Last Class

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

Open House

Moms, dads, grandparents, and younger siblings of our grade 1 - 3 students joined us this week and got a look at what we've been up to!  Students shared their 'Police' files which contained their mug shots, fingerprints, shoe prints, hair samples, writing samples and more.  They fingerprinted family members and showed them how to view hair samples under the microscopes.  They also demonstrated how to do ink chromatography and how to match torn paper samples.  Students showed family their own projects on identification as well as some favorites that their peers had done.  

Thank you to all of the family members that were able to make it to the Open House!

All Mysteries Soved!

The Penticton grade 5 class was the final class to solve their 'Sabotage on the Spaceship Forensic' mystery.  They worked hard and were pretty much unanimous in their indictment of the perpetrator of the crime!  Here are each of the 'accused' from the different classes.  

Summerland AIM/ASPIRE: Niamh

Penticton Grade 5s: Graham

Penticton Grade 4s: Dija

Penticton Grade 2/3s: Charlotte

Many of the accused claim that they were framed, but I'm not buying it!

Examining fiber samples.

Comparing ink chromatography strips.

Matching shoe prints to the print left on the putty at the scene of the crime.

Comparing hair and fiber samples.

Matching finger prints.

More microscope work.

Shared Projects

This week and last, students got the opportunity to check out the identification projects created by students in the other Gifted Program classes.  Copies of almost all of the projects (a few still have to be converted and uploaded) are located here.  Students need to log in using their regular username and password (the one they use to log in to the school district computers).  

When on the site, click the green 'Projects' icon.

Projects are grouped by class.

Special Guest

On Wednesday afternoon Sue Thomson, District Principal for Student Support Services, visited the Penticton grade 4 class.  Students did a great job showing Ms. Thomson their projects and some of the other things on which we've been working.  The Gifted Program is one of many programs and services which Ms. Thomson oversees--we were happy to give her a first hand look at what we do!

End of Year Parent Meetings

Students brought home a schedule for the end of year parent meetings.  I will be e-mailing copies of the schedule early next week in case it didn't make it home.  My goal is to meet with every child's parent to review how the year went and to plan for next year.  If you are unable to meet at the time I've scheduled you, please contact me and we can make alternative arrangements. 

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

 

    

Mustache Madness

A strange thing happened with the grade 5s this week.  They all sprouted mustaches, I'm not sure what's up with that...

Sleuthing

This week the Wednesday classes performed ink chromatography on the ransom note and suspect pens as part of their sleuthing for the Sabotage on the Spaceship Forensic Mystery.  (See more on the mystery in this post.)  The Summerland AIM/ASPIRE class, as well as the Penticton 2-3 and 4 classes compiled all of the evidence and made their conclusions as to the identity of the persons responsible for stealing the computer chip that runs the life support systems on the Spaceship Forensic.  The culprits were quickly apprehended, the chip was restored and disaster was averted!  The Penticton grade 5s will solve their version of this mystery next week.

Last Week of Classes

Next week (the week of May 16th) is the last week of Gifted Program classes.  The Gifted Program covers grades 1 - 5, so it is time to wish the grade 5s well as they move on to grade 6 in the fall.

Open House

Parents of students in grades 1 - 3 are invited to drop in on our last class for open house.  For Summerland grade 1 - 3 students the class is on Tuesday May 17th from 12:30 - 2:30pm at Trout Creek Elementary room 32.  For Penticton grade 2/3 students the class is on Thursday May 19th from 12:30 - 2:30pm at Wiltse Elementary in room 32.  Parents are invited to drop in at any time during the class and stay for as long as they are able.  Our class starts with 25 minutes of social time, followed by circle and then we move into class activities.  Students will show you the different activities we have been doing including their identity projects.  We hope you can make it! 

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!

  

Last Week of Classes

It was our last week of classes for the school year.  Here is what we did... This Week In Gifted!

Invention Showcase

In each of the classes students shared their inventions with each other.  

For the Wednesday afternoon K - 2 class students checked out each others' playground inventions and decided on the top four that they would purchase if they were buying new equipment for their school.  It was a tough job because there were so many excellent inventions!  

In the Tuesday and Thursday morning classes students presented to the whole class.  Some students had prepared Power Point slideshows, animations, radio advertisements, or brochures.  The audience responded to each presentation with questions and / or appreciations.  Kudo's to Chloe and Tyler in the Thursday am class for providing such great feedback!  They were both very specific and positive in their comments.  

In the Tuesday and Thursday afternoon classes we rotated around the room and students shared what they had produced.  We saw student created Scratch computer games, Pivot Animations modelling how different inventions worked, hand drawn brochures, and Ashley from Thursday pm brought in a life sized model of her lamp that charges cell phones.

It was a great final week of classes!  Each of the classes has really gelled as a group.  

Reports Sent Home

Students were sent home with their spring term reports.  If you did not receive the report for your child, please contact me and I will e-mail you a copy.

Parent Interviews

For the last two weeks of May I hope to meet with the parents of all the students in the gifted program.  The goal of the meetings is to review how the year went and to update your child's IEP (Individual Education Plan) for next year.  Paper copies of the interview schedule were sent home with your child a couple of weeks ago and a digital copy was e-mailed on Friday.  If you cannot make the time I've set for you please contact me to make alternative arrangements.

And What About TWIG?

Thank you for taking the time to read TWIG and to see what we've been up to over the year.  I won't be posting weekly updates any more, but I am planning on writing a few more posts before the summer break.   

   

Open House

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

Open House

Last week it was the field trip for the grade 3 - 5 students, and this week it was Open House for the classes with grades K - 2 students.  We were lucky to have moms, dads, grandma's, grandpa's, great aunts and uncles, little brothers and sisters, nannies and a puppy drop by to visit us!  A big thank you to everyone who was able to make it!  It was busy, and crowded and a little chaotic at times, but we hope that you got a good glimpse at some of the things that we do each week.  I know that the children were pleased to show our visitors what they've been up to.

Finishing up Projects

The Tuesday morning and the Thursday classes spent a large part of their time putting the finishing touches on their inventions.  Glitter glue was applied to packaging, animations to advertize inventions were produced and  Tori, Ronesca, and Stephanie did a live performance of the advertisement for their robot invention.  The Tuesday and Thursday morning classes were also introduced to the wiki that James (a student in grade 5) set up for us.  Students added information to their pages detailing what their invention is called, what it does, and how much it costs.

Last Week of Classes & Interviews

Coming up is our last week of Gifted Program classes.  Where has the time gone?  The following week parent interviews begin.  I sent home a schedule of times with your child this week.  If you are unable to attend at the time I have down for you, please contact me to arrange a different time.  I look forward to those meetings; we'll have a chance to talk about your child's progress this year and to review their individual education plan in preparation for next year.