AIG September Update

Our Academically or Intellectually Gifted (AIG) services across the school have started off strong! Our goal is to nurture curiosity, stretch critical thinking, and challenge our students to think outside the box.

Here is how our services are being delivered:

• Grades 1–3 will participate in weekly, whole-class nurturing sessions right in their own classrooms. These lessons are designed to spark creative problem-solving in every student.

• Grades 4–5 will participate in small-group lessons focused on reading, math, and intellectual growth.

Here is a sneak peek at what our brilliant students will be diving into over the coming weeks:

Grade Level Highlights

• 1st Grade: Young Inventors

  Students are focusing on inventive thinking. We are exploring brainstorming techniques and coming up with unique, unusual ideas for everyday items.

• 2nd Grade: Generating Ideas

  Students are practicing divergent thinking, focusing on generating multiple unique ideas for a single problem.Students will be given a starting idea and asked to elaborate or build on the idea in a new and creative way.

• 3rd Grade: Preparing for the CogAT

  During our nurturing sessions, we will help students prepare for the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). All third graders will take this assessment in the fall. The CogAT measures reasoning and problem-solving skills, and we use it as one of the key tools to help identify students for future AIG services.

• 4th Grade

  • Math: Students are investigating multiplication and division through number relationships and applying them to a real-world problem. They will create an obstacle course by meeting given parameters.

  • Reading: In preparation for the science fair, students are selecting a famous scientist or engineer and creating a research presentation about them.

• 5th Grade

  • Math: Students will investigate place value through multiplication and powers of ten by solving a scenario about preparing a mission to Mars.

  • Reading: After spending time investigating and planning story structures, students are writing their own narrative stories.

Battle of the Books is team of 4th and 5th grade students who read from a list of books and practice answering questions about the books at our after school practices. We will compete against other schools in the spring. If your child is interested read our introduction letter and attend the interest meeting coming up in September.

We are thrilled to have an Eaton Science Olympiad Team this year! Students will spend time practicing after school to become experts in two areas (academic or engineering). We will then compete against other schools on these topics in February. If your student is interested in Science Olympiad or you would like more information about the program, please click here

The North Carolina Association for the Gifted and Talented is proud to announce a new initiative in support of North Carolina’s gifted and talented students and their families: “The Family Tour.” In the coming academic year, there will be a series of events that will be held in different regions across the state. The first of these will be held in southeastern North Carolina in New Hanover County on Saturday, September 12, with events in other regions to follow.

More information can be found here

New Hanover County Schools has a new AIG plan for the 2025-2028 school years. If you are interested in reading the plan you can click here. There is also a copy of our AIG plan in the front office for reference.

If you are interested in nominating your student for AIG please email me at kelly.pattison@nhcs.net

Nomination forms can be found here.

The GAC is an independent council of AIG families, local community members, business leaders, and NHCS staff who meet monthly to support and advocate for the NHCS AIG Program. The GAC is part of the community partnership standard in the 2025-2028 NHCS AIG Plan. The council provides perspectives, information, and independent initiatives that are not shared through regular NHCS AIG communications. Please use the link below to join the GAC's mailing list for newsletters and other information for how to support your student and their school's AIG program.

Gifted Advisory Council Contact List - Opt-In

Each school has a parent liaison who attends the monthly GAC meetings. If you are interested in being our parent representative please email me.