GT LEADers in Action

January II edition

Special Programs Expo - YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS! February 16

From engineering challenges to advanced academics to language immersion and early childhood education, GCISD offers a world of opportunities for students. Families are invited to learn more about these opportunities at the Special Programs Expo on Tuesday, February 16 from 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. at Cross Timbers Middle School. The expo will feature stations showcasing our STEM programs, ASPIRE Academy and Dual Language programs. New to the Expo this year, families may also learn about the proposed tuition-based Pre-Kindergarten program, iUniversity Prep and Collegiate Academy. In addition to program stations, presentations focusing on the instructional components and benefits of these programs will be delivered in the lecture hall and Student Activity Center (SAC).

Attention Parents in Grades 1-4 interested in referring your GT LEAD child for the Aspire Academy for the 2016-2017 school year:
There will be a parent meeting to discuss the identification process and program services this Thursday, January 28 and/or February 2 at 6:00 pm at the PDEC (Professional Development Education Center) at 5800 Colleyville Boulevard, Colleyville 76034.  The two meetings are offered to better accommodate family schedules.  Each meeting will discuss the same content.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's what we've been up to in class:

Kindergarten has been working on making connections to form relationships between two and three very different items (forced connections). We have also been practicing our fluency as we toss the brainstorm ball back and forth to generate new and original ideas.

1st grade practiced sharing their creative stories on stage.  They even used the microphone to project their voice to the world!  Their next challenges in class will be to observe, identify and classify attribute blocks.

2nd grade has been very messy and busy on their design challenges.  They were faced with creating a structure that could solve a specific problem, and it had to have at least one moving part.  Infomercials will be written next to get their ideas marketed.

3rd grade had a blast with snap cubes as they changed their two dimensional figures into three dimensional ones.  Drawing accurate depictions of this is not easy, but they loved it.  Their study continues this week as they focus on the nets of packaging boxes by translating a 3D shape into a 2D net, which requires a lot of spatial visualization.

4th grade elevated their vocabulary by writing monumental inscriptions, once construction was completed.  We took a virtual field trip through the internet to observe appropriate terminology and text of monuments across the nation.  Scholars had to write a concise, yet richly accurate inscription of their own critical attributes...what makes them unique and special.

5th grade got to solve problems that mixed up Sudoku, a list of clues, and a 3X3 grid....Tic Tac Toe Logic.  The mathematicians were chomping at the bit to challenge themselves with more!  Meanwhile, our SPARK talk research focused on POMS (Points of Most Significance).

HAVE A GREAT WEEK, EVERYONE!  

GT LEADers in Action

January 2016

ATTENTION 5th Grade Parents:  Please read the information at the bottom of this blog.  

Here's the scoop in our classrooms:

Kindergarten is enjoying their very first week in GT LEAD, and we are thrilled to have them!  Welcome to the program, young, creative, energetic, excitable, precious, adorable scholars!  You will love LEAD! 

1st Grade read a clever story called The Great Fuzzy Frenzy and got the opportunity to design their own red, fuzzy creation.  The book was filled with figurative language, such as alliteration and onomatopoeia.  Students used a variety of materials to bring their idea to life and presented their project to the class.

Hope you didn't find red fuzz in your dryer this week.  We had fun getting messy.

2nd Grade participated in creative problem solving by designing exercise machines for Santa because he gained so much weight over the holidays. (Students felt very responsible for this problem because they ALL had left cookies for the "big guy" on the "big night."  Mrs. Gable was guilty too!)  Their groups designed a prototype machine that targeted specific zones of Santa's body, such as cardio, legs, abs, etc.  Santa might end up the "Biggest Loser."

3rd Grade was challenged with geometric pentacubes.  They had to evaluate all the possible arrangements of 5 cubes, creating a connected "flat" original pattern. Translations, transformations and reflections were eliminated, as they discovered the final number.  Students then had to create and draw three dimensional figures to further their thinking.  

"Um, Mrs. Gable, this is really making me think..."

4th Grade learned that it was ALL ABOUT THEM through their creations of Monument of Me.  They had to self-reflect extensively about who they truly were (critical character attributes) and how the world saw them.  Construction on the great structures began this week.  These monuments will be memorable, to say the least.

5th Grade SPARK Talks focused on developing powerful "hooks" in presentations that could capture the audience's attention.  We also practiced writing powerfully concise and informative questions to interview an expert, our first "Mystery FaceTime" guest.  The students loved interviewing Ashton Smith, Voice-over Artist from Los Angeles, California (who also happens to be my brother).

Students introduced themselves, asked thought-provoking questions,
and even got to hear a few movie trailers of upcoming blockbusters.

ATTENTION 5th Grade Parents:  

Please make plans to attend the GCISD ELEMENTARY TO MIDDLE SCHOOL GT LEAD TRANSITION MEETING this Thursday, January 14 OR next Tuesday, January 19 at 6:00 pm at the District PDEC Building at 5800 Colleyville Boulevard, 76034.  Information will be shared about options available for gifted middle school students.

***Please note:  NO testing is needed for current GT LEAD Identified students wanting to attend GT classes in middle school.***

5^th grade LEAD parents interested in having their child tested for Aspire Academy for the Highly Gifted should fill out a referral packet January 11-22.  Referral packets are found at the GCISD Advanced Academics website and in the Cannon front office.  They must be returned by Friday, January 22.  Testing will begin January 25, and results will be mailed February 8^th.