Gifted Jaguars and Eagles

We had a practice session today for Calc II today and Professor Fingerson introduced us to Zoom.  IT was great.  He can do problems using the computer and even put us into break out groups to work on problems.  He also talked with the students about the upcoming schedule.  Classes resume at NCC on Monday just like at BPS.  He's planning on recording classes on Zoom for students to have access afterwards and will post them on D2L.  He is also available after class for questions using Zoom.  Lastly, he has set up a google voice account at 612-405-3058 so you can text him if you want too.

The College Board is asking professors and teachers across the country to make videos to teach students content during this pandemic.  I am attaching the schedule.  It sounds like they will be offered every day.  You are not required to watch but so far the presenters they have told me about are folks on the test writing committee so in my mind their opinions kind of counts for extra.  :)  I'll admit I'm going to try to check some of these out b/c I like to nerd out. Meredith https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap-class-schedule-daily.pdf?SFMC_cid=EM289964-&rid=47280723

From MCGT:  Please join our Facebook Live CHAT with Shelly Harvey, MA, LSC, TONIGHT, Tuesday, March 24, from 7 to 7:30 PM. Subject: Managing anxiety for your family.   Watch, listen, ask questions, and connect! Open to all.    Find it on the Minnesota Council for Gifted and Talented (MCGT)  Facebook page This is the first in a series of online CHAT (Connect, Help,  Advocate, Talk) events we have scheduled in the coming weeks.

Social and Emotional Support for Gifted Learners during Covid-19  by Wendy Behrens, Gifted and Talented Education Specialist at MN Dept of Education March 20, 2020 Throughout the world, people are experiencing anxiety about the Covid-19 outbreak. Children are not immune to worry and many young students are concerned about missing school and friends and confused by changing schedules and responsibilities. Older students may also be concerned about testing, college applications, completion of courses, credits, missing final school events and more. Research indicates that many gifted children experience heightened sensitivity to environmental stimuli because of their rapid information-processing (Mendaglio, 2007). Many of these students are dismayed by the news and the apparent lack of a solution to the pandemic. Some are catastrophizing, imagining the worst possible outcome of the current or an imagined circumstance. Others may be feeling isolated or depressed. The National...

3/23/2020 Dear AP Government students,  Hello from quarantine! First off I want to acknowledge that this is the weirdest year of my teaching career and it has to be bittersweet for you as seniors. I want to let you know that even though I am not officially your teacher this tri I am still here for you. Please feel like you can reach out to me - regardless of whether you are even planning on taking the AP exam. I also wanted to let you know that the College Board has been changing their plans.  They announced on 3/20/2020 that they are developing secure 45-minute online free-response exams for each course.  The exam content will focus on what most schools were able to complete by early March.   This means that the AP US Government exam will only cover 3 out of the 5 units we covered together - basically Sept - January (foundations of the US government, the 3 branches, and civil rights and civil liberties).   You are a talented grou...

* Note 10th grade letter is below. Dear 9th grade students and parents, We hope this finds everyone healthy and ready to get back to learning on 3/30/2020. Our plan is to continue to have  instruction between 7:50 and 9:35 via Zoom. Attendance will be taken and just like before, arrangements for absences should be made prior to class time. Meredith and I will be “sitting in” on these Zoom sessions similar to what we regularly do. Please be very proactive if you have any issues with the technology or the material being covered. Professor Weum has an updated syllabus as well as plans for this coming week posted on D2L. There is a link for students using Zoom as well as a link to her Zoom classroom. Additionally there is some homework and studying that needs to be completed by midnight of the 30th. Professor Klapoetke also has an update on D2L. His plans are less specific because he is waiting for feedback from the students. If you have not responded to him, please do s...

Dear DA STEM students,  The College Board has been changing their plans.  They announced on 3/20/2020 that they are developing secure 45-minute online free-response exams for each course.  The exam content will focus on what most schools were able to complete by early March.   This means that the AP Calc BC exam will mostly focus on skills/topics you learned in Calc I.  Here is the list of sections that are historically on the AP Calc BC exam. Then I have included the topics that they currently are saying won’t be covered on the exam.    First column is the sections that WILL be covered in the exam, and the second is those that WILL NOT be covered Calculus BC** Units 1-8 + 5 topics in Unit 10 (10.2, 10.5, 10.7, 10.8, and 10.11) Unit 9, Unit 10 (except Topics 10.2, 10.5, 10.7, 10.8, and 10.11) They are saying that it will be a 45 minute free response exam, which likely means 3 questions. The College B...

Dear DA Humanities students,  The College Board has been changing their plans.  They announced on 3/20/2020 that they are developing secure 45-minute online free-response exams for each course.  The exam content will focus on what most schools were able to complete by early March.   This means that the AP Human Geography exam will only cover 5 out of the 7 units we covered together. Thinking geographically Population & migration Cultural geography Political geography Agriculture & rural land use The geography content that won’t be on the test is the info we covered trimester 2 (industrial and urban geography).   In AP Comparative Politics they have decided that they will be only be covering: Political systems, regimes & government Political institutions Political culture & participation So we will focus on those topics on the AP 6 countries for the rest of the trimester.  For the next 5 wee...

3/20/2020 Dear parents/guardians of DA9 STEM students,  Please note that 9th graders have received info on D2L and in their NCC email from their Trig professor.  Please make sure that your student has read Professor Weum's message.  She is expecting students to be working right now on MyMathLab.  Thanks!  Meredith

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...

Congratulations to the Honors Diploma graduates of the class of 2020 from Jefferson High School!  You took a very challenging course load and deserve an extra round of applause! Jefferson Honors Diploma Graduates 2020  Garrin Avaloz Kyle Anderson Rea Banerjee Promise Benson Sophie Bieriein Katelynn Brandwick Hannah Brecheisen Chase Brown Jillayne Clarke Christopher Cole Willa Countryman Landen Glenna Abigail Hall Alyssa Harms  Sarah Hatton Jarret Helmer Anna Hester Grayson Hight Isabella Hofer Sophia Jamieson Renee Liu Kendall Loken  Colden Longley Ashley Marker David Mei Alyssa Missling Karen Muff Megan Narveson Madeline Niziolek Saeyoung Oh Martin Olson Delina Pham Joseph Pham Leilani Plekkenpol Tasha Pizel Sarah Rosenberg Ryan Schrank Kailee Shermak Clara Seltzer Brianna Smokovich Paige Staub Brook Sorensen Isabella Swanson Gavin Svensson Emery Taylor Karley Thurston ...

Dear DA STEM students & parents, I met with the director of GT services and both high school principals today. DA STEM students are welcome to work at Jefferson or Kennedy next week periods 1 and 2.  Jefferson students can work independently in the cafeteria with Roger and Kennedy students in C101 (my classroom) with me.  STEM students who are also in DA Humanities who are dropped off early at KHS can also work in my room.  Please don't report to the media centers because these spaces might already be full next week.  Thank you and I'll keep you in the loop with further updates.   Take care and have a nice weekend, Meredith

Dear DAHS students and parents,    Normandale is suspending all classes from March 16 to March 22 .   As of today, we expect NCC classes to resume on Monday,   March 23 .  While there will be no NCC classes next week, all faculty and staff are expected to report to duty so NCC can work through the logistics of offering alternatives to in-person classes.   I will let you know if I hear that they will be moving from in person classes to online classes.  If we have BPS next week, your student can work independently in the media center during periods 1 and 2 or at home.  Students should continue to check D2L and their Normandale email next week to see if their professors have posted activities/homework for them to do next week so that they can stay on top of the curriculum. In the meantime please try to stay healthy and wash your hands. Sincerely, Meredith 

Yesterday my 9th graders asked if we will be able to do college visits this spring when so many colleges are shutting down their campuses due to the Corona virus.  I had to say directly "I don't know".  I need to start thinking about whether we should do that differently this year.  This article might be a place for me to start. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/slideshows/10-tips-for-an-effective-college-visit

Congrats to the Jaguar National Merit Scholars!   Pictured left to right:  Colden Longley, Charles Weismann, Christopher Melville, Henry Weismann, and Jillayne Clarke. Not pictured:  Katelyn Brandwick.   I have taught all of these kids and I am so proud of them!  I look forward to seeing what they can accomplish!  

Today DA STEM sophomores are working with Ben Harste to prepare for the AP Calc BC exam (even though they are technically on spring break at Normandale this week).  They are currently taking AP Calc II at Normandale and by taking the AP exam they will have more options of how to take their calculus knowledge with them when they go to college either in state or out of state.  

I'm excited to present and meet parents tonight at the Kennedy PTSA meeting.  Supporting our students with their social emotional needs is an issue close to my heart and I'm looking forward to tonight. Here is a link to my presentation.

I got some great shots today of our sophomores doing their lab at NCC today.  It was fun to see them try to separate a mixture of 3 solids into their individual components.