Field Trip

On April 30th the grade 3s, 4s and 5s, along with four wonderful chaperones toured Global Okanagan and CBC Radio in Kelowna.  Our hosts were wonderful, we learned a lot, and the students were keen and asked great questions!  Please check out the slides below to see what we got up to.
Link to slides.  To see full screen click on the full screen icon (next to the gear) in the embedded slides below, or click on this link.

5 Card Photo Story

Here are a few things that students got up to last week in the Gifted Program:

5 Card Photo Story

The Wednesday afternoon class exercised their creative storytelling chops by playing 5 Card Photo Story.  Students were shown 5 photos and given 5 minutes to come up with an interesting story involving all of the photos.  The stories were presented orally to the class.  Students worked individually or in groups of two or three.  Here are the photos they had to work with (link):



We ended up with some very outlandish, and very funny, stories!  Some stories were even acted out.  After each story the audience was asked for their appreciations -- letting the storytellers know what they did well.  The students did a great job, both as storytellers and audience members. 

Radio Production

All the classes continued to work on their radio segments.  We now have the following segments:

• Animal Fun Facts episodes 1, 2 and 3
• Cinderella Fractured Fairy Tale
• Humpty Dumpty Fractured Nursery Rhyme
• Fake Ads
• Noah's Mechanical
• Smart Jacket
• Jam Ad
• Cheat Chip
• Polly's Perfect Popcorn
• Auction Ad

• Marlowe's World of Ice
• Iain's House of Jokes
• Pancakes vs Waffles Debate
• Name that Sound 
• Roberto Baggio story
• Rose Angevin story

These segments, as well as others that are just wrapping up production, will be stitched together into a number of half hour episodes that will air on CFUZ - Peach City Community Radio.  Students and their families will all be informed prior to the episodes airing.  The episodes will also be archived and a link to the archive will be sent out once the episodes air.

Coming Up...

This week the Tuesday afternoon class will be heading over to the CFUZ - Peach City Community Radio Station in Penticton.  Students will get a chance to sit down in a bona-fide radio studio and see how the magic happens.

Next week on Tuesday April 30th all of the grade 3, 4 and 5s will be going on a field trip to Kelowna to tour the Global Okanagan television studios as well as the CBC Radio station!  Regular gifted program classes on Tuesday April 30th and Wednesday May 1st are cancelled.

Gifted Program classes wrap up in mid-May; the Tuesday afternoon group has their last class on May 14th and the Wednesday groups have their last class on May 15th.  Shortly after that progress reports will be sent out and parent meetings will take place.  The goal of the meetings is to review how the year went for your child and to plan for next year.

Two Truths and a Lie

Last week was our fist week back after Spring Break.  Since it had been three weeks since we were together it seemed like a good time to play...

Two Truths and a Lie!

I'm always amazed at how popular this game is with students.  The students were told to tell the class two true statements about their break and one false statement.  The group had to vote on which statement they thought was the lie.  Before choosing their statements we talked about different strategies to make it difficult to determine which statement was the lie.  I have good news and I have bad news; some of the students were very good at tricking us...

Interview Skills

The Tuesday afternoon group watched part of a short video (link) with tips on interviewing people.  We then got some practice interviewing each other.  Students were paired up and asked to find out 3 interesting things about their partner, but they couldn't outright say "Tell me three interesting things about yourself".  Some great questions were: What do you want other people to notice about you?  Where do you dream of travelling?  What is an unusual thing that you can do that most of your friends cannot?  

Work continues on our radio segments for the Creation Station.  We have not aired any of the segments yet, that will be happening later this month (hopefully).  All students and families will be informed prior to shows airing so that you, and all our other fans, can listen live or access the link to listen on demand.  Stay tuned!

Field Trip

Every year the grade 3s, 4s and 5s in the program are invited to attend a field trip related to our theme.  Classes will get info on this year's trip during their class this week and field trip forms will be sent home with them.  Just like our theme, I like to keep the details of the field trip top secret until the last minute.  Thus, no info will be leaked at this time!  

Field Trip 2018

This past week it was time for the annual Gifted Program field trip for students in grades 3, 4 and 5.  We hopped on the yellow school bus with our friendly bus driver Larry and made our way to Kelowna Airport for a tour of Southern Interior Flight Centre.



Link to photos from our trip (link).

We were welcomed by  Marc Vanderaegen, the flight school director.  Neal, one of the pilots at the flight centre was our host and tour guide, along with George Cann, operations manager at Okanagan Mountain Helicopter.  George had brought a training helicopter over to the flight centre so that the students could get an up close and personal look at the machine.  George explained the basics of how a helicopter works and then the students got to take turns sitting in the chopper and checking out the instrument panel and main controls.

After checking out the helicopter Neal showed the students one of the flight centre's single engine fixed wing aircraft.  The students got to sit in the cockpit and get a sense of what it is like to pilot a small airplane.

Neal and George shared their expertise with the group and answered our questions.  They each worked very hard to convince the students that (a) flying is a great profession and (b) that helicopters were better than airplanes (George) or (c) that fixed with aircraft were better (Neal)! 

The students were excellent guests; they were polite, well behaved and asked great questions!

Thank you to our chaperones; Rebecca Aubie, Heather Glynes, Kristin Maier, Terry McCartan (his 5th trip!), Julie Read, and Adam Schroeder.  It was great having them along! 




 

Field Trip!

It was an action packed day on Monday for the grade 3, 4 and 5s!  Here are just a few of the things that we saw on our field trip!

The Jim Pattison Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable Energy Conservation at Okanagan College

This was our first stop.  The students were divided into two groups and then toured through the centre by our two wonderful guides, Marcy Trotter and Jackie.  Students learned about many sustainable features of the building such as:

• the fact that as many materials as possible were sourced locally
• the use of beetle kill pine for base boards
• much of the flooring was made from recycled rubber
• all of the furniture was refurbished--the stools in the student study areas were originally from a casino!
• geothermal heating
• the use of Sola Light Tubes to light certain areas
• the experimental natural lighting system
• Fluorescent lighting that automatically adjusts brightness based on the natural light in the room
• using untreated geothermal water for the toilets
• motion sensitive lighting that only turns on when people are in an area
• solar panels produce most of the building's electricity with excess feeding back into the grid

Students also got to tour the college's tiny home that was built by their students.  

Check out the images from this part of our trip below (link).

Structurlam South Plant, Okanagan Falls

The students had been learning about Tall Wood buildings, and they knew that Structurlam produces Cross Laminate Timber and Glulam and that they were involved in building the tallest contemporary wood building in the world; Brock Commons.  Brock Commons is an 18 story Tall Wood building on UBC's Vancouver campus.  This was our opportunity to see how the mass timbers are produced.  Stephen Tolnai, VP of Sales and Marketing, gave us a presentation and toured us around the plant.  Joshua Jenkinson, Safety Coordinator, and his capable crew kept us safe on the busy plant floor.  It was a thrilling experience!  As an added bonus, we found out that Structurlam provided the mass timbres for both of the other stops on our field trip--the Centre of Excellence as well as Outma Sqilx'W Cultural School.

Check out the images from our Structurlam tour below (link).

Outma Sqilx'W Cultural School and Snxastwilxtn Centre, Penticton Indian Band

Our last stop was the Outma Sqilx'W Cultural School and the adjacent Snxastwilxtn Healing Centre.  Penticton Indian Band Councilor Joseph Pierre and SD 67 Aboriginal Education Cultural Coordinator Anona Kampe gave us a tour of Outma Sqilx'W.  Joseph was on the planning committee for the school and shared his wealth of knowledge on the design and construction of the school.  Like the Centre of Excellence the school uses sustainable building practices including;

• sourcing materials locally
• using geothermal heat
• taking advantage of natural light where possible
• using beetle kill wood

The heart of the school, the cultural room is modeled on a traditional pit house.  The design is beautiful with a skylight at the top of the roof, similar to the roof opening in a pit house.  Outma Sqilx'W students learn the Okanagan language, Nsyilxen, and culture.  

From the school we walked over to Snxastwilxtn Centre.  The centre was named by Anona Kampe and it means a place for healing.  Anona and Tammy Kruger toured us through the centre, which provides medical, dental and other health services.  The facility is situated with one of the most beautiful views over Penticton.  Located on the grounds of the centre is a memorial to all the children who attended residential schools created by Penticton artist Clint George. 

Check out the images from this part of our trip below (link).

A big thank you to our hosts at each of the sites.  Thank you also to our wonderful chaperones; Terry McCartan, Jane Advent, Tannis Hiebert, Jacq Kemp, Laura Wong, Kristen Maier, Harjit Sidhu, and Julie Read.  It was a pleasure having you join us and I couldn't have done the trip without you.  Thank you also to our bus driver, Sheldine.

The upcoming week will be the last week of Gifted Program classes for all students in the program.

Challenges, Trips, & Projects Wrapping Up

Here are  a few of the things that we did... This Week In Gifted!

Field Trip Prep

On Monday, May 8th, the grade 3s, 4s and 5s will be coming together for our year end field trip.  Detailed information about the trip can be found in last week's post.  Thank you to everyone for returning the signed permission forms on time.  Also a big thank you to the parents and grandparents who have volunteered to chaperone on the trip!  As mentioned in the field trip information sent home, we will be meeting at Wiltse Elementary School bus zone (adjacent to the playground) at 8:45am and that is where pick up at will be at 2:30pm.  It promises to be an exciting day!

Final Schedule

Gifted Program Classes are winding down.  Here is the schedule for the rest of May:
- May 8th -- Field Trip
- May 9 - 11th -- classes cancelled (due to trip earlier in the week)
- May 16 - 18th -- Last Gifted Program Classes of the year
- End of May / beginning of June -- Year end Parent Meetings

Watercraft Challenge

It was a small class on Wednesday morning as many of the grade 5s were at the KVR orientation.  Did we mope--no we did not!  We did a design challenge.  The goal--build a watercraft that is capable of carrying 8 big metal washers without sinking using only duct tape, two 9oz paper cups, 10 straws and 20cm of plastic wrap.  A couple of students in the afternoon class, who had finished their projects, also took up the challenge.

Take a look below at the different crafts they created.  Four watercraft, four very different designs!  Maximum washers carried without sinking?  Katie aka "the Duct Tape Queen" built a craft that carried 36 washers without sinking, and almost carried 44!  Gerry's craft was able to transport 42 without sinking--amazing!  All of the students who took on the challenge did a great job designing and refining their watercraft.  Check out their work below (link).

Projects Wrapping Up

The Tuesday afternoon class all completed and presented their projects this week.  Oscar created an animated interview with Frank Lloyd Wright, programmed in Scratch.  Rhett made a 3D model and drawings of a small home on wheels.  Ezra shared his design for a castle as well some inspiring castles from around the world in a slideshow presentation.  Iain created an animation in Scratch sharing information he learned while researching the CN Tower.  More projects will be shared in the other classes on our last day.    

Visitor & Field Trip Info

Here are a few things that we did... This Week In Gifted!

Visitor

The Wednesday morning class was treated to a visit by Gifted Program parent Paul Adolph.  Paul has a background in drafting and home design and his company, Deckworks Contracting, designs and builds decks.  Paul showed the students blueprints and technical drawings for homes that he has designed.  Students were able to compare hand drafted drawings with those made using AutoCAD.  They were impressed by the level of detail required when designing a home!  After his presentation, students showed Paul the projects they were working on.  A big thank you to Paul for sharing his expertise with the students! 

Field Trip Info

Every year Gifted Program students in grades 3 - 5 do a year end trip that links to the year's theme.  This year the theme is ArKIDtechture and for our trip we are visiting 3 sites:

The Jim Pattison Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable Energy Conservation at Okanagan College in Penticton.  We have been learning about sustainable building techniques and at the Centre we'll see them in action!  The building uses many sustainable building technologies including solar panels, geothermal heating and sola tube lighting (yes sola, not solar).  We will get a tour of the Centre and hopefully also see one of the tiny homes that the students at Okanagan College built.



Our next stop is the Structurlam Manufacturing Facility in Okanagan Falls.  The above video (link) shows some of the mass timber products Structurlam makes.  In class we have been learning about Tall Wood Buildings.  The tallest contemporary tall wood building in the world is Brock Commons at UBC in Vancouver.  It is 18 stories tall and Structurlam made the wood floor panels and posts.  This video (link) shows a time lapse of Brock Commons being built.  Structurlam has also built the wood components in the 6 story addition to the Penticton Lakeside Resort.

After a picnic lunch at Kenyon Park in Okanagan Falls, we will head to the architecturally stunning Outma Squilx'W Cultural School (pictured above).  We will learn about how the design of the building reflects the culture of the Okanagan People as well as the landscape and the building's function.

The field trip will take place on Monday May 8th.  An information package was sent home with all grade 3 - 5 students.  Permission slips need to be signed and returned by Thursday May 4th.  Parent chaperones will be needed; if you are able to chaperone, please let Ms. Thompson know.  It promises to be an interesting and fun trip!

Projects

Students continued working on their projects, with a few more students finishing theirs.  We look forward to presentations of finished work in the next two weeks!

Classes Winding Down

It is hard to believe, but there are only a few weeks of classes left!  Here is the schedule for the rest of the year:

Week of May 1st: regular classes

Week of May 8th: Field trip on May 8th for grades 3 - 5.  No regular classes this week.

Week of May 15th: Last week of classes

Week of May 30th: Parent Meetings to review the year and plan for next year

Thank you for stopping by to see what we've been up to.

Okanagan Science Centre Field Trip

Last week 27 grade 3 - 5 students along with 7 fabulous chaperones visited Okanagan Science Centre in Vernon.  We learned about DNA and how to extract it from strawberries!  We also got to explore the interactive galleries at the Science Centre.  When we were done at the Science Centre we walked over to beautiful Polson Park and enjoyed lunch on the grass and then the students played on the playground.  You can view photos of our trip here.  A big thank you to Tammy Drobe, Sarah Larsen, Jacq Carson, Jane Advent, Terry McCartan, Yanti Rowland, and Jill Wrigglesworth for chaperoning.  I am very proud of the students--their behavior on the trip was excellent!

Here are just a few of the photos from our day at the Centre.  Please check out this link for more pics.

This week we have our second to last class.  Next week (May 16th - 20th) is the last week of classes. Parents of grade 1 - 3 students are invited to our open house next week.  Drop in between 12:30 and 2:30pm on Tuesday May 17th for Summerland/Trout Creek students and Thursday May 19th for Penticton students.

Thanks for checking in to see what we've been up to!

Sabotage on the Space Ship Forensic!

Here are a few things that we've done this week (and last) in gifted class.

Sabotage on the Space Ship Forensic!

We are pretending that we are the crew of the Space Ship Forensic.  The crew is on a multi-year mission to explore the far reaches of space.  Apparently one of the crew members misses Earth and has sabotaged our ship! A note was left for the captain--the author of the note has stolen a computer chip that is important in keeping the life support system going.  If the captain does not return the ship to Earth, the chip will not be returned and everyone will perish!   Each of the classes is using their forensic skills to sift through clues in this puzzling case.  Here are some of the things the crew is investigating:

• identifying the handwriting on the note
• using ink chromatography to match the ink to one of the different brands of pens available on the ship
• matching a fingerprint found on the envelope with the fingerprints of the crew
• matching the torn top of the note to the paper pad the note may have come from
• matching hair, fibre and footprint samples found at the scene.  

Stay tuned as we puzzle our way through this case!

Project Presentations Continued

Last week and this week we had the following presentations: 

• Niamh presented her BitStrips comic 'Mystery'
• Ty presented his Scratch Mystery Game
• Katie and Logan had the class play their 'WWII Spies' Jeopardy game on the interactive whiteboard
• Graham presented his BitStrips comic 'The Stock Mystery'
• Mykenna presented 'Identifying Birds' which she created in Comic Life
• Anya presented her slideshow on Koalas
• Sophie presented her slideshow on Penguins
• Gerry presented his slideshow on Identifying House Cats
• Rowyn presented her slideshow on Tiny Spiders
• Iain demonstrated his Forensic Board Game to the class
• Dija had her story 'The Blanket Mystery' read to class

A scene from Niamh's comic 'Mystery'

A scene from Graham's comic 'The Stock Mystery'

Field Trip and Other Important Dates

This Tuesday, May 3rd, the grade 3, 4 and 5 students will be hopping on a bus and going to Okanagan Science Centre in Vernon!  We're looking forward to having a great day.  Thank you to the parents (and a grandparent!) who have volunteered to be chaperones for the trip.  

Students are reminded to bring:

• jacket
• recess snack and juice / water
• bag lunch
• suitable shoes for walking (e.g. no flip flops)
• good behavior :-)

Things to leave at home:

• money
• electronic devices of all kinds

Penticton students are asked to be at Wiltse at 7:45am in the bus zone (next to the playground).  We will be departing at 8am.  Trout Creek students are asked to be at Trout Creek Elementary at 8:10am. I anticipate the bus arriving just before 8:20am and departing soon after.

Gifted classes are cancelled for the week of May 2nd - 6th due to the field trip on May 3rd.

Gifted Classes Wrap Up The Week Of May 16th. 

This is our last week of classes for this school year.  

Open House May 17th and 19th for students in grades 1 - 3.  

Parents of students in grades 1 - 3 are invited to drop in and see what we've been up to this year.  Parents are welcome anytime between 12:30 and 2:30pm.      

Scratch That!

Project Updates

Projects are rapidly wrapping up!  We had the following presentations this week:

• Oscar shared his Lego Stop Motion Mystery Movie CS Investigation and his BitStrip comic Bank Robbery
• Ben shared his BitStrip mystery comic Meow
• Jessica presented her interactive Smart Board mystery Who Ate the Bagel?!
• Kieran presented the mystery video game he created in Happy Wheels.
• Jimmy presented his BitStrip comic Mystery #1
• Ryan A presented his PowerPoint slide show on Mythical Creatures
• Ryan M presented his 3 part BitStrip comic Who Did It?

Many more students are ready (or almost ready!) to present.  

Through the projects all of the students have learned new information and/or new skills.  Prior to starting their projects, students were introduced to BitStrips and how to use it to create interesting characters and stories.  Some chose to use this tool for their projects, but in many cases students chose a different format.  Kudos to those students who took on a tool that was new to them, especially the grade 2s and 3s who chose to use PowerPoint even though some of them had never used it before and so were learning on the fly!  Katie D, Logan and Jessica took on Smart Notebook (software for the interactive whiteboard), with little or no exposure to it before.  Many others chose formats with which they were familiar but took it to a new level--using Comic Life and learning how to use image editing software or programming in Scratch and learning how to use more complicated commands or learning how to add audio to a PowerPoint slideshow.  Throughout this process, students are sharing their new skills with their peers.  We are a community of learners where skills that one person learns are celebrated and shared with others--it's pretty neat!   

Scratch That!

So what are the students who have completed their projects doing?  Well, some of the Penticton grade 3s are taking on computer programming using Scratch 2.  Scratch is a visual based programing application that introduces kids to programming concepts.  Students can create animations, video games, interactive stories, and much more.  There is a low bar for entry (ie users can quickly program something fun that works), but Scratch also allows for more complicated programming.  A number of the Penticton grade 5s had a short introduction to Scratch a few years ago in the Gifted Program, and many of them have used Scratch this year for their main project.  

Screenshot of Scratch showing the main screen on the left with the programing scripts on the right.

Field Trip Planning

Thank you to all the grade 3, 4 and 5 families who sent in the field trip forms and $.  A big thank you also to all those parents who have volunteered to chaperone on the trip--much appreciated!

Thanks for checking in to find out about what we've been up to... This Week In Gifted!

 

More Project Presentations

This Minecraft tour of DNA was projected onto the big screen.

Projects, Projects, Projects!

Project presentations continued this week.  Marcus presented his Minecraft tour of DNA, Grace and Ellen each shared their Who Dunnit comics (Grace's created in Comic Life, and Ellen's in BitStrips), Kailey gave her PowerPoint presentation on Identifying Bears, and Jayda gave hers on Identifying Big Cats.  Through these presentations students are learning about a wide variety of topics, appreciating what makes a good presentation, and finding out about some of the mad skills of their peers!

Field Trip 2016!

Every year the Gifted Program students in grades 3 - 5 go on a field trip that ties in with our theme.  This year our theme has been Operation Identification and for our field trip we are going to Okanagan Science Centre in Vernon!  How does this relate to our theme?  When we are at the Science Centre students will get to do a hands on forensic activity.  After this, students will have the opportunity to explore the galleries.  There are lots of interesting and educational interactive displays on topics ranging from electricity and magnetism, to space travel and more.

Grade 3 - 5 students brought home Field Trip forms with more information about the trip as well as the permission slip and request for chaperones.  Please send the completed form and $ with your child next week.  Parents and guardians who are interested in being chaperones are encouraged to fill in the appropriate section on the permission form.  If you have any questions about the trip, please contact Claire Thompson.

Thanks for checking in and seeing what we did... This Week In Gifted!  

Field Trip, Open House, and the Last Class

The last few weeks have been busy ones!  Here are a few of the things we've been up to.

Field Trip

On May 5th the grade 3, 4 and 5s attended our annual field trip.  This year the trip was to Scandia Golf and Games in Kelowna.  How did this fit with our theme "X Marks the Spot!  The Search for Treasure."?  Well, for their projects this year many of the students noticed that a large percentage of games focus on finding a treasure.

At Scandia, students played games, had a pizza lunch and played mini-golf.  It was an enjoyable day! Thank you to all of the parent chaperones who volunteered their time; it was much appreciated!  Below are some photos from the trip (link).

Open House

The week after the field trip it was Open House week for the grade 1 - 3 classes.  Parents were invited to drop in and see what we've been up to.  Students showed parents their treasure slide shows and we did some geocaching.  Then it was back inside for students to share their treasure maps, as well as the directions and stories behind the maps.  A big thank you to all of the parents who were able to visit us!

Summerland grade 5s

Last Class

Last week was our last week of classes.   The grade 4s and 5s got to do some geocaching (finding the caches their peers hid a few weeks before) and we had a little party.  For the grade 5 students it was their last gifted class ever as the program only goes to grade 5.  We had a special activity to mark the occasion.  As you can see from the photos, things got a little mustache-y.

Penticton grade 5s

Thank You!

Thank you for taking the time to read this.  It has been a wonderful year!

  

Geocache Designs

Here are a few of the things that we did... This Week In Gifted!

GPS Scavenger Hunt

This week it was the Penticton grade 1 - 3 group and the Penticton 4s that got to do the GPS scavenger hunt.  'Landmarks' around the school were marked with waypoints on our GPS devices.  Students had to determine what each of the six landmarks were, given a few helpful hints.  The students did an excellent job!

Creating Geocaches

The Summerland AIM and ASPIRE groups as well as the Penticton 5s started planning their geocaches and scoping out locations.  Small teams of students will be creating geocaches which they will hide on the school ground for the other teams to find.  We need toys to leave in the geocaches.  Students have been asked to donate any small toys (e.g. the sort you might get in a loot bag) they might have at home to their geocaches.  Please do not purchase new toys--the idea is to empty out our closets a bit!

More Project Presentations

This week in the Penticton grade 4 class Ty presented his informative powerpoint presentation on Precious Stones and Jessica presented hers on Animals and Treasure.  In the Penticton grade 5 class, students got to try out two different games using the SmartBoard; Harjas and Oscar's Treasure Jeopardy Game and Fynn's (aka Willis) Treasure Video Game Jeopardy Game.  Their peers loved playing the games, which were well constructed and full of engaging questions.

SmartBoard Jeopardy Game

Reminders

Grade 3 - 5 Field Trip:

• If grade 3 - 5 students have not turned in their field trip permission forms and money please do so as soon as possible.
• Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to join us on the trip as chaperones; much appreciated!

Week of May 4th - 7th

• Field trip for grade 3 - 5 students on May 5th
• Regular classes are cancelled (there will be no Monday or Thursday afternoon classes, nor will there be any Wednesday classes).

Last Week of Classes May 11th - 14th

• Open House in the Monday and Thursday afternoon grade 1 - 3 classes.  Both a paper and digital invitation have been sent home.
• This week is the last week of Gifted Program classes for this school year.

Thanks for checking in and seeing what we've been up to this week!
    

More GPS Adventures!

More GPS Adventures!

Students were introduced to or received more experience using the GPS units this week.  The Penticton students hid tokens around the school playground and set waypoints on the GPS units at their locations.  The GPS units were then swapped around and students had fun finding the tokens that others had hidden.  The Summerland AIM and ASPIRE students did a scavenger hunt.  Students received the GPS units with waypoints already set on them.  The goal was to try and identify the 'landmarks' that the waypoints were marking.  The GPS units aren't terribly accurate, so hints were given to help narrow things down.

Penticton grade 4s using the GPS units to search for hidden tokens.

Projects

The Summerland ASPIRE class continued their work on their Treasure projects.  Finishing touches were put on the 3D models and some students were able to finish their encrypted treasure clues or  stories.  We're in the final stretch!

Field Trip

Permission forms were given to the grade 3, 4 & 5 students for the upcoming field trip to Scandia Golf and Games on May 5th.  Please return the forms and money as soon as possible.  

Thank you for checking in and finding out about a few of the things that we did... This Week In Gifted!

GPS Scavenger Hunts

Here are a few of the things that we did... This Week In Gifted!

GPS Scavenger Hunts

The GPS unit the students used.

The Summerland AIM and ASPIRE classes as well as the Penticton 5s learned how to use the new GPS hand held units.  In pairs or small groups students hid tokens around the playground and marked their locations on the GPS units.  Each group then swapped their GPS unit with another group and searched for the other group's hidden tokens.  We learned that the devices are sometimes off by about 3 or 4 meters, so you have to still be very observant to find the tokens.  We'll be doing more with the GPS units in the weeks to come!

Project Presentations

There were some more great presentations this week.  Maia presented her comic strip on Blackbeard and Ricki presented her and Gebrielle's magazine about ancient Egypt.  The presentations were top notch as were the questions and appreciations from their peers!  The Penticton grade 4s and 5s continued to work on projects with many students creating animations or games using the visual computer programming language Scratch.

Field Trip!

Every year the older students in the Gifted Program are invited to go on a field trip related to our theme.  This year's theme is 'X Marks the Spot!  The Search for Treasure.'  One of the things that we have explored this year is that many of the games we play involve the search for treasure of some sort.  Some examples are digital games such as MineCraft or Geometry Dash and board games such as Labyrinth or Settlers of Catan.

For our field trip we will be going to Scandia Golf and Games in Kelowna.  Students will get to be treasure hunters; winning tickets when they play games, that they can then retrieve for prizes!  This trip is for grade 3, 4 and 5 students in the Gifted Program.  Detailed information about the trip was e-mailed to families on Friday and paper copies will go home next week.

Field Trip, Marshmallow Challenge, and the Black Chamber!

Field Trip

This week the Penticton grade 3-5 classes and the Summerland ASPIRE class visited CBC Radio and Global Okanagan Television in  Kelowna.

At Global Okanagan our dynamic guide, Barbara Vanstone, showed us the ins and outs of creating news programs and television advertisements.  Some groups were able to talk to the news director who explained how he chose what was going on the news each evening.  We got to see what he had planned for that evening's news.  A couple of groups got to speak with Doris Maria Bregolisse.  Doris is an anchor and reporter at Global Okanagan and she spoke to the students about her job.  One thing we learned is that although the news set and anchors are in Kelowna, technicians in Vancouver or Toronto actually do the filming and produce the show.  They operate the cameras remotely and communicate with the anchors through headsets.  We got to go on the very green news set (see photos below).  The walls are painted green so that they can chroma key (green screen) in a computer generated background.

At CBC Radio, Daybreak South host Chris Walker was our guide.  He and Daybreak South producer Marion Barschel spoke to the students about how the show is put together.  Chris took the students into the studio where they got a chance to read a one minute news bulletin and the opportunity to operate the sound board.  We learned that it is not easy to read the news clearly, fluently, and in under a minute!  The news bulletins did not go on air, but I hope to get the recordings to share with students and their families.  A few lucky students from the last group on Thursday's trip were chosen to read the Mind Breakers quiz questions for next week's show.  The questions should be aired each day next week at approximately 6:55am.

Thank you to the parent chaperones who joined us; Tammy Drobe, Sharon Herman, Sarah Larsen, Julie MacIntyre, Dave Singleton, Sherralee Sailes, Michelle Kincaid, Heather Allen, Keith MacIntyre, Joy Wang, Jo-Ann Apolzer, and April Smith.  Your help was greatly appreciated!

Below are some photos from the trip or check them out here.

Marshmallow Challenge

This week the AIM students took on the Marshmallow Challenge!  Their task was to build the tallest structure they could out of 20 sticks of spaghetti, 1 metre of tape and 1 metre of string.  They did not have to use all of the materials, but their structure needed to be freestanding and be able to support a large marshmallow on top.  They were given the materials and 18 minutes to complete the task.  What we learned, among other things is that a marshmallow is heavier than it looks!

Welcome to the Black Chamber

The Penticton grade 1/2 class operated their own black chamber this week.  What is a black chamber?  Black chambers are secret rooms operated by nations where they attempt to decode messages sent by their rivals.  The students first set about deciphering some messages that were enciphered using the Pigpen Cipher.  We then looked at, and listened to Morse Code.  Students enciphered their names using Morse Code, the Pigpen Cipher and the Caesar Shift Cipher.   Perhaps Room 32 is becoming the current day Bletchley Park?! 

Upcoming Events

May 5th: AIM Open House.  AIM parents/guardians are invited to join us for all or part of the class.  The class runs from 12:30 - 2:30pm.
May 7th: Penticton Grade 1/2 Open House.  Parents/guardians are invited to join us for all or part of the class.  The class runs from 12:30 - 2:30pm.
May 12th - 15th: Last Week of Classes
Parent Meetings: Dates and times to be announced.

Thanks for checking in to find out what we've been up to... This Week In Gifted!

The ROT 13 Cipher and Research for the Field Trip

Guvf jrrx fghqragf yrnearq nobhg gur EBG 13 pvcure.  Qvq lbh xabj gung gur EBG 13 pvcure vf n glcr bs Pnrfne Fuvsg pvcure gung vf cbchyne va bayvar sbehzf gb uvqr chapuyvarf be fcbvyref?

The paragraph above may look like gobbledegook, but chances are that students who attended gifted class this week recognize it as the ROT 13 Cipher. Below is a diagram showing how to encipher and decipher messages using this cipher.

Image from Wikipedia (link)

Crypto Kids

Continuing with our Top Secret Communication theme, the Penticton grade 1/2 class tried their hands at the ROT 13 cipher (above) and they also learned how to use some of the cipher tools on the cryptokids.org website. A few of the students were keen enough to make it all the way through the cipher challenge called 'Desert Oasis'. Pretty impressive, especially considering this site is designed for middle schoolers!

Field Trip Research

Students in the ASPIRE and Penticton grade 3 - 5 classes did some research into the places that we will be visiting on our field trip next week; CBC Radio and Global Okanagan Television in Kelowna. We know a bit more about what programs are produced in both studios and who some of the on air personalities are. Students also generated some good questions that they could ask when we are on our trip. Stay tuned... next week I share what we learned on the trip itself! (*Note: students received a newsletter with the field trip itinerary. If you have any questions, please contact me.)

5 Card Photo Stories

The ASPIRE and Penticton grade 5 classes took another shot at storytelling with 5 Card Photo Stories. They are given 5 photos and asked to write a short story that incorporates all of the photos. I don't know why I wear socks anymore because they always get knocked off when we do this activity; the stories the students come up with are amazing! There's humour, death, explosions, humour, twists, turns, cliff hangers, and did I mention humour???

Radio Marathon

This week the students really pushed hard to finish off the shows they have been working on. The variety and quality of the shows are amazing. Students took home permission forms this week in order that their shows may be shared on Peach City Radio. The student mini-shows will be compiled into a variety show of sorts called The Creation Station. I will be putting together a number of 30 minute episodes that will be submitted to Peach City Radio to be broadcast on their live stream and then archived on their site.

Thanks for checking in and finding out about some of the things we did... This Week In Gifted!

Trustee Visit, Roving Reporters, and Upcoming Events

Trustee Visit

The AIM and ASPIRE classes played host to school trustee Linda Beavan this week.  The students did a great job of showing Mrs. Beavan some of the things that we have been working on.  The AIM students shared their mini radio shows with her and impressed her with their knowledge of how to work with audio.  The ASPIRE students explained how the Caesar cipher works and then got down to solving a Caesar cipher challenge called Desert Oasis on the Crypto Club website.  Mrs. Beavan appreciated the warm welcome students gave her, and the opportunity to see what we do in the Gifted Program.  We appreciated her taking the time to visit!

Roving Reporters

The Penticton grade 1/2 class continued their Roving Reporter project.  They have been recording interviews with fellow students where they have been asking about people's favourite things (tools, candy, movies, colours...)  In the process they are learning about how to record and edit audio.

Improv Bingo

The Penticton grade 5 classes as well as the AIM class played Improv Bingo this week.  Students did an excellent job in their small groups sharing ideas and they came up with inventive and very funny skits!

Field Trip Update

The following classes will be going on a field trip to Kelowna to visit CBC Radio and Global Okanagan TV:
- ASPIRE class (Tuesday April 29th)
- Penticton grade 5s (Tuesday April 29th)
- Penticton grade 3/4s (Thursday May 1st)
Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to chaperone!

Radio Shows Wrapping Up

Most of the students have completed their mini-radio shows or are almost there.  In the coming weeks I will be talking to students about sharing their shows on Peach City Radio and sending home permission slips in order for their work to be aired.

Upcoming Events

Below is a listing of upcoming events.  These events can also be found on the calendar here.

Wednesday April 23rd
SD 67 2014/15 Budget presentation to the public.  6:30p Penticton High School Library.

Tuesday April 29th
Penticton grade 5s and ASPIRE class field trip to CBC radio and Global Okanagan TV in Kelowna.

Thursday May 1st
Penticton grade 3/4 class field trip to CBC radio and Global Okanagan TV in Kelowna.

Monday May 5th
AIM Open House: Parents/Guardians of AIM students are invited to join us for all or part of the class.  Students will have a chance to show you what we've been up to.  12:30 - 2:30p in Portable #2 at Trout Creek Elementary.

Wednesday May 7th
Penticton grade 1/2 class Open House: Parents/Guardians of students in the Penticton grade 1/2 class are invited to join us for all or part of the class.  Students will have a chance to show you what we've been up to.  12:30 - 2:30p in room 32 at Wiltse Elementary.

Last Week of Gifted Classes May 12th to 15th.

After classes wrap up I hope to meet with every student's parent to discuss how the year went and to plan for next year.

Thanks for checking in and seeing what we've been up to... This Week In Gifted!

Unexpected Visitors

Here are a few things that we did... This Week In Gifted!

Cheap Cheap!

The Penticton grade 1/2 class had some unexpected visitors this week.  At the beginning of class we were lucky enough to be visited by the new baby chicks that Dija's family had just picked up.  Who would have thought that 24 two day old chicks could be so noisy... and so cute!  Their stay was brief, but memorable.  Children were able to hold the little brown fluff balls.  The chicks were so noisy that they attracted the attention of the junior kindergarten class next door who ended up coming over and having a look.  Thank you to Dija's parents for bringing the chicks by.

Field Trip Forms Rolling In

As mentioned last week the Summerland ASPIRE class as well as the Penticton grade 3 - 5 classes will be visiting CBC Radio and Global Okanagan Television (CHBC) in Kelowna.  One group will be going up on April 29th (ASPIRE and Pen gr 5s), the other on May 1st (Pen gr 3s and 4s).  Thank you to everyone who has returned their permission forms and money.  Thank you also to those parents who have volunteered to come on the trip as chaperones.  I still need a few more parent chaperones, so if you are able to help out please contact me.  If your child hasn't returned their forms yet, please do so for the next class.  Thank you!

Radioland

We are nearing the end of our radio project; many students have completed a mini show and some are working on a second (or third!!) episode.  We've learned a lot during this project about how to edit audio, import music, fade music in and out and some classes have learned what the mysterious Auto Duck feature does.  

Pigpen Cipher

The past couple of weeks we've been decoding messages that were enciphered using the Pigpen Cipher, pictured to the left.  Enciphered messages look complicated, but the cipher is actually very easy to use and to remember.  The pigpen cipher is thought to have been used since at least the 18th century.  In popular culture the pigpen cipher shows up in the Dan Brown novel The Lost Symbol, in the 39 Clues series of children's books, as well as some video games.  (Image and information from Wikipedia, accessed April 12th, 2014) 

To the right is a message enciphered using the pigpen cipher.

Can you tell what it says?  It is the name of a game that many of the classes played this week.  Students listened to the sounds below and tried to identify what they were.  We talked about how sounds can evoke other sensations and memories.  For example the sound of a lawnmower may remind you of a warm summer day or the smell of freshly cut grass.  

Below is the answer key, enciphered of course!

Thanks for checking in to see what we did... This Week In Gifted!

Newspaper Tables & Intermediate Field Trip

From the sounds of things the students had a relaxing Spring Break.  They were ready to dive back into our activities though, and here are some of the things that we did... This Week In Gifted!

Field Trip 2014

It is time once again for the intermediate field trip.  The Summerland ASPIRE class as well as the Penticton grade 3 - 5 classes will be visiting CBC Radio and Global Okananagan Television (CHBC) in Kelowna!  The ASPIRE and grade 5 classes will go up together on April 29th while the Penticton grade 3/4 classes will go up together on May 1st.  Students took home information on the trip and permission forms.  I also e-mailed copies of the forms on Friday.  If you have any questions about the trip, please let me know.


Field Trip 2014

Newspaper Table Design Challenge

Last month the ASPIRE class took up the challenge (here), this week it was the Penticton Grade 5 classes chance to give it a whirl!  The challenge is to build a table that can support a heavy textbook.  The table has to be at least 20 cm high and you can only use the following materials:

• 8 sheets of newspaper
• masking tape (unlimited)
• 8.5" by 11" piece of cereal box cardboard  

Prior to receiving the materials, we discussed potential designs, and we looked at how rolling the newspaper into a skinny tube resulted in very strong supports.  Students then sketched out their designs and got to it!  Lots of students incorporated triangles in their structures, some cut their tubes into smaller lengths to make straightforward table legs, others went crazy with the masking tape.  Students who finished up fairly quickly challenged themselves further by seeing if they could fortify their structures so that they could hold up 2 or 3 heavy textbooks.  See below for photos of tables being constructed or click here.

Radio Projects

While the grade 5 classes did the paper table challenge, the other classes continued on with their radio shows.  The AIM students were putting the final touches on their shows as well as coming up with some funny advertisements.  The grade 1/2 class continued to explore using Audacity with a focus on importing in music.  Many students have got their first show "in the can" so to speak.  Soon I hope to be able to put together a couple of half hour episodes featuring the radio students have produced.