Gifted Jaguars and Eagles

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 ...

A parent recently shared this article with me and I thought I'd post it here to share with other parents, teachers, etc. https://www.sengifted.org/post/g-squared-supporting-your-gifted-lgbt-student G-Squared. Supporting Your Gifted LGBT Student Updated:  Jan 29, 2019 By Alessa Keener. We live in unprecedented times, where many Americans can proudly and safely live as out lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. One measure of progress is in the number of states that have marriage equality –15 states as of today and the District of Columbia. Despite the many positive steps our country continues to take to overcome discrimination and crimes against LGBTQ people, concerns still exist about the safety of our young people and their coming out process. Substance abuse, self-injury, homelessness, and suicide affect a disproportionate number of youth who identify as LGBT. When children grow up both gifted and LGBT, they oftentimes experience a ...

"The study, published Sept. 4 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that, though students felt as if they learned more through traditional lectures, they actually learned more when taking part in classrooms that employed so-called active-learning strategies. Lead author Louis Deslauriers, the director of science teaching and learning and senior physics preceptor, knew that students would learn more from active learning. He published a key study in Science in 2011 that showed just that. But many students and faculty remained hesitant to switch to it." Read more here: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/09/study-shows-that-students-learn-more-when-taking-part-in-classrooms-that-employ-active-learning-strategies/

This is a great article for all the parents of DAHS students to read. Why Getting 100% on Everything is Setting Gifted Students Up to Fail MARCH 6, 2019  by Jennifer Greene There’s something we’re not teaching our most talented students. If you’re the parent of an advanced student, you’re probably well aware that your child actively searches out more and more things to learn. It’s probably a struggle to keep providing them with new material they find interesting  and  challenging. Or maybe your student is a perfectionist. They study diligently, learning everything by heart to make sure they score 100% on every test. Anything less may even bring tears. All through school, these students—both the ones who focus on perfect scores, and the rarer ones who seem to achieve those scores without effort—earn excellent grades. They look at their report cards, and see nothing but top marks. But then they land in college, and face their first truly challenging class. Co...

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

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

I had a great time on Monday night at the KHS National Honor Society induction ceremony.  I got to speak to the new inductees and to see my students from AP US Government being school leaders!  It was exciting.  Thank you for letting me be a part of this important event!

  The Bloomington Public Schools Gifted and Talented Department presents PARENT & STUDENT WORKSHOP April 7 8:45-11:30 a.m. Oak Grove MS Media Center 9-10a.m. GT middle school counselor and elementary social workers will introduce the science of calm to adults and students. Through breathing, visualizations and poses, we can learn essential self regulation techniques which lead to happier, healthier and more productive lives. 10:00-11:30 Then, students will join GT staff in a makerspace lab while parents attend a second session with Dr. Teresa Boatman: Through understanding the gifted brain, including executive functioning development and intensity, parents can help support their gifted learners through the journey of childhood. Discuss with psychologist, who specializes in gifted learners, the brain development and social-emotional constructs that interweave with the intellectual capability of the gifted child. THE CHARACTER CHALLENGE: NURTURING RESILIENCE ...

This article made me think about our girls in DA High School.  Before we did DAHS many people expressed doubts that our kids could do college level work as 9th and 10th graders but in fact many of them are thriving in this enriching environment. Can Grade-Skipping Close the STEM Gender Gap? If girls were allowed to accelerate through school, then perhaps their peak career- and family-building years would not overlap. Alexander F. Yuan / AP TOM CLYNES     APR 18, 2017     EDUCATION Share   Tweet   … TEXT SIZE   Like  ​The Atlantic ? Subscribe to  ​ The Atlantic Daily​ , our free weekday email newsletter. Jane Charlton never intended to skip high school. “I was planning on just skipping ninth grade,” says the renowned astrophysicist, who spent her summers taking calculus classes at Carnegie Mellon University. “But when the school year was about to start, the teachers went on strike and ...