Gifted Jaguars and Eagles

The gifted department offers a vareity of ways that we support teachers. Below is what I shared with teachers at KHS and JHS today.

The Bloomington Public Schools gifted/talented department is proud to sponsor Erin Walsh from the Spark & Stitch Institute. Erin will lead three virtual sessions that are guaranteed to be engaging, helpful and relevant. Each will last one hour. All sessions will be held via Zoom. No need to RSVP. Join for one session or, hopefully, attend them all! Wednesday, December 9 7PM “Staying Engaged in Learning: The Science of Motivation” Wednesday, January 13 7PM “Parenting in a Pandemic: The Many Faces of Stress” Wednesday, February 10 7PM “Parenting in a Pandemic: Setting Limits and Avoiding Power Struggles” Zoom link for all three webinars; passcode is SPARK: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84006576556?pwd=UjQ2ZElIYmlpWTlZbDdPeGhpM2hkUT09 Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 669 900 9128 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 Webinar ID: 840 0657 6556 ...

  What Now?  Supporting your Gifted Child’s Education  during COVID-19 MCGT Virtual Mini Conference – September 12, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon Join us as Dr. Richard Cash and Dr. Diane Heacox help us navigate the challenging new world of changing educational experiences. Dr. Cash will be talking about Assisting your Child in Trying Times and Dr. Heacox will present on Tips on Supporting and Enhancing Distance Learning. MCGT Members $10  (MCGT Membership includes access to the presentations for 4 months) Non Members $20 More Information and Registration ONLINE CHAT NIGHTS FOR MCGT MEMBERS ONLY CHAT (Connect Help Advocate Talk) Zoom Discussions will be available to Members Only on a monthly (or more) basis. CHATs are informal discussions on specific topics facilitated by experts September 2: Dr Teresa Boatman,  Supporting Your Child's Mental Health September 29: Dr. Liz Adams,  Gifted Dyslexia from a Neuropsychologist's Perspective October 12: Dr. Mary Wa...

Today Ms. Cruz and I finished up AP Boot Camp at Kennedy.  We had over 40 students work with us for 4 days on study skills, time management, note taking, and pre-reading strategies.  Some of these students I'll be teaching in the fall!  I'm excited to see what these students can do this year! 

This was one of my favorite quotes, "Many gifted children struggle with failure. The trouble, Kendall explains, is that if you’re known for being a brainbox you don’t have to try, and so don’t build up resilience. She works with many bright children who “won’t put pen to paper”. At workshops she runs for gifted children, the kids sometimes play Twister, a game where players contort themselves over a mat covered with coloured dots. “They’re in hysterics,” Kendall says. “You can’t get it right so you’re teaching them to do something just for the joy of it.” https://www.1843magazine.com/features/the-curse-of-genius

Kids need more sleep - shocker!  No really we need to help kids get balance.  Here are some articles I've been reading that get me thinking about what teenagers need from us as parents and as teachers: Give Teens More Downtime and Support with Time Management Making SEL More Relevant to Teens Here's What Teens Say They Need 4 Must-Haves for Positive Teacher-Teen Relationships

I read this article recently and it really connected with me as we are currently doing MCA/MAP testing and preparing for the AP exams in May.  https://www.edutopia.org/artic le/building-metacognition- test-prep

5 Research-Backed Studying Techniques Teachers can guide students to avoid ineffective studying habits in favor of ones that will increase their learning outcomes. By Edward Kang, April 4, 2019 https://www.edutopia.org/article/5-research-backed-studying-techniques Too often people imagine that long hours of studying are the best path to being a model, straight-A student. Yet research shows that highly successful students actually spend less time studying than their peers do—they just study more effectively. Teachers can help all students learn to more effectively use the time they spend studying by sharing research-proven techniques. STUDY LESS, WITH GREATER INTENSITY In this era of social media and digital distractions, many students—and adults—do a lot of multitasking. But there is no such thing as successful multitasking, because much of the time spent is wasted on context switching, where the brain has to restart and refocus. Consider the formula “work accomplished...