GT Newsletter
March 2018
What Your Child Won't Learn from Academics
I just read this blog and found the parental guidance tips very interesting and worth a quick read. As always, reflect and integrate into your own experiences as a parent of a gifted child.
Thank you!
I am so excited to be back with children who remind me that we are inspired to reach higher and do better by the youth around us.
Events:
First Grade – Grand Reopening of Zooland – Wednesday, May 2nd, 7:45-8:30 a.m. (GT Classroom)
Second Grade – Game Day – Tuesday, May 8th, 7:45-8:30 a.m. (GT Classroom)
Third Grade – Invention Celebration - Thursday, May 10th, 12:00-12:30 (Cedar Creek Elementary – Commons Area)
Fourth Grade – DIG – Monday, May 7th, 9:00 -10:00 a.m.
Film Contest
The children in grades 3-5 all participated in the “Festival de Eanes” film contest. Unfortunately, the children in second grade ran out of time. They did work hard during the time allotted and were applauded for their efforts. Sometimes, we don’t finish. It was quite a learning experience for the children in all grade levels. Not only did they learn about film, but they experienced first-hand the importance of team work and time management. For some those two skill areas came more easily than to others. I think it is better to face these types of hurdles and learn from the experiences at an early age vs. later in life when the stakes are much higher. We will be having film parties in class this next week to celebrate their accomplishments. Even if they did not finish, I believe that they learned important life skills from the journey.
Kindergarten
The children in kindergarten will start classes on Monday. I am super excited!! Kinder Fest is our first unit of study, an exploration of thinking using depth and complexity. There will be books, activities that correlate with the books, games and puzzles, and journal writing.
First Grade
The “zookeepers” in first grade recently chose a zoo animal to study in-depth to create modern zoo exhibits for our Grand Reopening of Zooland. We have already been exploring possible food that the animals might eat at a zoo vs. the wild and enrichment ideas for the zoo exhibit. We’ll take as many notes on a mind-map in class and then I’ll send the mind-maps home for some additional notes a little after Spring Break. Our new, modernized zoo will open on Wednesday, May 2nd. Family members are invited to attend the opening.
Reaching consensus about an animal by using clues to deduce the answer is still their favorite activity! They are improving at stating reasons to support their thinking and listening to the ideas of others!
Second Grade
The “gamers” will continue to analyze more strategy games from around the world, focusing on the specific winning strategies. They also stretch their creative thinking by generating ways to modify each game. They are collecting the games and recording winning strategies in a folder so your family will have a collection of games for the summer.
In April they children will work on creating a strategy game. They will decide on a type of strategy game and develop the goal and rules. Then, the “gamers” will create and decorate the board and a container for the game. You will be invited to class to play the game on Tuesday, May 8th, 7:45-8:30 a.m.
Third Grade
After Spring Break, the children will switch gears and return to their study of inventions and the inventive process. They’ll have multiple experiences with strategies and designing mini-inventions in class.
The inventors will focus on their final invention for our celebration with the third grade inventors at Cedar Creek and their respective families of all during the month of April. The Invention Celebration is tentatively scheduled for May 10th at Cedar Creek. Viewing by parents will be from 11:30-12:00. The inventors will also share with each other and have lunch together before returning to Barton Creek. The children from both schools will communicate through Google Classroom during this process, serving two purposes: getting to know each other and sharing questions/ideas about inventions as they move through the inventive process.
Fourth Grade
The fourth graders will embark on a study of archaeology, DIG. During this unit, the children will examine cultural universals from a couple of cultures, including Austin, Texas. The goal is to notice commonalities and differences in cultures over time and location. What can we learn from other cultures, past and present? I imagine you learned quite a lot about the South Koreans as if you watched parts of the Olympics.
Then they will participate in a simulation during which they analyze the Specibians, a culture invented by another group of students, to prepare to invent their own cultures. The class will be split into two teams, each one challenged with designing their own culture based on a theme or topic and setting. They will divide up the cultural universals and develop ideas for each. Then, in April they’ll make 2 artifacts at home that represent their cultural universal. On May 2nd the children will bury the artifacts and on May 7th the archaeologists will participate in a Dig! More details will be sent home in a parent letter in early April.
Fifth Grade
Since their major project for the year was the film submission, they will spend the remaining time on two goals. To assist with the transition to middle school they will have discussions and reflect on their goals for the future. The children will have an opportunity to walk to WRMS later in the year to visit with Mrs. Reese in her room and learn about the GT Program at WRMS. In addition, they will be charged with designing instant challenges and then teaching our class for one class period. Meeting these two goals combined with days lost to STAAR testing and field trips will make the time feel like it time is zooming! I want to really enjoy the children these last weeks of our time together, especially since I missed over a month of school.