A great part of my job is reading applications, and creating and emailing personal invitations to the programs. This year, our team working in gifted education decided to have two deadlines for programs, instead of having them staggered throughout the year. We are hoping to make it less onerous for the teachers who have to fill out application after application on behalf of students.
So, what I received in late October, were hundreds of applications for programs. I have been working on sorting through them, and letting schools know whether or not students have been accepted. I have done that for the following programs: Images of Greatness which I am teaching right now, and the next two programs: Debating 7 and Debating 6.
Later this week, I am working on getting out the invitations for "Creative Think Tank", and next week, "Notable Novels". Finally, in December, I will be sending out invitations for "Mind Your Math" and "Engineering".
So, if you are a teacher at a school and you haven't heard back from me, keep in mind that I haven't figured out all of the class placements yet. However, if you submitted an application for Debating and Images of Greatness, and you haven't heard, then your student(s) didn't get in.
New this year: due to the time constraints, I won't be able to send out individual waitlist letters. So if you haven't heard by the time the program rolls around, then your student(s) did not get in.
Instead, I am going to send out summary letters to each school at the end of the year, listing who received a program and who did not. This will show you how we serviced students from your school, and you will be able to use it in the following year to figure out who to recommend for programs.
I hope this helps...if you need more clarification, you can call or email me. Thanks again, teachers, for your timely response to deadlines!
At present, I am sick with a cold, and plowing through the referrals that I receive from schools.
I have just figured out the group for The Built Environment Challenge Centre Program being offered in December, and did I ever have a large amount of referrals! I have a huge wait-list for this program, and I always struggle with letting the schools and eventually the parents know that the student, their child, did not get in. Basically, the answer they did not get in is because there are so many referrals and so many students need to be serviced, and some have been applying for two years and haven't been able to get in, and others are in grade 6 or 7 and need to get in, and well there are just not enough spots! I receive a lot of emails from parents, asking about options for their children. If they can only get into a program, maybe once or twice during their elementary schooling, what else is there for them? I try not to make it a complicated answer, but eventually it is....I lay out the options from other public schools with special programs (French Immersion, Montessori, Fine Arts), to district services (challenge centres, mentorships, the multi-age cluster class), and finally, special targeted schools for gifted students, that usually come with a tuition fee...(now this is complicated because I work for the public school system and I believe and support a publicly funded system, but sometimes, parents need to find what is right for their child). So it is complicated...and frustrating.Sometimes we have too many options....and these options paralyze us. Although times have changed, I remember my parents picking my school because it was up the street and we could walk there. Going to another school was not even an issue - you supported your local school, come what may. And, the same went for high school. But, that was in the 1970's, and the world is a very different place. Our students' needs are different. Our society is different.So, there are many options for students, just keep exploring them and asking questions and being mindful of what your child or student needs. I will try my best to get them a place in a program!
At present, I am sick with a cold, and plowing through the referrals that I receive from schools.
I have just figured out the group for The Built Environment Challenge Centre Program being offered in December, and did I ever have a large amount of referrals! I have a huge wait-list for this program, and I always struggle with letting the schools and eventually the parents know that the student, their child, did not get in. Basically, the answer they did not get in is because there are so many referrals and so many students need to be serviced, and some have been applying for two years and haven't been able to get in, and others are in grade 6 or 7 and need to get in, and well there are just not enough spots!
I receive a lot of emails from parents, asking about options for their children. If they can only get into a program, maybe once or twice during their elementary schooling, what else is there for them?
I try not to make it a complicated answer, but eventually it is....I lay out the options from other public schools with special programs (French Immersion, Montessori, Fine Arts), to district services (challenge centres, mentorships, the multi-age cluster class), and finally, special targeted schools for gifted students, that usually come with a tuition fee...(now this is complicated because I work for the public school system and I believe and support a publicly funded system, but sometimes, parents need to find what is right for their child). So it is complicated...and frustrating.
Sometimes we have too many options....and these options paralyze us. Although times have changed, I remember my parents picking my school because it was up the street and we could walk there. Going to another school was not even an issue - you supported your local school, come what may. And, the same went for high school. But, that was in the 1970's, and the world is a very different place. Our students' needs are different. Our society is different.
So, there are many options for students, just keep exploring them and asking questions and being mindful of what your child or student needs. I will try my best to get them a place in a program!
We had a great conversation the other day....the world is changing so fast, and how do we know what our children are learning will be relevant to their world and to their future? How can we even imagine what their world will be like? Think back to your own education....when I was in high school in the early 1980's, we were learning to type on typewriters....in university a few years later, students still typed out their assignments. Now, it is ipod this and ipad that and keep twittering to keep up; have a blog, get on facebook, and be connected every second of every day!!!!So, how do multiplication tables, and cursive writing, and worksheets, and drills fit into our crazy world and how does this connect to our students and where they are going? How do you balance the old and the new? What is important to you? What do you think is important for your students?
We had a great conversation the other day....the world is changing so fast, and how do we know what our children are learning will be relevant to their world and to their future? How can we even imagine what their world will be like?
Think back to your own education....when I was in high school in the early 1980's, we were learning to type on typewriters....in university a few years later, students still typed out their assignments. Now, it is ipod this and ipad that and keep twittering to keep up; have a blog, get on facebook, and be connected every second of every day!!!!
So, how do multiplication tables, and cursive writing, and worksheets, and drills fit into our crazy world and how does this connect to our students and where they are going?
How do you balance the old and the new? What is important to you? What do you think is important for your students?
I am grateful that my sons' have had such fantastic teachers at their school. I do love this idea from Bruno's teacher. At the parent teacher night, she made a little bag filled with small items, with a note that explained what each item represents. I would love to make my own "Reminder Bag" with a class, if I ever go back to teaching a class. This note reminds me of why we do our job and our mission as teachers to care for and support our community. (Note: there is a religious message in the note above, as our sons' attend a Catholic school, however, depending on where and what you teach, you can frame your message any way you like!)What would you put in your reminder bag?
I am grateful that my sons' have had such fantastic teachers at their school.
I do love this idea from Bruno's teacher. At the parent teacher night, she made a little bag filled with small items, with a note that explained what each item represents. I would love to make my own "Reminder Bag" with a class, if I ever go back to teaching a class. This note reminds me of why we do our job and our mission as teachers to care for and support our community. (Note: there is a religious message in the note above, as our sons' attend a Catholic school, however, depending on where and what you teach, you can frame your message any way you like!)
What would you put in your reminder bag?
I love going back to school; I am filled with fear "how am I going to do it all this year with work, family, keeping up with my field..." and on it goes; but there is something wonderful about closing summer and beginning the year.This year is especially bright as my oldest is entering grade five. Grade five is my special year; this was the first grade I taught, and I love the curriculum. I love the age. I am a classic grade five teacher and I can't wait to return to teach that grade. The students are on their way with reading, they can write, and they have a level of independence that is so lovely. They want to do things and take on responsibility!!!! It is truly my favourite grade to teach. So, as a back to school treat, I thought I would watch the documentary Waiting for Superman with my kids. I am generally a poor documentary follower - documentaries make me really nervous for these reasons:1. Usually a broad brushstroke is taken to a hugely complex problem or issue2. It is filtered through the eyes of the documentary maker3. The documentary is taken as the "word of God" or the "truth" for many individuals, and all sorts of things get distorted. Now, I know that Davis Guggenheim is highly regarded, and overall, he has an interesting idea: take on public education! These are my thoughts after watching:1. Yikes, is this the state of education in the USA? Or parts of the USA? And this is precisely the way the writers want me to think....is it all really that awful? I know that it isn't and I know that there are fantastic schools; so why am I starting to think in "broad brush strokes" like this?
2. Poverty and the American dream....diametrically opposed yet so intertwined. I found the sequences with many of the struggling families universal: wanting a better future for their children, working hard to make this happen, and yet, so far away from their goal.
3. Where is the dignity of the individual? I found watching the end sequence, where families and their children were waiting to see if they made it into a charter school, and their names were called out it public, very very very sad. My sons asked, "Mommy why are you crying?" I was crying for each of those families not able to get into the school their child needed, and in a way, being publicly shamed because they were not chosen. How awful. Was I watching a documentary or a horror film?Did I like it? Not really. I didn't feel uplifted by the social message. I visited the website. We can do it...we can make education better. And yet, I don't think the problem is really a problem of education. It is easy to target. Just like health care, or taxes, or the state of the economy. I think our education system mirrors who we are, and what we value, as a society. So I will leave it at that (yikes, another brush stroke!!!). Do you value education? Does the country you live in value education? What about the city you live in? The community? Your family?
I love going back to school; I am filled with fear "how am I going to do it all this year with work, family, keeping up with my field..." and on it goes; but there is something wonderful about closing summer and beginning the year.
This year is especially bright as my oldest is entering grade five. Grade five is my special year; this was the first grade I taught, and I love the curriculum. I love the age. I am a classic grade five teacher and I can't wait to return to teach that grade. The students are on their way with reading, they can write, and they have a level of independence that is so lovely. They want to do things and take on responsibility!!!! It is truly my favourite grade to teach.
So, as a back to school treat, I thought I would watch the documentary Waiting for Superman with my kids. I am generally a poor documentary follower - documentaries make me really nervous for these reasons:
1. Usually a broad brushstroke is taken to a hugely complex problem or issue
2. It is filtered through the eyes of the documentary maker
3. The documentary is taken as the "word of God" or the "truth" for many individuals, and all sorts of things get distorted.
Now, I know that Davis Guggenheim is highly regarded, and overall, he has an interesting idea: take on public education!
These are my thoughts after watching:
1. Yikes, is this the state of education in the USA? Or parts of the USA? And this is precisely the way the writers want me to think....is it all really that awful? I know that it isn't and I know that there are fantastic schools; so why am I starting to think in "broad brush strokes" like this?
2. Poverty and the American dream....diametrically opposed yet so intertwined. I found the sequences with many of the struggling families universal: wanting a better future for their children, working hard to make this happen, and yet, so far away from their goal.
3. Where is the dignity of the individual? I found watching the end sequence, where families and their children were waiting to see if they made it into a charter school, and their names were called out it public, very very very sad. My sons asked, "Mommy why are you crying?" I was crying for each of those families not able to get into the school their child needed, and in a way, being publicly shamed because they were not chosen. How awful. Was I watching a documentary or a horror film?
Did I like it? Not really. I didn't feel uplifted by the social message. I visited the website. We can do it...we can make education better. And yet, I don't think the problem is really a problem of education. It is easy to target. Just like health care, or taxes, or the state of the economy.
I think our education system mirrors who we are, and what we value, as a society. So I will leave it at that (yikes, another brush stroke!!!).
Do you value education? Does the country you live in value education? What about the city you live in? The community? Your family?
