In the last week, Maria has had a couple of very cool opportunities that I wanted to share. Last week, she received a letter form her Gifted and Talented coordinator about participating in 2010 Northwestern University's Midwest Talent Search (NUMATS). Basically, it consists of taking standardized tests years before most students take them, and then completing with other students in the same age group. But it's also good experience, espeically for students who score high on the standardized tests that they take at school - this will give a better idea of where her abilities are. It will also open the door for many other gifted and talented programs she will have the opportunity to particiapte in, which is important since our small school does not do much with their Gifted and Talented program. She'll be taking the EXPLORE test in January, which is a standardized test usually given to 8th graders.
Today she brought home a letter stating that she has been selected to participate in the schools Destination ImagiNation team. They selected three fourth graders and three fifth graders. Basically the students work together to come up with "solutions" to different challenges, and then complete against other schools on a Saturday in March. (There's a lot to it - if you're interested you can visit the website at www. IDODI.org.) It sounds like a lot of fun and should help her build some great teamwork and leadership skills, among other benefits. She's pretty excited about this and happy that her friend Lydia was invited to join the team as well. It will be a pretty big time commitment, though, having meetings every Monday after school for two hours and sometimes on Thursdays too if they need the extra time. But she should be able to handle it.
No comments:
Post a Comment