Archive
GSU offers Saturday School in Forsyth County this spring
This spring, Georgia State University has partnered with the Forsyth County School System to offer Saturday School at Lambert High School in Suwanee. Classes begin this Saturday, April 5 and the registration deadline is April 3. (Sorry I’m getting this to all of you so late — I’m just finding out about it myself.)
This satellite campus means that people living in Cumming, Woodstock, or Buford — who may not have wanted to make the trek to Georgia State’s downtown campus on Saturday mornings — now have easier access to Saturday School, which has built a great reputation over its nearly 40-year history for offering enrichment classes to kids who would like to learn more about topics of special interest alongside other gifted kids.
As always, admission to Saturday School requires that a child be gifted identified by his or her school; however, a new Saturday School student can be granted provisional admission until paperwork is submitted.
The Lambert High School campus Saturday School will be open to students in grades 4 through 8.
Science and engineering camps at Wheeler High School (Cobb County)
Wheeler High School’s Science, Math & Technology Magnet School will offer two, week-long, science and engineering summer camps at its Marietta campus.
Current middle-school students (rising 7th, 8th and 9th graders) can attend the Science Spectrum camp, June 2-6, 2014. Campers will explore robotics, chemistry, forensics and more. Part of the camp is an overview of the topics; the remainder gives the kids time to focus on one area of interest.
June 23-27, Wheeler welcomes girls who are rising 4th, 5th or 6th graders to Camp GAMES. According to the web site description, this camp exposes the students to the same science and engineering topics but does not have the campers working on independent projects.
New gifted school forming in Marietta
A new private school for gifted children is accepting applications for 2014-15, its inaugural school year.
Atlanta Gifted Academy, located in Marietta, will serve children ages 3 to 12. The academic program will utilize Stanford University’s EPGY (Education Program for Gifted Youth) curriculum and project-based learning.
The school also is offering a series of week-long summer camps focused on various STEM topics.
Atlanta Gifted Academy was founded by Claire Anderson, a local parent with a master’s degree in education.
Affordable summer camp teaches basics of programming and robotics
The CougarBots, a robotics team made up of students at DeKalb County’s Henderson Middle School and Lakeside High School, will run a one-week programming camp this summer for rising 3rd-6th graders.
The camp will be led by the students and their coaches, who will introduce children to the simple Scratch programming language and LEGO NXT robotics programming.
The CougarBots camp will take place June 9-13, 2014, on the campus of Henderson Middle School. Cost is $150.
For more information or to register, download the camp’s flyer, or contact the group via e-mail.
Atlanta Science Festival begins this Saturday
Science lovers, rejoice.
The Atlanta Science Festival kicks off this Saturday, offering a solid week of science-related activities on more topics than I’m going to list here. They’ve got robotics, biology, environmental science, astronomy, and more, at locations in and around Atlanta.
It all culminates in the Exploration Expo, a huge, free event on Saturday, March 29, at Centennial Olympic Park. Dozens of companies and schools will host hands-on activities geared toward kids and families.
The festival is a joint effort among Emory University, Georgia Tech, and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. If all goes well, they’re hoping to make it an annual springtime ritual.
Parent Day offered by Georgia Association for Gifted Children
The Georgia Association for Gifted Children will hold a workshop for parents this Sunday, March 9, in Athens.
Drs. Angela and Brian Housand will present the topic, “Raising Gifted Kids in a Digital Age.” Participants can then participate in two breakout sessions: “Failing to Succeed” and “Today’s Technology and Gifted Students.”
The workshop will be from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Foundry Park Inn & Spa. Registration is $20 if you sign up by tomorrow; it’s $25 at the door.
Appalachian Institute summer camp in N.C. mountains
I almost never post anything here that’s not located in the metro Atlanta area, but I’m making an exception because this camp just sounds so lovely — and it’s only a few hours’ drive away.
The Appalachian Institute for Creative Learning has posted its program details and registration for 2014. Held each summer at Warren Wilson College in western North Carolina, this enrichment camp offers children ages 8-17 (rising 3rd – 12th graders) the chance to learn about topics that interest them. This summer’s choices include creative writing, performance art, chemistry, computer logic, Greek mythology and more than I can possibly list here.
What I adore about the AICL curriculum is that — unlike in many programs for gifted kids — it’s not so STEM heavy. Sure, this program offers physics-related classes, but it also has a class in jug bands and another in creating costumes from newspapers. And even the physics classes are taught in a fun context (e.g., trebuchets). I just can’t think of any other summer program I’ve seen that does more to honor the many varieties of gifted children.
There’s a day camp option, as well as a residential camp.
Students need not be gifted identified by their school to attend. As the camp’s web site puts it, “[W]e call our campers motivated learners, figuring anyone who shows up to take biology, math, or art in July is motivated.”
Gifted Atlanta 