Thursday, 19 September 2019

Bright and Quirky - A wonderful resource to explore!


Bright and Quirky is a wonderful learning community providing information and support to those raising and educating gifted kids with Learning, Social Emotional or Behavioural Challenges including ADHD, Autism, or Anxiety.

Friday, 13 September 2019

Information about The Best of Friends Workshops

The Best of Friends™ (BoF) program is a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) tool combines engaging materials with practical techniques to help participants overcome social and emotional issues. To find out more about the programs run by The Quirky Kid Clinic click here - https://childpsychologist.com.au/



Are you looking for some useful resources to provide support to your children?

These associations have wonderful links to resources, both online and physical resources, along with great communities that you may wish to connect with.

 

AAEGT - Australian Association for the Education of the Gifted and Talented http://www.aaegt.net.au/




Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted

Thursday, 22 August 2019

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)


I've recently become aware of these online courses and can't believe the learning opportunities that are available! Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are free online courses available for anyone to enrol. Do you know someone who would enjoy one of these courses? I'd love you have your feedback on any courses that you or your kids complete.

Thursday, 20 June 2019

July GERRIC Student Programs

Do you know a student in Year 3 – 10 who is bright, intellectually inquisitive and looking for something more challenging, more intellectually demanding, and more fun than they may sometimes experience in school?
GERRIC offers a range of school-holiday programs for gifted and talented students for students from years 3-10. The GERRIC holiday programs will open students’ minds to abilities they may have not suspected they possessed, and opportunities to use those abilities to the fullest during a 3 day program run by our industry experts and educators qualified and experienced in gifted education.
 
Program Dates: Tuesday 9 - Thursday 11 July, 2019
Daily times: 8:45am - 3:30pm
Venue: Matraville Sports High School
Cost: $365 per child (some workshops vary)
 
Program details and available workshops for July can be found here. Places are popular and limited, so get in fast.

Email gerric@unsw.edu.au if you have any questions, or would like to know more about what GERRIC has to offer. 

Monday, 10 June 2019

What do you do if you meet a gifted kid in the wild




I came across this article that I feel is definitely worth reading - http://thisundeservedlife.com/2017/11/27/what-to-do-if-you-meet-a-gifted-kid-in-the-wild/

If you don't have time to read the whole article, I have included some of the keys points that caught my interest. Some worthwhile reminders:
  • Giftedness has more to do with how a brain works than what a brain holds.
  • Recognizing giftedness in one child does not negate the abilities or gifts in another. Gifted is a category, in some cases a diagnosis. It relates to IQ score and asynchronous development, not competition and elitism.
  • Do not, under any circumstance, utter the phrase, “Every child is gifted”. Yes, every child is gift, and yes, all children have gifts, but no, not every child is gifted
  • Giftedness does not make a child better or worse than the neurotypical kid next to them. It’s just how their brain works, and it’s who they are. 
  • Because the pool of gifted people is so small and characterized by being so far removed from the intellectual norm, they’re all vastly different from one another. There are characteristics that can be recognized as typical, but remember that you are dealing with an atypical group. They don’t travel in pods or have a secret handshake. They can struggle. They can have learning disabilities, mood or personality disorders, sensory issues, physical disabilities, or none of the above. Some gifted kids get along fine in life and others wage internal battles. Some gifted kids get all A’s and some fail classes. Some love museums and some are so overwhelmed by anxiety that they can’t bear to visit one. Giftedness doesn’t look like a stereotype.
  • Take in their creativity and ability to think outside of the box. Note their intense emotions and, while they can prove mercurial at times, how they inspire change and empathy and passion. Drink in their humor, their sarcasm, the language that far exceeds their years.
  • Let yourself appreciate just how beautiful and unique and cool they are the next time you find yourself face to face with a gifted kid in the wild.

100 RESOURCES FOR GIFTED KIDS (FROM THE ARTS TO THE SCIENCES AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN)



A re-post as this is a fantastic resource with wonderful links to all sorts of amazing websites - 100 of them, in fact. Talk about rabbit holes worth exploring!!
Feel free to send me some reviews from the kids (or yourselves) to share on the blog.

Tuesday, 26 March 2019

MindQuest 2019 Workshops



These challenging fast paced two day workshops are designed to stimulate and extend your child across a broad range of subject areas. These hands on activities include chemistry, earth sciences, lego robotics, drama, art, writing and much more. Courses focus on developing critical and creative thinking skills, problem solving and broadening your child's interests. Many of the courses for older children give them a unique opportunity to acquire advanced concepts at the high school level. 


To find out more about the 2019 courses click here.

Thursday, 21 March 2019

Differentiation in Action - Parent Information Session


At St Mary's we believe in providing an education that suitably challenges and engages all of our students. As an accredited Newman Selective Education school we embrace the philosophy of Cardinal Newman through:

  • fostering a classroom environment where ALL students are challenged and engaged through creative and critical thinking and academic rigour

  • where the students engage with the world through authentic learning experiences and where they are encouraged to deepen their passions

  • fundamentally, we foster collaboration and independent learning to instil a lifelong love of learning in our students

Click here to access a copy of the slides presented at the sessions.

Saturday, 16 March 2019

Raising Awareness through memes

In celebration of Gifted Awareness Week here are a few of my favourite memes around at the moment.
Is there one in particular that speaks to you?