Gifted Jaguars and Eagles

We had a great tour to Macalester today. I hope you'll ask your student about what they learned and to start discussing as a family what your student is looking for in a college: -big versus small school -urban versus rural -close to home versus far -public versus private Next year as juniors we recommend that students start thinking about colleges and start investigating so that they can get their applications in the fall of their senior year.

I wanted to take this time to tell you that I have stepped down as the high school gifted and talented coordinator for next fall. I have worked with the GT dept since 2012 and I have loved growing as a teacher by working with this departement, GT students and their families. I am really excited that I was a part of expanding our program to both high schools and to junior year. This pandemic has been hard on all of us and I have decided to return to the classroom full time next year. I will continue to teach the DA 9 and 10 social studies classes at Kennedy. Your students will be in great hands! Lisa Kiner, who is a DA teacher at OGMS, will be our new high school GT coordinator. She has a lot of experience as a teacher and as a parent which will help her serve our students well! Please welcome Lisa in the fall into this new role. I will just be an email away so please always feel like you can reach out! I hope your school year is wrapping up well and that you'll have a...

ON May 23rd 41 Dimensions Academy 9th graders (from both the STEM and Humanities programs) went on a campus visit and tour to the University of MN Twin Cities. Students had the opportunity to ask questions and to start thinking about what they want in a college and in what colleges are looking for in applicants. I will take the sophomores to Macalester in June. We have historically done campus visits but because of COVID this was our first one in a long time!

In May I'll be taking DA students to the U of M and to Macalester. One of my goals is to help them think about what types of questions to ask on a tour. I thought this article was helpful: https://grownandflown.com/14-best-questions-to-ask-on-campus-tours/?utm_medium=socialflow&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2nnhj6RsZ34zZU-Cq2RtSY9iKUpIO2wweCl4-4pOhpku7Q_mkh5Yh3iq8

Our DA 10th graders in DA History (AP World and AP European history) had a great meeting with Tsione Wolde-Michael on Zoom on 2/17. She talked with our cohort about her work as a professional historian. She was a part of building the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture from the ground up and talked about how they collected artifacts and oral histories to build exhibits for this important museum. She is now at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History where she is the director and curator of the Center for Restorative History. Her slideshow is here if you want to see what was talked about with your student. I hope you'll ask your student about what they learned about being a professional historian. ;)

Congratulations to Bloomington's National Merit Finalists. We are particularly proud that they are all DA students! Kennedy: Isaac Stein Jefferson: Alex Kiner Jamie Melville Joseph Shetaye

Dear DA 10th graders and parents/guardians, Our current DA sophomores will have access to a 3rd year of DA which is a new feature of our program.  We designed this because of parent and student feedback that PSEO and current BPS courses were not meeting the academic and social emotional needs of our gifted students.   I have had some parents ask about the difference between DA and PSEO so I'm sharing this slideshow with you.  I am also willing to answer questions if that's not helpful enough.   Our hope is that your student will choose to continue in the DA program but we also understand that we cannot possibly design a program that is a perfect fit for all our high ability students.   If you are planning on sending your student PSEO next year BPS will still make you register this month as if you aren't because that decision will happen later but the college.  However, for our purposes the GT dept would like to know how many students will not be continuing so I can try to ...

February 7, 2022 Dear Parents/guardians and advanced 8th grade learners, Thank you for applying to Dimensions Academy High School! On Monday, February 21st the Gifted and Talented Department will conduct PreACT testing for Dimensions Academy High School applicants at Kennedy High School. We will use your student’s PreACT score as one of our data points in our selection process for DAHS. Additionally, the test results will be helpful to your family in selecting courses for your student as they go to KHS and JHS. Lastly, research shows that practice taking high-stakes tests helps students go into their junior year more prepared for tests like the ACT and the SAT, which results in higher scores. The PreACT will be given on paper and include multiple choice tests in English, math, reading, and science. Please drop off your student at Kennedy High School, 9701 Nicollet Ave in Bloomington, by 8am and pick them up around noon. We will be in the cafeteria starting at 7:30 am. Stude...

On February 17th I'm hosting a career conversation with Tsione Wolde-Michael about her work as a professional historian. Tsione is a curator of African American Social Justice History at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, where she also serves as director for the Center for Restorative History. Her work focuses on redress and restorative justice in museums through innovative approaches to community engagement, collections management, cultural heritage, and exhibitions. Her international work in Ethiopia, Mozambique, South Africa, and the United Kingdom has focused on collaborating with local art and public history institutions to reinterpret colonial collections. She holds a bachelor's degree in Women and Gender Studies from Macalester College and her MA in History from Harvard University.

Today we had Bloomington graduates speak to our DA STEM students via Zoom: Jordan Thomson Washington University, St. Louis Kennedy grad - class of 2020 electric engineering & computer science major Jillayne Clarke Johns Hopkins University Jefferson grad - class of 2020 applied math & computer science major with a minor in linguistics They spoke to our students about: · what types of activities they were involved with in high school · what they were looking for in a college & why they chose the one they are at · whether they like the college they go to & why · what they are majoring in & if they've changed majors · what advice you have have for these DA students This panel is a part of a college planning series I do with students. The day before we talked through the roadmap to highly selective colleges and we discussed an article titled "9 ways to show college admissions you're a winner" to get them thinking about what they'd want ...

Today in AP Physics we had a great conversation with about STEM careers and her path in Physics. Dr. Peterson is a former student of mine and graduated from Jefferson in 2005.  She is a science policy reporter for the American Institute of Physics. Previously, she was a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow in the Department of Energy’s Office of High Energy Physics, where she worked on science writing and advocacy projects. She holds a Ph.D. in theoretical particle physics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and an A.B. in physics and mathematics from Harvard University. She lives near Washington, DC.  Here is the slideshow she used.  I encourage you to ask your student about class today!   11/19/2021

Congratulations to Snezhanna Medvedovski and Elias Caspari for being named Bloomington Jefferson High School's 2021-2022 ExCEL nominees! They are both DAHS graduates! One female and one male student from Bloomington Jefferson High School can be nominated for this award yearly. Criteria for the ExCEL Award includes: JR in high school, participation in Minnesota State High School League sponsored fine arts and/or athletic activities, demonstration of leadership qualities, volunteerism and academic excellence. Snezhanna Medvedovski participates in gymnastics (captain), track and orchestra at Jefferson. She is also on the “A” honor roll, a member of Pathfinders, student council, and NHS. Snezhanna also spends a great deal of time volunteering at her church. Elias Caspari participates in soccer, show choir, and theater at Jefferson. He is on the “A” honor roll and spends time volunteering at both his church and community theater. We are proud to have both represent Jeffers...

Dear DA 10 STEM cohort and their parents, Mr. Kersten is going to have surgery next week so I will be subbing in for him for period 2 from Nov 18-23. One day I will administer a test for him. However, the other days I am organizing some speakers for our students. On 11/19 we will Zoom in Andrea Peterson who graduated from Jefferson and works at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory . She went to the U of W Madison and Harvard and will talk about her process of choosing her STEM career path. On 11/23 we will do a college panel with: -Jordan Thomson, Washington University, St. Louis - Kennedy grad -Tuan Dinh, Princeton University -Kennedy grad -Jillayne Clarke, Johns Hopkins University -Jefferson grad All the speakers will be on Zoom so students will need to bring their Chromebooks and headphones those days. Sincerely, Meredith

November 4, 2021 Dear Parents and Guardians of DA 10 cohort, We have noticed that this semester is significantly more difficult for some of our DAHS students than previous years. We appreciate that many of you answered the survey the GT department sent out. The data demonstrated what we are seeing in class - we have a wide range of experiences right now in the DA STEM program and some of our students are very stressed. What we are seeing in Bloomington is similar to the experiences of educators (including other AP teachers and gifted advocates) across the country. Many of our students are struggling in ways which hadn’t manifested in pre-pandemic times. We are now seeing many members of our cohort struggle with self-regulation, the ability to focus on their work, their ability to ask questions, their ability to work with peers on an academic task, and are struggling with issues of depression and anxiety. We want to be responsive and support our gifted learners. I have met wit...

Dimensions Academy (STEM and Humanities) Outreach Meeting 12/9 Nobel High School Outreach Meeting 12/14 Dimensions Academy (STEM and Humanities) Outreach Meeting 1/11 All meetings will start at 7pm and be online. Zoom links are below: Dimensions Academy High School (STEM & Humanities) Outreach Meeting Time: Dec 9, 2021 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/97172811340?pwd=MTBMRjFPdmxUQ0t0dVhBeE5GanZNQT09 Meeting ID: 971 7281 1340 Passcode: 2iz1sb Nobel High School Creativity Outreach Meeting Time: Dec 14, 2021 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/97616148795?pwd=NDBjaXVtN21VNjgrVXNyVTVBNUluZz09 Meeting ID: 976 1614 8795 Passcode: P1hWq0 Dimensions Academy High School (STEM & Humanities) Outreach Meeting Time: Jan 11, 2022 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/95179900672?pwd=amk2eHRWeGl1TXJtNUdpRjVRcCtpZz09 Meeting ID: 951 7990 0672 Passcode: pq1Ktx

Congratulations to three of our Dimensions Academy alumni who have been selected as National Merit Semifinalists: Alexander Kiner Jamie Melville Joseph Shetaye All of them attend Jefferson and will graduate in 2021. We are very proud of their hard work!

Dear Jaguars, I want to update you on Homecoming and MAP testing. Homecoming: Next Monday Jefferson will run a special schedule and will have a Homecoming pep fest after period 2. Unfortunately you will need to be at Kennedy for period 3. ;( It will be broadcast via video to the 9th and 10th graders and I can try to get you the recording. On the bright side you won't need to leave class early or get to class late that day. JHS Homecoming Schedule for Monday, 9/27 PERIOD 1 7:50 – 8:42 PERIOD 2 8:48 – 9:40 Get on the bus at JHS to come to KHS at 9:45 am. Pep Fest (Turf Field) 9:50 – 10:16 PERIOD 3 10:22 – 11:14 PERIOD 4 11:20 – 12:12 Get on the bus at KHS @ 12 to come to come back to JHS for lunch. 3rd Lunch/Passing Time 12:12 – 12:42 MAP testing for 9th graders: We are not allowed to test you at Kennedy even if you're classmates are taking the MAP tests during the DA class. So Mrs. Jarvis, the Assistant Principal, will invite you to take...

Dear DA Sophomores, The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) is a program co-sponsored by the College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). It's a standardized test that provides first hand practice for the SAT®. It also gives juniors a chance to enter NMSC scholarship programs and gain access to college and career planning tools. The Gifted and Talented Dept will pay for you to take the PSAT to help you practice your test taking skills as a part of the DA program. If you are interested in taking the test it will be offered IN PERSON and there is not an online version. Jefferson is holding the PSAT on Wednesday, October 13th. Students will need to be at JHS by 7:50 am and will need to wear masks. Kennedy is holding the PSAT on Tuesday, October 26th. Students will need to be at KHS by 7:50 am and will need to wear masks. I have already reserved an exam for you. If you do not wish to take the PSAT that is fine. Pleas...

Welcome to Dimensions Academy High School! We are excited to work with you in our program. Throughout the year if you have any questions about the DA program feel free to reach out. This email will have a lot of information about the 2021-22 school year. Feel free to email me with any questions you have. ;) Sincerely, Meredith Aby-Keirstead Gifted and Talented Coordinator maby@isd271.org 952-806-7811 Schedules for Week 1 The two high schools have different schedules for the first day of school. The good thing is that this will allow us to be able to make sure the DA kids have a smooth transition back and forth between the schools. The bad thing is the KHS STEM students will miss meeting their advisory teacher and the JHS Humanities students will miss their Pep Fest. KHS First Week Schedule DA STEM students will miss their advisory time the first 2 days. I believe I am the advisor at KHS for all the DA students. ;) I will email them any information they will miss...

Dimensions Academy High School Graduation This year we have two cohorts completing our program for the first time! Congratulations to our DA STEM graduates who completed 34 college credits during a global pandemic! These students have been doing online learning since last March and continued to complete their program at Normandale Community College. Kennedy: Ahmed Dualeh Malachi Martichuski Jefferson: Elias Caspari Isabelle Janey Olivia Knight Amelia Lodwick Ben Lodwick Adam Lueth Snezhanna Medvedovski Abigail Pearson Arielle Swanson Tiffany Tian Abigail Valladolid Thy Bao Vu Congratulations to our DA Humanities graduates who completed 3 college writing and literature classes and 4 AP classes during a global pandemic. This was our first cohort to go through our program and we are very proud of what these students were able to accomplish! Jefferson: Olivia Busch Autumn Fuller Isabelle Janey Olivia Knight Abigail Pearson Arielle Swanson Tiffany Tian Abigail Valladolid Thy ...