Gifted Education News & Links

Upcoming Gifted Education Events

Odyssey of the Mind Day at Union South

• 4th graders - Monday, November 28
• 7th graders - Tuesday, November 29

School Spelling Bees - early December

School Geography Bees - around winter break
Yahara River Writers Contest - deadlines around winter break

Thinking Cap Quiz Bowl

Fifth graders from Middleton Cross Plains Area School District will have an opportunity this fall to participate in "Thinking Cap Quiz Bowl". The contest includes multiple choice questions in categories including history, spelling, math, science, English, current events, children's literature, government, sports, geography and other general information. Team members will be chosen based on a test given to all fifth graders. The test is comprised of 50 questions on topics similar to those covered in the state's quiz bowl. Team selection will begin in upcoming weeks at participating schools.

Geo Bee

Both district middle schools and most elementary schools participate in the National Geo Bee Program sponsored by the National Geographic Society. Each year district students qualify to participate in the State Geo Bee. This year in late November or early December, classroom teachers will have students participate in classroom geography bees to determine finalists for the school bees. Students can try to prepare themselves for this opportunity by working on their geography knowledge. Ten sample questions are posted everyday at:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/geobee/today.html#/start

Students and parents may find many fun additional geography games at http://www.quia.com/pages/all.html
 

Odyssey of the Mind Day Away
Odyssey of the Mind Day Away was started by our school district thirteen years ago to emphasize creativity, teamwork and problem solving skills. Selected 7th and 4th grade students throughout the district will be participating in this event on Monday, November 28 for 4th graders or on Tuesday, November 29 for 7th graders. Students will be bussed to the new Union South building on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. During this day, the students work on challenges that require them to use higher order thinking skills. In some challenges students will work to use tools to navigate a task or to compose and act out an innovative new medicine. Students learn to be fluent, flexible, and original. They must work together in teams of five as they take risks to complete the tasks. This event promotes thinking outside the box, and students in our district rise to the challenge year after year.

Interested students should be listening for how to become eligible to participate in this day. Teachers will be presenting this opportunity to 4th and 7th graders soon.
 

Yahara River Writers Contest - Fall 2011

Students in 5th through 8th grade have an opportunity to participate in this county-wide writing contest. Thirty-three school districts in the area send submissions to this contest. Students may submit editorials, short stories, poems or cartoons.   Many teachers will be teaching lessons on one or more of these writing styles. Interested students should contact their teachers to find out the specific contest requirements. The deadline for submissions to this contest is generally right around Winter Break. The top ten winners at each grade level in each category will have their work published in an anthology and be invited to attend a Writers Workshop at the UW Madison on Monday, May 7, 2012.

News

Brain Bowl at Glacier

A record number of Glacier Creek students - 60 teams or 240 students - participated in Brain Bowl last week. Brain Bowl is a week-long, timed, single-elimination trivia competition.   Four person teams compete against each other on such topics as literature, math, geography, languages, history and trivia.   The final rounds were held in the gym last Friday morning in front of a large school audience. First, the two student finalist teams competed. In that round the team of 8th graders - Jonas Klare, Ben Ropa, Aleksandar Bursac and Irelyn Danz, beat the team of 8th graders - Christian Lindblom, Eddie He, Logan Kossel and Chloe Carrigan. Then the student champs narrowly lost to our faculty team of Mr. Barbeau, Mrs. Russell, Mr Hayden and Mr. Wilson. Congrats to all our student participants and thanks to all the staff who helped!!.

The Kromrey Brain Bowl is scheduled to run from April 9th - April 13th, 2012.
 

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