In this PAMS Gifted Program Blog, please find information about the following: a couple of reminders; information from our Parent Meet and Greet on Gifted Program Resources; Gifted Club for all grades on September 25; Gifted Lunch; VAGifted Student Scholarships; Information for older siblings

School Pictures:  September 19!!!  These are the ones that go in the school yearbook!  Just sayin’…

Don’t forget to check out the links on the main blog page for Prowling Around the Cluster Classrooms and the Gifted Club.  Enjoy reading about what our gifted cluster teachers are doing to meet the academic needs of our gifted learners and seeing our students in action!

Thank you to the 50+ parents who attended the Parent Meet and Greet on September 13. Here are some of the pieces of feedback from the exit tickets:

• Here is an “A-HA!” that I had today in our workshop:
  • “Recalling the challenges of middle school as an adult and now trying to remove my ‘adult’ ideas and beliefs.”
  • “The characteristics of our children change with age, and we need to be receptive to that.”
  • “How much [my child] has come out of his shell and found his ‘tribe’ due to the gifted cluster.  (Talking with parents of 6th graders brought me back to how it used to be for him.)”
  • “Your wonderful resources!”
  • “Seeing that they [gifted middle school students] can have more intense emotions.”
  • “Why my child feels excited about being with like-minded individuals.”
  • “Other parents have the same issues with their gifted children as I do!”
  • “Learning about all the camps and opportunities.”
• This is something from the workshop that I really want to remember later:
  • “Camps and scholarships.  I love fostering this aspect [giftedness] of my child.”
  • “Read the blog.”
  • “Keys to Accomplishment site”
  • “Parent tips for helping my child thrive.”
• Here is what I enjoyed in our session today:
  • “Talking to parents of like-minded children because I’m hopeful my child will find “his kind of people.”
  • “Meeting some of the other parents because it helps hearing what they are also going through with their gifted middle school children.”
  • “Meeting other boy moms (!!) because it’s so different than sixth-grade girls!”
  • “All of it because it was enlightening and I feel closer to understanding my son.”
  • “Talking with other parents and hearing that most of the behavior we notice is common among gifted [middle school] students.”

If you were unable to join us, please feel free to peruse the documents and slide deck from our workshop. Parent Meet and Greet Materials:

• Characteristics of Middle School Students and Gifted Students
• Ages and Stages document
• Bookmark of Resources
• Slide Deck (speaker notes are under the slides)

During the workshop, parents had the opportunity to give input via a walkabout.  If you would like to give your input about topics for future parent meet-and-greet sessions and needs/worries/expectations, please click HERE!

The next Gifted Parent Meet and Greet will be on Executive Functioning Skills.  As soon as I have secured a date, I’ll send out the RSVP form.

The September 25 Gifted Club meeting will be open to all grades.  The activities will include an icebreaker, a team challenge, board/card games, open art supplies, and LEGOs.  My limit is 50 students, unless I can get an adult volunteer to assist me with supervision.  Gifted Club is in C106 from 4:15-5:45 PM.  If you will be picking up your child, PLEASE park in the staff parking lot, get out of your car, and meet your child at the benches near the parking lot.  Do NOT get in the long line of cars near the gym.  Also, if your child rides an activity bus, are you sure your child knows their address, their neighborhood, and the names of surrounding streets?  The activity buses do not follow the same routes and bus stops as regular morning/afternoon buses.

Link for Gifted Club Sign-Up for September 25:  RSVP/Sign-Up for Sept. 25 Gifted Club

Some students made suggestions for the Amazon Wish List for Gifted Club activities.  If you would like to donate items, you can peruse the list here:  Gifted Program Amazon Wish List  Thank you for your generosity!  (The art supplies parents donated in the past several months, especially, have received a lot of use!)

Information for Gifted Lunch for September 15 and 29 has been sent to all gifted program students.  Students MUST sign up ahead of time.  The sixth-grade sections for both dates are full.  There are still a few spots open for 7th and 8th graders.

The Virginia Association for the Gifted offers scholarships for gifted students who attend summer academic or arts-intensive camps.  Applications can be found at: VAGifted Summer Scholarship Application and are due by April 22, 2024.  Many PAMS students in the past have applied for and received these scholarships–please read the VAGifted rules carefully.  As a VAGifted member, I am happy to assist students with recommendations and signatures;  I ask that I be given two weeks’ notice.

For older siblings:

United States Senate Youth Program Scholarships-Due September 29 
VDOE will select two student delegates to represent Virginia in the 62nd Annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) sponsored by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Each delegate will receive a $10,000 scholarship and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for Washington Week March 2-9, 2024. Qualified public and private high school Juniors and Seniors may submit an application using the Online Student Application Portal.  All completed applications must be submitted and timestamped by 11:59 p.m. on September 29, 2023. Additional resources are available on the VDOE website.  

Please let me know how I can best support you so you can be the best advocate for your gifted student.

🙂 Mrs. Cathy Smith, PAMS Gifted Resource Teacher