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| Gifted-Talented Resource Group |
| FEBRUARY 2007 NEWSLETTER |
| INTRODUCTION |
Welcome, new parents, to the newsletter of the Gifted-Talented Resource Group. For those of you who just joined this group, please check our Web site for specific information about the group.
This newsletter is emailed about the 30th of each month. So please email your submissions to the editor, Leslie Mann, by the 25th of the month: LmannJCH@aol.com.
The GTRG was formed by the district 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 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.
We have lots of activities on our plate for 2007 that require volunteers. So if any of our activities spark your interest, please contact one of the steering committee members or subcommittee chairs and offer your time.
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| OUR 2007 CALENDAR (Click here for a printable calendar of events) |
| BEYOND THE CLASSROOM: EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE FAIR |
| HELP!! We still need volunteers to help work this fair, which we are co-sponsoring with the Kane County Regional Office of Education and the GT parent groups from Geneva and Batavia. Last year, the fair was held at St. Charles North High School. This year, it will be at the Geneva Middle School North. |
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| Even if you can’t help, mark your calendar to attend this free fair on February 28, 7-8:30 PM. Dozens of museums, colleges and other educational organizations will be there to tell you what they offer your K-12 students after school and during the summer. These include everything from math camps to oceanography trips to violin lessons. Click here for a brochure or click on the Events tab above for more information. |
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| The fair planning committee will hold its next meeting on February 13, at 9:45AM, at Judy Rhoads’ office at Geneva Middle School South. Please come! |
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The committee is still looking for volunteers (parents or responsible teens) for the following jobs:
- Register fair attendees, help the participating organizations get their fliers to their tables and generally direct people traffic, from either 6 to 7:30 PM or 7:30-9 PM.
- Make signs before fair – you can do this at home
- Man tables at the fair for organizations that cannot send reps, 7-8:30 PM
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| Please email one of the chairs and say you can help: Karlene Stecher at Karlene8@sbcglobal.net or Yvonne Murphy at ymurphy10@yahoo.de. |
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| SHOP ‘N’ SHARE |
| Our next Jewel Shop ‘n’ Share fund-raiser is February 26/27/28. To print out a voucher, click here. The turn-out at our last Shop ‘N’ Share was pitiful, so please, folks, participate in this one. You have to eat anyway!! |
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| STEERING COMMITTEE |
| The GTRG steering committee meets monthly on the third Thursday of the month at 11:30 a.m. at the Ragamuffin coffeeshop in St. Charles. The next meeting will be February 15. You are welcome to attend. We will email you if the date changes. |
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| Thanks to those of your who participated in our fund-raisers in December, but the turnout was low. The funds raised enabled us to climb partially out of debt, but not entirely. The GTRG still owes money to steering committee members who funded this group from their own pockets. Our on-going expenses are minimal – post office box rental and website domain – but do require fund-raising. |
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| 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 committees members listed below. |
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| The GTRG receives NO FUNDS from the school district, so we are on our own to raise money for our programs. The good news is we now have an EIN number, which enables us to do fund-raisers like those we held in December. The bad news is we cannot apply for grants or matching corporate funds until we complete our 501(3)(c) paperwork. So, we are still searching for a volunteer from our ranks to do this. If you are willing to do this for the group, please contact one of the steering committee members. |
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| Please, parents, 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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| Please see our website (under Advocacy section) for updates on legislation that affects gifted kids. In the meantime, this letter was passed on to us from our faculty laison: |
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| There is good news that I'm eager to share. The work of the Illinois Gifted Advisory Council has paid off. We now have gifted rules and regs to go with the gifted language legislation. They were approved by the State Board. At some time in the future, the approved rules will be posted on ISBE’s website http://www.isbe.net. I’m sure the holidays have held this up slightly. |
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| Now, our work is to get funding! |
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| MISCELLANEOUS INFO FOR PARENTS |
| The Davidson Institute for Talent Development is offering high-achieving young people across the country the opportunity to be named as 2007 Davidson Fellows, an honor accompanied by a $50,000, $25,000 or $10,000 scholarship in recognition of a significant piece of work in Science, Technology, Mathematics, Music, Literature, Philosophy or Outside the Box. To be eligible, applicants must be under the age of 18 as of Oct. 1, 2007, and a U.S. citizen or permanent U.S. resident residing in the United States. There is no minimum age for eligibility. The deadline to apply is March 30, 2007. Applicants must submit an original piece of work recognized by experts in the field as significant and it must have the potential to make a positive contribution to society. The scholarship must be used at an accredited institute of learning. For more information on the Davidson Fellows, or to download an application, please visit www.DavidsonFellows.org. If you have any questions, please contact Tacie Moessner, tmoessner@ditd.org or 775-852-3483 ext. 423. |
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| News from The Packer Foundation’s Scholars Program |
| Term I will be held on Sundays, Feb. 11-25, 1-3 PM. Term II Sundays, March 4-18, 1-3 PM. No cancellations. No minimum enrollment. All classes guaranteed to meet. Courses include (check out the full course description on our website: www.packerfoundation.org): |
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| Pre-Scholars: Ages 4/5 |
- Primarily Science (Term I)
- Beautiful Vibrations and Sounds of Music - Sunday, March 11th only
- China: Land of the Dragons - Sunday, March 4th only
- Think Like a Scientist (Term II)
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| Early Elem.: Grade K – 2nd |
- Primarily Science (Term I)
- Computers and Books DO Go Together (Term I)
- Kids Cuisine -Saturday, February 17th from 10:00 a.m. – Noon only
- Math Masters -Saturday, February 17th from 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
- Beautiful Vibrations and Sounds of Music -Sunday, March 11th only
- China: Land of the Dragons - Sunday, March 4th only
- Think Like a Scientist (Term II)
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| Late Elem.: Grade 3rd – 5th |
- Brain Games (Term I)
- Chess I: Beginning Chess (Term I)
- Fermi Lab and How it Works & Tour -February 11th and Sat., Feb 17th only
- Fun with French (Term I)
- Journalism for Kids (Term I)
- Math Magic (Term I)
- Chess II: Intermediate Chess (Term II)
- Fun with French (Term II)
- Make Your Own Kind of Music (Term II)
- Microsoft Publisher (Term II)
- Physics and Chemistry (Term II)
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| Middle School: Grade 6th – 8th |
- Chess I: Beginning Chess (Term I)
- Fermi Lab and How it Works & Tour - February 11th and Sat., Feb 17th only
- Journalism for Kids (Term I)
- Chess II: Intermediate Chess (Term II)
- Physics and Chemistry (Term II)
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| Just for Adults – offers parents and educators workshops on topics such as: |
- Parent Forum – Sunday, February 25th from 1:30 – 3 p.m.
- Gifted Testing – Saturday, February 17th, 2007
- Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (K – Adult) from 8 – 8:45 a.m.
- ACT EXPLORE Test (3rd – 8th grade with prerequisite) from 9 a.m. – Noon
- Outdoor Scholars Overnight Camp – June 18th – 22nd, 2007
- Camp located at the Aurora University Lake Geneva Campus for current 4th – 7th grade students. Parent information meeting scheduled in April – call for details.
- Registration deadline February 1, 2007
- *REGISTER EARLY and encourage your friends to do the same.
- We will be returning to Fearn Elementary this winter. Printable registration form located on our website: www.packerfoundation.org. You may mail or fax (630-844-8385) in the registration to hold your spot.
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| Einstein Academy |
| A Public Open House for The Einstein Academy, a school for academically talented students, Pre-Kdg through High School, will be held on Sunday, February 11 from 2-4 pm. Founded 5 years ago, the school is located at 747 Davis Road, Elgin, near I 90 and Rt. 31. Come meet the teachers, students, and tour a new state of the art facility. Class size is limited to 12. Before and after school care is available. After- school and summer activities are regularly scheduled. High school students attend Elgin Community College part-time and receive college credit. For further information contact founder and principal Cathy Ilani at 847-697-3836. |
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| Scholarship for Academically Talented 7th Graders |
| If you know a really bright 7th grader who’d set the world on fire if she/he only had the opportunity, read on! |
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| The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is offering students the opportunity to apply for their Young Scholars Program. As the manager of community outreach for the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University, I want to make sure as many groups, organizations, individuals, and parents as possible become aware of this opportunity. The Foundation provides exceptional students with individualized educational guidance and educational services, which could include tutors, summer programs, on-line classes, computers, and tuition throughout high school. The Young Scholars Program is highly competitive and attracts outstanding applicants from across the United States. The specific criteria for consideration are: |
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- Current 7th grade students
- Strong academic record, awards/honors, teacher recommendation
- Financial need
- Motivation, Leadership
- An appreciation for the arts, music, literature, or similar fields
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| Application materials will become available on the Foundation's website at www.jackkentcookefoundation.org along with more information about the Foundation itself in early February. Candidates must submit their completed application, with all materials specified in the program guidelines, by the receipt deadline of May 1, 2007. If you or someone from your organization needs more information or have questions about the Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholars Program, please don't hesitate to contact me at 1-847-491-7127. We would like as many qualified individuals to take part in this rare opportunity as possible. |
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Sincerely,
Tammie Stewart
Manager of Community Outreach
Center for Talent Development
Northwestern University |
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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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