Easter Updates

Happy Easter!  The weather is absolutely stunning in Vancouver this Good Friday and I hope everyone is enjoying the balmy and sunny weather.

We have had the last two weeks off, and it has been great to spend time with  family and to get on top of my work!  Here are a few updates from the Challenge Centre so that you are in the loop with what is going on:

1.  I am finishing reports/certificates for the following programs and schools should have these by the following week:  Debating Gr. 6, Engineering Gr. 5/6, The Write Stuff Gr. 4/5, and Creative Think Tank Gr. 3.  Thank you schools and parents for waiting for these reports....I know they have been a long time coming, but I finally got to them!

2.  The following programs are coming up in April:  

• Mind Your Math Gr. 4/5 is being held on April 3,4,10,11th (this next week)

• Engineering Gr.3/4 runs April 8,9,15,16th

• Book Club Group 1 meets Wednesday April 17th

• Animalia Gr. 3/4 runs April 22, 23, 29, 30th

• Book Club Group 2 meets Wednesday April 24th

It is looking to be an extremely busy month!!!

3.  Invitations for Programs:

I am still sorting out invitations for programs.  The following program invitations will be sent out over the next few weeks:

• Design Your Own Universe May 6,7, and 8th
• Fairy Tale Adventures May 27, 28, and 29th
• Gizmos and Gadgets June 3, 4, and 5th NOTE THE CHANGE OF DATE

4.  Gizmos and Gadgets Change of Date:

Gizmos and Gadgets was originally to be held May 13, 14, 15th; however, I am moving that to the first week of June (June 3, 4, 5th)  due to scheduling conflicts.

5.  Planning for the End of the Year:

One of my goals this year was to lessen the paperwork for all; what I want to do is to get information back to schools, in June, detailing:

a.  for each school:  students serviced at the challenge centre this year, and students that did not receive a placement.  

• For example, if Green elementary submitted 8 referrals this year and 3 students were placed in a program, and 5 did not receive a program, then I will give this information back to the school. 
• Then, the school can decide for next year....perhaps one of the five who did not receive a spot really needs that service, so their priority will be to look at those 5 whom did not receive a program.  
• I have the paperwork for all 8 students, and I do not need the school to have to fill out new applications on their behalf again...basically they can submit the name back to me.

b.  Instead of schools having to resubmit forms, I want to keep the forms on file, and the schools, with their updated list from me, can tell me:

•  if they want that child to be considered for programs the next year
• or choose another student that was not accepted 
• or send in new forms for another student 

If this sounds confusing, do not worry; we will be sending out information that clearly explains the new process for next year.  This information will be coming out in May so that schools are clear what needs to be done for the 2013-2014 school year.

If you have any questions, please email me at:

mwiesinger@vsb.bc.ca

Happy Easter!

It's called Paperwork

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!

Welcome to Term Three

Welcome back to school.  I am busy getting term three up and running at the Challenge Centre. What is happening this term?

1.   Operation Civilization Challenge centre. This is a program for grades 3 and 4 students (there was a typo in the manual that suggested the program was for grades 4 and 5 students - I apologize for not catching this before it went to print!).  I will let the schools know the students for this program over the next week.

2.   The Future is Wild Program begins next week and runs for 4 days.  Looking forward to working with these young naturalists!

3. I rescheduled the last Book It! Program for grades 5/6/7.  We missed our last day due to job action, so I have rescheduled the program for Monday April 16th. I can't wait to finish off the book club with these amazing readers.

4. We have other programs coming up for the primary students:  please get the applications in for:  Discovering Science Gr. 1; Gizmos and Gadgets Gr. 2/3; Poetic Picassos Grade 2.


3.  Book Club Gr. 4's:  we still have three more sessions with these fantastic readers!

5.  For teachers who applied for "Exploring Identities":  there was a small amount of applications received, but I may be able to offer a program some time in April (I will keep you posted).


So it looks like it will be an exciting term!  I am looking forward to working with students again!

Welcome to Term Three

Welcome back to school.  I am busy getting term three up and running at the Challenge Centre. What is happening this term?

1.   Operation Civilization Challenge centre. This is a program for grades 3 and 4 students (there was a typo in the manual that suggested the program was for grades 4 and 5 students - I apologize for not catching this before it went to print!).  I will let the schools know the students for this program over the next week.

2.   The Future is Wild Program begins next week and runs for 4 days.  Looking forward to working with these young naturalists!

3. I rescheduled the last Book It! Program for grades 5/6/7.  We missed our last day due to job action, so I have rescheduled the program for Monday April 16th. I can't wait to finish off the book club with these amazing readers.

4. We have other programs coming up for the primary students:  please get the applications in for:  Discovering Science Gr. 1; Gizmos and Gadgets Gr. 2/3; Poetic Picassos Grade 2.


3.  Book Club Gr. 4's:  we still have three more sessions with these fantastic readers!

5.  For teachers who applied for "Exploring Identities":  there was a small amount of applications received, but I may be able to offer a program some time in April (I will keep you posted).


So it looks like it will be an exciting term!  I am looking forward to working with students again!

School Year 2010

Welcome to the school year. There have been many changes at the school board this year, and I am here to tell you that the Challenge Centre will have 10 programs this year, with one teacher: me. That means that I will see less students, but I will do my best to meet the needs of our gifted students.

Looking forward to posting and sharing ideas about gifted education!

School Year 2010

Welcome to the school year. There have been many changes at the school board this year, and I am here to tell you that the Challenge Centre will have 10 programs this year, with one teacher: me. That means that I will see less students, but I will do my best to meet the needs of our gifted students.

Looking forward to posting and sharing ideas about gifted education!