Websites for Every Interest

Recently, our team came across a very unique blog called, "The Kid Story."  In this blog, an eight year old works with her mother to share resources and experiences growing up as a gifted child.  There is a great section of the blog entitled, "Websites for Gifted Children."  We found many links to be very interesting and engaging.  There are links for a variety of content areas including science, social studies, and a few for students who love to craft.   Most of sites are free; however, there are a few that require a fee.  A great resource to check out especially during the extended weekend off!

http://www.thekidstory.com/websites-for-gifted-children/

BHS Science Blast!

The award winning BHS Robotics team is inviting kids K-5 to join them for a day of science fun! Here are the details:

·        Saturday, November 10^th, 9:00 – 11:30 am

·        BHS Cafetorium (enter on the Main Street side)

·        $40 T-shirt included/$70 for families.

Kids will meet their latest robot and take home all of their creations!

Email: BHSRoboboosters@gmail.com for an electronic registration form.

November 3rd: SciTech Masters of Lightning

Looking for something fun to do this weekend?! Check this out!

The Masters of Lightning is coming to the SciTech Museum!  See precisely controlled "bolts of lightning" - some 15 feet long leap from huge Tesla coils and play music from Bach's Toccata and Fuge and even the 8 bit theme from the Super Mario Brothers!  "Dr. Zeus", adds an astonishing element to the show by standing between the coils wearing a metal suit of layered chain mail and interacting withe the lightning bolts! A show not to be missed!
*Doors open at 6pm, the show starts at 7 pm
*Stay and explore the Museum after the show, will be open until 9 pm
*Adult tickets are $20, and children 12 and under are $15

Tickets are available online  http://scitechmuseum.org/masters-lightning

Learn more by calling (630) 859-3434
Address: 18 W. Benton St. Aurora, Il 60506

Khan Academy

Khan Academy is a website that uses videos to show a variety of math concepts.  You can type your topic of choice in the search bar and then chose a clip to watch or you can chose from the the list of concepts found at the bottom of the page.  This might be a helpful site for students to use as a review or to get additional support.  The link to the site is listed below.


http://www.khanacademy.org

Student-Friendly Search Engine

Looking for content-rich, kid-safe online resources? Then eThemes may be the answer! Click on the link located on the right side of the blog.

Here is some information directly from the site:

“eThemes is your source for content-rich, kid-safe online resources…. eThemes provides free, fast access to over 2,500 collections of websites, on topics ranging from Aerodynamics to Zebras and everything in between!Teachers and their students, parents and their children, librarians and curriculum specialists — anyone who works in a teaching role can use our extensive database of eThemes knowing the resources are up-to-date and safe.”

Journeys Information

This year the district has rolled out the new reading series, Journeys, which is aligned to the Language Arts Common Core Standards.  We are very excited about the new reading series which offers more rigorous reading materials including new engaging and challenging guided reading books to provide differentiation for all students.  Much of the reading instruction will focus on reading and questioning strategies that are used to think deeply and critically about literature.  Having piloted the series with some of our teachers last year, we are very pleased with the challenge and opportunities for differentiation that the new curriculum provides.    

Enrichment Opportunity for 5 - 8th Graders

In partnership with Jewel Middle School in North Aurora, Northwestern University will be hosting an Accelerated Weekend Experience Nov. 10-11 for gifted 5th-8th graders. The 5th-6th grade course is Google SketchUp 3D Modeling and the 7th-8th grade course is Veterinary Science. The classes will be held at Jewel Middle from 9a to 2:30p Sat., 11/10, and Sun., 11/11. For more information on this event, please visit the following website: http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/sep/program/awe/dates-locations/. Preregistration is required. 

Fall 2012 Conferences

Conferences for our gifted cluster students will be scheduled to coincide with a team conference held with the child's classroom teacher.  All efforts will be made to attend cluster students' conferences.  Should schedule conflicts occur, a separate conference time or phone conference can be scheduled.  Parents whose children participate in talented math and/or reading groups should schedule their conferences with their child's homeroom teacher.  Information will be shared among grade level teams to be able to communicate with parents information about their child's progress.

MAP Testing FALL 2012

MAP testing for FALL 2012 - 2013 has officially concluded.   This year, BPS101 will be using the new Common Core test questions to measure student learning and growth.  This is the same set of test questions used in previous years, but the goals are different.   Rit scores are also the same.  Keep in mind if looking at previous scores that there may be differences in your child's performance as the new common core standards are new goals.  There is an official Common Core website that has a great FAQ section that can help all stakeholders learn more about Common Core Standards.  It is www.corestandards.org.