Parent News

GT News for Parents and Students

Good Afternoon and Happy Friday,

I have a few important things to share this week.

1. College Awareness Week is next week at Scott.  We will have Spirit Dress Days all week.  You can find the information at the following link:  College Awareness Week Spirit Days
2. College and Career Research Projects are due next week.  Remember these are family projects.  If you need information for your child's project, you can revisit the following blog post:  College and Career Family Projects
1. First Grade Presentation Day is Thursday, November 20th
2. Second Grade Presentation Day is Wednesday, November 19th
3. Third Grade Presentation Day is Wednesday, November 19th
4. Fourth Grade Presentation Day is Tuesday, November 18th
3. Lunch in the Classroom Challenge.  Students who reach the following goals on Khan Academy will get to eat lunch in the classroom and play games the week before Christmas Break. 
1. First Grade - 50% of the Early Math Mission
2. Second Grade - 70% of the Early Math Mission
3. Third Grade - 50% of the Third Grade Mission
4. Fourth Grade - 50% of the Fourth Grade Mission

Have fun!

It's College & Career Research Time

Each grade level received a copy of the family college research project.  These projects are due in GT class the week of November 17th on your child's GT class day.   This is a family projects designed to give you and your child the opportunity to discuss their future plans.  Below is a link to each grade level's project.

1st Grade Family Research Project

2nd Grade Family Research Project

3rd Grade Family Research Project

4th Grade Family Research Project

Have fun!  Learn Lots!  Grow Dendrites!

Field Trip Reminders for 3rd and 4th Grade

Field Trip Reminders for Third and Fourth Grades.

Chaperones will be able to take their child home from Fort Worth.  Please email Mrs. Pogue if you have any questions about tomorrow.

It Ain't Easy and Don't Let Them Think It Is!!

So tonight I am attempting my first blog post, as a teacher blogger, not as a homework assigner.  This post is for parents; of course kids can read it as well and probably should.  Practice and effort?  How often does your GT kid like to practice?  How often does your GT child REALLY put forth effort?  If your experience at home is anything like what I witness in class, then my guess is not very often.  UNLESS, however, they have a GAME DAY coming up, perhaps a big sporting event or recital, or even a visit to grandma's where they get to show off . . . THEN they practice and put forth effort so they can SHINE!!

Today as I reviewed the amount of minutes my 4th graders spent on Khan Academy this week, I realized that my whole "BE PROACTIVE" campaign and take responsibility for your homework is ummm, well not going very well.  I thought it was a grand idea, encouraging the kids to be responsible for their own work and not forcing them, but when not even one third of the class reached my recommended time, I had to question why.

Through observation, I found the answer.  I asked those that didn't work at home to do Khan Academy in class and all of a sudden, I got - "But, it's haaarrrdd,  Can I skip this lesson and do an easier one?"  HUH?? Doing HARD work, learning something new, working through the frustration of not "knowing EVERYTHING - THESE things grow dendrites!  These PRACTICES help you grow and learn!  As an educator, I want my students to work through HARD stuff - that is the goal of school!

So parents, I ask for your help here.  PLEASE encourage your child to PRACTICE and put forth EFFORT!  Our speaker tonight from the Mensa society reiterated the importance of helping our GT kids understand the role of practice and effort in life.  Her points hit home with me, especially after today's experience with kids not wanting to do the HARD stuff.

According to researcher Anders Ericsson, we need to help our children (you know yours belong to me too), understand the role of deliberate practice.  Here a few key points from the section from tonight's presentation on practice:

• Help your child get motivated to improve at necessary tasks that they don't enjoy (like difficult math or writing)
• Encourage them to perform the same or similar tasks in order to improve at something
• Ask them to try the same thing in different ways (such as different ways to solve the same problem, or different ways to write the same sentence)
• And here is a big one:  Our kids MUST learn that they cannot expect to enjoy PRACTICE all of the time.  In other words, I don't want them to work on Khan Academy because it is fun, I want them to work on Khan Academy because it helps them learn different ways to master their grade level math concepts.

So, I encourage you all to help your children set a goal this week for practicing so that the new concepts become familiar concepts.  Only through practice, will your child become a better reader, writer, mathematician, speller, basketball player, chess player etc.  How many minutes will your child practice this week on something that doesn't come easy to them?

Welcome to the 2014-2015 GT School Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer and has had a fabulous start to the new school year.  I am super excited about beginning this school year!  We will be using our blog for our communication this year - no more weekly newsletters - we are saving trees!  Just thought I would share a picture of my amazing family from our summer vacation!  We spent July 4th in Georgia and saw the fireworks and laser show on Stone Mountain.  What a super fun experience!!

I'm so glad to have everyone in class this week.  Please mark your calendars for the GT parent meeting on Monday, September 15th at Scott Elementary.  We will meet in the 4th Grade Pod in the computer lab.