GT MONTHLY MINUTE
Harmony Grove School District, March 2023
4TH GRADE STEM DAY
Harmony Grove Middle School’s 4th grade gifted and talented class, along with 110 4th grade gifted and talented students from Dawson co-op schools, participated in the Optimum STEM day, held at ASUTR last month. Students worked in teams to build moon rovers out of pasta. The students were in cooperative teams composed of students from other schools rather than from their home district. The STEM challenge gave students the opportunity to work on both “soft skills” and STEM skills. Optimum awarded a $500 grant to pay for all the supplies, snacks, and prizes for the day.
After several fun icebreakers to help everyone get to know each other better, each team received a bag with lasagna and spaghetti noodles and a few other basic supplies. They could also choose from ten other pasta shapes to enhance their design. Teams also tested their rovers on the Optimum ramp to see how far it would travel over different terrain. Prizes were awarded in five categories: team spirit, best use of resources, farthest traveling rover, overall design, and judges’ choice. Judges from ASUTR visited each team to hear students explain their moon rover roller and engineering design process. Even though they were given the same supplies, each team designed a one-of-a-kind moon rover!
Third Grade: Cultures Around the World
Executive Functioning – what is it, why we need it, and how we as parents can support our children’s development ✅
While some gifted children have cognitive sets, personalities, and environments that intrinsically shape healthy executive functioning skills, other gifted children struggle. “Maladaptive behavior occurs when the cognitive demands being placed upon a person outstrip that person’s capacity to respond adaptively,” (Greene, 2010). When there is a poor fit between the task/environment and the child, the child with try to take control either by avoiding the task, escaping the task, or railing against it.
Read more about Executive Functioning and ways to support your child at: https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-blog/executive-functioning-what-is-it-why-we-need-it-and-how-we-as-parents-can-support-our-childrens-development/
HGSD Gifted & Talented
Jill Henley, GT/AP Coordinator
"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you."
Email: jhenley@harmonygrovesd.org
Website: https://harmonygrovesd.org/330052_2
Location: 2621 Arkansas 229, Benton, AR, USA
Phone: (501) 778-6271