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.

Field Trip

Last week was a different week in gifted.  Regular classes were cancelled and the grade 3s, 4s and 5s went on a field trip to visit the Engineering Labs at the University of British Columbia campus in Kelowna (UBC-O).

Field Trip

The folks at UBC-O put on a wonderful morning for us.  A big thank you to Renee Leboe who organized the day and to all of the faculty, staff and students who showed us some of the amazing things they do in the Faculty of Engineering!  Thank you also to the parents who volunteered: Jo-Ann, Tammy, April, Simone, Jennifer, Christina, Petra, Geof, Christine, Jason, Julie, Dave, Roberta, Sarah, Angela, and Lisa.  Your help was much appreciated!

It was a whirlwind tour.  There were 5 stations, but due to time constraints some groups were only able to visit 4 of the stations.  I tried to touch base with all of the groups and take photos; please have a look at the slideshow below or go here.



Here is a quick run down of the stations:

• Wonderful World of Light with Dr. Jonathan Holzman and Graduate / Undergraduate Students
• here students saw:
• a table sitting on a cushion of air to prevent building movement from impacting the experiments
• different coloured lasers!
• transmission of data using visible light

• Alkalinity Determination of Tap Water by Titration with Dr. Deborah Roberts and Michelle Tofteland, Laboratory Technician.  
• here students got to get hands on:
• wearing lab coats, goggles, and gloves
• performing a chemistry procedure to determine the pH of tap water
• things turning colours! 
• Demonstration of Wind Tunnel and the Diesel Engine with Dr. Hamayoun Najjaran and Dean MacLellan, Laboratory Technician.
• here students saw:
• how a wind tunnel works
• how diesel engines are tested and tweaked to improve fuel efficiency

• Lasers!! with Ryan Mandau, Laboratory Technician
• Ryan showed the students what the $300,000 laser he uses can do such as
• boring a tiny hole through a penny
• etching tiny writing on a penny
• Campus Tour with Engineering Undergrad students Shelby Ravestein, Sandra Iroegbu, and Muriel Chidzambwa. 

Open House

For students in the Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday afternoon classes, we are having an Open House this week on May 7th and 8th.  Parents and Guardians are invited to join us during their child's class time (12:30 - 2:30) to get a glimpse at some of the things we do.  You are welcome to drop in at any time and to stay for as long as you are able.  Hope to see you there!  Note: this is just for students in the afternoon classes on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Last Week of Classes and Interview Times

Next week is the last week of Elementary Gifted Program classes (May 14th, 15th and 16th.)  Once classes are over I will be meeting with parents to discuss how the year went and to plan their child's Individual Education Plan for next year.  A schedule of times will be going home with your child this week.

Advertising our Inventions

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

Sell That Thing!

The Tuesday afternoon and Thursday classes looked at different strategies that advertisers use to try and get you to buy their products (the Tuesday morning class did a similar thing a few weeks ago).  We watched a number of different TV ads and identified different strategies.  Students then played 'Sell That Thing!'  They went forward in time 5 years using the portal and were charged with creating advertisements for some of the inventions that their peers from the other classes had designed and that were now ready to be marketed.  Students had 5 minutes to come up with an ad that they then acted out.  The ads were creative, funny, and did a great job of using the different strategies!  This type of activity is challenging as students have a limited time to come up with a skit and often team members have quite differing views on what they'd like to do.  I was impressed in particular with the Tuesday afternoon class in terms of their ability to work collaboratively, solve problems and include all team members.   This group of grade 2 and 3s has come a long way since the beginning of the year!

Inventions

The Wednesday afternoon class continued to work on their playground inventions.  Students are either creating 3D models of their inventions using craft supplies, or making a Pivot Stickfigure animation of their invention.  Some of the inventions are whimsical and others packed with adventure! 

The other classes continued to work on their inventions.  The focus now is on deciding how to advertise their inventions; poster, TV ad (as a skit), Power Point presentation, Scratch animation, poster...

Cubism Art Projects

Students in the Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon classes finished up their cubism drawings.  You can view student artwork from these classes as well as the Thursday afternoon class in this post.  For slideshows of the Picasso style portraits created by the Tuesday afternoon class see here and the Wednesday afternoon class here.

Reminders

There are a number of important events occurring in the upcoming weeks:

• Field trip to UBC-O Engineering labs Wednesday May 1st.  This field trip is for students in grades 3, 4 and 5.  
• Regular Elementary Gifted Classes Cancelled Tues April 30, Weds May 1st, Thurs May 2nd.
• Open House Tuesday May 7th and Wednesday May 8th during the afternoon classes.  Parents of students in those classes are invited to join us for all or part of the class.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about anything mentioned here please contact me, Claire Thompson, at (250)770-7694 ext 6283 or cthompson at summer dot com.

Cubism Art

This post is devoted to the cubism drawings that the Tuesday morning and Thursday classes have been working on over the past few weeks.  The Thursday morning class was lucky to have local artist and parent Jo-Ann Apolzer teach them the techniques (see this post for more info).  Students used chalk pastel and / or pencil crayon on paper.  In their pieces students were attempting to incorporate the characteristics found in the great cubist works.

Almost all student work is represented below.  As the last few students finish up, their work will be added here.  For each of the slideshows, click on them to have them show up full size and with captions showing.  Enjoy!

Tuesday Morning Class



Thursday Morning Class



Thursday Afternoon Class

Playground Inventions

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

Playground Inventions

Students in the Wednesday afternoon class were hired by PlayZone (slogan "Our Work is Child's Play!") to invent new playground equipment.  After looking at photos of traditional and not so traditional playground equipment, it was decided that we really needed to do a bit more research.  So it was outside to check out the playground equipment at Wiltse!  I think it is fair to say that many of the students have been dying to do this all year ;-)  After a good session of 'field research' students went back inside to start designing their playground equipment.  Some are making models using a variety of craft and recycled materials, others are using Pivot Stick Figure to make animations of their equipment.  Students will be working on their playground inventions over the next few classes.

My Favourite Thing

The Tuesday classes played 'My Favourite Thing'.  Students in teams of 3 to 5 are given an object and then they each in turn have to tell the rest of the group why it is their favourite thing.  Students have to think on their feet, be creative and lateral thinking is encouraged.  Both classes did an excellent job, with students coming up with funny and creative stories.  It was the first time for the afternoon class and I was really impressed with how they did!  The best part was that even though initially two students wanted to pass (just observe, not participate) in the end everyone participated with my 'passers' being some of the most prolific :-)

More Cubism

This week it was the Tuesday morning class's turn to try creating pastel and / or pencil crayon drawings incorporating features from cubism (as described in last week's post).  The two Thursday classes also spent time on their cubism drawings this week.  The diversity in the works produced is amazing; it is fascinating to see each student's individual style show through.  I'll be posting completed drawings here soon.

Field Trip Prep

I went over the itinerary for our upcoming grade 3 - 5 field trip with students and we discussed behaviour expectations.  The field trip is on Wednesday, May 1st and we are going to visit the Engineering labs at UBC-O in Kelowna (more on this in this post); it looks to be a great day!  Thank you to everyone for returning your field trip forms.  Thank you also to those parents who volunteered to help out and join us on the trip.  I'll be in touch with you soon.

Open House for the Tuesday and Wednesday Afternoon Classes

Most of the students in these two classes are in grades K, 1 and 2 and so won't be going on the field trip.  We will, however, be having an open house for parents.  During the regular class times on Tuesday May 7th and Wednesday May 8th parents are invited to drop in and see what we're up to.  Children will have an opportunity to show you some of the things they have been working on, and parents will be able to participate in some of our regular activities.  Parents are invited to drop in any time during the class and to stay as long as you like.

Thursday Guest Artist

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

Cubism and a Guest Artist 

The Thursday morning class was treated to an art session with local artist and Gifted Program parent Jo-Ann Apolzer.  The class started with us using the Inventors' Portal and going back in time to visit Gertrude Stein in her salon in Paris at the beginning of the 20th century.  Students heard about the various famous artists who used to gather there.  They also saw many of Picasso's paintings, focusing on his cubist work as well as the work of other cubist artists.  Students shared their observations about the characteristics of cubism.

After that, we returned to the present where Jo-Ann introduced a number of techniques for the students to try in order to make their own cubist works.  Students used chalk pastels and / or pencil crayons on white printer paper.  They experimented with:

• mixing colours
• blocking off areas using Post-It notes or painter's tape
• creating sharp, dark edges

Some students traced images which they then started to 'fragment' in the cubist style.  Others created abstract pieces. 

The Thursday afternoon class went through the same process, though without Jo-Ann.  I learned a lot from Jo-Ann in the first class which I was hopefully able to pass on to the students.

Next week I will post images from both classes of each student's favourite piece. 

The Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon classes finished up their Picasso portraits.  Photos of the Tuesday afternoon class portraits can be seen in last week's post (now all student work is represented) and the Wednesday afternoon portraits below (some students still need to finish theirs and they will be added soon).

Advertising Strategies

The Tuesday Morning class explored the different strategies advertisers use to sell products, referring to the list on the last page of this document.  They then went forward in time 5 years using the portal and were charged with creating advertisements for some of the inventions that their peers from the other classes had designed and that were now ready to be marketed.  Students had 5 minutes to come up with an ad that they then acted out.  The ads were creative, funny, and did a great job of using the different strategies!