Springdale Gifted & Talented

March Newsletter

Mission Statement:

The Springdale Gifted & Talented Program is committed to providing an educational program in which students will be fulfilled, productive, and contributing members of society. The unique worth, ability, and dignity of each student will be recognized and cultivated. Students need a school environment which instills in them a desire to help develop talents and abilities. To encourage optimum achievement, the school will provide varied and challenging learning opportunities matched to the needs and talents of students with high potential.

GT Word of the Month: AMAZING SHAKE COMPETITION

GT Facilitator SPOTLIGHT--Josiah Rippelmeyer

AGATE AWARD WINNERS from Springdale

AGATE (Arkansans for Gifted & Talented Education) is our state organization focused on promoting gifted education. Our state conference (February 24-26) recently gave awards in various categories. Springdale was the recepient of a few of those awards. Mrs. Dalene Paull received the 2021 AGATE Parent/Community Award, and Mrs. Lisa Stark (Shaw Elementary and Bayyari Elementary) received the AGATE Educator Recognition Award. In addition, every GT Facilitator in the state received the AGATE Challenger Award for their contribution to gifted education during the Covid-19 Pandemic. We are so proud of all of the hard work that these individuals are doing to promote gifted education.

Dalene Paull----AGATE Parent/Community Recognition Award

Lisa Stark----AGATE Educator Recognition Award

AGATE CHALLENGER AWARD

2020-2021 has been a difficult year to say the least. Education during the time of Covid19 has added many learning opportunities for teachers across the nation, state, and even here in Springdale. This has also been a year of learning. Learning how to teach following CDC Guidlines, learning how to teach virtually, and learning new technology or learning a new teaching practice have all been experienced by teachers. So, this year, the AGATE Awards Committee recognizes ALL GIFTED & TALENTED Educators and Teachers for the 2021 CHALLENGER AWARD. The purpose of this award is to honor and recognize educators who risked taking an unusual, creative, different, or innovative step in a direction most people would not think of or consider. EVERY GT EDUCATOR is very deserving of this award.

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Mrs. Cynthia Covington is the Principal at Linda Childers Knapp Elementary in Springdale. She is also GT Certified and serves as the Chair of the District Placement Committee. This committee of nine, representing various levels and feeder patterns in Springdale, helps determine if gifted services are needed for students K-12. THANK YOU Mrs. Covington for your dedication to ALL STUDENTS!

PROGRAM OPTIONS:

Each month we will highlight program options available to students in Springdale Schools. Whether a student is a beginning student in Kindergarten, or a graduating high school Senior, gifted services are available at all levels. For this newsletter, our focus is on competitions with NWAESC GT Supervisor Dustin Seaton with our word of the month on the Amazing Shake Competition, next is Mr. Damon Dux for the importance of Chess, and finally, Mr. Ben Lagrone for the National History Day Competition.

CHESS COMPETITION with Mr. Damon Dux

National History Day (NHD) with Mr. Ben Lagrone

National History Day Overview

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SPRINGDALE TIP with Mike Fotenopulos

Click the Link Below for information on the top Arkansas Scholarships in 2020-2021.

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GT Library

Each month we will suggest books related to gifted services or that promote higher level thinking at all levels. Here are the suggestions this month from Springdale Gifted & Talented.

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CHESS BOOK

A fun, write-in book packed with brain-teasing puzzles, useful facts and clever tips that show how to play chess and improve your game. Some of the puzzles are answered using chess-piece stickers and all the answers are at the back of the book. Simple puzzles show how to use the pieces, with more tricky puzzles on tactics and checkmates.

--Lisa Stark, Gifted & Talented Facilitator

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Just Like Rube Goldberg

Want to become an award-winning cartoonist and inventor? Follow your dreams, just like Rube Goldberg! From a young age, Rube Goldberg had a talent for art. But his father, a German immigrant, wanted Rube to have a secure job. So, Rube went to college and became an engineer.

--Lisa Stark, Gifted & Talented Facilitator

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What is LEGO?

The LEGO toy company was founded in 1934 by a Danish carpenter who loved making wooden pull toys. From its humble beginnings, the company has lived up to its name--which comes from the Danish phrase meaning to always "play well"--encouraging children to use their imagination and build whatever they can dream up. In this book, author Jim O'Connor describes how a simple concept--small plastic bricks that snap together--morphed into a cultural phenomenon.

--Lisa Stark, Gifted & Talented Facilitator

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Creating Kind and Compassionate Kids

Creating Kind and Compassionate Kids offers lessons and activities that promote problem solving and social-emotional learning, allowing students to become more aware of themselves and others who share their world.

---Josiah Rippelmeyer, Gifted & Talented Facilitator

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When Gifted Kids Don't Have All the Answers

Gifted kids are so much more than test scores and grades. Still, it’s sometimes difficult to see past the potential to the child who may be anxious, lonely, confused, or unsure of what the future might bring. This book,offers practical suggestions for addressing the social and emotional needs of gifted students.

--Steffi Teo, Gifted & Talented Facilitator

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Staying This Way Forever

This is a beautiful book that parents and grandparents can share with their little ones to let them know how special they are. This book can help make a lasting impact on young minds as they discover their own unique qualities.

--Jo Vanderspikken, Former Director of Gifted & Talented