US Space and Rocket Center

Habersham County Schools

Gifted Education Services

Dr. Martha K. Cantrell, Gifted Program Coordinator  

mcantrell@habershamschools.com

Phone:  (706) 754-2110 Ext 128

P O Box 70, W Stanford Mill Rd

Clarkesville, Georgia  30523

The public schools of Habersham County are committed to identifying, nurturing, and developing the unique abilities and potential of each gifted and talented student through high quality gifted education services.

Summer Assignments for Honors/AP courses posted under "Document Uploads".

 CONGRATULATIONS to the following students for their outstanding accomplishments: 

Habersham Central Future Problem Solving Team

State Winners

Lawson Lewallen, Gracie Clark, Savannah Mabry, Chelsea Jordan

Habersham Central Language Bowl Team

1st Place - University of North Georgia Language Bowl

2012-13 Junior Varsity Academic Bowl Team

Foothills Academic Bowl Region 2 - 2nd Place

Amber Allen, Daniel Anderson, Brady Cone, Will Fritz, John Paul Hamilton, Lawson Lewallen, Emma Matthews, Abby Miller, Kaylee Moore, Austin Nifong, Spencer Shimek

2013 Valedictorian

Duc Dao 

2013 Salutatorian

John Gagnon 

2012 National Merit Commendation

John Gagnon 

2012 AP Scholars  

AP Scholar Award:  John Gagnon, Edgar Hernandez, Jennifer Purcell

AP Scholar with Honor:  Joshua Bartlett, Will Cely, Michael Hamilton

AP Scholar with Distinction:  Trinh My Dao, Grace Donnelly, Meredith Elder, Hannah Galloway, Wesley Gerrin, Lucky Khambouneheuang, Kristy Syhapanha, Caleb Williams  

2013 Governor's Honors Program

Ruby Gleber - Communicative Arts

2013 Duke TIP Awards

State Honors/Academy Qualification:  Brittney Brown, Alexa McAllister, Megan Oliver, and Katharina Shalikashvili

Academy for Summer Studies Qualification:  Charles Billingslea 

2013 Star Student/Star Teacher 

John Gagnon * Ben Bolton  

Bridge Builder Scholarship

Duc Dao

Discovery Center

Grades 1-5   

The goal of the Discovery Program is to provide for the extension of learning opportunities, the development of individual potential, the enhancement of students’ self-concept, and the advancement toward becoming an independent learner beyond the opportunities of the regular classroom.  The program does this through development in four major areas: cognitive skills, learning skills, research and reference skills, and communication skills.  The curriculum is interdisciplinary. 

Critical and creative thinking skills are a major curriculum focus.  Students use these skills to develop individual and group projects that are interest-driven or extensions of classroom curriculum.  

Students are encouraged to develop individual talents and to become self-directed lifelong learners.

Teachers:   Jeannie Collins

                 Jane Kitchens

                 Stacey McLaurin

Junior Honors Courses

Grades 6-8

The overall aim of the Junior Honors Program at the middle school level is to provide for the extension of learning opportunities, the development of individual potential, the enhancement of students' self-concept, and the advancement toward becoming an independent learner beyond the opportunities of the regular classroom.  The program does this through development in four areas of gifted competencies:  cognitive skills, learning skills, research and reference skills, and communication skills.

 Advanced content classes are offered in mathematics and language arts.  State-mandated content objectives are covered using curriculum compacting.  Gifted competencies are emphasized with a variety of thought-provoking and creative activities such as simulations, dramatics, debates, literature, multimedia, and vocabulary study.   At different times during the year students develop independent projects of their own choice, setting up their own guidelines for research and final product.

 Future Problem Solving is a major curriculum focus which incorporates all the skill areas.  FPS is based on the study of four different topics throughout the year, such as prison alternatives, mental health, endangered species, and robotics.  Students research the topic using the most current resources.  The information is applied several ways:  team problem solving, scenarios, or visual arts.  In team problem solving a small group reads a fuzzy situation about the topic set in the future.  Then a six-step creative problem solving process is used to work through the situation.  The process uses both critical and creative thinking.  An FPS scenario is a short story about the topic set in the future, with a problem solving focus.  An FPS visual arts project presents a problem and solution about the topic visually.

Content Areas:

Math: Junior Honors 6^th Grade Math, Junior Honors 7^th Grade Math, Junior Honors 8^th Grade Math

Language Arts:  Junior Honors 6^th Grade LA, Junior Honors 7^th Grade LA/Reading, Junior Honors 8^th Grade LA/Reading

Staff:                                        

      Kelly Burgess, SHMS Language Arts/Reading

      Erin Cross, HWMS Grades 6/7 Mathematics

      Candie Dean, HWMS Language Arts/Reading

      Hannah Demore, SHMS Mathematics

      Argen Hicks, NHMS Mathematics

      Grace Jones, NHMS Grade 8 Language Arts/Reading

      Cathy Kastner, NHMS Grade 6 Language Arts/Reading

      Willene Keel, NHMS Grade 7Language Arts/Reading

      Patti Williams, HWMS Grade 8 Mathematics

Honors Courses

Grades 9-12 

The major gifted education goals at Habersham Central High School are designed to do the following:

1.) Promote critical thinking and reasoning abilities.  Students will be instructed in the areas of inference, deductive and inductive reasoning, analogies, and the evaluation of arguments.

2.) Foster inquiry and challenging attitudes towards learning.  The student will be able to develop a commitment to learning as a lifelong process.

3.) Provide an environment that encourages divergent thinking.  Students will be encouraged in the development of originality, fluency, flexibility, and elaborations in their thought processes.

4.) Develop high-level oral and written skills, Students will become confident in expressing ideas through class discussions, panel discussions, debates, and oral reports. And students will earn expository and creative writing skills and technical report writing.

5.) Develop research skills and methods.  Students will be able to understand the scientific method and in application to all areas of inquiry.

6.) Develop an understanding for systems of knowledge, themes, issues, and problems that frame the external world.  Students will be able to interrelate ideas within and across domains of study.

Advanced Placement Courses

Grades 10-12

The Advanced Placement Program offers high school students an opportunity to study college-level curriculum in the high school setting.  The curriculum of each class is approved by the College Board through the AP Audit Program which qualifies the AP designation on student transcripts and notifies colleges that our curriculum aligns with the College Board Course Descriptions for each course.  During the month of May, students take the College Board AP Examinations.  These exams are scored on the following scale:  

                                                                5            Highly qualified

                                                                4            Well Qualified

                                                                3            Qualified

                                                                2            Possibly Qualified

                                                                1            No Recommendation

More information is available at:  www.collegeboard.com

Courses Offered:

AP Biology - Krista Ivester                                                            

AP Calculus AB/BC - Martha Cantrell

AP Chemistry - Crystal Cannon

AP Environmental Science - Laura Elsarelli 

AP Language/Composition - Rhea Galati

AP Literature/Composition - Rhea Galati

AP Macroeconomics/AP Microeconomics - Angela Nunnally 

AP Music Theory - Ryan Dukes 

AP Spanish - Norma Garza

AP Studio Art - Amber Kerr

AP U S History - Kathy Daniel

Other AP courses are available through the Georgia Virtual School.

Dual Enrollment Courses

Grades 11-12  

 Dual Enrollment courses are available to qualifying students through Piedmont College, North Georgia Technical College, and Gainesville State College.