In this issue
Archives
Side Articles
As part of Gifted & Talented Awareness Week 2021, our Conference Committee organized a Student Engagement Day on Friday, February 26th.
Please use this as a "working document" for planning your lessons or activities for students on Friday, Feb. 26th to celebratet G/T Awareness Week!
AGATE Awards, Grants & Scholarships
Winter 2020 Newsletter
President's Report
President’s Message
Like you, I’m exhausted! We’ve somehow managed to make it through the fall semester of 2020! It feels like I’ve aged 4 or 5 years in the past 6 months alone!
With that being said, we are all balancing onsite work, online work, homeschooling, virtual assignments on top of maintaining our family and personal lives. Add to that all of the volunteer work like AGATE and you have pushed yourselves to lengths previously unimaginable.
Thank you!
Thank you for doing your normal job on top of everything else that’s been thrown on you. You’ve gone above and beyond to complete all of the extra pieces to ensure your students and their families have the help and resources they need to do their job.
Thus far, AGATE has hosted 16 FREE Webinars ranging from “Tips to Teaching G/T Virtually” to “Managing Perfectionistic Tendencies in Students.” All current webinars are available under the Members-Only Resource tab on the website. We are continually adding LIVE or On Demand webinars throughout the school year for you to watch at your own availability. These resources are put out by experts and a great opportunity to learn more about the students we serve. We encourage watching and sharing accordingly!
We had over 400 members join or renew their 2020 membership! Growing membership gives our statewide organization more advocacy and influence for the upcoming 93rd General Assembly. Legislators know AGATE members because we are active, engaged, and present at many committee meetings and email campaigns to advocate for our gifted youth. We will need all of you on standby to do the same should we have a need this legislative session.
Thank you!
More members applied for AGATE Scholarships and Awards this year than in recent memory, showing us there’s a growing community of teachers interested in joining our profession! Keep up the great work, as I see this as a reflection of the exceptional work many of you are doing!
Thank you!
Now, as we are gearing up for our FIRST EVER virtual AGATE conference, please know our conference committee (chaired by Jennifer Park and Monica Springfield) have put countless time and energy into making sure it’s a huge success. Many of our keynote speakers were also featured at the NAGC virtual conference in November. Membership Vice-President Karen Grady is also working on activities you can do with students during the annual Gifted & Talented (G/T) Awareness Week (Feb. 22-26, 2021).
Until we see you in February, be safe, wear a mask, and please know I truly appreciate all that you have done and are doing for the gifted community in Arkansas. THANK YOU!
District Representative Reports
News from District II: Marcia Smith
Ellie Feng of the Conway School District aced the ACT exam in 7th grade and as a 9th grade student has made a perfect score on the PSAT which qualifies 11th grade students for National Merit. She remains down to earth, loves school and is currently enrolled in AP Physics 1. Her enthusiasm for school and desire to learn is an inspiration to those around her.
Mom even shared her score if you want to add it. She was at the 99th %ile and scored 1520 out of 1520. She is an amazing little girl and such a pleasure to be around.
District 4 Updates: Laura West
Care of Magical Creatures Class at Wilson Intermediate
Fifth and sixth grade students at Wilson Intermediate in Malvern joined with Casey Hardaway from Arkansas Game and Fish to explore the hidden world of Hogwarts “Black Lake” and learn about Bio-phobias. Ms. Casey joined the classes by Zoom for this exploration of Bio-phobias including possums, bats, snakes, and microorganisms. Using microscopes from an education grant from Game and Fish, students also compared two different lake samples and explored unseen life in aquatic habitats. She also shared Allie the Alligator with us—the real alligator that was rescued and now lives at the nature center and helps with education programs.
Hot Springs World Class High School GT students attended a virtual ArtSPARK day with UA Little Rock's Department of Art and Design.
This program is usually offered on campus at the Wingate Center in the fall and spring - this was their first virtual ArtSPARK.
Students attended 4 30-minute classes with UA Little Rock art professors on drawing, animation, graphic design and painting. The university sent door prizes and scholarship materials for students interested in pursuing art studies in college.
A Day of Service is the official state observance of the congressionally legislated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, observed on the third Monday of January each year.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a renowned civil rights leader who fought for equality and recognized the power of service. He said, "Everyone can be great because everybody can serve." Observing the Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday through service is a way to begin each year with this in mind.
In promoting a message of service, the youth of Arkansas were challenged to demonstrate what they can do to keep Dr. King’s dream alive and relevant in this 2021 King Holiday: Day of Impact Essay Contest. This experience served to increase students’ knowledge about Dr. King, and enhance their language and writing skills, creativity, self-esteem, and character.
9th grade GT student Michaela Stevens, from Hot Springs Junior Academy, scored a 99 on her essay and has been declared the high school (grades 9-12) winner of the 2021 MLK Holiday Statewide Essay Contest. In addition to Michaela’s $100 Walmart/Sam’s Club gift card award, for being the overall statewide winner, a $1,500 Walmart/Sam’s Club Foundation grant will be issued to the Hot Springs Junior Academy.
We are so proud of Michaela!
District 5: Stephanie Hollis
Dear AGATE Members in District 5,
I am so excited to begin 2021 and to continue to serve beside you in taking care of the needs of our gifted students in our district! Hopefully, the online platforms are getting a little easier to use and you are finding ways to engage your students during these interesting times. I would love to hear from you and the amazing things you have going on in your district. I also would appreciate some feedback on how I can be a help to you! Please feel free to contact me through email at [email protected] or by phone at 870-723-4579.
Board Spotlight
- Name: Haley Jones
- Position on Board: Newsletter Chair
- 1st year serving on AGATE Board, 16 years in Education (8 years in Gifted Ed), 3rd year Governor's Advisory Council for Gifted and Talented Education.
- Favorites: My favorite thing is my family of 4: Richard and our children, Desmond and Anna Claire. The kids keep us super busy! I love to read when I have time! I love to read magazines and cookbooks too! We play games and get outside as much as possible! We love going to church as a family! I enjoy planning trips for my family and exploring new places.
- Personal Story: My GT teacher is famous in the GT world-Patricia Hesse! I was so lucky to have her in 1st grade as my classroom teacher and then moved on to GT with her! I still remember the moment she called my house to say I placed! She was tough on us but taught us so much! Growing up in a super small farm town, she exposed me to things I never would have experienced as a child. She made learning fun & exciting! When I decided to be a teacher, I knew I wanted to be like her! I'm not sure I'll meet that challenge but I try! I still use so many things she taught me and her ideas! And kids still love them! I'm so thankful to have "Miss" Hesse in my life!
- Favorite School Things: I absolutely adore teaching Gifted and Talented Classes for Jonesboro Public Schools. Currently I'm teaching Whole Group Enrichment, 3rd-6th Pullout classes and Virtual ACE for our new Virtual Academy. I love the variety of classes I teach and meeting so many students! Getting to work with students from 1st-6th grades allows many connections to be made and I see so much growth in students.
Book Review
THE book for Teens who Procrastinate
Barbara Prichard, AGATE Emeritus Chair
Dr. Joanne Foster’s book, BUST your BUTS, is a spot-on book for gifted educators to have at-the-ready for students caught in the mire of procrastination. As a gifted-education specialist, university instructor, educational consultant, and award-winning author working in the field over 30 years, her five-chapter book presents practical and attainable guidelines for teens and pre-teens. The double entendre title may suggest to teens another type of but, rather than the conjunction used preceding the usual excuses for procrastination. However, each chapter covers the many “whys” that teens procrastinate and succinctly yet clearly offers attainable guidance to change one’s mindset and actions.
Foster’s first sentence states directly that, “This book is for TEENS!”. While acknowledging that procrastinators themselves need to decide to change and accept ownership, the book is full of encouragement to the reader and outlines strategies and direct conversations necessary to help break this debilitating pattern.
Her tip-lists for the many “buts” used by procrastinators covers a wide spectrum of what teens frequently state as their procrastination rationale. Foster addresses each procrastination “but-block” and speaks to not only the usual excuses for each ”but-block”, but also offers practical, attainable corrective ideas on how to “Bust your Buts”.
While intended for teens, the book also is helpful for teachers and parents. Foster’s previous work, “Not Now, Maybe Later”, was specifically written for adults to understand procrastination, while offering strategies. BUST your BUTS is available from Great Potential Press and is a good addition to a GT educator’s resource materials.
