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| Gifted-Talented Resource Group |
| AUGUST 2007 NEWSLETTER |
| INTRODUCTION |
Welcome to the newsletter for the Gifted-Talented Resource Group. For those of you who just joined this group, please check our web site for specific information about who we are and what we do.
This is emailed on the first day of the month (give or take a day). So please email your submissions to the editor, Leslie Mann, by the 25th of the previous month: LmannJCH@aol.com.
The GTRG was formed to lend support to D303's gifted and talented students and their families. This newsletter keeps you up-to-date on the group’s doings and serves as a source of information for all the parents of gifted and talented students. So, if you know of an activity, program or web site that serves G-T kids and their families, this is the place to share it with others.
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| OUR 2007 CALENDAR (Click here for a printable calendar of events) |
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STEERING COMMITTEE
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The GTRG steering committee meets monthly on the third Thursday of the month at 11:30 a.m. The next meeting will be August 16th at the Knight’s Court in St. Charles (parking at rear). You are welcome to attend. We will email you if the date changes.
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GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE CAREER NIGHT
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The Glimpse subcommittee will meet again on August 15 at 7 PM at Colonial Café on St. Charles’ east Main St., on Route 64. Please come if you can help plan this very successful event. If you cannot come but are willing to pitch in, contact the Glimpse chairperson, Peg Sanders, at dsand14@aol.com.
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Thanks to our webmaster, Jim Chimienti, sign-up for this year’s Glimpse will be electronic. If you are a parent of a middle-schooler, you will receive an application this fall by e-mail.
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Glimpse will be held on October 30 at Wredling Middle School. It will be open to all D303 middle-schoolers (plus those who are home-schooled or attend private schools). It gives the kids a chance to meet with three professionals in fields of their choices, in small, informal groups. The feedback from last year was fantastic. Parents and kids asked us to please host this annually.
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If you or your spouse can volunteer to be a speaker at Glimpse, please notify Peg and she will add you to the list. You will then be contacted later in the summer with details. Tell Peg your name, email, phone and profession.
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Here is the to-do list for Glimpse and the volunteer slots still unfilled:
- Recruit teenage and parent volunteers. NEED VOLUNTEER
- Take digital photos of events for GTRG website. NEED VOLUNTEER
- Retrieve sign-up forms from middle schools. KARLENE STECHER
- Give speakers confirmation letters. CYNDY HALLERAN
- Coordinate with Wredling officials. PEG SANDERS
- Signage. NEED VOLUNTEER
- Make volunteer and speaker name tags. TRISH BORGER
- Thank yous to speakers after event. NEED VOLUNTEER.
- Feedback forms to kids at end of event. NEED VOLUNTEER
- Donation jars. LESLIE MANN
- Publicity. LESLIE MANN
- Volunteer to coordinate parent event in cafeteria. NEED VOLUNTEER
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FEE DAYS
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This year, we will distribute GTRG brochures to interested parents at the D303 summer fee days. (Known by “pick-up day” or other names at some schools.) If you are interested in manning the GTRG table at one of the fee days, please notify one of the steering committee members below. All we ask is for you to distribute brochures and be on hand to answer questions. Don’t worry if you don’t know all the answers; you can jot them down and give them to steering committee members to answer by email.
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The fee day dates are:
- Thompson: 8/10, 8/13
- Haines: 8/9 - 8/10
- Wredling: 8/15
- East High School: 8/7 - 8/10
- North High School: 8/13 - 8/17
- Elementary Schools: 8/13
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Thanks to those of you who participated in our Jewel Shop-n-Share fund-raiser in June. We will post the amount in the newsletter when the check arrives.
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Our newest fund-raising venture is selling ad space on our website. If your company is interested, click here for complete details.
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The GTRG relies completely on fund-raisers to survive. Our on-going expenses are minimal – post office box rental and website domain – but do require cash. As our budget crawls out of the red, we look forward to spending more money on programs that directly benefit our gifted kids. If you have suggestions for fund-raisers that you’d like to help sponsor for the GTRG, we’d love to hear about them. Send your ideas to any of the steering committee members listed below.
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If you are willing to help out by contributing a few dollars, click the "PayPal Donate" button below, enter an amount and send a payment to the GTRG. Note that you will be taken to the PayPal web site to process your payment. Thanks again for your support!
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Thanks to steering committee member Carolyn Shannon, D303 kids ages 6 to 9 can now participate in the annual LEGO competition. The program still needs parent leaders, so if you are interested, email Carolyn at carolyn.l.shannon@gmail.com. Please support this program with your time. For more information about this program, click here.
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Thanks to steering committee member Jim Chimienti, the GTRG will also attempt to support a LEGO competition for ages 9 to 14. If you are interested in organizing teams within D303 for this age group, contact Jim at jchimienti@gtrg-d303.org. This is an annual competition based on current, real-world issues. Coaches help the kids:
- Research and solve a problem based on the LEGO Challenge theme
- Present their research and solutions
- Build an autonomous robot using engineering concepts
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More information about the program can be found on the following web site: http://www.firstlegoleague.org.
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Parents, please join Jim to help forms these teams! The kids will have a blast.
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Please see our website (under Advocacy section) for updates on legislation that affects gifted kids.
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Several times a month, the steering committee members receive notices of upcoming programs or classes for gifted or talented kids. We post those on the website under the "Enrichment" section. Click here to be taken directly to the page.
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Attention parents: There were security problems with the Green Apple Camps at Benedictine University this summer. Before you enroll your child in one of its camps, contact GTRG member Carolyn Shannon for more info at carolyn.l.shannon@gmail.com.
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If you have any questions or would like to volunteer to help, please contact one of the officers of the steering committee:
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Click image for details
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