A Message From Our President
Two weeks ago I was enjoying a casual dinner with Dr. Jim Webb at the annual SENG conference in San Diego, laughing under the summer stars. It's hard to convey how much of a shock it was to hear that he had suddenly passed away, only a week after seeing him so vibrant and his usual playful self. It has been a real pleasure getting to know Jim over the past couple of years. He was a truly remarkable person - the spiritual leader of many in the gifted community, and the kindest, most welcoming soul I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Jim Webb founded SENGifted.org, wrote some of the most important books in the field, started the "Misdiagnosis and Missed Diagnosis" initiative, and was extremely generous with his time, speaking often at conferences and in various communities - including a west coast tour last spring that included several stops in our area. Jim's work dramatically increased the awareness and support of the emotional needs of gifted individuals - and his legacy invites each of us to carry on and do our part in continuing this vital mission. Rest in peace, Jim. You made this world a better place, and I was honored to know you. This fall, we are super excited to help Art of Problem Solving get settled in their brand new Bellevue digs. Art of Problem Solving provides one of the best curriculums for advanced math students, grades 2 through high school. They focus on deep, challenging problem solving so that kids learn persistence and perseverance, as well as learning great math. Their online programs (aops.com, beastacademy,com, alcumus) are terrific, but having in-person options in Bellevue will be an even richer resource for that region. We are thrilled to announce that Richard Rusczyk, founder of Art of Problem Solving, will give two presentations in October - in Woodinville and on Bainbridge Island. If you haven't heard Richard speak before, you are in for a real treat, and his message is both soberingly insightful and supremely practical, whether your kids are in elementary school or high school - public, private, or homeschool. Highly recommended. Hope you are enjoying the end of summer! Austina De Bonte, President NWGCA Upcoming Learning Opportunities NWGCA Fall Event with Richard Rusczyk Problem Solving: Key to a 21st Century Education and a Rewarding Career Presented by Richard Rusczyk, Founder of Art of Problem Solving (aops.com) Tuesday, October 16 7:15 PM - 9:00 PM Brightwater Community Center, Woodinville, WA Register Today ($20, bring a friend for only $5 more) Wednesday, October 17 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Bainbridge Island School District Board Room 9530 NE High School Road, Bainbridge Island, WA Free event The rote memorization of facts is an insufficient means of educating the youth of today. Instead, problem-solving skills enable students to use the information they've learned in infinitely useful ways. Jobs that involve repetitive procedures are becoming increasingly automated. There is a growing need for those who can solve non-routine problems. The memorizer can only solve problems he has encountered already, but the problem solver can solve problems she's never seen before, and above all, she can create. Art of Problem Solving Founder, Richard Rusczyk, will talk about the importance of a problem-solving based math curriculum in today's educational climate. Parents and educators will find Richard's message to be wise and insightful, as well as full of practical tips for how to access math curriculums that build students' problem solving muscles, from elementary through high school. Richard Rusczyk has authored 7 textbooks and was past Director of the USA Mathematical Talent Search. He was a participant in National MATHCOUNTS, a three-time participant in the Math Olympiad Summer Program, and a USA Mathematical Olympiad winner (1989). He received the World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions Paul Erdös Award in 2014. He graduated from Princeton University in 1993. At AoPS, Richard gets to pursue his life's passion, educating motivated students. Heads up in Olympia! Susan Daniels will be speaking at Nova School in Olympia on October 11 at 7pm. Her talk title is "Visual Learning and Gifted Students: A Different Way of Being Bright." Her new book "Visual Learning and Teaching: An Essential Guide for Educators K-8," published by Free Spirit Publishing, will be available in September and is available for preorder now on Amazon. More details will be in our next newsletter. WAETAG Oct 12-13, 2018 Hilton, Bellevue WA This year's theme is Innovation & Equity. Keynote speakers include Lisa Van Gemert, the Gifted Guru, and Dr. Kristina Henry Collins, President-Elect of SENGifted. Register Here Putting together the Puzzle of a Gifted Family Assessing Gifted Intensities, Addressing Ongoing Conflicts, Applying Creative Strategies November 3, 2018 9:30 am - 3:30 pm Phinney Ridge Center 6532 Phinney Avenue North Room 31 Seattle, WA 98103 Facilitators: Anne van Roden and Gloria Sandford - both experienced parents of gifted children and licensed mental health professionals. Purpose: Come join us for an interactive and inspiring workshop where you will learn key tools to help your gifted family thrive. This full-day workshop will apply SENG concepts at a deeper level focusing on the whole family. Specific tools include: 1) measuring certain gifted traits in family members, 2) examining how different patterns can cause ongoing conflicts and misunderstandings and 3) identifying some strategies to help address those challenges. Participants will leave with uniquely crafted strategies to help their family live together in a more cohesive and harmonious manner. Register Here SENG Parent Discussion Groups SENG Model Parent Groups (SMPGs) bring individuals and families together to discuss the challenges associated with raising a gifted child. The facilitators of these groups, though knowledgeable about parenting and gifted education, do not attempt to give advice. Instead their facilitation provides a non-judgmental and nurturing atmosphere for individuals and families to exchange ideas. Hosted by certified facilitators, discussion topics include issues like motivation, discipline, stress management, peer relationships and more. The groups meet weekly for approximately 8-10 weeks. For more information or to get connected with a group, follow the links below. Many will have new groups forming in the fall: - General SMPG Information - Bellevue SMGP - Everett/Snohomish/Lake Stevens/Marysville SMPGs - Seattle SMPG - Spokane SMPG - Tacoma SMPG - Washougal SMPG - Woodinville SMPG (New group starting in September) Know a great event or speaker coming to town? We're always happy to spread the word! Email us Resources Understanding Giftedness (video) This video explains how to apply the theories of Asynchronous Development and Overexcitabilities to your family members using clinical examples. It is $4.99 for a 30 day rental. More information here. Opportunities for Your Student AoPS Academy (Bellevue) The Art of Problem Solving has recently opened the new Bellevue Academy campus, just in time for the new school year! AoPS after school courses provide challenging material for math and language arts students, from grade 2 to high school. AoPS also offers world-class math competition preparation courses, helpful for contests such as Math Kangaroo, AIME, MATHCOUNTS, and mathematical Olympiads. Students ready for Prealgebra and above can take competition courses at the campus, or online at AoPS.com, The free Alcumus platform is a great tool to help study, or for math enrichment. Elementary school students can take after school courses at the academy, or try Beast Academy Online so kids can learn math through a fun gaming experience. Please check the course catalog for information. Use this application to have your student considered for admission. Athena's Advanced Academy (Online) Deborah Simon, our Homeschooling & Alternative Education Chair, is teaching upper level English classes (including AP® English Literature) to gifted students online. Find these and other online classes built specifically for gifted students at Athena's Advanced Academy. Online G3 (Online) Smart classes for Smart Kids. Online G3 nurtures critical and creative thinking in a diverse community of gifted learners providing a supportive and flexible online learning environment. By pairing passionate teachers with engaging and interactive academic content, G3 offers appropriate acceleration within an accredited, secular, and affordable education program. Check out their courses and their free informational webinars on August 8 & 9. Gifted Homeschoolers Forum (Online) GHF Online offers original curriculum designed by the instructors who teach it. Registration is now open. Check out classes like "Newton at the Center," "Historical Geology" and "Journalism for Teens." Get the full list of online classes. Saturday Enrichment Classes at University of Washington (Seattle) The Saturday Program is an enrichment program offered by the Robinson Center for Young Scholars for students currently in grades K-8. These classes are intended to provide intellectually ambitious students with challenge, inspiration, and fun, in a collaborative, supportive learning environment. Our classes are not intended to move students ahead in the standard curriculum but rather to explore topics not usually covered in the K-8 classroom. Classes meet for one or two hours per week on Saturdays, for eight sessions each quarter; we do not run Saturday Program in the summer. Classes are held on the UW Campus, in Loew Hall. Students may only register for classes offered to their corresponding grade level and may select as many classes as preferred as long as the class times don't overlap. There will be no homework, though optional activities may provided for outside of class. Fall class information will be posted soon. Please check the site and mark your calendar for September 17th to for registration. More Information Career Opportunities AoPS Bellevue has opportunities for instructors AoPS is looking for a Mathematics instructor, a Language Arts Instructor and an Assistant Campus Director. For more information, please read the job descriptions. Social Media To get lots more articles and event announcements as they get published, join us on Facebook. Contribute to the conversation with the #nwgca hashtag on Twitter. ArticlesA Better Way to Teach the Gifted-and Everyone ElseFor many gifted students, the school day is a snooze-fest. Seven in 10 public school teachers agree that "too often, the brightest students are bored and under-challenged in school," according to a 2008 study from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. The problem? Most schools force teachers to adhere to a single lesson plan designed for the median student. When teachers deviate from their lesson plans, it is usually to make content more accessible for students who are under performing. Gifted students complete their assignments easily and wait for additional stimulation that never comes. Read the Complete Article Here How to spot a child geniusThe notion of "gifted" children is a hotly debated one. For every story of a 10-year-old going to Oxford there's another about the grave effects of being isolated from your peers - not to mention the impact on self-esteem of those deemed merely "normal". However, new research shows that the biggest question is not whether being a little genius makes you happy - but how to identify gifted children in the first place. Read the Complete Article Here America's Gifted Programming May be a Facade Fordham's recent report, Is There a Gifted Gap?, examines income- and race-based differences in gifted programming in American schools and unearths plenty of bad news. Students in low-poverty schools are more than twice as likely to participate in gifted programs than their peers at high-poverty schools, for example, and even when black and Hispanic K-8 students attend schools that offer such programs, they participate at much lower rates than white and Asian children. Read the Complete Article Here How and why to search for young Einsteins Every year in Singapore 1% of pupils in the third year of primary school bring home an envelope headed "On government service". Inside is an invitation to the city-state's Gifted Education Programme. To receive the overture, pupils must ace tests in maths, English and "general ability". If their parents accept the offer, the children are taught using a special curriculum. Singapore's approach is emblematic of the traditional form of "gifted" education, one that uses intelligence tests with strict thresholds to identify children with seemingly innate ability. Yet in many countries it is being overhauled in two main ways. Read the Complete Article Here Northwest Gifted Child Association | info@nwgca.org | http://www.nwgca.org/ A Message From Our President
There are so many great opportunities this spring in locations across the state -- including Dr. Jim Webb, a giant in our field, travelling to speak to audiences from Vancouver BC to Tacoma to Olympia. The hottest ticket is SENG coming to do a one-day conference right here in Seattle. SENG stands for Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted. It's a national association, and the last time it was in Seattle was 7 years ago! This conference just started registration, and space is limited. It will sell out - don't wait to get your ticket! SENG will also be offering SENG Model Parent Group (SMPG) Facilitator Training alongside the conference. If you've been wanting to get trained, this is your golden opportunity, and it won't be back in our area for several years at least. Also, check out the legislative update below from the Coalition for Gifted Education. We didn't get everything we asked for, but we did get some really important provisions for gifted students added to WA state law this legislative session - which is notable because even our sponsors said the likelihood of getting anything through in this short session was very slim. We were surprised to find more supporters for equity in HiCap identification in the legislature than we expected, so that sets us up for hopefully making another forward step next year. Details below... Hope to see you at one of these great events this spring! Austina De Bonte, President NWGCAUpcoming Learning Opportunities SENG is Coming to Seattle! Saturday, May 5, 2018 8:00 am - 4:30 pm The Brig at Magnusson Park Seattle, WA WA State Clock Hours are available at no extra charge The events, connections, and fun of the SENG Annual Conference are all packed into one day at SENG's Mini-Conferences! Join us for sessions, SMPG Facilitator Training, and more. Sessions include:
8:30 am - 12:00 noon 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm Learn More and Registration This national conference will sell out, don't wait to register! Parenting Your Gifted Worrier (March 28, Lake Stevens) Highly capable/gifted children and teens sometimes experience intense worry and stress. Denise Anderson, NWGCA board member, will be facilitating a free workshop on parenting gifted/highly capable teens and children who experience anxiety. This interactive seminar will explore why gifted kids experience anxiety, how to recognize anxiety in children and teens, anxiety's affect on the entire family, and tools and resources to help kids combat anxiety. March 28, 2018 at 7:00 PM Cavelero Mid High - Room NE220 (8220 24th Street Southeast, Lake Stevens) Jim Webb: Power Up Potential (April 7, Vancouver, BC) The Gifted Children's Association and the Lower Mainland Gifted Contacts group of school district professionals in BC, Canada is pleased to provide this opportunity for you to connect with other parents and participate in a wide variety of presentations from local experts headlined by Dr. James Webb. The program includes two keynote lectures with Dr. Webb, two breakout sessions with 12 more interesting speakers on different topics and a plenary session with a debate of gifted education in BC. Registration Jim Webb: Being Bright is Not Enough (April 10, Tacoma) Seabury School's 8th Annual Gifted Education Seminar "We must cultivate courage and caring along with ... creativity, intelligence, and motivation ... otherwise we run the risk of having bright minds who lose their idealism or lack the courage to ... truly make a difference." That's the wisdom of Dr. James Webb, nationally renowned psychologist on gifted education, who makes a return visit to the Seabury Speaker Series. You've heard the fake news. Gifted kids need no special help; they already have so much going for them. Turns out their social-emotional needs are especially neglected. In his talk, Dr. Webb spells out how simply being bright is not enough. He offers concrete ideas for parents and teachers to help them re-think perspectives and behaviors and encourages programs focusing on social and emotional needs of these youngsters. April 10, 2018 ● 7 p.m. University of Washington, Tacoma (BHS 106) FREE - Register here Jim Webb: Managing Stress, Perfectionism and Depression (April 11, Olympia) Dr. Jim Webb will discuss Managing Stress, Perfectionism, and Depression at the next Community Education Series presentation at NOVA Middle School. Stress, perfectionism, and depression are frequent in bright, highly capable/gifted children and are related to their intensity, sensitivity, and idealism. Although bright children need challenges, undue stress, perfectionism, and depression seldom come from the challenges of specific situations or tasks. Instead they are more likely to come from what these children say to themselves about the events and about themselves. This workshop focuses on such concepts as self-talk, irrational beliefs, and self-management of stress. Specific techniques are described to help prevent and overcome perfectionism and depression, along with ways to build habits of resiliency. This presentation is FREE and open to the public. RSVP (not required but helpful): events@novaschool.org April 11, 2018 @ 7 PM NOVA Middle School 2020 22nd Avenue SE, Olympia, WA 90501 The Bright and Quirky Child Online Summit (April 25-30, Online) Are you raising a bright and quirky child? Looking for support in helping your gifted child thrive, even with focus, learning, social, emotional or behavioral challenges? Wanting to find a community of experts who 'get' a twice exceptional child who is both bright and struggling? Join Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Debbie Steinberg Kuntz for a free series: The Bright & Quirky Child Online Summit. Speakers include Ned Hallowell, Ross Greene, Temple Grandin, Tina Payne Bryson, our very own Austina De Bonte, and many more psychologists, authors, and experts. You'll learn tools and strategies to:
Sign Up for the Summit Here Reading and Writing with Assistive Technology (April 26, Seattle) Parents are invited to learn about assistive technology that can help students complete homework, build confidence, scaffold their writing process, and bring joy to reading. Presented by John Goddard, Library Media Specialist April 26, 2018 at 6:30pm Hamlin-Robinson School (1701 20th Avenue South, Seattle) Suggested $10 donation at the door. More information Washington Homeschool Organization (WHO) Conference (June 22-23, Auburn) WHO is excited to be going back to our roots with a conference featuring informative and inspiring speakers, homeschool veterans ready to answer your questions, and a hall of carefully-selected, education-related vendors. Whether you are a brand-new homeschooler, or a seasoned veteran, you will come away equipped and energized for your homeschool journey! Visit the NWGCA table in the Exhibit Hall. Green River College (12401 SE 320th Street, Auburn) More Information and Registration UW Robinson Center Professional Development (July, Seattle) Teachers and administrators are now able to register for our summer professional development sessions. We highly suggest teachers bring their own class curriculum to redesign for differentiation to occur! Registration will be open until June 1st, 2018. For both the Inquiry-Based Learning and Differentiation workshops, registration costs for Administrators will be waived when teachers from their school attend, so let your principals know! We are able to bill school districts directly, and accept PO's. Districts with 5 or more signed up will be charged at a discounted rate-please inquire for more information. Clock hours will be available! July 17-19: Inquiry-Based Learning in Elementary Classrooms July 23-24: Differentiation: Secondary School Highly Capable Programming July 25: Equity and Identification Forum: Participants Share Highly Capable Program Policies More Information and Registration SENG Annual Conference (July 19-22, San Diego, CA) The Conference will be organized over three days beginning with Continuing Education Programs, SMPG Training, an exhibitor's hall, sponsorship, advertising opportunities, and an evening reception. SENG has a block of hotel rooms for a special rate - reserve your room by June 27! More Information and Registration SENG Parent Discussion Groups SENG Model Parent Groups (SMPGs) bring individuals and families together to discuss the challenges associated with raising a gifted child. The facilitators of these groups, though knowledgeable about parenting and gifted education, do not attempt to give advice. Instead their facilitation provides a non-judgmental and nurturing atmosphere for individuals and families to exchange ideas. Hosted by certified facilitators, discussion topics include issues like motivation, discipline, stress management, peer relationships and more. The groups meet weekly for approximately 8-10 weeks. For more information or to get connected with a group, follow the links below: - General SMPG Information - Bellevue SMGP - Everett/Snohomish/Lake Stevens/Marysville SMPGs - Seattle SMPG - Spokane SMPG - Tacoma SMPG - Washougal SMPG - Woodinville SMPG Looking for a SENG Model Parent Group in Your Area? Are you interested in joining an SMPG? Do you live in Washington State? If so, please complete this five-question survey to help us determine the best locations and times for possible upcoming groups. Answer the Survey Career Opportunities Highly Capable Classroom Teacher, Mount Vernon SD A full time position is available at LaVenture Middle School starting in September 2018. To inquire, please read the Job Description and then contact abautista@mvsd320.org Elementary and Middle School HiCap Classroom Teachers, Northshore SD Northshore school district is undergoing significant expansion of its Highly Capable program, and will need multiple teachers at the elementary and middle school levels next fall. For more information, please contact hicap@nsd.org Washington Coalition for Gifted Education Update The legislative session is over and We Did It. The Coalition and its partners NWGCA, WAETAG, and NAGC, with support from the state PTA, gambled big this session, finding sponsors to introduce bills to expand the search for highly capable students by using acknowledged best practices. You will recall that in 2017 the legislature mandated that the identification of low-income students for the highly capable program be prioritized. When OSPI did not provide what we felt was sufficient direction and guidance in the Washington Administrative Code (WAC), we felt we had no choice but to seek legislative direction for them to do so. This authority and direction is now provided in section 105 of E2SSB 6362. Although we did not get universal screening, a ban on Saturday testing, and professional development, OSPI did receive sufficient authority to put most of what we asked for into the WAC or other forms of guidance and direction. Here is the wording which appeared in the final bill as section 105. "NEW SECTION. Sec. 105. A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 RCW to read as follows: (1) The superintendent of public instruction must require school districts to have identification procedures for their highly capable programs that are clearly stated and implemented by school districts using the following criteria: (a) Districts must use multiple objective criteria to identify students who are among the most highly capable. Multiple pathways for qualifications must be available and no single criterion may disqualify a student from identification; (b) Highly capable selection decisions must be based on consideration of criteria benchmarked on local norms, but local norms may not be used as a more restrictive criteria than national norms at the same percentile; (c) Subjective measures such as teacher recommendations or report card grades may not be used to screen out a student from assessment. These data points may be used alongside other criteria during selection to support identification, but may not be used to disqualify a student from being identified; and (d) To the extent practicable, screening and assessments must be given in the native language of the student. If native language screening and assessments are not available, a nonverbal screening and assessment must be used. (2) The superintendent of public instruction must disseminate guidance on referral, screening, assessment, selection, and placement best practices for highly capable programs. The guidance must be regularly updated and aligned with evidence-based practices." Our next steps depend on the upcoming rewrite of the WAC to incorporate the instructions in section 105. We will continue to advocate for best practices, including universal screening, a ban on Saturday testing and increased professional development. If we are not successful, we will seek additional legislative authority in the next session. Thank you for your support this session. We saw an unprecedented outpouring of contacts with legislators when we requested it. Your actions set the stage for section 105 to be included in E2SSB 6362. Opportunities for Your Student Monthly Math Hour at the University of Washington (Seattle) Each spring, Seattle-area middle- and junior high-school students are invited to participate in the Monthly Math Hour on the University of Washington's campus. The Monthly Math Hour at the UW is a series of talks that will take place from 1-2 PM on Sunday afternoons to introduce students to the beautiful and exciting world of mathematics. The lectures are given completely free of charge. The talks will be held in Savery Hall, room 260. Well-behaved parents and teachers are also welcome to attend with the permission of their children. Siblings are free to join in, too. There will be time for questions and further discussion after the talks. More Information Saturday Enrichment Classes at University of Washington (Seattle) The Saturday Program is an enrichment program offered by the Robinson Center for Young Scholars for students currently in grades K-8. These classes are intended to provide intellectually ambitious students with challenge, inspiration, and fun, in a collaborative, supportive learning environment. Our classes are not intended to move students ahead in the standard curriculum but rather to explore topics not usually covered in the K-8 classroom. Classes meet for one or two hours per week on Saturdays, for eight sessions each quarter; we do not run Saturday Program in the summer. Classes are held on the UW Campus, in Gould Hall. Students may only register for classes offered to their corresponding grade level and may select as many classes as preferred as long as the class times don't overlap. There will be no homework, though optional activities may provided for outside of class.Spring classes begin on April 7! More Information UW Robinson Center: Online English Composition (Online) For students in 10-12th grade, our RC Online is now open for registration! In this ten week online English Composition course, students will be challenged to adapt their writing to the demands of college-level, scholarly inquiry. They will learn how to address their writing to advanced academic conversations, and design their work so as to participate in formal, disciplinary lines of inquiry. There will be substantial weekly reading and writing assignments, and an official grade and transcript at the completion of the course. Our courses provide students with both an advanced, in-depth learning experience and the high-level skills so vital to success in college. June 25 - August 31 More Information and Registration Summer at the UW Robinson Center (Seattle) The Robinson Center's Summer Program provides an intensive, inspirational and in-depth learning experience for students who are ready and prepared to take on the challenge. We offer a rich variety of math, science, literature, philosophy, and writing classes. Class size is small, with a faculty who are experienced teachers and specialists in their fields. Summer Challenge, for current 5th-6th graders, emphasizes hands-on learning, field trips and activities It is an academically advanced summer camp with the goal of providing motivated students a fun and intensive educational experience in areas outside of the traditional school curriculum for three weeks in July. Summer Stretch, for current 7th-10th graders, is more academic in nature, providing a rigorous learning experience. Characterized by high-level thinking, intellectual adventure, and pursuit of understanding, this program offers both accelerated courses (e.g. Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry, Precalculus, Chemistry) and courses for enrichment (e.g. American Literature, Debate, Physics of Robotics). All of these courses provide an in-depth, intensive learning experience. More Information and Registration (Yes, there's still space! More classes and sections have recently been added!) Camp Summit (San Francisco, CA) Camp Summit for the gifted, talented, creative is a week long overnight summer camp designed specifically for gifted students ages 9 through 14. This camp prides itself in the vast variety of activities that our campers can participate in on a daily basis specifically designed to pique the interests of gifted, talented, and creative students. Activities can be found in three general categories: daily destinations, free time activities, and designated evening activities. All activities are monitored by staff to ensure the safety of each and every camper on a continual basis. Similar sessions for campers are offered at both Camp Summit West and Camp Summit East although there are some differences. Camp Summit is an all inclusive and affirming camp. More Information AwesomeMath Summer Program (Tacoma) This is a three-week intensive summer camp for mathematically gifted students from around the globe. It is designed for bright middle and high school students who wish to hone their problem solving skills in particular and further their mathematics education in general. Many of AwesomeMath participants seek to improve their performance on contests such as AMC10/12, AIME, or USAMO. AwesomeMath is the perfect summer camp for those young mathematicians who are thrilled about problem solving and challenging competitions. More Information The Big Summer Programs List NWGCA maintains a long list of summer programs, both local and nationwide, that may be of interest to gifted students. Some popular programs start registering as early as January, but many are still available. Of particular note is the Summer Institute for the Gifted at the Overlake School in Redmond, CTY's Residential & Day Programs for Grades 7+ at Seattle University, SATORI Camp in Cheney, in Eastern WA, and the UW Robinson Center Summer Programs for Grades 5+. Find the big summer programs list here Social Media To get lots more articles and event announcements as they get published, join us on Facebook. Contribute to the conversation with the #nwgca hashtag on Twitter. Articles Pathologizing Normal Gifted Behavior What is it and why is it a problem? I learned about this concept when my son was young and teachers kept telling me he had ADHD. The first time anyone told me he probably had ADHD was when he was about six years old and in first grade. He was a self-taught reader and by the time he was in first grade he was already a fluent reader. Read the Complete Article Here De-Escalating: Helping Gifted Children Identify Their Emotions and Regain Control It's the week before winter break. Utter chaos reigns. Every day there is a condensed schedule, an assembly, or other interruptions that distress my anxious, perfectionist, or autistic gifted kids. In the 3.5 minutes before students come pouring into my classroom adorned in ugly sweaters and crazy hats, I receive an email that says Matthew is crying on the floor uncontrollably because he didn't make math competition. Help. Read the Complete Article Here Croll: Beyond the Bell Curve, The Challenges of Raising Twice-Exceptional Children Did you know a child could be both gifted and autistic? A percentage of children, some estimates are as high as 5-10 percent, have more than one exceptionality such as being intellectually advanced (gifted) plus having a physical, neurological, emotional, processing or developmental challenge. These "twice exceptional," or 2e, children may score very high on intelligence tests while also having ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, sensory processing disorders, autism or another learning disability. Read the Complete Article Here Top 22 Stephen Hawking Quotes and Lessons That Will Inspire You To Think Bigger and Never Get Discouraged in Life World renowned physicist Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76. He died peacefully at his Cambridge home. He overcame debilitating illness to produce some of the most groundbreaking scientific theories in the last few centuries. Read the Complete Article Here GRO-Gifted is finally coming to WA!
NWGCA is thrilled to partner with GHF to bring Gifted Research & Outreach to Washington state for the premier of their brand new workshop! The Gifted Advocacy Toolkit Leveraging neuroscience, gifted research, and industry techniques to drive the change you want to see. Saturday, January 20, 2018 9:00am - 5:00pm Woodinville, WA Effective advocacy for gifted students requires both knowledge and skill. This ground-breaking workshop delivers both in one sitting! Presented by nationally recognized experts in the field of giftedness, you will start the morning by learning how to best talk about the physiological and psychological differences that are seen in gifted individuals in a manner that creates a solid framework for collaborate partnerships that serve all gifted children. In the afternoon, you will learn to put that new knowledge to work with proven techniques that will make your advocacy efforts a success. You'll walk away understanding: * What giftedness is and how it impacts your child's experience in the world * How the research in neuroscience and psychology provides a framework to better understand gifted behaviors and prevents mis-diagnosis. * How to overcome perceptions of elitism when advocating for gifted students * How to drive change using industry-proven project management and change management methodologies $99 adult registration ($75 for a second family member) Lunch and workbook included. Clock hours are available at no extra charge. REGISTRATION AND MORE INFO Advance registration is strongly recommended. We expect high demand for this event, and space is limited. Please forward this announcement via email or social media to friends, local gifted parent groups, educators, and other professionals who work with gifted children. If you know a legislator who would benefit from the groundbreaking information presented in the morning session, please contact us at info@nwgca.org. We have free seats for legislators and their aides for the morning (9am-noon). Upcoming Learning Opportunities What Parents and Educators Need To Know About Smart Kids We continue to offer our free talk across the state. Upcoming locations: Burlington, January 18, 7pm Camas, January 25, 7pm Seattle, February 1, 7pm Check our website for location and other details If Our Child is So Smart, Why Are Our Lives Not Easier? Dr. Linda Silverman, Director of Gifted Development Center January 24, 2018 7:00 PM NOVA Middle School (novaschool.org) is hosting gifted expert Dr. Linda K. Silverman who will present this insightful presentation, and it's free to the public. NOVA is located at 2020 22nd Avenue SE, Olympia, WA. SENG Parent Discussion Group SENG Parent Support Groups bring 10 to 15 interested parents of gifted children together to discuss such topics as communication, motivation, discipline, intensity, perfectionism, and peer relationships. The facilitator of the group is knowledgeable about parenting and about educating gifted children. The parents of the high-ability children are themselves also a rich resource of information, and they are able to get fresh ideas from other parents and from "A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children," the book around which the discussions are organized. For more information or to get connected with a group, follow the links below: - General SMPG Information - Bellevue SMGP - Seattle SMPG - Spokane SMPG - Tacoma SMPG - Washougal SMPG - Woodinville SMPG Gifted Ed Day - February 8, 2018 The Annual Gifted Ed Day will be on February 8, 2018 in Olympia, WA. Both adults and kids are encouraged to attend. Now is a great time to contact your legislators to make appointments while you are in Olympia for the day (noon or after is best). There will be a presentation in the Columbia Room (basement of the capital building) starting shortly after 9am. If you plan to attend, please let us know by filling out this survey. To get more information, please contact wagifted@earthlink.net. Legislative Update & How You Can Help! The Good News: This past summer, the WA State Legislature passed a law that doubled funding for HiCap programs, as well as directed districts to "prioritize equitable identification for low-income students." Those changes are effective immediately, which is a great step forward for HiCap in WA! More Good News: Both the WA State PTA and the Washington Education Association (WEA, the state teacher's union) have released positions supporting HiCap. Here they are: PTA: "The Washington State PTA shall initiate and/or support legislation or policies that achieve equitable and full identification within all demographic groups for participation in Washington State public school Highly Capable (HiCap) programs, especially for: low-income students, students with learning and other disabilities, English Language Learners, and students of color; by using evidence-based best practices for identification." WEA: "The WEA supports the unique needs of highly capable learners. The Association recognizes that highly capable learners come from all ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds. To meet those needs, the Association believes that the state should provide ample resources for the support of highly capable learners." The Bad News: The new law did not include any details or direction about what districts should be doing to ensure equitable identification. NWGCA, WAETAG, and the Coalition for Gifted Education are working together to advocate for further legislation or clarification on this topic. We are gathering information about legislators across the state, and would love it if you could help. If you know anything about your local legislators and their opinions about HiCap (Do they have HiCap kids? Are they supportive of HiCap programs? Are they against HiCap programs?) that is very useful information. We know what a dozen or so key legislators think, but it would be great to know where the rest of our legislators may stand, and where best to focus our efforts. How to Help:
Please Fill Out this Survey Opportunities for Your Student Save the Date: UW's Annual Math Day for High School Students The annual Math Day event for high school students will be held on Monday March 19, 2018. Over 1500 teachers and high school students are invited to the UW Seattle Campus to uncover the exciting, practical and rewarding world of mathematics. Choose from a variety of sessions throughout the day that cover diverse applications of math such as climate, origami and mobile phones. Listen to panel discussion on UW student life, watch demonstrations and more. You can also participate in field trips or hands on activities to various campus laboratories and facilities to discover how math is put to use every day. Registration for the event will open on January 25, 2018. More Information Save the Date: Julia Robinson Math Festival for Grades 4 and Up Seattle's 7th Annual Julia Robinson Festival will take place from 12:30-4pm on March 10, 2018, at the University of Washington. More information Saturday Enrichment Classes at University of Washington Registration for 2018 Saturday Enrichment sessions is open! Some of the exciting classes that are being offered are : Go 101 - A Mirror of the Mind (grades K-1): With their parents/guardians, children learn to strategize as they play this exciting game. Unravel the Secrets (grades 2-3): Learn the process of mathematical planning, problem solving, and strategic thinking. Discovering DNA (grades 4-5): Using molecular modeling and experimentation, children will understand and deconstruct DNA structures. Talk the Talk (grades 6-8): Study popular podcast series and collaborate in teams to create a series of podcasts on topics of interest. More Information 2018 THINK Summer Institute - Three-Week Academic Residential Program The Davidson Institute is seeking gifted teens to attend the 2018 Davidson THINK Summer Institute. THINK is a three-week residential summer program on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno where students can earn up to six college credits by completing two university courses. The 2018 THINK Summer Institute will run from July 14 through August 4. Tuition is $3,800 and covers course credits, books and materials, room and board, and the cost of planned activities. Need-based scholarships are available. To qualify, students must be 13 to 16 years old during THINK and must submit a SAT or an ACT score report. The application deadline is March 30, 2018. Learn More Here 2018 Davidson Fellows $50,000, $25,000 and $10,000 Scholarships The Davidson Institute for Talent Development offers high-achieving young people across the country the opportunity to be named a 2018, Davidson Fellow, an honor accompanied by a $50,000, $25,000 or $10,000 scholarship in recognition of a significant piece of work in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Music, Literature, Philosophy or Outside the Box. Applicants must submit an original piece of work that is recognized as significant by experts in the field and that has the potential to make a positive contribution to society. The scholarship may be used at any accredited college or university. The deadline to apply is Feb. 14, 2018. Learn More Here The Big Summer Programs List NWGCA maintains a long list of summer programs, both local and nationwide, that may be of interest to gifted students. Some popular programs start registering as early as January. Find the summer programs list here Social Media To get lots more articles and event announcements as they get published, join us on Facebook. Contribute to the conversation with the #nwgca hashtag on Twitter. Articles Smart People Have Better Connected Brains More and more research is coming in these days demonstrating that there are measurable, physical differences in the high IQ brain. Cutting edge research...though it feels like we are still at the very tip of the iceberg on this, and the full implications are far from understood. Read the Complete Article Here 14 Things Gifted Students Want Teachers to Know In this article, Joshua Raymond reflects back on his time as a gifted student and what his daughters are experiencing now. Here are some items he wishes his teachers (and theirs) knew. (From davidsongifted.com) Read the Complete Article Here Gifted Ed Students Are More Than Just Really Smart Kids Just this week, a teacher came to me to get advice about how to help a gifted student who is failing her class. Another teacher wanted suggestions about a behavioral plan for an out-of-control student who is gifted. "What do I do about a gifted student who won't write?" asked a coworker. True teacher concerns about meeting the needs of a special, but often misunderstood, group of students. Let's be honest. Most of the discussion about gifted education revolves around identification and under representation issues. While these concerns are discussed and debated over and over again, the needs of the 3 million gifted students right in front of us are put on the back-burner. It's time we started putting an added emphasis on meeting the unique needs of the current gifted population. Read the Complete Article Here The "Gifted" Label has Pros and Cons by Jill Levey Academically gifted children are in a class by themselves. With voracious appetites for knowledge, they soak up information like sponges, dazzling and delighting their parents with their intellectual skills. It's easy to think that the years ahead will be studded with academic achievement and success. The rewards may be great, but gifted children and their families can also face many challenges. Although gifted children tend to do well in school, some struggle - both in the classroom and on the playground. Read the Complete Article Here Raising a Kid Who Is Just Like You What do you do when you're excruciatingly sensitive, severely intense, outrageously curious, and wildly imaginative and you're raising a kid who is JUST LIKE YOU? Read the Complete Article Here Stealth Dyslexia: How Some Dyslexic Students Escape Detection Really nice article on stealth dyslexia written by local experts Drs. Fernette and Brock Eide, who coined the term. Stealth dyslexia is the most common form of dyslexia in gifted individuals, and tends not to get diagnosed until middle school or even later, as these kids can often squeak by when the school workload is not too intense. Excerpt: "For some time after we first described stealth dyslexia, people debated whether these individuals should really be thought of as dyslexic at all. Now we know the answer. As Hoeft told The New Yorker, she used fMRI scanners to study the brains of students with stealth dyslexia. She found that their brain wiring did indeed show the classic features of dyslexia. This confirmed they really are dyslexic. She also found that when they read, they show heightened activity in parts of the brain that help with executive function and self-control. Their comprehension appears to be strong because they compensate for their decoding problems by using their attention and problem-solving skills in especially active ways." Read the Complete Article Here Underachievement in Exceptionally Gifted Adolescents and Young Adults: A Psychiatrist's View When a gifted student is underachieving, there is probably a lot more going on than simple laziness. They could actually be struggling with perfectionism or other issues. (From sengifted.org) Read the Complete Article Here When Gifted Children Are Not Identified As Gifted What happens when gifted children are not identified as gifted? What is the impact when they realize how much they differ from peers, but can't quite make sense of what it all means? What transpires when adults witness these children's intellectual and social/emotional differences, but refuse to give voice to what they see right in front of them? Read the Complete Article Here How to Raise Gifted Children Somehow, in spite of this genius-mania, U.S. students are struggling to keep up with their international peers. Our children's performance lags behind as we watch countries like Finland, Singapore and South Korea churn out the next generation of math and science whizzes, the very skills our new digitally driven landscape requires. Where have we miscalculated when it comes to smartening up our kids? And when we say that a child is smart, what do we mean. Sometimes it's simply that she started talking early, or that she wrote her name when others her age could barely wield a crayon. But other times...it's that je ne sais quoi. The kid has it: a curious, intuitive and natural maturity that makes her stand out. Read the Complete Article Here Exploring the Duality of the Gifted Teen - Why a teen's high IQ can be both a gift and a curse At the age of eighteen, Raven Magwood is the exception to every rule. She's a published author, motivational speaker, filmmaker, junior in college, and former national gymnastics champion. It's safe to say that she's accomplished more as a teenager than most of us will in a lifetime. Raven carries with her the label of "gifted and talented" though she readily admits that all is not 'perfect' in her world. "On the one hand, it's great to know that other people recognize the potential significance I can have on the world. On the other hand it can be hard trying to live up to other individuals' expectations." Read the Complete Article Here PLUS - Two recent articles in the Seattle times: Find Gifted Students Where You Have Not Looked Before, State Tells Schools The Push to Find More Gifted Kids - What Washington Can Learn from Miami's Wins Upcoming Learning Opportunities
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