Gifted Jaguars and Eagles

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. ;)

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 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

On Thursday, January 11th @ 1 pm I'm hosting a college panel on Zoom for DA students.  I normally offer this in person during the school day but this year I'm doing it on line.  The speakers are all Bloomington grads who attended college in person (this was a little trickier this year) and who will speak to the following topics:-PSEO v. high school-how they choose their college-what they think/thought about their college-how they selected a major-advice they have for you I have asked the following students because they represent a rage of types of schools and experiences:Harry Fronk - U of M Henry Weisman - CarletonAlexa Groenke - U of C Berkeley Jess Wachtler - Wesleyan Connor Meany - Stanford  Topic: College Panel with BPS Graduates Time: Jan 7, 2021 01:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87976416010?pwd=SGVFcHpVVDF2eFJySmtzZVJ1azJZUT09 Meeting ID: 879 7641 6010 Passcode: Yi35n6

We were fortunate to have Minneapolis as the host city for the NAGC conference this weekend. I got to attend with many educators from Bloomington including Kris Krenz, Kathryn Haddad, Josh Coval, Lori Schultz and Nick Hupton. I got to go to lots of sessions and think about how to improve myself as an educator and how do I improve the services that we provide for students in Bloomington. I love opportunities like this. It gives me a time to reflect and to get motivated. Sessions I attended: Equity and access in K 12 gifted and the need for targeted professional learning for teachers, Culturally responsive professional learning in gifted education, The positive impact of empowering gifted learners, When grouping works for gifted students, Transforming text based talks to reach today’s gifted learner, Simple models that promote complex thinking across the content areas, Embedding GT practices in the classroom, Lighting the career path:  counseling strategies and activities f...

Today we had a great trip to Carleton College in Northfield.  The DA 9th and 10th graders went on a tour to explore how STEM students learn in a liberal arts setting.  The students asked questions about financial aid, study abroad, admissions, and early decision.

I strongly encourage students to go to sessions in the Career Centers at JHS and KHS to learn about colleges.  I also strongly encourage you to visit colleges that look interesting to you in person.  Here is an upcoming event to learn about Yale that is happening in St. Paul if you're interested: The Yale Undergraduate Admissions Office Debra Johns, Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions, will discuss academic programs, residential colleges and campus life, admissions, and financial aid. Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 4 PM St. Paul Academy and Summit School 1712 Randolph Avenue St. Paul, Minnesota The session will be in the Huss Center for the Performing Arts Event Registration All students are welcome to attend.

College Admissions: Top Ways to Explore Majors and Careers           Monday, April 24, 2017 Cristiana Quinn, GoLocalProv College Admissions Expert As the end of the school year draws near, many families forget that summer is the perfect time for students to explore career options. Parents want to know that a six-figure college investment will result in their child being able to launch a career when they graduate. The trouble is that high schools rarely provide students with an in-depth opportunity to learn about different professions. And without that insight, few students are able to select the right college and major based on a long-term plan. Here are some suggestions to help students explore different fields. Career testing for teens Career testing has been around for decades. However, many adult-oriented tests ask a lot of questions based on real world experience that teens just don’t have.  This career test from the University of Mi...