Gifted Jaguars and Eagles

https://www.npr.org/2021/12/06/1061925009/creative-rut-burnout-getting-out

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

I love learning! Today I went to a great training at Ridgeview about Visual Thinking Strategies. I think this will be a really engaging technique to use with my AP History class and my Nobel advisory. I really appreciate how my dept shares new ways of teaching with each other!

High School Outreach Meetings for the Bloomington Gifted and Talented Department Bloomington has two programs for gifted students at the high school level, Dimensions Academy and Nobel. Dimensions Academy Dimensions Academy High School (DAHS) is an innovative approach to gifted education at the high school level. Students can apply for the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and /or the Humanities (English and social studies) strand. Advanced learners have the opportunity to participate in a cohort taking college-level courses at college pacing. Courses are taught by high school teachers with specific training in teaching advanced learners, with support from Gifted and Talented team specialists. We use a dual-campus model in order for students at both high schools to access either or both programs. A shuttle will be provided for transportation between the high schools. Students must apply for DAHS regardless of past participation in gifted and talented programs in e...

I was excited to see so many DA and Nobel students in this slideshow! Congrats to all these hard working learners at Kennedy! AP Scholars slideshow

Last night, we had the opportunity to present about the Nobel creativity program at Kennedy High School. Unlike other years it was on Zoom. Here is a link to the recording. If you know of any currect creative 8th graders who you think would be a good fit for the Nobel program please send them this link and refer them to me! Thanks.

  BPS Families, Bloomington Public Schools offers a variety of gifted and talented programs and services for students at the elementary, middle school and high school levels. Learn more about our programs on the  district website .  Please join us for an informational meeting about program application and deadlines for the 2021-22 school year.  Tuesday, September 29 - Elementary GT Programs Informational Mtg. Elements (Grades 2&3) & Dimensions Academy (Grades 4&5) 6:30-7:30p.m. Join virtually @  meet.google.com/xbx-kxhh-qnx Monday, October 5 - Middle School GT Programs Informational Mtg. Dimensions Academy 6:00-6:45p.m. Join virtually:  meet.google.com/mmg-dgyh-gva Nobel 7:00-7:45p.m. Join virtually:  meet.google.com/qjf-djep-fbk Tuesday, October 6 - Kennedy High School GT Nobel Program Info. Mtg. Nobel 7:00-8:00p.m. Join virtually: https://us02web. zoom.us/j/82644102118?pwd= RkozYXcxWHJTQStqeUdjNEVQMjU5UT 09 Information meetings for Dimens...

Katie Knudson has been working with the 9th grade Nobel class in learning about and developing creative stories utilizing various, classic plot structures.  Using performative examples, Ms. Knudson offers examples of classic plot or story structures, teaches the students that "story formula," and then offers them an opportunity to utilize that formula in their own creative writing.  Students have described their experiences with Ms. Knudson as fun, interesting, and unique. These photos are from Natalie Pedersen's Nobel 9 class where they were doing tableaus in class.  

I had a great time today teaching Lisa Kiner's honors English 8 classes.  I did a SCAMPER activity with her students using The Outsiders  to grow their creativity.  I also talked with them about the Nobel and DA Humanities programs.  About 1/2 of my students in DA Humanities students were in her Honors classes last year and they are excelling with me so I want more! 

Today I had the opportunity to observe the Nobel 9th grade class.  They were presenting their creative projects to each other for To Kill A Mocking Bird.  They got to focus on a form of current prejudice and connect it to the novel.  I saw projects on ageism, racism and sexism.  The students did a gallery walk and got to fill out comment sheets.  At the end 2 groups performed their projects.  I enjoyed getting to see the projects and getting to see what they had to say about each other's projects.  Natalie Pederson, our new Nobel instructor, is having a great year with these kids!  I'm excited to visit again next tri! 

Parents, guardians and students interested in the Nobel Program at Kennedy High School are invited to attend an information session at KHS on  Tuesday, February 4th at 7pm in Kennedy Media Center (9701 Nicollet Ave in Bloomington).   ********** Nobel is an honors humanities pathway designed to nurture and develop the creativity of high school students and is housed at John F. Kennedy High School in Bloomington, MN.  Students who have been identified as creatively talented are grouped together in a cohort for key humanities classes and for their advisory where they work with teachers who have been trained to grow creativity.  Focusing on critical thinking and creativity, students will engage in a rich curriculum connecting literature, social sciences, philosophy and the arts.   Students are identified using the Torrance Test of Creativity and through their MAP reading test scores.  Students that graduate from the Valley View Middle School...

I had the pleasure of observing Natalie Pederson's Honors English class which houses our Nobel cohort. They had a Socratic Seminar today on To Kill A Mocking Bird and I loved hearing them explore the questions they had come up with.  I particularly enjoyed listening to them discuss how the book would have changed if Scout would have been a boy, whether the trial would have been different if it had happened in 2019 instead, and why do they think Harper Lee chose Scout as the narrator.  Today's discussion builds on the creative thinking the did earlier in the unit where they took the clues Harper Lee leaves the reader about Maycomb and they designed their own maps interpreting what Scout's hometown looked like.  I look forward to observing these creative thinkers again!

I had a great day today at Oak Grove Middle School in Lisa Kiner's 2 Honors English classes.  I did a SCAMPER activity to develop their creative thinking skills in an effort to find some more kids for Nobel at Kennedy.  I was impressed with their creativity! 

Josh Coval - a teacher in our Nobel program at Kennedy High School Katie Juul - a teacher in our Nobel program at Kennedy High School Greg Wammer - a teacher in our Dimension Academy program at Ridgeview Elementary

I really enjoyed going to Mother Courage and her Children with the Honors 10 English classes at Kennedy High School yesterday.  The play was just as powerful in 2019 as it was when it was written.  Afterwards our students were lucky enough to discuss the play with the director and the cast! 

I had a great time in Josh Coval's classroom observing our resident spoken word artist from COMPAS work with our 9th grade Nobel cohort today.  See More Perspective did a great job getting our students to develop their descriptive and figurative language in their poems on the theme of things I do not miss from summer.  I particularly enjoyed hearing Kelly, Preity, Shawn and Jaida read their original works in class.  I look forward to hearing more poems on future visits. 

Spoken Word Conference Sophomores and Juniors in the Nobel program are invited to an in-school field trip to work with Guante on Tuesday, May 28th for the school day at Kennedy High School.   Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre is an MC, two-time National Poetry Slam champion, activist and educator. His work explores the relationships between identity, power, and resistance, and has been featured on Upworthy , Welcome to Night Vale , Everyday Feminism , MSNBC, the Huffington Post , and beyond. Garnering over ten million views online, Guante has also performed live at the United Nations, given a TedxTalk, and presented at countless colleges, universities, and conferences. Whether deconstructing traditional notions of masculinity, challenging dominant narratives related to race and racism, or just telling stories about the different jobs he’s had, Tran Myhre strives to cultivate a deeper, more critical engagement with social justice issues, one based in both empathy and agency. An e...

January is high school registration time.   The gifted and talented department has some upcoming information nights we want you to know about.  If you can't come or have specific questions you can also email Meredith Aby-Keirstead our high school gifted and talented coordinator at maby@isd271.org. Dimensions Academy High School - 2 Pathways:  STEM & Humanities Parents and students are welcome to attend any of the DA HS  informational meetings. They are all from 6:30-7:30 pm: Tuesday, January 8th at Normandale Community College, Partnership Center , Room P0808 Monday, January 14th at Kennedy High School, Media Center Tuesday, January 22nd at Jefferson High School, Auditorium FFI:   https://www.bloomington.k12.mn.us/DA-High-School Nobel Creativity Program Parents, guardians and students who are interested in the Nobel Program at Kennedy High School are invited to attend the information session at KHS on Thursday, January 10th at 6pm i...

This morning the Bloomington Gifted Department got to meet with parents from multiple sites to hear their feedback on how we are doing and to update them on our growing programs.  Great start to the day!

Parents, guardians and students who are interested in the Nobel Program at Kennedy High School are invited to attend the information session at KHS on Thursday , January 10th, 2019 @ 6pm in the Kennedy Media Center (9701 Nicollet Ave in Bloomington).   If you have questions please email me at maby@isd271.org.