda in a balloon and adding vinegar. Shoplik said they love to watch the carbon dioxide gas shoot out of a small hole in the balloon, but watch out if the balloon starts expanding too quickly!

In addition to the Summer Program, C-MITES offers Steppingstones classes. Students in first through ninth grade may attend one or more workshops in late July and early August on the Carnegie Mellon University campus or on the RiverQuest boat at the Carnegie Science Center. Programs are either half- or whole-day in length, and testing is not required.

Some of the Steppingstones classes that will be offered at Carnegie Mellon University include: Build a Robot, Chemistry and Analysis of Water, DNA: The Sweet Code of Life, Electric Super Cars, Engineering 101, Hovercrafts and Bottle Rockets, Ice Cream Science, Neuroscience and the Learning Brain, Online Virtual Stock Trading, Pandemic: The Spread of Diseases, The Raging Rainforest, and Water Works.

Dave Coplan said there are not many cities that offer this type of gifted education, and Pittsburgh is fortunate that CMU offers this commitment to gifted education. "I'm a real fan of C-MITES," he said.

To register for the C-MITES program, or for more information, including information on financial aid options, call the main C-MITES number at 412-268-1629, ext. 1, or visit the Web site, www.cmu.edu/cmites.