Early college? Apply now for scholarships at Advanced Academy
The Advanced Academy of Georgia — located at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton — is now taking applications from students who will be in 11th or 12th grade in 2011-12. Advanced Academy is a full-time, residential college program for high-school-aged students. To be considered for the best scholarships, your application must be received by Jan. 17, 2011. The regular admission deadline is June 15, 2011.
Short essay contest with $2,500 prize
Here’s another potential project for winter break: Olive Garden is conducting a short essay contest for kids in 1st through 12th grades. To enter, the student should write an essay between 50 and 250 words on the topic, “Describe how furthering your education beyond high school will help make your dreams come true.”
The grand prize for the best essay is a trip for four to New York and a $2,500 savings bond. There will also be 12 first prizes — one per grade level — of a $500 savings bond and dinner for four at your local Olive Garden restaurant.
The deadline to submit essays is Jan. 21, 2011. You can pick up an entry form at your local Olive Garden restaurant or enter online.
Admittedly, this isn’t a gifted thing per se. But when I saw a flier about this today at lunch, I thought that surely our gifted children have dreams as big as anyone’s!
New session of parenting group will start in January
Two local experts on the emotional needs of gifted children will offer a new round of the parents’ support group they started this fall.
Kathy Courchene and Muriel Knope, the group facilitators, both have been trained by SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) to lead parent groups. The sessions will touch on such areas of concern as perfectionism, self-management, and relationships with family and friends.
The local group will meet in the Dunwoody area on six consecutive Monday nights, beginning Jan. 24. The cost is $120 for up to two individuals who are closely involved in the life of the gifted child (e.g., two parents, one parent and one grandparent, one parent and a nanny, etc.). For more information or to register, contact Muriel Knope at knope-at-mindspring-dot-com. (I’ve disguised the address to limit robotic spam from hitting Muriel — you can reassemble it to e-mail her.)
Did you know kids as young as 7 can go to Space Camp?
Having family from Huntsville, Ala., I’ve long known about the U.S. Space and Rocket Center there and its prestigious Space Camp. But not until I went to the recent NAGC conference here in Atlanta did I know that Space Camp offers programs for kids as young as 7.
Youngsters can attend Parent/Child Space Camp, a 3-day program held on weekends starting in February and continuing through summer. As you can tell by the name of the program, a parent must attend with the child. The parent/child camp is open to kids as old as 12.
For kids 9 and up, there are other Space Camp programs to choose from as well, and registration for all programs is open now.
The camps aren’t cheap, and the drive isn’t a short one — about 4 hours from Atlanta — but for some kids, there’s just nothing like it.
Science and math enrichment at Morehouse
Registration is now open for the spring session of the Ben Carson Academy at the Morehouse School of Medicine.
The program is open to students in 4th to 8th grades. Classes will meet on Saturdays mornings from Feb. 5 to March 12, 2011. Ben Carson Academy offers enrichment in math and science, with an emphasis on health science.
As I’ve written before about this program, it is not restricted to minority children, but the curriculum does place an emphasis on African-American culture and history. The program requires teacher recommendations and a decent grade average, but gifted identification is not a requirement.
By participating in Ben Carson Academy, your child can improve his or her chances of earning a spot in Morehouse’s Vivien Thomas Summer Program, a research program that allows high-school students to work as apprentices in biomedical research labs.
Registration for Ben Carson Academy is open until Dec. 31.
Creative writing contest for grades 4-12
The long, winter break could be the perfect time to have your little writer start working on a piece of poetry or fiction to enter in the 2011 Torrance Legacy Creative Writing Awards competition. Contest winners will have their work published in a collection.
Short stories (limited to 1,250 words) and poems will be accepted from Jan. 15, 2011 until August 15, 2011. All works must focus on one of the following themes:
- Magic of adventure
- Serendipity
- Beyond the horizon
- Unexpected answers
- Nothing set in stone
- Creating solutions
The contest is sponsored by the National Association for Gifted Children, among others; however, children do not need to be enrolled in a gifted program to enter.
The Web site I linked to above doesn’t have much posted for the 2011 contest yet, but I assume they will once they are officially receiving entries.
GSU Saturday School spring session
Saturday School for Scholars and Leaders has posted its class list for its first spring session. This program at Georgia State University is open to children in kindergarten through 8th grade, with classes in math, science, social studies and the arts.
The “Spring A” session will begin on Jan. 22 and continue each Saturday through Feb. 19. Classes are offered from 9-12 a.m. and 1-4 p.m. During the morning sessions, parents can attend seminars about raising gifted children.
The registration deadline for this session is Jan. 7.
Fernbank planetarium holiday shows start tomorrow
Starting Dec. 4 and continuing just past Christmas, the Fernbank Planetarium will offer two holiday programs.
For little kids, they’ll be showing “Holiday Hunt,” the story of a search for Santa through the starry night.
For older children and adults, “’tis the Season” looks at the constellations in the winter sky and offers some scientific explanations of what the star over Bethlehem might have been.
Show times are available on weekday evenings and weekends, as well as a few extra daytime showings during the school break.
Apply now for Duke TIP 4th/5th Grade Talent Search
If you have a student in 4th or 5th grade, now is the time to register with the Duke T.I.P. (Talent Identification Program) 4th/5th Grade Talent Search.
To qualify, 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.)
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 able to attend Academic Adventures classes, held a few times each year at the University of Georgia. (See previous post.)
Enrollment for the talent search is open until March 25.
TIP Academic Adventures session at UGA in January
If your 5th or 6th grader has taken part in Duke TIP’s talent search, they’re eligible for the TIP Academic Adventures session coming up in January at the University of Georgia in Athens.
The full-day program will be held on Saturday, January 22. Courses for this session include plant pathology, “mini medical school,” and aircraft and spacecraft design.
The registration deadline is January 7, but if history is any indication, the most popular classes will fill up before then.
(Editor’s note: If you want to learn more about Duke TIP’s 4th/5th Grade Talent Search, watch for a post on that topic, coming soon!)
Gifted Atlanta 