Good evening TAG members

Another update for you on some items that might be of interest.

The National Gifted Conference in Adelaide last week had some great presentations and provided much food for thought. was well represented amongst the presenters, with TAG members Mel deClouet, William Briginshaw, me and Cath Hogan as well as Steve Isham as concurrent presenters I will be sharing with you some of the information over the next few newsletters and I hope that some of this will be useful to you.

The Concept2Creation presentation described taking a group of students through solving a problem by designing and constructing a working electronic model, as well as demonstrating and presenting their work. While this is a structured program involving industry, school and universities in South Australia, there are some real possibilities for schools or school clusters to develop learning activities based on these ideas.

A number of presentations by Glenunga High School focussed on the programs offered to their gifted students through their ignite program, including their telescoping of years 8-10 into a 2 year course for gifted students wishing to take that option.

Key note speaker, Professor Carolyn Callaghan, in her opening presentation on Excellence and Equity spoke to us of the US Standards in Gifted and Talented Education in the areas of Teacher Preparation Standards in Gifted Education, Pre-K -- Grade 12 Gifted Programming Standards and Knowledge and Skill Standards in Gifted and Talented Education for teachers. Carolyn emphasized the importance of standards, suggesting that it would be good for Australia to move towards the development of standards for gifted education, as well as of Research based curriculum and instruction models and Evidence based instructional strategies. She reminded us that: Successful schools take the approach that children present not showing their potential and it is the school’s responsibility to assist in developing it

TAG membership renewals Memberships are now overdue for renewal. Renew now by making your payment (individual $45, concession $40, school/organisation $65) by direct debit to Tasmanian Association for the Gifted at Connect Credit Union, BSB: 807 009; Account: 12174114 (Identify payment with your name & “membership”)

Information evenings for parents and teachers An evening with Jenny Tayler About Independent Learning Plans for gifted students • What is an ILP? • Who is involved? • What are the elements of an ILP? • How is it monitored? At 7.30 pm, Thursday 26th July, 2012 Venue: Goulburn Street Primary School All welcome; gold coin donation RSVP to [email protected] Or 0488 291 497

An evening with Wendy Fletcher About The Best on the Web 7.30 pm, Thursday 30th August, 2012 Venue: Goulburn Street Primary School

An evening with Lynne Maher About Acceleration of gifted students: myths and realities Launceston – date and venue to be confirmed

Square Peg Education: workshops for children in Launceston Mel de Clouet’s new business offers workshops for children of all ages. The workshops encourage creative thinking through play and/or hands on experiences. Each workshop is designed for bright, curious children who love a challenge. Location: Shop 6/125 St John St, Powells Arcade, Launceston. Cost: $10 per week Dates: commencing 18th July and concluding the week of 7th Sept. (8 weeks) Bookings are essential: Maximum number per workshop is 10 children. Pea Pods: ages 2- 5 years (Kinder children welcome) This term two workshops are available. Parents are encouraged to stay, participate and socialise. Younger siblings are welcome but there is no room for prams in the venue. 9-10:30am Mondays: By using the Early Learning Framework as a basis for learning about the Life Cycles of Insects the workshops will use stories, song, craft and play to learn about biology and simple maths. 9- 10:30am Wednesdays: This workshop will use children's stories to create excitement and interest in reading and exploring simple maths concepts. Children will play, stomp and clap rhythms and begin to tell stories of their own. Grades 4 - 7 3:30- 5pm Wednesdays: Book Club and Creative Writing. This workshop is designed for children who love reading and creative writing. This workshops will encourage new friendships and the sharing of favourite books and stories. 3:30- 5pm Thursdays: Mathematical Origami presented by William Briginshaw of Extended Learning Solutions. This workshops is designed for bright, precocious mathematicians in grades 4-7. Origami will be used to explore complex shapes and mathematical concepts. Contact Mel de Clouet on 0402 647 211

Science Open Season National Science Week at QVMAG Museum Download the program of events for Science Open Season for Launceston’s QVMAG Museum.

The Frank MacDonald Memorial Prize The Frank MacDonald Memorial Prize is an essay-based competition for year nine students in Tasmania that helps promote and preserve the meaning of the in the Tasmanian community.

The 2012-13 Prize/Program is now open and will officially close for entries on 7 September.

Prize winners have the opportunity to study Australia’s participation in the Great War by taking a study tour to visit significant World War I landmarks and battlefields on the Western Front in Europe. Students also undertake research into individual soldiers who fought in World War 1 as part of the preparation for their trip to Belgium and France.

Links to further information: DoE website or the DPAC website and on Facebook

Science Week Events at the University of Tasmania 11- 19 August: This year’s guest speaker line-up includes well-known science presenter Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, theoretical physicist and science writer Prof Lawrence Krauss, TV and radio science guru Bernie Hobbs, and maths comedian Simon Pampena. See attached for a preview of what’s on offer for schools in 2012. For more events and updates, visit the new National Science Week website at www.scienceweek.net.au or www.utas.edu.au/set

Putting our students to the challenge The Tasmania Together Youth Challenge 2012 commenced on June 25th. The Youth Challenge is a competition open to all school aged (under 20) youths, including primary school, high school, and year 11-12 students across Tasmania. A 2012 Youth Challenge Information Kit has been sent to all school Principals. For more information or to enter visit the competition website.

The Young Archies The Young Archies is based on the famous Archibald Prize. The awards are presented in grade categories for the best portrait of a man, woman or child, created by a student in a Tasmanian Government school or college, during the 12 months preceding the closing date: Friday 10 August 2012 Information and guidelines

Gerric Master Classes in Education One-day Master Classes (August & October 2012) are open to teachers or school administrators who have already completed at least 16 hours of training or professional development in gifted education: Download the 2013 brochure now

Vectorizer Prize for digital art Art teachers: take note, the ST.ART Festival is expanding and is offering the Vectorizer Prize for the first time. Winning works will be printed at billboard size and artists will receive $500 gift cards. Applications close August 1 Flyer

More gifted student activities in : Discover Engineering Watch this space….

Other gifted student activities Do you have skills you would like to share? Could you offer a workshop for gifted students on some area about which you are passionate? Talk to us [email protected]

Parents: Everything you ever wanted to know about your gifted child but were afraid to ask .. GERRIC has the answers With apologies to the organizers, but I looked at this event and thought that if I knew all of this when my son was first identified as gifted, I would have been in such a position of strength… Dates: 11 & 12 August 2012 Venue: The University of New South Wales, Kensington Campus The course will be led by Professor Miraca Gross, Director of GERRIC and an internationally recognised authority on the education of gifted and talented children and adolescents. Professor Gross is joined by Michele Juratowitch and Rosalind Walsh ( courses only) both of whom have postgraduate qualifications in gifted education. Michele is a former school counsellor with special expertise in the social and emotional development of gifted students. Rosalind has special expertise in early childhood giftedness and parenting young gifted children. Course program Session 1 Giftedness and talent – what do the words mean? What makes gifted children different, both intellectually and socially, from their age-peers? How do motivation and personality affect the development of a child’s talent? How does the school environment assist or hinder the process? Session 2 Why are gifted children often so sensitive? Why do they tend to be more emotional in their reactions? Why do they feel so compelled to try and solve all the world’s problems? Session 3 Two separate sessions – one focusing on cognitive (learning) characteristics of gifted children in early childhood (0-8 years); the other focusing on cognitive (learning) characteristics of older primary age children and adolescents. How can you recognise giftedness in your child? You choose which session you’ll attend; if both parents register, one can attend each session, Session 4 How can we recognise underachievement in gifted students? What can parents and teachers do to enhance self esteem and motivation? What about the perfectionist gifted child? Session 5 Two separate sessions. 5(a) Are ability grouped settings the best environment for gifted students? What happens to the self esteem of students when they enter an Opportunity Class or a selective high school? What are the long term academic, social and emotional effects of ability grouping of gifted children? 5 (b) Parenting strategies to nurture your child’s high ability. Helping gifted children establish a range of skills, behaviours and habits that will enable them to grow into healthy, happy, confident, achieving young adults. How to nourish your child’s psychological and emotional development and create an environment in which their high abilities will flourish. Session 6 Two separate sessions 6(a) How does having a gifted child impact on family relationships? What effect does this have on siblings? On parents? A look at family dynamics. 6(b) Acceleration. Pushing kids ahead or taking our foot of the brake? A look at the academic and emotional outcomes, for gifted children, and adolescents, of various types of acceleration. Session 7 Parent Advocacy: How can parents create positive partnerships with their child’s school? How can parents of gifted students approach the school without being labelled “pushy”? More details and registration: http://gerric.arts.unsw.edu.au/for-parents/

TAG Conference 2013 We will be running a conference in 2013 and welcome anyone who has any time or skills to share in the organisation of this event. Please email [email protected] and let us know of your interest.

World Gifted Conference 2013 in Auckland The Soul of Giftedness 5-9th August http://www.worldgifted2013.com/