Building HEROES: School for the Gifted
In 2007, we founded HEROESgifted. In 2012, we opened HEROES Academy, an educational facility for gifted and talented students. After twelve years, we’re finally purchasing property in Monroe Twp, NJ, a facility where we will ultimately be able to offer a full-day school and testing services for gifted and talented students in addition to our current weekend classes. Follow us on our journey as we build HEROES, a NJ School for the Gifted.
All classes, admissions tests, and open houses will continue to be held in our New Brunswick location until the conclusion of this Academic Year. Classes for the 2020 – 2021 Academic Year will meet in our new location in Monroe Twp, NJ.
Montessori Inspired Grammar in My Class: Student Directed Learning
Curriculum development is a never-ending process. My language arts classes have always emphasized grammar study, utilizing sentence analysis to teach students to write, stretch, and revise sentences for clarity, brevity, and style. This year, I’ve introduced the Montessori shapes, inspired largely by my son, Noah, who inspired me to dive deeply into the world of Montessori. I quickly became attached to the Montessori Grammar Symbols. They bring grammar to life, make sentence patterns obvious and intuitive, and captivate one’s attention by stimulating more senses than more traditional forms of grammar work. My students became instantly attached to these symbols. But,
HEROES Microschool for Gifted and Talented Students: Past, Present, and Future
Did you know that HEROES Academy also has a microschool for gifted and talented students? We’ve been running our accelerated weekend classes for 13 years, but for those students that find that school just “isn’t working,” our microschool might be the perfect fit. A Little History We founded HEROESgifted in 2007, primarily to find a friend for my profoundly gifted younger brother. When he was nine years old, he decided that he wanted to go to college. To him, going to college was the “answer” to all of his frustrations. He was chronically bored in school, didn’t relate to his
How does the HEROES Microschool Work? Understanding the Three-Day-Per-Week Schedule
Apply Now! HEROES Microschool — Application Deadline Extended to April 15th The HEROES Academy Microschool for Gifted and Talented Students is a small private school that specializes in educating gifted and talented and high ability students. Due to a number of requests, we’ve extended our Application Deadline to April 15th to accommodate Academic Evaluations during Spring Break. How does the HEROES Microschool work? Our school program meets on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9 AM to 3 PM. During this time, we cover all of their academic needs — math, reading, writing, history, social studies, science, and engineering. Instruction is
Celebrating 2 Years Since Closing Day: Building and Running a School in a Pandemic
I’ve always struggled to remember anniversaries. I celebrated 10 years of HEROES for at least two years; now, we’re celebrating 15 years of HEROES, we’re opening registration for our 10th academic year as HEROES Academy, we’re taking registrations for our 3rd academic year in our new home, and today, we’re celebrating two years since closing day! I can’t believe it’s been two years since we closed on 3059 Englishtown Road in Monroe Twp, NJ. In some ways, closing day feels like a lifetime ago. Two years ago, we were watching the news as COVID wreaked havoc in China, but somehow,
Hatching Baby Chicks
We’ve hatched baby chicks at HEROES in the past; the first time that we hatched baby chicks was several years ago, and we had to return the chickens to the farm because we didn’t have any place to keep grown chickens! In 2021, we adopted baby chicks, and HEROES is now home to a wide variety of chicken breeds. As part of our life sciences program, students will observe eggs throughout their incubation period, watch as the chicks hatch, and help the chicks adjust to life outside. Students will also compare the development of chickens with the development of ducks
Life Sciences: A Study of Living Things
The Life Sciences program at HEROES Academy is a hands-on laboratory science program for gifted and talented students. We offer two levels of life science: Elementary Life Sciences (for Grades 1 – 3) and Advanced Life Sciences (for grades 4 – 6). Both classes cycle through similar units; however, labs, reading assignments, and math applications differ. This is a quick overview of some of the labs these classes will cover. Fungi Elementary Life Science Sample labs include: Yeasts: Using Yeast to “Inflate” Balloons Yeasts: Instant Yeast -vs- Active Sourdough Growing Mushrooms Where does mold come from? Advanced Life Science Sample