START:CODE adds programming classes for elementary school kids
START:CODE just keeps growing. This fall, they’re adding a new class for 4th and 5th graders.
Students will create digital art projects, stories and games using Scratch, a simple programming language created at MIT, designed to be used by kids with no programming background.
Elementary labs are six-week sessions held on Tuesday afternoons and Saturday afternoons (you pick one or the other). Once a student completes the Elementary Lab, they can move into START:CODE’s Starter Lab, where they can learn additional programming languages.
Register now. Classes start Nov. 3, 2012.
Register 4th, 5th and 6th graders now for Duke TIP
The Duke University Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP) has opened registration for its 4th-6th grade talent search.
When you enroll in the talent search, your child will have access to online enrichment opportunities, and you will have access to resources to help you raise your high-achieving student. Your child also will be eligible to attend Academic Adventures, weekend enrichment classes held a few times each year at the University of Georgia.
Kids in the 4th-6th grade talent search also may choose to take the ACT Explore exam, a standardized test traditionally given to 8th graders. This above-grade-level testing offers a way to better measure the achievement of kids who typically peg the meter on their grade-level standardized tests.
Once your child is accepted into 4th-6th TIP, benefits continue through their sixth-grade year; you don’t have to reapply each year.
To qualify for TIP, students must have tested in the 95th percentile or above on an achievement test in the past two years. (TIP does accept a few other tests. See the talent search web site for details.)
Time to start thinking about Governor’s Honors summer program
The Governor’s Honors Program, held each summer in Valdosta, is one of the most competitive summer programs for academically elite students. If your child is a sophomore or junior hoping to attend the 2013 program, it’s time to get to work.
The first step is securing a nomination from a teacher at your child’s school. You’ve got until November to do that.
See the GHP web page for more information about the program and the application process, including details on how home schooled students can apply.
Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony presents free concert on Oct. 15
I’m always pleased to report on free youth concerts, and as I’m wont to say, it’s a great combination of exposure to classical music and the inspiration that comes from watching artistically gifted peers.
The Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony
Monday, Oct. 15, 2012 at 8 p.m.
Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts at Emory University
The Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony is the honor wind ensemble for high-school students from metro Atlanta. The musicians play college- and professional-level compositions.
Admission is free, but you should contact the box office ahead of time at (404) 727-5050 or by e-mail.
A guidebook for homeschooling gifted children, from the Davidson Institute
It seems I’m hearing from more and more parents who are taking their gifted kids’ education into their own hands, leaving the schoolhouse behind and teaching their children at home.
For those parents, I wanted to share a new guide to teaching at home: “Considering Homeschooling: A Guidebook for Investigating an Alternative Path to Education.” This guide was recently published by the Davidson Institute, an organization based in Nevada that serves profoundly gifted children and their families.
The guidebook offers information on costs, curriculum, applying to colleges, and networking with other families.
Conference at Georgia Tech gives high-school girls a look at engineering majors
The Georgia Tech Women in Engineering program invites science-minded high-school girls to its annual Engineering Career Conference, to be held Friday, Oct. 12, 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the Georgia Tech campus.
Girls who attend will hear from Tech faculty and students about the 11 engineering majors offered at Georgia Tech, to help them decide if there’s one they’re interested in studying in college. The girls also can meet with an admissions counselor to learn about getting into Tech.
There is no registration deadline posted, but spaces are first-come, first-served.
UGA-Duke TIP now registering 5th and 6th grade students for fall program
Registration opened this week for the UGA-Duke TIP Academic Adventures program to be held Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012.
This one-day program, held on the UGA campus, gives talented kids in 5th and 6th grades a chance to study topics of interest with other talented peers. Courses to be offered at the fall session include mini medical school, aircraft design, weather, psychology, and creating graphic texts.
The registration deadline is Oct. 26, but — forgive me for sounding like a broken record — the most popular sessions will fill quickly, so register early if you want your child to get his or her top choice.
To participate, your child must have participated in the Duke TIP 4th/5th Grade Talent Search. Not registered with Duke TIP? Learn more about how to get started so you can take advantage of opportunities like this one.
SENG parent discussion group forming in Dunwoody
Local experts on the emotional needs of gifted children are forming a discussion group that will meet on six Sunday afternoons in September and October in Dunwoody.
Discussion leaders are Kathy Courchene and Muriel Knope, both trained facilitators through the SENG (Serving the Emotional Needs of the Gifted) program.
The cost to join the group is $120 per household. One or two adults who provide care to a gifted child or children can attend from each household. Discussions will be based on topics addressed in “A Parent’s Guide to Gifted Children,” by James Webb, Ph.D; Ed Amend, Psy.D.; Arlene DeVries, M.S.E.; and Janet Gore, M.Ed. Examples of discussion topics are communication, perfectionism, managing intensity, teaching self-management, and relationships with family and friends.
For more information or to register, please contact Muriel at murknope-at-gmail-dot-com (address deconstructed here to protect her from spam). Registration and payment are due by Sept. 15, 2012.
UGA opens registration for October 20-21 session of Duke TIP Weekend
The University of Georgia has announced the schedule for its 2012-2013 UGA-Duke TIP Scholar Weekends. The first weekend will be Oct. 20-21, 2012. Students can stay on campus or commute for the two days of classes.
UGA-Duke TIP Scholar Weekends are for students in 8th-11th grades who have participated in the Duke TIP program, have been identified as gifted by their school, or are currently taking advanced classes (e.g., Advanced Placement, honors, or IB). The Scholar Weekend classes are taught by UGA professors or graduate students.
Students select a single course to study for the weekend. Classes in the fall session will include robotics, behavioral psychology, public speaking, American foreign policy, artificial intelligence, alternative media, and the physics of aircraft design.
An early bird discount of $25 is available through Sept. 14. The registration cutoff is Oct. 5, but as I always say about these programs, the high-demand courses will be full well before that, so don’t procrastinate.
Codenistas program for tech-minded middle-school girls on the south side
The first few lines of the message I received this week from Lisa Richardson said it all: Thanks for these great resources! I wish more of them were on the south side of town where we live. My little engineer is at a slight disadvantage. 😦Â
Following the old adage, “Better to light one candle than to curse the darkness,” Richardson is starting Codenistas, a technology education program in East Point for middle-school girls. Students will meet on weekends to learn web design, programming and other technology skills.
Classes begin September 8. Register now — there are only 10 spaces in the fall program.
Gifted Atlanta 