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!

 

    

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.