GTA6 Update

The goal on this day is to lead students through a multi-faceted experience that will allow them to think about and learn about themselves, what they value, and potential ideas for their Imagine the Change project. They will be asked to think deeply about their identity, guiding principles, and greatest concerns. From this, AN IDEA WILL BE BORN! This idea will become each student's unique Imagine the Change project.

• Wear the GTA6 t-shirt and meet all FBISD dress code standards.
• Bring his/her backpack and laptop computer.
• Plan on eating lunch during "A" Lunch as she/he would any normal school day. NOTE: Even if your child otherwise has a different lunch period, on this day, he/she will eat at "A" Lunch.

A block of time in the morning will be used to have ALL GTA6 students participate in sorting, organizing, and creating the hygiene baskets that will be delivered to Houston Interfaith Ministries as promised! Students will also create personalized cards and messages of support to be sent along with the much-needed baskets.

• What's My North Star? Myers Briggs Personality Type & Real Person Math
• Cultural Archetypes: What's Mine?
• The Circle of Culture
• Sustainable Development & World Issues

As noted above, GTA6 students will sort, organize, build, and carry the hygiene baskets out to the delivery vehicles. To that end, we are humbly requesting 2 types of parent volunteers. A few volunteers to help supervise the children as they build the baskets in the commons and a few parents with larger vehicles willing to deliver the completed baskets to Houston Interfaith Ministries in Houston (3303 Main St.). We very literally cannot do this without your support, so please consider volunteering if you are able. THANK YOU A MILLION TRILLION!

This amazing initiative, sponsored by our very own GTA6 ELA classes, seeks to connect literature to a meaningful real world cause. All the items collected will be sorted and packed by GTA6 students along with student-created art and cards for refugee families in Houston. They will then be delivered to Houston Interfaith Ministries by GTA6 parent volunteers and distributed to families in need.

THE ITEMS BELOW ARE STILL NEEDED

26 2-packs of liter size shampoo

26 2-packs of liter size conditioner

3 Clorox wipes

10 hairbrushes

4 2-packs of toothpaste

10 4-packs of bar soap

4 dish soap

19 deodorant (1 man, 1 woman)

25 laundry baskets

14 2-packs of paper towels

NOTE: I have request donations from all 3 GTA grade levels, not just grade 6.

Together, we can do this!

Each week during Advisory (10:40-11:10 am) on Mondays, Tuesdays, and sometimes other days, students will have time--under the guidance of their teachers--to work on and further develop their ideas and, eventually, bring them to fruition with a "real world" project/plan.

We aim to create time for a majority of the thinking and work to be done at school, but as we near the showcase date, some work will probably need to be completed outside of school.

The Imagine the Change project, which is the Advanced Product that FBISD requires as part of GT services for all GT-identified students, will vary from student to student. It will be focused on a response to the issue or topic each student chooses. All projects will require some scholarship and research, but the end result won't be the same for every child. Some projects will be researched "imaginings" to inform people about the topic and propose ideas of how people might respond to the topic. Some projects will involve a small student-created response or community outreach initiative to inform and inspire people about the topic. The projects will grow from each student's motivation, willingness, and ability (based on a multitude of factors) to realize his/her vision. The BOTTOM LINE is that each project--no matter how large or small in scale--should be a high quality display that demonstrates the student's guiding principal, what he/she learned about the topic, and an imagined or small scale response to address the topic.

The GTA6 Teaching Team will advise students about their Imagine the Change ideas and projects throughout the remainder of this semester and next semester. This project is also differentiated in that it allows students at various readiness levels to realize their own personal vision, which for 6th grade students will vary widely. That's OK.

We also understand that there will be moments where there is AMBIGUITY and UNCERTAINTY about how to proceed. This is part of the process. When challenged to create something meaningful and unique to each student, we do not want to prescribe the path. The goal is to challenge students to make decisions to realize THEIR vision. YES, we will be there to guide and advise, but--in the end--we strive to have each student grow in independent thought and creativity.

Join the GTA Booster Club now, and you can help your child and his/her advisory class win a PIZZA PARTY! Each new membership during the drive will help your child's advisory class have a chance to win. The grade level advisory with the most new memberships will win, and there will be a separate pizza party for EACH grade level.

The 2027 I Am Texas contest is being rebranded for one year only as “I Am America” to celebrate America 250. We’ve partnered with the National Medal of Honor Museum, iWRITE, and the creators of the Ordinary People Change the World book series to honor Americans who have displayed the Medal of Honor Vaues of Courage, Sacrifice, Commitment, Integrity, Citizenship, and Patriotism. There are extra ways to enter the contest this year and extra prizes for including a Texas connection in your entry. Go to www.iamamericacontest.org for all the details. The deadline for entry is February 15, 2027.

Joseph Bernhart

Academy Coordinator

Gifted and Talented Academy

Quail Valley Middle School

joseph.bernhart@fortbendisd.gov

(281) 634-6687