Skip to main content

DA STEM Update (3/18/2020)

Dear DA STEM families,
Professors are at NCC this week are planning to transition their courses into being online for potentially the rest of the school year.  This will be challenging for them - especially in physics and chemistry where our students traditionally have labs.  Roger and I are engaged in ongoing conversations with the 4 DA professors about how to best deliver content to our cohorts.  The professors will be communicating their plan for how their courses will change soon.  In the meantime please do the following:
1.  Use this time to master/relearn any content you were struggling with before the shut down.  
2.  Parents please make sure your student knows how to log into D2L and their Normandale email account.  If they are struggling with this have them reach out to Roger.  It is going to be essential for them to have access to these resources since they may not have any face to face instruction for the rest of the semester.
3.  Talk as a family for how you will set up a learning environment for your student.  Most teenagers need a lot of supervision to stay focused.  Discuss whether your student should have their phone in another room while they do their homework, whether they should have any other windows open on their Chromebook, what time of day would be best for them to get their school work done.  This change to their learning environment will be challenging.

I want to encourage us to be patient with each other. This is a big change for us - as a program, as students, as teachers, as parents - and we will need to lean on each other (but from 6 feet away ).  Feel free to reach out to me and Roger if you have questions.  

Stay healthy,
Meredith

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nobel Creativity Opportunities Tri 2

The Gifted and Talented department will take Nobel students to the History Theater on Thursday, February 22nd to see “A Crack in the Sky”.  This will be its world premiere and it features two local playwrights, Harrison David Rivers and Ahmed Ismail Yusuf. The play is described as, “ From Somalia to the U.S.A. 1984.  A young shepherd boy stands in front of his mother to tell her of the decision he has made in the night. He has had enough of the nomadic life, of herding goats and sheep, and is leaving to seek out a better life. With that, he sets off on an adventure that takes him on the road less traveled from Somalia to Minnesota. It’s the epic tale of Ahmed Ismail Yusuf who, inspired by Maya Angelou, discovers the power of the written word.”   For more info go to:  http://www.historytheatre.com/2017-2018/crack-in-the-sky We hope to use this experience to give students exposure to local authors.  We plan to follow up on this field trip by me...
  The Bloomington Public Schools Gifted and Talented Department presents PARENT & STUDENT WORKSHOP April 7 8:45-11:30 a.m. Oak Grove MS Media Center 9-10a.m. GT middle school counselor and elementary social workers will introduce the science of calm to adults and students. Through breathing, visualizations and poses, we can learn essential self regulation techniques which lead to happier, healthier and more productive lives. 10:00-11:30 Then, students will join GT staff in a makerspace lab while parents attend a second session with Dr. Teresa Boatman: Through understanding the gifted brain, including executive functioning development and intensity, parents can help support their gifted learners through the journey of childhood. Discuss with psychologist, who specializes in gifted learners, the brain development and social-emotional constructs that interweave with the intellectual capability of the gifted child. THE CHARACTER CHALLENGE: NURTURING RESILIENCE ...

Can Grade-Skipping Close the STEM Gender Gap?

This article made me think about our girls in DA High School.  Before we did DAHS many people expressed doubts that our kids could do college level work as 9th and 10th graders but in fact many of them are thriving in this enriching environment. Can Grade-Skipping Close the STEM Gender Gap? If girls were allowed to accelerate through school, then perhaps their peak career- and family-building years would not overlap. Alexander F. Yuan / AP TOM CLYNES     APR 18, 2017     EDUCATION Share   Tweet   … TEXT SIZE   Like  ​The Atlantic ? Subscribe to  ​ The Atlantic Daily​ , our free weekday email newsletter. Jane Charlton never intended to skip high school. “I was planning on just skipping ninth grade,” says the renowned astrophysicist, who spent her summers taking calculus classes at Carnegie Mellon University. “But when the school year was about to start, the teachers went on strike and ...