HOLMES/NSITE GT - Fall Newsletter

Welcome back to school, Huskies! We missed you! 🐾🐾

FIRST... A FEW CAMPUS REMINDERS 🪧🔈

9th grade students enrolled in the GT Leadership 1 Honors course are automatically registered to take the PSAT at no cost.

HUSKY TUTORING

WELCOME TO OUR FALL NEWSLETTER!

🧠 Giftedness 101: Understanding GT Kids 🧠

According to NAGC’s article on Definitions of Giftedness, “the term gifted and talented means students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in such areas as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities.”

Gifted Traits and Characteristics

Common Characteristics of Gifted Children:

Ability to comprehend material several grade levels above their age peers
Surprising emotional depth and sensitivity at a young age
Strong sense of curiosity
Enthusiastic about unique interests and topics
Quirky or mature sense of humor
Creative problem solving and imaginative expression
Absorbs information quickly with few repetitions needed

See more 🔽

What is Giftedness? | Gifted Definition & Meaning

GT Courses @ Holmes/NSITE 📒📓

What FALL Holds for GT Students 🍂

GT1

SELF AWARENESS SURVEYS
TEAM BUILDING
PSAT PREP & STUDY PRACTICES
TIME MANAGEMENT
MUSIC ON THE BRAIN
ALL ABOUT ME PROJECT

GT2

PHILANTHROPY RESEARCH
CONFETTI KINDNESS
TURNING LEMONS INTO LEMONADE
SPIDER WEB DISCUSSIONS
NICE VS. KIND
CHARITY RESEARCH
WALL OF SERVICE PROJECT

VISIT THE LINK BELOW FOR NISD GT TESTING REFERRALS

Independent Study Mentorship for 11th & 12th Grades

What FALL Holds for ISM Students 🍂

THE START OF MENTOR MEETINGS!
ACADEMIC PORTFOLIO CREATION
CORE VALUE IDENTIFICATION
COLLEGE RESUME & RESEARCH
GOAL SETTING, POST HIGH SCHOOL PLANS AND EDUCATIONAL PROACTIVITY
TWO SPEECHES!
LOTS OF REFLECTION & FEEDBACK!

STILL IN NEED OF A FEW MENTORS!

Meet the teacher! 🍎

Ms. Cruz

I’m an educator who loves making learning fun, meaningful, and a little less “sit down and listen.” I’m passionate about helping students find their voice, build confidence, and become strong communicators—especially when it comes to public speaking.

I love creating a classroom where students can be themselves, take risks, laugh, and learn from each other. At the end of the day, I hope my students leave my classroom not only with new skills, but with a little more confidence in who they are.

Things that make me happy

Aquariums, tropical plants, oreos, my fiance, cold weather, new year's resolutions, watermelon, my job, my friends and family, roadtrips, reading, going to the movies, pho, new york times daily games, cinnamon toast crunch, rock painting, and self-care. 🥰😍😄

Last year's highlights ⭐

Mindful Mondays in GT2

Designed to remind students to slow down, reset, and share simple strategies that help us stay focused, calm, and ready to learn. Each week, students took the lead in teaching the class a quick mindfulness activity or idea that we can actually use in and out of the classroom.

GT Mega Mash-up

High school leaders in GT & ISM got to participate in a fun-filled field trip where gifted and talented middle school students from across the area came together to learn, create, compete, and show off their unique talents. It was a day packed with hands-on challenges, new experiences, teamwork, and plenty of opportunities for students to step outside their comfort zones and have a blast.

SHOWCASE NIGHT!

Showcase Night for ISM students was a chance for our students to show off the projects, ideas, and creative work they had been working so hard on all year. It was such a fun night of celebrating their talents, seeing their personalities shine through their work, and giving them a moment to be proud of everything they had accomplished in their mentorships.

Additional Resources 👇

Self-Advocacy for GT Kids

GT ENRICHMENT BENEFITS

Perfectionism in GT Students

Nurturing Creativity

HOLMES/NSITE GT - Fall Newsletter