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| Gifted-Talented Resource Group |
| JANUARY 2006 NEWSLETTER |
| INTRODUCTION |
Welcome, new parents, to the newsletter of the Gifted-Talented Resource Group. The email list for this newsletter continues to grow as you spread the word to other parents.
This newsletter is usually emailed monthly on the 30th. So please email your submissions to the editor, Leslie Mann, by the 25th of each month: LmannJCH@aol.com.
G-T was formed by the district as a steering committee to lend support to D303's gifted and talented students and their families. This newsletter keeps you up-to-date on the committee’s doings and serves as a source of information for all the parents of gifted and talented students in our district. 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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| COMING SOON – OUR NEW WEB SITE |
| Thank to G-T volunteer Jim Chimienti, our new Web site will be up and running soon. Go to: www.gtrg-d303.org. After the Web site is completed, you will be able to access this newsletter, plus past issues, through the site. |
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The steering committee meets monthly on the third Thursday of the month at 11:30 a.m. at the Ragamuffin coffee shop in St. Charles. The subcommittee for the Resource Fair meets immediately afterward, about 12:30. In February, the third Thursday falls on the 16th. You are welcome to come. We will email you if the date changes.
On February 22, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., at the St. Charles North High School, G-T and its Batavia counterpart will host the FREE Tri-Cities Area Resource Fair for tri-cities families who want to collect information about after-school and summer programs that serve G-T kids. Volunteers, please be there BY 6 PM!
On March 15, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Sally Walker will talk to D303 parents and teachers about “Surviving Your Gifted Child” at the Norris Cultural Arts Center. Sally is the executive director of the Illinois Association for Gifted Children (IAGC). This event is FREE. |
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Thanks, Trish Borger, for stepping up to the plate and volunteering to file for our 501(c)(3) nonprofit status for this group, so that we can proceed with fund-raising. This group receives no funds from the school district, so we are on our own financially.
In the meantime, members of the steering committee are using their OWN MONEY for start-up costs for this group, including registering for the Web site. Please, parents, if you are willing to help out by contributing a few dollars, contact one of the committee members listed below. We will have a donation jar at the fair, too, for this purpose, so please don’t arrive with any empty wallet. |
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Thanks to lots of man-hours from parents from St. Charles and Batavia, the first annual Tri-Cities Area Resource Fair is promising to be a huge success.
Our fair chair, Lora Brandt, reports that MORE THAN 40 colleges, museums and other educational organizations have agreed to attend. They include Fermilab, IMSA, Northwestern University, National-Louis University, Morton Arboretum, Aurora University, Avery Coonley School, Camp Invention, DaVinci Academy, North Central College, Sci-Tech, St. Charles Park District, Sylvan Learning Center, Waubonsee Community College, Johns Hopkins Distance Learning, Indigo School of Art, Purdue University and College of DuPage.
Another dozen or so cannot attend but are sending their brochures.
Thank you to all of you who have volunteered to take over the many tasks that need to be done before and during the fair. As you can see from the list below, though, a few jobs are still in need of volunteers and we are running out of time. So, if you can help with any of these, please contact Lora at LoraBrandt@comcast.net.
- Send confirmation letters and maps to fair vendors - Lora Brandt
- Assist Lora in contacting some of the organizations that have not yet committed – NEED VOLUNTEER
- Call fair vendors week before to remind them - Lora Brandt
- After fair, send vendors thank-yous - Lora Brandt
- News releases to media in February - Leslie Mann
- Put notices in St. Charles school newsletters - Peg Sanders
- Post notices on community bulletin boards such as Blue Goose’s – NEED VOLUNTEER
- Put notice in Tom Hernandez’s parent newsletter - Leslie Mann
- Put notices in Geneva parent newsletters - Suzy Shogren from Geneva
- Put notices in Batavia parent newsletters – Jane Gravelle and Lauren Marder from Batavia
- Make waterproof signs to post at parking lot entrances and at doors before fair – Jane Gravelle
- Contact high school Ambassadors Club about serving as front-door greeters – Nancy Thompson
- Man the registration table, where we will enter attendees' names on laptops to add to our mailing list – Cyndy Halleran, Karen Stopka., Gaby Filippi.
- Bring laptops – Sally Thomson
- Make a large St. Charles donation jar for the registration desk - Cyndy Halleran.
- Make donation jars for Batavia and Geneva – NEED VOLUNTEER
- Obtain donated plastic bags from a local merchant to hand out to fair attendees to collect brochures – NEED VOLUNTEER
- Make name tags for volunteers – Cyndy Halleran
- Man tables for organizations that want to distribute their information at the fair but are unable to send representatives – Gaby Filippi. NEED A FEW MORE VOLUNTEERS
- Pop sales (must be billed as donations) – Leslie Mann and Lora Brandt
- Collect donated baked goods from local merchants – Gaby Filippi
- Man baked goods table – NEED VOLUNTEER
- Bring markers, tape for last-minute signage – NEED VOLUNTEER.
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From our political liaison, Cyndy Halleran:
In its budget proposal for Governor Blagojevich, the Illinois State Board of Education DID NOT include a line item for gifted education. As parents of gifted children, we must act immediately to let governor know the gifted funding is essential. He will be giving his budget address on February 15. It is an election year, so calls and faxes to him could really make a difference. Please ask the governor to include gifted funding in the FY 07 budget. The more faxes and phone calls he receives, the better.
Here is a sample letter:
Date:
Name:
Address:
E-Mail Address:
Phone#:
Dear Governor Blagojevich,
I am writing to urge you to include funding for gifted education in the FY 07 budget proposal. I appreciate your efforts to reinstate gifted education language into the school code last summer. It is crucial that funding now be reinstated.
Any categorical grant funds received by school districts are being directed to remedial programs and services targeting those students who are not meeting state standards. Gifted students who require rigorous, challenging academic programs are not reapiing benefits form this funding. Rather, they are sitting in classrooms, day after day, being presented with information they've already learned. Reinstating funding could provide staff development for classroom teachers in how to differentiate curriculum and instruction to meet the unique needs of their gifted students. It could also support services and programs necessary to reach these students.
(You can add a personal story about the needs of your gifted child, challenges as a parent or teacher of gifted children, etc.)
Sincerely,
Gov. Blagojevich
Chicago Office: fax: 312/814-6775
voice: 312/814-2121
Springfield Office: fax: 217/524-4049
voice: 800/642-3112 or 217/782-0244
Address: Office of Governor
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
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We invite kids to contribute to this newsletter and to the Web site. This is a great chance to tell other kids about programs for the gifted.
This report was filed by Alyssa Brandt, a D303 4th grader:
“Last summer, I went to Camp Invention. We built cool mechanical things and did cool experiments. We got to take apart things like toasters. I made a robot from parts from a toaster. But the best part was making a rollercoaster.”
Alyssa’s mom adds:
Camp Invention is sponsored by the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame. Here, it is held at Wredling Middle School. For more information, go to www.campinvention.org.
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Thanks, everyone, for sending names of Web sites, organizations and events that other parents might want to check out. Here they are:
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If you have any questions or would like to volunteer to help, please contact one of the members of the steering committee:
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