GT Times
February, 2020
Welcome to the newsletter of the Gifted and Talented Department for the Egg Harbor Township School District! This newsletter will be published once per month, and you will find information about all of the fantastic activities we do with our students. We will also post upcoming events and important dates at the bottom along with links to each of our web pages. Enjoy!
Please Vote for the Miller School in the Lenovo Challenge!
In our last newsletter, we shared that six 5th grade Gifted and Talented students in Miss Kelly Hunt and Mrs. Susan Slusarski’s classes, at the Miller School, had their submission selected for the Lenovo Future Academy Traveling Storybook contest. The students had to describe what they thought education would be like in the future in 1,000 words or less. Ten entries were selected AS THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY and had their story professionally animated. Miller School's entry was one of them! The winner of the contest will receive a $25,000 technology makeover for their school!
So, this is where we need your help! You will help choose the winner by going to the Lenovo Traveling Storybook gallery and casting your vote! The link below will explain to you how to vote and provide a link to the site.
Voting closes on March 19th at 11:59 PM, so please support our students and our school and VOTE FOR MILLER!.
https://millergt.weebly.com/lenovo-traveling-storybook-contest.html
Prepping for the Science Fair
The 6th grade GT students are busily putting final touches on their boards for the upcoming science fair. Prior to the competition, they must conduct research, gather data, and display their findings which takes several months. At the actual Science Fair, they must be able to explain these things to judges, justifying their research. Students will also have the opportunity to compete at the Jersey Shore Science Fair which is held at Stockton University. Those students who place at Stockton will move on the the Delaware Valley Science Fair.
Creating With Cardboard!
After brainstorming and making plans, GT students at Slaybaugh School started creating with cardboard this week. These boxes will be much more than simple boxes before we know it!
Creating Book Talks, Videos, and QR Codes
The GT students at Swift are writing book talks for the upcoming school Book Fair. Mrs. DeNaples, school librarian, introduced the concept of book talks to the students. After writing their book talk, local news personality and radio talk show host Robin Stoloff came to discuss with the class how to present their book talk on camera. Next week, students will be taking a field trip to the EHT High School where media students will film them giving their talk. Each student will stand in front of a Google Slide backdrop they created. Later, the GT students will attach their video to a quick response (QR) code and place them on a poster. At the Book Fair, shoppers will scan the QR codes to watch each book talk to determine if that’s a good book for them.
Volvox at 100x their original size
Rotifers at 100x their original size
Actinospherium at 400x its original size
Microscope Madness!
The 4th and 5th Grade GT students at Miller are wrapping up a unit on microscopes. The 4th graders focused on single and multi-cellular organisms. The 5th graders studied organisms as well as other things including hair, pollen, soil, preserved insects, and dust. Check out some of the fantastic photos they took using digital microscopes. These will be included in their journals and their findings will be presented to their classmates.
(The photo above and to the right is a Stentor taken by Jake P. and Preston P. at 100x its original size.)
The Eye of an Ant at 100x its original size
Hair at 400x its original size
Pine Tree Pollen at 400x its original size
The GT students at Davenport are embarking on a Project Based Learning unit while assisting the preschool classes in creating a garden using repurposed and recycled materials. The project is entitled ‘Grow Your Awareness’ and will be representing Autism Awareness. We could help win a grant for the school through Carton2Garden (https://carton2garden.com).
So far, the GT students have been designing an autism-themed structure to be made with empty milk cartons and other recycled materials. Within the next week, the students will begin constructing these ribbon and puzzle piece structures in preparation for the preschool classes to plant within them.
Flexibility in Creative Thinking
All second grade students at Slaybaugh School worked to develop creative thinking skills during their PEP lessons this week. We focused on the importance of flexibility and fluency in creative thinking. Students were given tasks such as, "make something you can read" resulting in words, books, clocks, and more. The challenge of "make something you can wear" produced glasses, shirts, helmets, and countless other ideas. The varied results were amazing!
Perfecting Presentation Skills
In recognition of Read Across America week and our school Book Fair next month, Swift’s GT students learned how to write book talks courtesy of Mrs. DeNaples, our librarian. After reading their book, students wrote their book talk and created a backdrop Google slide with a picture of their book. Then, students went to our high school television studio to film their presentation. They were greeted by the station manager, Ms. Leanna Mullen. She showed them around the control room and the studio so they could see how TV production works. High school students from the Communications Academy assisted in the filming while our students rotated being “talent” and “floor manager.”
The book talks will air on EHT-TV, channel 97. Finally, students will create quick response (QR) codes for the video that will appear on posters created by the students. Posters will be hung during the book fair so shoppers can learn about the books prior to purchasing.
Winner Crowned at Miller School Spelling Bee!
On Wednesday, February 19th, the Miller School held its 13th annual Spelling Bee for the 5th grade Gifted and Talented students. After close to 2½ hours and 17 rounds, a champion was crowned! By the end of round eight, spellers had tackled words such as: disinfectant, scattering, prestigious, agricultural, cannonade, and salamanders. Round nine began with four spellers: Jason DeNafo, Jaina Patel, Kassie Johnston, and Aleah Hamid. The four went head to head for three full rounds before Jaina misspelled in round 12. Round 14 saw the contest come down to two spellers: Jason and Aleah. After Jason misspelled “influential” in round 16, Aleah spelled “carbon” in round 17 and became our champion! Aleah will now compete in the South Jersey Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 21st, at Folsom Elementary School. The winner of that Spelling Bee will move on to Washington, D.C. for the Scripps National Spelling Bee! Congratulations to Aleah and all of our spellers for a job well done!
Grow Your Awareness Project
Learning Scale Drawing
Davenport School's 3rd Grade Gt students are using scale drawings to map out our autism structures’ surface area in order to build ribbons out of milk cartons. These milk cartons will then be filled with soil and seeds to create a living ‘Grow Your Awareness’ structure for our new garden. This activity is part or their Project Based Learning "Carton 2 Garden" project.
Cranium Club
Slaybaugh School GT student Vanessa Dangallo shared her Cranium Club home project with the class. Vanessa has been exploring creative way to express her thoughts. She is pictured here with her latest design, a word bouquet. Keep up the good work!
One Judge, One School
The 5th grade GT students had the opportunity to sit and converse with a judge, several lawyers, and an Assistant Trial Court Administrator Operations Manager recently as part of the "One Judge, One School" program. After a brief lesson on the 19th Amendment and the electoral college, students had the opportunity to ask them questions. This was a unique opportunity for them as they gained insight into these important professions.
The "One Judge, One School" program is an outreach program that started in 2013. The goal is for judges to work with schools to complement the curriculum through a variety of ways including classroom visits to speak with students. Miller School students spoke to Judge Waldman, Lauren Musarra, Kaitlyn Huber, Alexandra Horn and Ted Kammer.
Upcoming Events!
Fernwood Avenue Middle School
Fernwood Avenue Middle School Science Fair
Friday, Mar 6, 2020, 11:30 AM
Fernwood Middle School, Fernwood Avenue, Egg Harbor Township, NJ, USA
Alder Avenue Middle School
Alder Avenue Middle School Science Fair
Wednesday, Mar 11, 2020, 11:30 AM
Alder Avenue Middle School, 25 Alder Avenue, Egg Harbor Township, NJ, USA
Davenport School Complex
Davenport School's STREAM Night
A multitude of STREAM Challenges including an Aviation Station, Reading Corner and Technology Hallway will be offered, as well as a musical preview from the Davenport Choir. This event is from 5:00-7:00 PM.