Newsletter Date

Volume 1, Issue 1

Your Organization

Appropriate Expectations

for the Gifted Child

by Arlene R. DeVries

Parents and educators working cooperatively can make a signifi-

cant difference in the emotional and intellectual growth of the gift-

ed child. However, for these children to fully benefit from this com-

bined effort, parents and schools must recognize and work together

toward similar goals. Their expectations of each other need to cor-

respond to give the child appropriate guidance, thus maximizing

the chances for fulfilling potential. The following aspects are essen-

tial to the healthy educational and personal development of the

gifted child.

Learning at an appropriate level and pace

At times, expectations for bright students may be set unreasonably

high. Children who have proven themselves through good grades

often find that they have set precedents for themselves which oth-

ers expect them to uphold or surpass. More often, though, school is

not sufficiently challenging to these children. If the child scores

consistently high on standardized tests, is making careless mistakes

on routine homework assignments, or is losing interest in school,

which may indicate boredom, then differentiating curriculum

through compacting or acceleration might be in order. It is im-

portant to assess the child’s ability, perhaps through end-of-the-

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Appropriate Expectations........ 2

Odyssey of the Mind ................ 3

PAAL News .............................. 4

Explorer News ......................... 5

G.A.T.E. Strategy ..................... 6

SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST

Nurturing the gifted child

Target Field Trips grant

Exemplary Writing

Fair Season

Freedom Train

Strategy Spotlight

Brain Press

Dates to Remember

Nation Gifted

“Children are never too old to have someone read aloud to them.”

explore their personal interests. Problem solvers and creative and critical thinkers are in great de-

mand in the adult world of economic, environmental, social, and health related issues. Learning

at an appropriate level and pace is a must for these bright students.

Access to a wide variety of reading material

What a legacy we give to our children when we pass on to them a love of reading! Parents who

fill their homes and teachers who fill their classrooms with books, magazines and software on a

variety of topics and of varied levels of difficulty are providing an excellent resource for children.

Books can serve as mentors and career explorations for gifted students as they read biographies

of famous persons and the struggles involved in their life contributions. Students’ vocational and

avocational choices are limited if they do not have access to a wide variety of reading material.

In addition, vivid creative imaginations can be developed through books. They can become a

fantasy world of escape or a stress management tool for bright, intense youngsters. Those who

have excellent communication skills have developed them largely by reading literature written by

successful authors.

Children are never too old to have someone read aloud to them. Sharing aloud good books, par-

ticularly award-winning books which have proven themselves worthy of being read, is a wonder-

ful way to establish emotional bonds in a family. Adults are also incredibly influential role models if

they read and explore new ideas in front of their children and encourage them to do the same.

Bright children need access to libraries beyond that of their local schools–public libraries, perhaps

where they can get their own library cards, as well as visits to historical, medical, religious, art, sci-

entific, college, or university libraries. To read more of this article, visit : sengifted.org at

http://sengifted.org/archives/articles/appropriate-expectations-for-the-gifted-child

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

year objective-based tests or out-of-

grade-level testing, to determine ap-

propriate academic placement. Per-

ceptive parents of bright students,

with the aid of test scores or portfolio

documentation, can assist teachers

in determining if the school curricu-

lum is matching the child’s needs.

Often, parent perceptions are as ac-

curate as those of the teacher, who

must deal with an entire classroom

and may be unaware that a single

student is not being properly chal-

lenged. To throw a non-swimmer into

the deep end of the pool is inhu-

mane. To demand that an Olympic

swimmer remain in the shallow end

until the rest of the class learns to

swim is a ludicrous restraint.

Children need activities both at

home and at school which allow

them to exercise their minds using

creative thinking and problem solving

skills. Gifted children, in particular,

need to be allowed to explore areas

of passion to them. These children will

be unconsciously building ideas and

talents which will help to determine

their future careers. It is absurd to as-

sume that schools can teach the spe-

cifics which individual children will

need to know for their different ca-

reer paths and which they will attain

on their own if they are able to freely

2

Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving op-

portunities for students from kindergarten through college. Team members apply their creativity to solve

problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary

classics. They then bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and World level. Thousands of

teams from throughout the U.S. and from about 25 other countries participate in the program.

William J. Clark has three teams preparing for the State Tournament where they will compete against Di-

vision II teams from schools around South Carolina. We wish our students well as they put the final touch-

es on their creative solutions. The tournament will take place March 21 at the Advanced Studies Magnet

School in West Ashley, Charleston, South Carolina. Hats off to Ms. Tamu Niilampti (Problem III) for coordi-

nating Clark’s Odyssey events during the 2014-2015 school year. She has done an outstanding job!

Coaches for this year’s long-term problems also include Ms. Ashley Glivens (Problem I) and Ms. Lucy

McCann (Problem V).

South Carolina Odyssey of the Mind Information

http://www.scodysseyofthemind.org

Creative Competition!

The Odyssey Angels program wants to chal-

lenge you to use your

creative problem-

solving abilities to

help some aspect of

your community that

would otherwise be

overlooked.

Learn more http://www.odysseyangels.org/

3

GRADES K-2

We are so excited about an

upcoming field trip that was

made possible through a

grant written by Ms.

Steinmetz. Our PAALs classes

will be able to experience Ca-

tawba Native American histo-

ry, dancing, and drumming.

The students have been learn-

ing about how different cul-

tures celebrate in a variety of

ways. The best part of this trip

is that the cost will be de-

creased due to the grant writ-

ten through Target Field Trips.

The grant total was $700. This

trip will take place in Rock Hill,

SC during the spring semester.

Way to go Ms. Steinmetz!!

First grade PAALs received

iPads this second nine weeks.

The students have been in-

creasing their technology and

academic skills through inter-

active learning. We have

been using the iPads to learn

beginning computer pro-

graming skills. The students

have been enjoying learning

while using the iPads.

The 2nd grade PAALs recent-

ly turned in writing samples

for the school-wide exem-

plary writing activity. The

topics included “Skittles vs.

M&Ms” and “Dr. Martin Lu-

ther King, Jr.” The students

used various brainstorming

formats including using post

-it notes to organize their

writing. Overall, the writing

pieces were exemplary!

Way to go 2nd grade PAALs!

4

Team Contributor

Mrs. Jennifer Fanning

Brookdale

P.

A.

A.

L.

4

GT Students are “Fairing” Well In the New Year!

Between the Science Fair and Literacy Fair here at Marshall, stu-

dents have been busy working on their projects! Science Fair

projects were due January 7th and the results were fantastic!

Judges came to carefully assess each project and we will have

the results soon. A special thanks to our own Mrs. Tonya Yar-

brough for co-leading the Math and Science Committee, who

organized the Science Fair!

Our Literacy Fair projects were due on January 22nd and will be

displayed for Literacy Night on Tuesday, January 27th. Thanks to

those GT students who participated!

Bringing Black History Month Alive

In celebration of Black Histo-

ry Month, our students will

have the opportunity to see

the play “Freedom Train” on

February 18th at 11:45 a.m.

We are looking forward to

the experience and please

look for some updates on

how the trip went in our Feb-

ruary Newsletter!

GRADES 3-5

5

Team Contributor

Mrs. Ashley Thomas

MARSHALL

EXPLORERS

5

G.A.T.E. STRATEGY

EXTENDING THE STORY

Much-loved gifted and talented pro-jects for many students include read-ing and writing stories. Tap into this interest by having students extend one of the stories that they’ve read. (For example, they could add a char-acter to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.) Alt-hough there are endless ways to do this, the following are some ideas that many gifted and talented students

enjoy:

Write an alternative ending for the story. What else might have happened?

Put the main character into a different story that you’ve read. How might the character have reacted to these different circumstances?

Write a prologue to the story. What might have hap-pened days, or even years, before the story began?

Write a summary of the story in a different setting.

How would the story be different? (Remember that

setting includes both time and place).

www.brighthubeducation.com

Dates to Remember

March 10 School Board Recognizes Junior Scholars March 11 T-shirt Order Due for Magnet Students March 17 New York Participant & Parent Meeting March 21 Odyssey of the Mind State Tournament March 30-April 2, Magnet Field Study to New York

Brain Press

Riddles & Teasers

1) What has a single eye but cannot see?

2) I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest man cannot hold me for longer than 5 minutes. What am I?

3) One brick is one kilogram and half a brick heavy. What is the weight of one brick?

4) The circumference of the Earth is approximately 40,000 km. If we made a circle of wire around the globe, that is only 10 me-ters (0.01 km) longer than the circumference of the globe, could a flea, a mouse, or even a man creep under it?

Answers can be found on your school’s website, Gifted and Talented link.

6

Contact: Priscilla Hollington, Advanced Academics Coordinator

priscilla.hollington@ocsd5.net OR (803) 534-5982