GT Corner
4/3/2025 4:39 pm
Friday, April 11, 2025:
We are excited to share some wonderful feedback from our recent visit with the Gifted and Talented (GT) Department. Their visit was a valuable opportunity to reflect on the ways we support and challenge all learners, especially our G/T students, within our IB framework.
Here are a few highlights they shared:
🔍 Curriculum & Instruction: Our teachers are intentional in planning extensions and higher-order thinking tasks tailored for G/T students. In middle school, students have access to accelerated math, including Algebra I in 8th grade, and can even earn college credit through AP Spanish, a remarkable opportunity for our scholars!
🤝 Family & Community Involvement: Our G/T Coordinator ensures that families stay informed and engaged by including a G/T Corner in the weekly campus newsletter. This space highlights upcoming activities like G/T Awareness Week and provides resources on strategies such as depth and complexity.
💡 Service Design: Through our IB PYP and inquiry-based learning model, all students engage in meaningful projects, but our G/T students are also provided with extension opportunities and alternate expectations to deepen their learning and continue growing.
We are proud of the commitment our educators make every day to ensure our students are not only supported but inspired to thrive. Thank you for being our partners in this journey of excellence and enrichment!
Friday, April 4, 2025:
Lighting the Path to Success:
📅 Week of April 7-11, 2025
🌟 Celebrating GT Awareness Week! 🌟
Next week, we are celebrating **Gifted and Talented (G/T) Awareness Week!🎉 This is a special time to increase awareness and support for gifted education in Texas. With over 453,000 identified G/T students in the state, we are excited to recognize their talents and encourage their growth in self-directed learning, research, creativity, and innovation.
Join us in celebrating by participating in our **dress-up spirit days!
👔 Monday – Ambition Day**: Dress as your dream career! (Meteorologist, Baker, Police Officer, etc.)
📚 Tuesday – Character Day**: Dress as your favorite storybook character!
🕺 Wednesday – Decades Day**: Travel back in time and dress in your favorite decade (60s, 70s, 80s, etc.)!
🎭 Thursday – Talent Day**: Show off your talent by dressing as a performer, athlete, artist, etc.!
🧠 Friday – Thinking Outside the Box Day**: Dress as a famous innovator or creative thinker! (Isaac Newton, Malcolm X, Albert Einstein, etc.)
📝 Ways to Get Involved:
- TAGT Parent Webinar (April 8, 2025): Free online session available in English & Spanish.
- #WhyGT Social Media Challenge: Share your gifted education story and tag @txgifted.
- Write a Thank You Letter: Show appreciation for your child's G/T teachers!
For more details, visit www.txgifted.org/gtawarenessweek](https://www.txgifted.org/gtawarenessweek)
Let's make this a fantastic week of recognition, learning, and fun! 🎭📚✨
Friday, March 28, 2025:
Supporting Gifted & Talented Students Through Depth and Complexity
This week, we highlight depth and complexity, a framework that challenges students to think critically and explore content beyond the surface level. Depth encourages students to analyze details, patterns, and ethics, while complexity helps them make interdisciplinary connections and consider multiple perspectives. In our IB PYP elementary classrooms, students use thinking prompts such as "How do different cultures approach storytelling?" to deepen their understanding of literature. In middle school, Pre-AP and AP students engage in advanced problem-solving, like exploring algebraic functions through real-world applications or analyzing literary themes in AP Spanish. At home, families can foster depth and complexity by encouraging discussions that go beyond simple answers—ask your child, "How would this story change if told from another character's perspective?" or "How does math help us understand patterns in nature?" These conversations help develop the critical thinking skills needed for lifelong learning.
