Boulder Valley Gifted and Talented - Fall 2017 Newsletter
Cliquee aquí para BVGT español Newsletter
President's Welcome
Happy new school year to one and all!
BVGT is thrilled to be celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
If you want to start off the celebratory year with us, join us at our Trivia Night FUNdraiser on the evening of September 24. Trivia Master John Bradley will be in charge—Great fun and prizes will be had by all.
On October 18, we are hosting Susanne Keeley, who will speak on Executive Functions in our gifted kids.
We look forward to seeing all of you at these events and at others over the course of this special anniversary year.
We have created commemorative bookmarks featuring our new 10th anniversary logo to hand out, and I personally am looking forward to using one (or two) to help me keep track of what's what. Be sure to snag one for your own organizational challenge or, perhaps, to mark your place in a relaxing book at the end of the day.
Hope this school year is the best yet!
Jocelyn Gebhardt, BVGT Co-President
Trivia Night
BVGT 10th Anniversary Trivia Night FUNdraiser
Sunday, September 24, 5-9 p.m.
at The Tasting Room
1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder, CO 80304
Featuring Decadent Saint Winery, Wild Cider, and Hot Tin Roof Wood-Fired Pizza
Doors Open at 5 p.m. Grab your pizza and drinks. Trivia starts at 6 p.m.
$25/person admission + dessert bar + trivia.
Food and drinks sold separately.
Limited Seating – CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS by September 21
BVGT invites you to join us for a lively night of friendly competition between trivia teams of 4-6 people—Bring a team or join a team and make new friends. Wood-fired pizza, craft wines, and hard ciders will be available for purchase. Trivia game and dessert bar are included with admission.
We have many donated prizes for the night’s winners, including a Wine Tasting Party for 20!
Download and share the flyer with your friends and community.
The Tasting Room is generously donating its space and a portion of the night’s proceeds to BVGT.
Thank you to our sponsors for making this night possible!
Susanne Keeley
Encourage, Enhance and Expand Executive Functions in Your Gifted Child
Wednesday, October 18
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Summit Middle School, 4655 Hanover Ave., Boulder
Does your child leave assignments until the last minute, forget to bring work home, or have trouble completing long-term assignments? Chronic issues with organizing schoolwork, anticipating deadlines, or generally not working to potential can indicate problems with Executive Functions. Learn about specific behaviors and techniques to help foster Executive Functions skills in your gifted child.
Flyer (English & Español)
Invite a friend & reserve your FREE tickets today!
Educators can sign-up for educational seat time through BVSD’s MyPassport; search for course #17098
Membership Reminder
September 1 marked the beginning of the 2017-2018 BVGT membership season.
There are two easy ways to join or renew! Simply follow this link to the CAGT website, or register for the upcoming CAGT conference (your membership is included with your conference registration).
Either way, you will be both a valued member of BVGT and of our state-level "parent organization," Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented (CAGT).
BVGT is able to provide world-class programming because of committed community members like you. Thanks once again for your support!
Parent Liaison Info
BVGT is building its Parent Liaison Network for the 2017-18 year, and many of our area schools currently need representation. Please join us!
BVGT Parent Liaisons create linkages between BVGT and school communities. Liaisons meet roughly six times during the academic year to hear about BVGT events, learn about local educational trends and practices, and share info among parents of area schools.
Our next Parent Liaison meeting will be on Thursday, October 5, 10:30 a.m.-12 noon, at the Reynolds Branch Library, Boulder.
If you’d like more information—or to sign on as your school’s liaison—contact Kristin Kusmierek at parents@bvgt.org.
CAGT Conference
Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented (CAGT) is hosting its 40th Annual Conference, The Heart of the Rockies: Elevating the Gifted Connection, on October 16 and 17, 2017, at the Embassy Suites Loveland.
Featured keynotes include "Identify Students for Gifted Programs: Big Problems, Easy Solutions" by Matt McBee, "Mind Blown! Recent Research on Gifted Students and its Implication for Teaching and Policy" by Jonathan Plucker, "Mindfulness, the Foundation for All Learning" by AnneMarie Rossi, "Executive Functions Are The Big Picture" by Susanne Keeley, and "We Rise" by Xiuhtezcatl Roske-Martinez, a 17-year-old local Boulderite, indigenous climate activist, hip-hop artist, and youth director of Earth Guardians, a worldwide conservation organization.
Parents may be interested in registering for the 2017 Parent Institute: Understanding the Heart of Gifted Children Through Mindful Connections, Monday, October 16, 2017, 6:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m. BVGT has a small number of scholarships for the Parent Institute portion of the conference. First come, first-served. Contact parents@bvgt.org.
Visit the CAGT website for up-to-date conference details and to register for the CAGT Conference or for the Parent Institute!
GT Events Around Town
The following is provided for your information and does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement. As always, adults are responsible for determining appropriateness of any activity or website for children. Please direct any questions directly to the host organization. Check out the "Around Town" section of our BVGT website for a complete and current listing of many local events which may be of interest to our gifted and talented families.
For over three decades, the CU Wizards program has presented FREE monthly shows that entertain and inform children about the wonders of science. Under the direction of Prof. David Nesbitt, these interactive shows are presented once a month from September through June. They are hosted by renowned University of Colorado, Boulder professors and provide a perfect start to a fun-filled weekend. The shows are geared toward children and young adults, but all are welcome! Each FREE program begins at 9:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning and lasts about an hour and includes several lively demonstration experiments.
To learn more and to sign up for email reminders of upcoming FREE STEAM shows at CU Boulder, please visit the CU Wizards website.
A very awesome year of CU Wizards is brewing...All of the CU Wizards are thrilled and looking forward to seeing young audiences eager to learn!
First up! CU Wizards Seasonal Premiere, Saturday, September 30, Go with the Flow! Professor Janet deGrazia, CU Boulder Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, will delight young science enthusiasts by demonstrating some extraordinary (& perhaps unexpected) properties of fluids!
Many more great CU Wizards shows are in the line-up for the 2017-2018 season!
Book Reviews
BVGT book reviews are written by Jocelyn Gebhardt. Jocelyn is a founding board member of BVGT and current BVGT Co-President as well as an employee of the Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver. She works in the Children's Books section and runs Story Time every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at the Colfax Ave. location. Please feel free to stop by!
I am utterly amazed at the quality of picture books being written these days. It is my privilege to introduce these three new books I consider above and beyond wonderful. Hope you enjoy them, too!
Piece By Piece, written by Stephanie Shaw, illustrated by Sylvie Daigneault, 2017
for ages 3 or 4 on up
This gloriously illustrated picture book starts with a weaver tucking memories into her collection basket—That's right, memories: the crunch of leaves, the sweetness of a puppy, the sparkle of starlight. She lovingly describes each piece to her curious children. At night she wove these memories into cloth. Using delicious vocabulary, the story unfolds that she was making a special dress to sell to buy shoes and food for those much-loved children. The churlish shopkeeper with no imagination refused her work of art—until he saw how excited the people of the village were—but by then it was too late. The weaver and her children found a better way to share those magical memories. This is a treasure waiting for you to discover!
Whose Moon Is That? Written and illustrated by Kim Krans, 2017
for ages 3-6ish
"Whose moon is that?" the curious cat asks innocently enough. Thus this work of ink and words art begins. Using gentle rhyme, the moon is claimed by one, then another, and another, until the moon herself speaks, although the book doesn't end right then... What fun, creative conversations the unexpected ending might spark! At the very least, it will make you smile—I guarantee it! (Don't peek!)
Imagine That! Written and illustrated by Yasmeen Ismail, 2017 (in the USA)
for ages 3 or 4 - 6 or 7
Lila's imagination is getting in the way of leaving the house—How can you put your shoes on when you are imagining they are a giant octopus? Fresh, colorful illustrations are the perfect complement to the breezy, action-packed text. How blissful that when Lila and her mother finally reach Grandpa, he wants to play along! Every parent can identify with Lila's mother—and a few lucky children know someone like Grandpa. Very, very fun. Two thumbs up.
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