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Assisting and Supporting Gifted Individuals in Developing their Talents, Strengths, and Abilities
Spring Newsletter - April 2009
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As we enter the final few months of the 2008-2009 school year, BVGT is not "winding down" but rather we are "ramping up" with a full schedule of valuable programs this spring! Read on for details about our upcoming BVGT presentations, featuring several distinguished and acclaimed experts in the field of gifted education, as well as information about other local opportunities (not affiliated with BVGT) which may be of interest to you. Finally, at the bottom of this newsletter, you will find brief reports summarizing the "take aways" from our February program on friendships and our March program on perfectionism. Check out our recently enhanced website (www.bvgt.org) for the latest information about all of our upcoming events along with a host of other helpful resources. For example, our website contains a listing of community enrichment programs which may provide you with some ideas for summer activities for your child. Another recent improvement to our website is the addition of a parallel Spanish version of all of our web content. BVGT is actively seeking ways to reach out to a broader audience. BVGT is pleased to introduce our newest board member, Rosa Medina, who is serving as Liaison to the Spanish Speaking Community. Rosa is from Peru and has lived in the U.S. for 10 years. She has worked with Spanish speaking students at the elementary level, and she has been a student advisor at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She has a B.A. in Psychology and a M.A. in Education. She is interested in helping Spanish speaking families find appropriate resources to enrich their children's experiences. You may contact Rosa at spanish@bvgt.org. We look forward to seeing you at a future BVGT event! Please RSVP to programming@bvgt.org so that we have an idea of how many to expect. Hazel Jensen, our BVGT Programming Chair, would like to apologize to anyone who was expecting a response after RSVPing to our March event; we were transitioning to a new e-mail system at the time, and regrettably, some messages were not properly received. We value your attendance at our events! Sincerely, Tricia Carpenter
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BVGT is now on Facebook!
Join the BVGT group on Facebook and help spread the word to your friends about our organization. The BVGT group is open to all (you need not be a paid member of BVGT to join the group). |
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BVGT presents George Betts on "Profiles of the Gifted: The Journey of Lifelong Learning in the Home & School"
WHO: Guest Speaker Dr. George Betts, University of Northern Colorado WHEN: Monday, April 20, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Fairview High School, 1515 Greenbriar Blvd., Boulder RSVP: RSVP to programming@bvgt.org One of the major goals in education today is helping children and youth become lifelong learners. What skills, concepts and attitudes are necessary for reaching this goal? Emphasis will be placed on understanding Betts' and Neihart's six basic Profiles of the Gifted. This presentation provides the basic understanding necessary for facilitating our children and youth in traveling the path towards lifelong learning. No charge (donations accepted). |
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CAGT presents Joyce VanTassel-Baska on "Challenges and Possibilities for Serving Gifted Learners"
WHO: Guest Speaker Dr. Joyce VanTassel-Baska, College of William and Mary Center for Gifted Education WHEN: Thursday, April 30, 7:00-9:00 p.m. (Check-in begins at 6:30 p.m.) WHERE: Boulder Valley School District Education Center, Professional Development Classroom, 6500 Arapahoe Rd., Boulder COST: Early Registration Fee $20/person; Onsite Registration Fee $25/person (Early Registration Ends on April 20, 2009) CONTACT: Please direct questions to cagt@aol.com
The Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented (CAGT), in conjunction with BVGT, invites you to attend its 2009 Premier Leadership Action Event featuring Dr. Joyce VanTassel-Baska, an international leader and consultant in gifted education. Her work links theory to practice through curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional development, and research. This program will be geared to parents and educators.
Dr. VanTassel-Baska will address major obstacles that impede educators in differentiating for gifted learners in the regular classroom. She will suggest strategies for recognizing and overcoming these obstacles.
Click here for the registration form or access registration information online at the CAGT website: www.coloradogifted.org (NOTE: Early registration ends April 20. Registration forms/fees must be mailed directly to CAGT. BVGT cannot accept registration forms.)
Click here for a map to the BVSD Education Center (NOTE: Please enter the building through the east doors. There is additional parking in the lot to the east.) |
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BVGT presents Diana Howard on "Creativity and the Young Gifted Child"
WHO: Guest Speaker Dr. Diana Howard, Denver Public Schools
An environment that fosters joyful, active, creative and exploratory learning is a wonderful atmosphere in which young children can blossom. Young gifted children are often highly sensitive, requiring a learning environment that supports their uniqueness and provides a safe haven for feeling, seeking, and imagining. During this program, Dr. Howard will explore the intense sensitivities of young gifted children and demonstrate how artful and aesthetic learning can provide an ideal environment for their great hunger to know and understand their world. Dr. Howard's focus on the "aesthetic" approach refers to perceptions, sensations, and imagination, and she will talk about how these relate to knowing, feeling, and understanding the world. She will share her discoveries about creativity, learning and growth when creating a school to nurture the development of these children. No charge (donations accepted). |
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RMS Community Education Series
The Rocky Mountain School for the Gifted and Creative invites you to attend their upcoming program in the RMS Community Education Series, entitled "Diagnoses and Misdiagnoses: Mental Health and Physical Wellness for the Gifted," on Thursday, April 9th from 7:00-9:00 p.m. held at RMS, 5490 Spine Rd, Boulder. Annette Sheely, MA, will explain how parents can tell the difference between the challenges of "normal" gifted kids and gifted kids who need some extra support or interventions. Learn about the common misdiagnoses of gifted children and then learn about the most important (and inexpensive!) things you can do to raise a healthy gifted child. The subsequent RMS Community Education Series program, entitled "Making Plans for the Gifted Student: High School, College and Beyond," will be held on Thursday, May 7th from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at RMS. This presentation will address what you can do as the parent of a young gifted child, or even a gifted teenager, to help increase the chances that this young person you've worked so hard to raise will transition well to adulthood. Learn about the issues and options for gifted high school and college students and their parents.
There is a $10/person charge for each RMS Community Education event. Register with Erin at 303-545-9230 or reception@rms.org. Please note that these events are provided by the RMS Community Education Series and are not BVGT affiliated events.
Click here for more information about the RMS Community Education Series programs |
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SENG
SENG stands for Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted. SENG was formed in 1981 as a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering environments in which gifted adults and children, in all their diversity, understand and accept themselves and are understood, valued, nurtured, and supported by their families, schools, workplaces and communities. SENG "seeks to inform gifted individuals, their families, and the professionals who work with them about the unique social and emotional needs of gifted persons. SENG supports programs that foster in gifted individuals the mental health and social competence necessary for them to be free to choose ways to develop and express their abilities and talents fully." One of the programs SENG provides is a framework for parent discussion groups. The Boulder Valley School District (BVSD), Adams-12 District, Rocky Mountain School and possibly others in the region, provide these groups for parents of gifted children. These groups usually meet once a week for 1 1/2 hours to talk about a specific topic. Participants are provided a book that guides the topics and discussions. SENG groups are not designed as a top-down delivery system where facilitators provide instruction. Instead, the participants learn from one another and share their experiences in living with and raising gifted children while discussion is guided by trained facilitators. Two new SENG groups are starting up this spring. To join the group meeting on Thursdays, 7:00-8:30 p.m. from April 9 through May 14 at the Louisville Elementary School Library, contact janet.healy@bvsd.org or jill.gross@bvsd.org or the Eldorado K-8 TAG office 720-304-6524 ext. 313. To join the group (for parents of gifted elementary students) meeting on Thursdays, 6:00-7:30 p.m. from April 9 through May 21 at Peak to Peak Charter School, contact Terese Roob at 303-453-4640. Space is limited! To inquire about SENG groups at Rocky Mountain School, contact Annette.Sheely@rms.org or 303-545-9230 x105. |
NAGC Legislative Action Network
The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) is forming a Legislative Action Nework (LAN) to raise awareness about the needs of gifted children and influence federal policy decisions. Your voice is needed! We invite and encourage you to get involved by joining the NAGC-LAN. LAN members will be asked to contact their Members of Congress at key times during the legislative process; NAGC will provide sample emails and letters to help you with these communications. Click here to learn more about the NAGC-LAN and find out how to sign up |
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Legislative Day 2009
Approximately 180 students and 40 adults, along with 20/35 Senators (57%) and 51/65 Representatives (78%) participated in the 10th Annual Legislative Day at the Capitol on February 19th, sponsored by the Colorado Association of Gifted and Talented (CAGT). This event provides a unique opportunity for students in grades 8-12 to shadow a legislator and gain first-hand insight into how the Colorado legislative process works. Students must apply, register, and be accepted in order to participate. Click here to download the full report detailing Legislative Day 2009 |
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"Strengthening Social Connections: How Parents Can Help Their Gifted Children Make and Keep Friends" presented by Annette Sheely, February 2009
BVGT’s February event was held at Douglass Elementary and was attended by an enthusiastic crowd of 130 people. Annette Sheely, counselor at the Rocky Mountain School for the Gifted and Creative, compassionately addressed some of the challenges that gifted children face in establishing and maintaining friendships and provided some valuable practical advice on how parents can support their children.
Annette pointed out that gifted children often differ in interests and intensity from other children, thus making it more difficult for them to find like-minded peers. Higher levels of sensitivity and introversion can also contribute to this difficulty. The very personality traits that make our gifted children delightfully different can be socially alienating. For example, a gifted child may have a sophisticated sense of humor which might be appreciated by an adult audience but which other kids might just not "get." One very important thing that Annette encouraged parents to do is to find the places where other gifted children are hanging out! Valuable social relationships can be forged through extracurricular activities, clubs, camps, and even online. Suggestions ranged from band and chess club to role-playing games to summer programs geared specifically for gifted students. Audience members chimed in with their suggestions as well. Annette presented a circular-shaped graphic modeling the cyclical "flow" of a typical social relationship, beginning with feelings of adoration, moving on to disappointment when certain expectations are not met, and then entering the critical conflict stage, where friendships typically either "make it or break it." Annette pointed out that children easily get stuck in this phase, possibly resulting in the end of the friendship. Children with an overly perfectionistic view of friendships may not understand that working through the conflict phase is a necesssary step in order to reach the rewarding fourth stage of emotional closeness. Gifted children who are struggling in the conflict stage of their friendships may need specific guidance in communicating and compromising so that they can work past disagreements. BVGT would like to thank Annette for sharing her insights and strategies with us. BVGT plans to continue hosting Family Game Nights and other opportunities for gifted children to meet and socialize! |
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"Perfectionism: Causes and Helping Kids Build Strategies to Manage It" presented by Steven Haas, March 2009
Over 180 people crowded into the BVSD Education Center for this tremendously successful event. Steven Haas, GT Resource Consultant for Jeffco Public Schools, gave a lively presentation on the topic of perfectionism. In his talk, Steve imparted the important message that "It's not what you do, it's who you are that counts." Steve contrasted two viewpoints of intelligence which lead to motivational differences: a "fixed" mindset, which views abilities as static and inborn, thereby breeding an attitude of helplessess when limits are reached, vs. a "growth" mindset, which acknowledges that talent must be developed, thereby inspiring hard work in order to achieve goals. The myth that "giftedness should be effortless" leads students with an "all or nothing" mentality (i.e., either it's perfect or else they won't even attempt it) to avoid risk-taking entirely. Steve also discussed the connection between perfectionism and the visual-spatial learning style predominant in more than 70% of gifted children. These students tend to grasp new concepts all at once, without the apparent need for intermediate steps. For these students, visualization rather than repetition or memorization is the key to learning. Creativity allows perfection to exist in their mind's eye, making it incredibly frustrating when they are unable to recreate that perfection in reality. Because visual-spatial learners may not be able to justify their answers or replicate their process, they may be accused of cheating. Fear of being exposed as a "phony" may cause them to operate in "panic mode," avoiding risk and possibly even shutting down completely if they cannot see the path. Steve offered the following list of strategies to help children deal with perfectionism and relieve their anxiety:
BVGT would like to thank Steve for his enlightening presentation. We hope that these strategies have been helpful for you and your children. |