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Open enrollment for DeKalb magnet and charter schools through Feb. 22
Applications are being accepted for DeKalb County’s magnet and charter schools through Feb. 22, 2017, for the 2017-18 school year.
The school choice program now includes four high schools offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) Preparatory Program: Druid Hills, Tucker, and MLK Jr. high schools. These schools join the IB elementary and middle schools in the DeKalb County system: Avondale Elementary School, Fernbank Elementary School, Midvale Elementary School, Druid Hills Middle School, and Tucker Middle School.
Also part of open enrollment are the high achievers magnet programs at Kittredge Elementary School, Wadsworth Elementary School, Chamblee Middle School, Chapel Hill Middle School, Chamblee Charter High School, and Southwest DeKalb High School. In order to apply to these programs, your child must achieve qualifying scores on certain standardized tests. If your child qualifies, you should receive a letter from your school — but we all know that letters sent home with children sometimes don’t make it into our hands, so if you think your child is eligible and you haven’t received an invitation to apply to the high achievers magnets, check with your school.
Now is also the time to apply to DeKalb’s elementary and high schools of the arts. Those schools require an audition packet, in addition to the standard open enrollment application.
The county’s school choice website offers a complete list of the available schools and an online application. Keep in mind that space in each school is limited. Open spaces will be assigned by a random lottery of all qualified applicants, scheduled to take place in May.
Duke TIP Field Studies program for high schoolers taking applications
Duke TIP has opened registration for its 2017 Field Studies summer program for high-school students. In this two-week residential program, students take college-level academic courses and get hands-on experience in a field that interests them, helping them evaluate whether a major or career they’re leaning toward is a good fit.
The program is held on the campuses of Duke University and New College of Florida, as well as at destination sites including the Las Cruces Biological Station in Costa Rica, Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, and the PARI observatory in North Carolina.
To attend, you must submit an application by Feb. 27, 2017. You do not have to be registered with the Duke TIP Talent Search to apply.
Financial aid is available, and the Duke TIP web site boasts that in 2016, TIP was able to provide aid for every summer programs student who requested it.
Girls in STEM lunch at Emory
Emory Math Circle will host a lunch on January 28, 2017, to expose girls to women who work in STEM-related professions.
The lunch is primarily designed for middle-school-aged girls, although all are welcome to attend. Speakers will include:
- Stephanie Espy, author of the book STEM Gems
- A CDC epidemiologist
- An applied mathematics researcher from Emory University
- An analyst with McKinsey & Co.
The event will take place on the Emory University campus. The program and lunch are free, but advance registration is required.
Duke TIP weekends at UGA
UGA has opened registration for the next two Duke TIP Scholar Weekend at UGA: Feb. 4-5, and March 18-19, 2017. Students in grades 8 to 11 can spend the weekend on the UGA campus studying an academic topic of their choice.
Classes for the February weekend include topics in engineering, the history and culture of Appalachia, music, psychology, politics, and more. March topics include climate change, entrepreneurship, music journalism, a Rube Goldberg challenge, and — I’d like to know more about this one — something called “Star Wars Mock Trial.”
The weekend program costs $450 for students staying in a hotel on campus, or $400 for students who want to commute to the program each day. Financial aid is available.
To participate, a student must either:
- Be registered with the Duke TIP Talent Search program; or
- Obtain confirmation of gifted status from the Duke TIP headquarters
Registration is open for both weekends now. Popular classes will fill quickly.
“Mathemati-Con” this Saturday = math fun for older kids
This Saturday, January 7, the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America present Mathemati-Con, a day of brain-stretching and entertaining math activities.
Mathemati-Con is best suited for middle-school and high-school students who have an affinity for math.
Highlights of the day include:
- “Weird Ways to Multiply.” There are many unusual ways to multiply numbers. Can you figure out why these unconventional methods work?
- “Mathemagician” Arthur Benjamin
- Local and national math competitions (the competitors have already been selected, but you can watch them battle it out)
Mathemati-Con will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta and Marriott Marquis Atlanta hotels. Admission is free and no advance registration is necessary.
Gifted Atlanta 