The word 'zenith' means a highest point or state; culmination. How many people would be suprised to know that the Cameron School District has a gifted program? Likewise, how many people know what it's actually about? "People in the community don't really know about the gifted program unless their child is a part of it," said Mrs. Janice O'Connor, teacher of the Cameron School District gifted program. 

Zenith, the class for gifted students throughout Parkview Elementary and Cameron Middle School, is much more than just another class. It gives a handful of students the chance to stretch their imagination, improve their problem-solving skills, and learn how to better their interpersonal skills. Not that other classes don't already do that, of course.

 

 "Gifted students aren't always proud of what they do, so every single thing we do in class has to have their name on it. They're leaving their mark, and therefore taking pride in what they do. Bet you didn't know why I did that when you were in the class, did you?" said Mrs. O'Connor with a wink to this somewhat embarrassed reporter. Does everything in the class have some ulterior motive, or some hidden meaning? No. But it's not such a bad thing, having such a creative teacher.

 

And speaking of creative... do you know  of any teacher who composes their whole lesson plan, and all the curriculum for their class on the fly? "There's really no gifted program textbook, so I have nothing to follow," said Mrs. O'Connor. "But I love making my own lesson plans. I'm always up for a challenge." And a challenge it is. Every year brings new activities, projects, and subjects to the Zenith room. The only things repeated are rudimentary skill builders that are introduced at certain grade levels, such as "Who moved my cheese?"-- learning to deal with change, and "The six thinking hats"-- the processes of solving a problem. "I'm my own team in this school," said Mrs. O'Connor. "I love the freedom of it."

 

But isn't there someone, somewhere, who has the same type of job? Someone to compare notes with, and get new information? "I usually attend a gifted convention in Tantara with a bunch of other gifted teachers. We get together and talk and compare notes. I've gotten some great ideas from people I meet there."