Archive
Saturday enrichment classes in Duluth for elementary and middle-school students
The Gwinnett Alliance for Gifted Education is now registering students in grades 2 through 8 for its four-week Saturday Exploration Program, which will begin March 3, 2018.
Classes will be held at Chesney Elementary School in Duluth. Students can choose from a variety of topics, including storytelling, hydroponics, computer coding, finance, and physics.
Students from outside Gwinnett County are eligible for the program.
The registration deadline is Feb. 19.
Girls Who Code summer immersion program
Girls Who Code
is now accepting applications to its 7-week summer immersion program in Atlanta for girls who are currently in 10th or 11th grade (rising juniors and seniors as of summer 2018).
The summer immersion program is a day camp that meets from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. Students will learn coding skills, meet engineers, and work on a project to address a real-world problem that interests them. This is a beginner-level coding program; no prior computer programming experience is needed.
The camp is free, and financial aid may be available for girls who need help paying for transportation to the camp location, or who ordinarily rely on a summer job to make ends meet. Girls Who Code encourages everyone to apply for this assistance stipend.
From their web site, it looks like Atlanta will host two sections of this program, one from June 4 to July 20, and the other from June 11 to July 27.
The early decision application deadline is February 16. The final deadline is March 16.
[Shout out to my sister-in-law who reminded me about this program and who said, based on her experience, it’s as much about teamwork and leadership as it is about computing.]
Scholarships for 7th graders with high ability, low incomes
The application period for the Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholars Program, a scholarship for high-performing students with financial need, opens today.
The Young Scholars program awards scholarships that can be used for enrichment — from music lessons to summer programs — or for private-school tuition. Students apply when they are in 7th grade, and scholarship winners receive financial support for five years, beginning in 8th grade.
Award winners also receive academic guidance from advisers with the program, and participate in summer programs.
To apply, a student must come from a family with an adjusted annual gross income of $95,000 or less.
The application period closes in March, but the application has lots of parts to complete, including personal and teacher recommendations, so it’s wise to get an early start.
UGA-Duke TIP weekend for 8th-11th grade students
Registration is open for two UGA-Duke TIP Scholar Weekends to be held on the University of Georgia campus. This two-day program gives students the chance to study in depth a topic that is likely outside the curriculum of their school, and to do so in a college environment with like-minded peers.
The two available weekends are Jan. 27-28 and March 3-4, 2018.
Scholar Weekends are open to any students in grades 8 to 11 who either participated in the Duke-TIP 7th Grade Talent Search or have been gifted identified by their school. This includes students who are enrolled in honors, International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement or accelerated classes.
Topics include music, psychology, marine biology, global politics, public speaking, and “Star Wars mock trial.”
Students will arrive on the UGA campus on Saturday morning, spend the day learning, stay overnight on the UGA campus, and continue their studies on Sunday. Courses are taught by UGA professors, graduate students, professionals, and gifted educators.
Registration deadline for Jan. 27-28 is Jan. 19; the deadline for the March weekend is Feb. 9. Popular courses typically fill before the registration deadline. Cost is $450. Financial aid may be available.
Girls’ coding program at Georgia Tech now taking applications
Girls in grades 6 to 10 are invited to apply to TheGirlCodeProject, a program that teaches girls about computer programming through video game design and encourages them to pursue STEM education and careers.
TheGirlCodeProject has three parts:
- Lecture, a computer camp where the girls learn the GameMaker programming language, April 2-6, 2018
- Design, during which small teams of girls work together, under the guidance of Tech students, to create a video game with a STEM theme, April 7 to August 24, 2018
- Presentation, when each team presents its game to a panel of judges, with prizes and scholarships awarded to the winning team, August 25, 2018
TheGirlCodeProject was established at Georgia Tech in 2016 and is led by faculty and students of the university.
Applications will be taken through March 2, 2018 and are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Free admission to Atlanta History Center on MLK Day
The Atlanta History Center is offering free admission on Monday, Jan. 15, 2018, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Admission to the Margaret Mitchell House is also free that day.
Among the activities available that day are:
- A Trek to the River’s Edge, a documentary about student activists in the civil rights movement in Atlanta
- Freedom Ride interactive simulation
- Newsreel footage from the March on Washington, and a viewing of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech
A complete list of activities can be found on the Atlanta History Center web site.
Gifted Atlanta 