November 14th Guest Lecture

“How to Advocate for your Gifted Child while Building Bridges with Teachers”

DATE:  Thursday, November 14th, 2013

PLACE:  Greenfield Elementary library located at 2550 E Elliot Rd. in Gilbert

TIME:  7-8pm.  Members are invited to come early at 6:45pm or stay until 8:30pm to network with other parents.

A gifted child’s needs and strengths are often one and the same. Come hear expert Erica Bailin speak on how we can advocate for our gifted children while building a supportive relationship with teachers.  

Presented by Erica E. Bailin, ME.d., an Academic Professional at the Gary K. Herberger Young Scholars Academy [HYSA] on Arizona State University’s West Campus.  She is a gifted specialist with expertise teaching English, Social Studies, Technology and specializes in the creation of game-infused thematic curriculum using digital tools. She has worked as a classroom teacher, gifted cluster teacher, gifted pull-out teacher for honors reading and mathematics, and a gifted specialist for the Digital Learning Center for the Gifted. She has been involved in curriculum development projects, provided local and international professional development classes for educators interested in technology, student engagement, games, and gifted education. She presents at seminars and conferences for gifted students, educators in gifted education, administrators, and parents of gifted children. 

She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Master's degree in Educational Technology from Arizona State University. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Social and Cultural Pedagogy from the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University. Her research interests include educational technology, gaming and its impact on society and cultures, goal setting, community partnerships, social identity, global education, and reality television, popular culture and its impact on youth. She is also a student fellow for the Center for Games and Impact at Arizona State University, a member of Kappa Delta Pi, the International Honor Society in Education, and a member of the Board of Directors for Arizona's Association for Gifted and Talented. 

Mark your calendars for the remaining dates of our 2013-2014 Guest Lecture Series!  

• Thursday, November 14, 2013
• Thursday, January 23, 2014
• Thursday, April 10, 2014

We look forward to seeing you Saturday, Nov. 2 for Earth and Space Exploration Day!

Earth and Space Exploration Day, hosted by Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration, has experienced remarkable growth over the past several years. Pre-registration is encouraged to ensure that visitors are able to secure tickets for the astronomy shows and other ticketed activities. It also helps us anticipate the number of people that will attend Earth and Space Exploration Day 2013 and allows a speedy check in for you and your family.

PRE-REGISTRATION LINK: https://nasa.asu.edu/ESE-Day-Registration?destination=ESE-Day-Registration

WHEN
Saturday, Nov. 2, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

WHERE
Arizona State University Tempe campus - Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building IV (ISTB 4) - located on the corner of McAllister Ave. and Terrace Rd. Public parking is free in any ASU lot south of University Avenue on Nov. 2. The most convenient parking is available in the Rural Road parking structure (#4) on Lemon St. and Rural Rd., and the Tyler Street parking structure (#2) on the corner of Tyler Street and McAlister. A parking map is available at: www.asu.edu/map.

WEBSITE
http://sese.asu.edu/earth-and-space-exploration-day

DETAILS
Earth and Space Exploration day is a free annual fall event hosted by the School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE) on ASU's Tempe campus inside/outside ISTB 4. The SESE community offers special science-related activities from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. for students age five and up, families, educators and anyone interested in exploring Earth and space alongside real scientists. One of the biggest attractions is ISTB 4 with its Gallery of Scientific Exploration offering a variety of interactive exhibits and the Marston Exploration Theater, which will be running 3-D astronomy shows throughout the day. Visitors can see a replica of Curiosity rover, explore Tempe Butte on a guided field trip, pan for gold, watch science demos, dig for meteorites, bring rock samples for Dr. Rock to examine and so much more! Dr. Rock will be available to analyze rock samples and children are encouraged to bring samples from their backyard for analysis.

Get Informed on the Gilbert Public Schools Override

This November election Gilbert Public Schools is asking for a 6.6% override, a continuation of the current rate, which is decreased from the 10% rate of last year.  

Do you have questions about the GPS override?  If so, click here to visit the GPS Override FAQ page.

GPS held public forums in September and October to explain the override and address questions from the community.  If you were not able to attend one of these forums, click here to watch a video of the forum on the GPS website.

How does the Gilbert override request compare to the requests of other districts in the East Valley?  Click here to read an article in the East Valley Tribune.

Gilbert Public Schools - An "A" District

Interested in viewing a neutral and brief report on how GPS handles their finances?  Click here to visit the recent Arizona Auditor General’s Report on Gilbert Public Schools.

We encourage members of the GPS community to become an informed electorate.  Please vote on November 5^th.

Guest Lecture Series Review

Gilbert Supporters of the Gifted hosts a Quarterly Guest Lecture Series

Over 60 in attendance at September's Guest Lecture

September's Guest Lecture Topic:  Strategies for promoting Social and Emotional Growth in Gifted Children

Amber and Heather did a great job explaining Intensities that are often experienced by gifted people.  As a parent it helped me understand some of my son's behavior in a different light.  I recognized that he and I think differently and there is nothing wrong with that.  It helped me to understand the world through his perspective as well.  I also appreciated that Heather and Amber both had personal experience with their family members they were able to share as well as practical strategies for us to use with our children.  My husband and I were able to get a mutual understanding and were able to build some strategies together to use at home.  It has been so helpful.

It was also great to see so many other parents there.  I liked that we were able to see other parents who were from our son's school.  I also really appreciated that the meeting was kept to an hour.  We chose to stay after to chat with a few parents we met, but I appreciated the prompt start and end of the meeting.

Review written by Kristina Park

Next Guest Lecture:  Thursday, November 14th, 2013

Topic:  How to advocate for your gifted child while building bridges with teachers

Location:  Greenfield Elementary Library, 7-8pm

2013 Annual AAGT Parent Institute - Sat.,Oct.5th

LOCAL EVENT - SATURDAY, OCT. 5, 2013

Arizona Association for Gifted and Talented

To Interested Parents and Teachers for the AAGT  Parent Institute-

We are pleased to announce that registration is now open on our website!  Please go to our website http://www.arizonagifted.org/ and click on the Parents Tab. There will be a drop-down menu and please click on Parent Institute.  Here is where you will see a large Register Now link. 

The 2013 AAGT Parent Institute will be held Saturday October 5, 2013 at the ASU Preparatory Academy.  We know you will find the day informative and inspiring! 

Additionally, while you are attending the Parent Institute, your child/children can attend our Super Saturday, Enriching Your Potential Program, for students K-8!  Registration is now open at the same link.

TEACHERS: You can receive Professional Development Hours when you attend this event!

We look forward to seeing you at the 2013 AAGT Parent Institute!

Sincerely,

Patty Messer and Melissa Stockton

Co-Chairs, AAGT Parent Institute & Children's Super Saturday Enrichment

Questions:  officemanager@arizonagifted.org

§  AAGT Parent Institute “Reaching For Your Potential”

§  Date: Saturday, October 5th, 2013

§  Time: 9:00AM – 4:00PM

§  Who: Arizona’s Parents, Grandparents, Educators

§  What: Seminars on parenting gifted children; Opportunities to connect and network with other parents of gifted children

§  Where: ASU Preparatory Academy, 735 E. Fillmore St., Phoenix, AZ 85006

§  Keynote: Dr. Bertie Kingore, International consultant and author

§  Children’s Super Saturday Program: Enriching Your Potential for Students in Grades K-8 - Register your child and provide them the opportunity to have fun and be creative while you learn. You can register your child when you click the REGISTER HERE link at the top of the page on the website.  http://www.arizonagifted.org/parent-institute-2014/

News Around GPS

GPS Override Election

Gilbert Public Schools is having an override election on November 5^th, 2013.  The override is for 6.6% in contrast to the 10% override that was requested of voters on the 2012 ballot.  As members of the Gilbert community we can share our voice regarding whether we want GPS to receive $5.8M in funding or $11.6M.

For more information about the 2013 GPS override election please visit - 

1.     GPS website for FAQs

2.     http://citizensforstrongschools.com/

3.     You may also wish to attend a GPS community forum this week to learn more about the override

Gifted Education and the Gilbert Override - 

There is ZERO state funding and ZERO federal funding for gifted education.  Based on the Override Presentation to the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce, without the passing of the 6.6% override specialty programs that include Gifted Education (ALP) may be eliminated.  To see this presentation, click here -  Override-Chamber of Commerce.  ALP (Gifted Education) is mentioned on slide #17 of the presentation.

This presentation is found on the GPS Board Docs site under the agenda for the Sep 11, 2013 Gilbert Town Council/Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board Special Joint Meeting. - http://www.boarddocs.com/az/gpsaz/Board.nsf/Public

GPS Community Survey

 GPS is looking for members of the community to take a survey regarding qualifications desired of a permanent superintendent.  For example, do you prefer the superintendent to have a non-traditional background or an education background?  To take the GPS survey, prior to 8am on 9/27, visit the GPS website.  

2013-2014 Parent Education Guest Lecture Series begins September 12th, 2013

Have you ever watched your gifted child do something that seemed below their intelligence level and thought to yourself, “What was he thinking?!?!”

Our Guest Presenters are Heather Schlemmer and Amber MacRobbie who will

share strategies for facilitating social/emotional growth in gifted children.

Heather Schlemmer is the Social Cognition Interventionist/Gifted Resource

Specialist for Gilbert Public Schools. Amber MacRobbie is a Gifted Cluster Coach

who provides training for educators who work with gifted children.

All Guest Lectures will take place from 7:00-8:00pm.  Come early at 6:45pm or stay until 8:30pm to get to know other parents of gifted kids.

The GSG Guest Lecture Series is held at the Greenfield Elementary Library located at -

2550 E. Elliot Rd., Gilbert, AZ

Our 2013-2014 Guest Lecture dates are set!  Mark your calendars for the dates below –

• Thursday, September 12, 2013
• Thursday, November 14, 2013
• Thursday, January 23, 2014
• Thursday, April 10, 2014

*Also, mark your calendar for the AAGT Parent Institute on Saturday, October 5^th!  More details can be found on the AAGT Parent Institute website.