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July 2011
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Newsletter July 2011
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Hi Derrin,
Welcome to the July Newsletter, with information about things coming up and plenty of links to articles and websites which will hopefully be of interest. Remember to check the website and the Facebook page for other information, both are added to regularly. Winter is well and truly underway now and the gardens are looking refreshed with all the recent rain. You might be one of the many who vowed in the long hot summer that you would not complain about being cold, but even so there have been some days recently when a jumper was definitely needed. Since I arrived home from the USA I have been working regularly on The Beginners Guide to Life on the Bright Side. I will be including a Glossary of Terms so if there are terms that you needed to understand or were unsure of when you started your gifted journey, please let me know! I have also been working on a Visual Spatial Learners Pack which should be ready soon. It will include not only information and links to articles and books, but also practical strategies and samples of resources you can print and use. Keep an eye on the website for more information. While I have been doing all that, I haven't got to update the blog for a while. I was working on a piece about Growing our Gifted and the conditions for thriving when I read another piece yesterday by someone else on a similar topic. So check the blog again soon for an update. Book Sale
I am currently making the Buy buttons for the website for the first round of the Book Sale, having established the most economical shipping options, so it should not be long now before the sale starts.
Future Problem Solving Program International Conference Last newsletter I gave you a bit of an insight into the Future Problem Solving International Competition in La Crosse Wisconsin where we had been with our daughter while she was competing there. Since then more of the results have been published and Breanna was very excited to discover she had been placed 7th out of 26 students in the Senior Individual division. And more recently FPS has announced that as of next year there will be an Adult division included in the competition which will provide an opportunity for post school age students, workplaces and other groups to be involved. If you are interested in finding out more about the Future Problem Solving Program there is plenty of information on the Australian site along with local contacts who can help you out. I would rate FPS as one of the most valuable programs my children were involved in during their school years. EXPLORE Test Parents of students who sat the EXPLORE earlier this year have recently been contacted by email for feedback on how useful they found the Toolbox on the Centre for Talent Development site and comments on the value of the EXPLORE test for their child. This feedback will help us decide whether to offer the test again in 2012 so please take a moment to let us know. Coming up - various things organised by others Holiday programs The holiday workshops are running next week. There are still spaces in quite a few of teh workshops so if you haven't checked out the program, it is not too late to do so. Workshops will run from 18 - 20 July at Murdoch College with workshops on July 21st being held at Swanleigh in Middle Swan. Follow the links from the Quest Lifelearning website homepage to the program and other information about workshops, teachers and how to enrol. Family Activity Night This will be held on Friday July 22nd from 6.30 to 9pm at Murdoch University and provide an opportunities for families to come together to play board games and craft activities while parents can share the delights and challenges of parenting gifted children. Donation of $10 per family payable at the door. You will find a flier on the Thinking Ahead website with more information. Simon's Philosophy Club will continue in Term 3. Check the Term Program page of the website for information and to contact Simon. Robotics – a Thinking Ahead parent is looking for second hand Lego Mindstorms for her son and is also interested in starting a robotics club for kids south of the river (Cockburn area) for others who cant get to Scitech after school. If you are interested, let me know and I will pass your details on to the family.
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I hope you are enjoying the holiday break that it has brought a welcome change of routine. It is hard to believe that half the year has passed already, but I hope you are looking forward to the next term and the new challenges it will hopefully bring.
Regards Derrin Cramer
Go to the website
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Gifted Children: Resources for Parents and Teachers in WA
 This 150 page A5 size book is packed full of information. It includes current information on programs and competitions plus a vast new collection of websites, useful readings and links to other services and resources. Entries are coded to make it easy to find what you are looking for. New stock has now arrived. Upside Down Brilliance I currently have 2 copies still in stock with more stock coming soon. Order now to avoid delays in getting your copy. Holiday Programs Dates July 18 - 20 at Murdoch College and July 21 at Swanleigh. More more information and the program visit the Quest Lifelearning Simon's Philosophy Club will continue in Term 3. Go to the website for more details Conferences
World Gifted Conference
The 2nd conference of the
The Victorian Gifted Association State Conference Unmasking the Possibilities Find us on Facebook Thinking Ahead now has a Facebook page. Please come by and if there is something you have found which you think others might also be interested in, leave a link or a message. Link to the Thinking Ahead Facebook page Quote “Preconceptions, whether they are visual or verbal, can blind one to innovative discoveries.” Betty Edwards |
Links to Information you might find useful
Articles, blogs and Webinars
The science of academic improvement Helping boys develop a lifelong love of reading How to Talk to Little Girls. This post includes comments about engaging their minds rather than buying into the importance of looks, even with young children. You may also like to have a look at Think.tv 9 sure fire ways to get kids reading. Takes a US perspective with the long summer break but includes some useful thoughts
How to Land your kid in Therapy – The dangers of parents who do too much for their kids. The author discusses why the obsession with our kids' happiness may be dooming them to unhappy adulthoods. Social-emotional aspects of giftedness: SENG support model This article has appeared in the AAEGT Journal
Intelligent People Have “Unnatural” Preferences and Values That Are Novel in Human Evolutionary History . This article advances a new theory to explain why people form particular preferences and values. The theory suggests that more intelligent people are more likely than less intelligent people to adopt evolutionarily novel preferences and values, but intelligence does not correlate with preferences and values that are old enough to have been shaped by evolution over millions of years." Gifted, talented, but it’s no easy ride. SMH newspaper article It would seem ludicrous to most Australians to make a top cricketer train with backyard cricketers. So why is it so contentious to group smart children with other smart children? A Tale of Two Trees from Unwrapping the Gifted
Webinar - Australian Gifted Support and Starjump webinar series
Language
Story Starters – generates a quick story starter and allows you to choose the format (letter, newspaper, postcard etc)
Food
For teachers
Nine interesting resources from around the web to inspire your classroom and ignite some creativity!
Docs Teach Thousands of primary source documents from the US National Archives available online for students to access. Not sure whether we have a similar Australian resource. |
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Thinking Ahead Extension Workshops
ABN 50 017 429 348 PO Box 171 Como, Western Australia Email: derrin@thinkingahead.com.au |
