In search of treasure right before their eyes

About 30 students from Bordewich-Bray Elementary School went in search of treasure Wednesday afternoon.

What their teachers didn't tell them was that the prize wasn't something shiny or sweet, it was the knowledge they gained during the hunt.

The students were part of the district's Gifted and Academically Talented Education or Exploration Program.

There are more than 200 GATE students district-wide, and each school sets different curriculum to help challenge the students both in and out of the classroom. Wednesday afternoon, that meant a lesson on Global Positioning Systems at Bordewich-Bray.

"We learned that GPS is a device that helps you find things or helps you not be lost," said Hunter Singleton, 8.

Eight-year-old Marcelo Hernandez said, "It helps you find where you are going or find your way back from there."

The program was organized by employees from Peak Engineering, who gave the children a lesson on using GPS before letting them go hunting for items hidden around the school.

The session was one of four held throughout the year designed to challenge gifted students in a variety of areas, including math, science, the arts, music and literature.

"So much of the funding with No Child Left Behind is based on kids who are not achieving, but these kids are achieving and we just need to challenge them more," said Carol Harris, GATE Exploration co-coordinator. "There's been all kinds of challenges these kids have been given and they just eat it up."

Six teams of students used handheld GPS devices to locate envelopes containing pieces of a treasure map. After all of the pieces were found, the students returned to the classroom to piece it together.

When it was reassembled, the map said "The treasure can be found here."

"The treasure is here, in the classroom," said Daphne Gammell, GATE instructor.

• Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.