Gifted & Talented Quarterly
Fall 2018
Gifted & Talented Coordinator
My name is Kari Donze, and I am the new Gifted & Talented Coordinator for the Rice Lake Area School District. My husband Jake and I relocated our family to Rice Lake in June after living and teaching in Minnesota for the last 15 years. We have three children in the school district and are excited about this new adventure in our lives.
The Rice Lake Area School District recognizes the importance of challenging and engaging all learners each school day. I am currently working with administrators, teachers and instructional coaches to inventory supplementary academic resources that align with our district's curriculum and state standards. Once compiled, these resources will be available to classroom teachers to help meet the needs of advanced learners in their classrooms on a daily basis. In addition, I will be working with administration and teaching staff to clearly define criteria used to identify students who may benefit from additional opportunities in the areas of creative thinking, leadership and visual & performing arts.
Meeting the needs of advanced learners within our school system can look very different from one student to the next. I look forward to forming partnerships with parents, teachers, administrators, community members and businesses in the Rice Lake Community to help reach that goal.
Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, concerns or inspiring ideas as we move forward!
Wisconsin DPI - What is Giftedness?
- Intelligences are dynamic and fluid
- Giftedness is inclusive
- Educational systems should be responsive
These guidelines, as well as ideas and input from other sources, will be at the forefront of program development as we look to the future of gifted and talented education in the Rice Lake School District.
For more information from the Department of Public Instruction, please visit https://dpi.wi.gov/gifted
Parent Meetings There will be parent meetings held throughout the school year focusing on different topics related to parenting gifted and talented children. Please stay tuned for more information regarding date, time and location. | MindsetAs described on Amazon: In her book, Carol Dweck shows how success in school, work, sports, the arts, and almost every area of human endeavor can be dramatically influenced by how we think about our talents and abilities. People with a fixed mindset—those who believe that abilities are fixed—are less likely to flourish than those with a growth mindset. https://www.amazon.com/Mindset-Psychology-Carol-S-Dweck/dp/0345472322 | The Gifted Kids WorkbookHelp your gifted child embrace their uniqueness. In this workbook, therapist Heather Boorman offers fun activities and strategies to help children ages 7 to 12 boost self-confidence, reduce stress and overwhelm, and balance emotions. https://www.amazon.com/Gifted-Kids-Workbook-Mindfulness-Confidence/dp/1684030889 |
Parent Meetings
Mindset
As described on Amazon: In her book, Carol Dweck shows how success in school, work, sports, the arts, and almost every area of human endeavor can be dramatically influenced by how we think about our talents and abilities. People with a fixed mindset—those who believe that abilities are fixed—are less likely to flourish than those with a growth mindset.
https://www.amazon.com/Mindset-Psychology-Carol-S-Dweck/dp/0345472322
The Gifted Kids Workbook
Help your gifted child embrace their uniqueness. In this workbook, therapist Heather Boorman offers fun activities and strategies to help children ages 7 to 12 boost self-confidence, reduce stress and overwhelm, and balance emotions.
https://www.amazon.com/Gifted-Kids-Workbook-Mindfulness-Confidence/dp/1684030889
Engaging Websites to Explore with Younger Students
Cool Math 4 Kids https://www.coolmath4kids.com/
Fun Brain https://www.funbrain.com/
Code https://code.org/
Make Me Genius http://makemegenius.com/
Prodigy https://www.prodigygame.com/
Resources for Parents
National Association for Gifted Children
https://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources-parents
Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction - Gifted and Talented
Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG): SENG’s mission is to empower families and communities to guide gifted and talented individuals to reach their goals: intellectually, physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually: http://sengifted.org/resources/; refer also to the SENG liaisons for Minnesota and Wisconsin: http://sengifted.org/about-seng/people/seng-liaisons/.
The Minnesota Council for the Gifted and Talented (MCGT) is a state-wide non-profit support and advocacy organization of parents, educators, and other professionals who live or work with gifted children and are interested in their education and well-being.http://mcgt.net/resources. Their St. Croix Valley Chapter welcomes family or representatives of Wisconsin children and schools.
Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page: where you can find the latest research and experience on parenting and educating these marvelous children, plus the best Internet and print resources to be found on every aspect of giftedness. http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/parents.htm
WISGIFT-L [Wisconsin Gifted Listserv] is a cooperative project of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and WATG. This email list was designed to connect advocates, educators, parents, and other supporters of gifted education for discussion of issues related to gifted children and gifted education in Wisconsin. http://www.watg.org/wisgift-list-serv.html
2E is a term, short for twice-exceptional, which is often used to describe kids who are exceptional because they’re gifted and because they have learning disabilities, learning disorders, attention difficulties, or just plain learning differences. Learn more at 2E Newsletter: http://www.2enewsletter.com/topic_2e_what_is.html. See also: Uniquely Gifted - a collection of resources for families with gifted/special needs children and professionals who work with them. http://www.uniquelygifted.org/