Summer Institute for the Gifted - eNewsletter: The Gifted Student

SIG eNewsletter: The Gifted Student

May 2012

From the President's Desk

A letter from Barbara Swicord, President of SIG:

There is a sign in my gym that says “SUMMER IS COMING!” It's been up for a while to encourage gym members not to procrastinate in their fitness efforts. When I see the sign, rather than having the usual regrets about being physically unprepared for summer, I actually get excited because when summer comes for us here at SIG, it means something totally different than just more sit-ups and push-ups!

Now that May is here and our first summer programs start next month, we are really excited! It's getting close to the time when we get to implement all the programs we've been planning since last August. Our programs will soon come to fruition in the hands of our capable staff and fabulous students. If you haven't made your summer plans yet, it's not too late. Give us a call.

As we gear up for summer, we are also excited to host two May training weekends for our summer administrative staff here in Connecticut. The deans and directors for all our Day and Residential programs will converge here in Stamford to train for their tasks and responsibilities for summer; meet people with whom they will work as well as others who will be doing the same jobs at other camps; and enjoy the fun, spirit, and camaraderie of SIG. We're really looking forward to meeting our summer staff and helping them get prepared for the awesome roles they will be playing in our programs. Thanks to all of them in advance for their willingness to give of their time and talents in the development of our amazing students.

Speaking of sit-ups, we hope you will sit up and take notice of all the interesting articles in this issue. NSGT has a new initiative with the College Board to administer the first summer SAT at our Amherst programs. NSGT announces its Board of Trustees scholarship winners and embarks on a fundraising campaign to support the many applications we were unable to fund thus far. Angela, in our Expert column, talks more about acceleration. We'd like for you to tell us what you have liked about online courses you have taken. If you're an alumnus, we'd love to hear from you too. And, we invite you to learn more about our newest Trustee, Dr. Felice Kaufmann, and her long-term research on Presidential Scholars.

We hope you will have as exciting a kickoff to summer as we will have and hope you will join our efforts in all areas to support the learning and development of gifted youth across the globe. Enjoy, and come back and visit with us again next month.

Barbara Swicord
President, Summer Institute for the Gifted

Take the SAT at SIG-Amherst This Summer!

Students who are 13-17 and who attend SIG Amherst or UPrep at Amherst this summer will have a one-of-a kind opportunity to take a summer administration of the SAT at the end of the program, right on campus! The test will provide a college-reportable score for those who opt to report it.

The test administration is made possible by a new partnership between NSGT and The College Board. The SAT will be administered on August 3, 2012. The cost of the test is included in the UPrep Program and is available to interested SIG at Amherst students for $49.

SIG at Amherst provides SAT Prep and College Prep courses for interested students, and now these students can put their newly acquired and practiced skills to the test! Come take advantage of this summer opportunity to get a college-reportable SAT score.

For more information on the Amherst program, please visit www.giftedstudy.org/Residential/amherst/, and for more information on the UPrep Program, please visit www.nsgtuniversityprep.org/. For questions about the SAT administration at Amherst on August 3, please contact us at 866-303-4744.

SIG Deadline Reminder: Apply by May 15th

The SIG application deadline is approaching! Apply today to reserve a space on your top choice program.

With Residential and Day programs all over the U.S., SIG has the perfect program for every gifted child. Visit www.giftedstudy.org today to learn more about SIG programs.

Apply now: www.giftedstudy.org/admissions.asp

SIG Returning Student Discount Deadline Extended to May 15th

Great news for our returning students who have not yet applied for Summer 2012: there's still time to take advantage of the Returning Student Discount! As a returning student on a Residential program, you'll receive a discount of $500 (returning Day students receive $250).

Don't miss your chance to save – Apply Now!

Ask Angela

Last month, I broached the topic of acceleration, focusing on "what is acceleration?" In this month’s column, I’m going to continue on the topic of acceleration, transitioning to “how do I know acceleration is right for my child?”

First, I’d like to start off with another important point from A Nation Deceived: “The key question for educators is not whether to accelerate a gifted learner but rather how.” The simplest answer to the question “is acceleration right for my child?” is, if your child is not being challenged in his/her current academic environment, then some form of acceleration is appropriate. The question then becomes, “what kind of acceleration is right for my child?” Certain acceleration options might be easier to facilitate than others; curriculum compacting, for example, takes a willing and flexible teacher, whereas subject-based acceleration and concurrent enrollment require buy-in at the school or district level.

When considering the type of acceleration, first ask yourself, is the area of academic need in all areas or in one specific area? If the child is particularly advanced in one content area, curriculum compacting, subject-based acceleration, telescoping curriculum, or concurrent enrollment might be the best acceleration choices. If the child is more globally advanced, early entrance (generally to kindergarten or college), early graduation, or grade-skipping might be the better choice, though these are very heavily dependent on district support. As a personal example, in the small town in NY where I grew up, I was not allowed to enter kindergarten early, as it was against district policy. The next year, however, when I started kindergarten “on time” per district standards, I was grade-skipped within the first month directly into first grade!

A great deal more anxiety emerges from full-grade (or multi-grade) skipping rather than subject-based or in-class accelerative options. Teachers, administrators, and parents alike express concerns about maturity and social readiness; however, the research tells us that most children who accelerate transition smoothly, whether it is early entrance to kindergarten or to college. Problems tend to stem more, according to A Nation Deceived, from poor planning. Unfortunately, memories of negative situations tend to outlast the positive, which is why many districts cling to anti-acceleration policies. You know by this point that I highly recommend the A Nation Deceived reference (remember – it’s free!). If you are seriously considering grade-skipping in K-8, I’d suggest an additional resource, the Iowa Acceleration Scale (Assouline, et al, ISBN: 978-0910707558).

Puzzle Corner

Question: In each of the following, study the three words given. Your task is to pair two of them to form an anagram of a word that is a synonym of the remaining word.

For example: DEED – EMPTY – REST. The words DEED and REST are an anagram of DESERTED, which is a synonym of the remaining word EMPTY.

1. OPEN – APRON – FAIR
2. WHEEL – SEER – OUT
3. CALL – MAIL – CROP
4. MAR – SEND – STINT
5. TAME – PEER – SOAK
6. MET – SOBER – REPEAT
7. LEG – MEEK – NET
8. CASE – LATE – DEED
9. GAIN – BEAD – WIT
10. SAND – DART – PAR
11. CUR – HEAD – MAIN
12. HOP – CUP – TRY
13. SMELL – LONE – CREED
14. SAD – PEACE – LARK

Submit your answer online at www.giftedstudy.org/newsletter/puzzlecorner.asp. The first student who submits the correct answer will receive recognition in the next issue of The Gifted Student!

Last Month's Puzzle

Question: I have an indefinite number of regular dodecahedra, indistinguishable in appearance from each other. I have pots of red and blue paint. If each face of each dodecahedron is to be painted red or blue, how many dodecahedra that are distinguishable from one another shall I be able to produce? (Dodecahedron: a solid figure having twelve plane faces.)

Answer: 96

Red	Blue	Faces of painting
12	0	2
11	1	2
10	2	6
9	3	10
8	4	24
7	5	28
6	6	24
96

Congratulations to Joe from Miami, FL, for being the first to respond with the correct answer to last month's puzzle!

Let’s Kick Off the SIG Season with a BANG!

As SIG season is fast approaching, we want to start building up excitement for the wonderful summer ahead! Currently, we only have 1,286 “likes” on Facebook, and 137 Twitter “followers”…we know there are more SIG fans out there! To kick off the summer in the best way possible, let’s try to hit 1500 Facebook likes and 200 followers by the end of June. It will help everyone get in the SIG spirit. We here at SIG Central would love to see it happen, so let’s do it!

Tell your friends, family, co-workers, and anyone else to "like" SIG on Facebook and “follow” us on Twitter @SIGifted!

Students Need Your Help – DONATE to NSGT!

The National Society for the Gifted (NSGT) is urgently seeking donations to fund underprivileged, academically gifted children requesting to attend 2012 summer programs.

At the present time, disadvantaged gifted students are the most underserved population enrolled in gifted programs in the U.S. education system. At NSGT, we are committed to serving underrepresented populations through networking and scholarship opportunities. With gifted education being cut throughout the school systems, our grant requests have been increasing every year, and we do not want to turn deserving students away. To meet these increasing requests, we need your support.

Your donation will allow students to attend summer enrichment programs, such as Summer Institute For the Gifted (SIG), which provide the following benefits to gifted children, opportunities that may not be possible in their home environments, including:

Participation in extremely supportive learning communities
Interaction and bonding with intellectual peers
Managed risk-taking, questioning, and challenge
Positive impact on college application, attendance rates, and entrance into advanced courses, as well as overall academic achievement

Overall, these types of programs create an awareness of alternative paths for students who may not have seen themselves as having options prior to participation in these programs.

The students who have received scholarships and financial assistance to attend SIG have reported that these experiences have greatly impacted their lives, particularly in their ability to view themselves afterwards as independent, competitive, and motivated to maintain high goals.

"I truly cannot believe that I am now saying goodbye to the most amazing thing that has ever entered my life. I would not be the strong, confident, and independent person I am today if it were not for the SIG program. I hope one day I can give back to SIG all that is has given me."
– C. Johnson, SIG Student

Your assistance, no matter the size, can initiate an exceptional personal and educational journey, provide an impetus for success and advancement, or inspire one of our next great leaders. Together we have the power and opportunity to change the lives of disadvantaged gifted students.

We thank you in advance for your consideration of supporting our urgent scholarship initiative. Donations must be received by May 30 to support this summer's programs. All donations are tax deductible. Please go to www.nsgt.org/donate for information on how to contribute.

The National Society for the Gifted and Talented (NSGT) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. We are devoted to providing advocacy, resources, recognition, and programs that celebrate and advance gifted and talented students in grades K through 12. These future leaders require our attention and commitment as funding for gifted programs is cut back each year. NSGT is devoted to the identification, enrichment and enhancement of Gifted and Talented students. Additionally, we are committed to serving underrepresented populations through networking and scholarship opportunities.

Survey: Online Courses

Have you ever taken an online course? Did you enjoy it? What was it about?

We here at SIG want your answers! We are interested in learning about what makes an online course a positive experience. If you have taken an online course, please take a few moments to respond to our short survey. We’d love to hear from you! Please click the link below to give us some insight on your experiences.

Take the survey

NSGT Scholarship Winners

After much review, we finally have our scholarship winners! This year, we received over 120 scholarship requests from bright, talented young students looking to further their education in amazing ways. These scholarships will help pay tuition for gifted programs this coming summer, including Davidson’s THINK program, Johns Hopkins CTY, the Summer Institute for the Gifted, the Ross Mathematics Program at Ohio State, and the National Young Scholars Program, among others.

As you can imagine, receiving such a large number of highly qualified applicants made the selection process extremely difficult. We thank all of the applicants for submitting such wonderful applications – we wish we could fund all of you!

The scholarship committee is pleased to announce the winners of the 2012 NSGT Board of Trustees Scholarship as follows:

R. Bayer – $1,000
J. Coe – $500
A. de Vivar – $500
G. Escalante – $1,000
M. Fassnacht – $250
K. Fenner – $250
P. Gajendiran – $250
Z. Kaliser – $250
D. Liu – $500
J. Loi – $500
N. Mayer – $500
E. Moughan – $1,000
N. Okami – $500
S. Patel – $1,000
J. Siefel – $1,000
E. Serper – $1,000
E. Smith – $500
N. Vendhan – $1,000
R. Verma – $1,000

We wish all of the students success in their academic endeavors and encourage all to apply again next year.

Please visit the Foundation Center database online to learn about further scholarship opportunities for individuals at www.foundationcenter.org, and check out the NSGT website for new scholarship announcements at www.nsgt.org.

** The National Society for Gifted and Talented (NSGT) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. It is our mission to advance the development of gifted, talented, and high potential youth, in the United States and abroad, through opportunities, advocacy, and exemplary programs and practices.

**New NSGT Trustee Felice Kaufmann Updates Research on Presidential Scholars

NSGT welcomes its newest Trustee, Dr. Felice Kaufmann, to its Board. Dr. Kaufmann was a teacher and counselor of gifted children, grades K-12, a professor at Auburn University and the Universities of New Orleans and Kentucky and a member of the Boards of the National Association for Gifted Children and the Association for the Gifted, and now is a Trustee for the National Society for the Gifted and Talented. Her articles have appeared in such journals as Journal for Education of the Gifted, Roeper Review, Journal of Career Education, Journal of Counseling and Development, Exceptional Children, and Gifted Child Today.

D. Kaufmann has also been engaged in a 30-year follow-up study of the Presidential Scholars program. This program, which has been in existence since 1964, provides national recognition for high school seniors who excel in many different areas.

We invite you to read an article, published on April 12, 2012, about her latest research update.

Trustee Dr. Joe Renzulli and Dr. Sally Reis Highlighted in District Administration Article

Speaking of NSGT Trustees, Dr. Joe Renzulli, one of our Trustees, has had his work, as well as that of Dr. Sally Reis, highlighted in the May edition of District Administration, a publication for K12 district-level school leaders nationwide. This informative review of Renzulli and Reis’s longtime work with individualizing the learning of children so that they can discover their passions and grow their talents is reprinted with permission in this newsletter and can be accessed through this link: www.districtadministration.com/article/sally-reis-joe-renzulli

We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Attention SIG Alumni

We would love to hear about what you are doing now. If you would like to be highlighted in our newsletter, please contact Kate at kvieillard@giftedstudy.org.

NEW SIG Alumni Association!

Calling all SIG Alums! Please join us as we form the SIG Alumni Association. We are looking for a group of motivated alumni to help other former SIG students reconnect with old friends and make new connections. We hope to plan both social and professional events for alumni of all ages. If you are interested in being a part of this new and exciting component of our organization, please contact Rebecca Levine, Program Director, at RLevine@giftedstudy.org.

Upcoming Conferences & Events

Come visit SIG Marketing Director Kate Vieillard at PAGE from May 4 – 5. We would love to see you there!
SIG instructor Amanda Simon will be representing SIG down in Florida during FLAG on May 5th as well. Come see her at our booth and learn more about our programs!

Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education (PAGE)
May 4 - 5, 2012
"Unwrapping Gifted Potential: every day, everywhere, every school," Keynote: Susan Winebrenner
Wyndham Gardens, Exton, PA

Florida Association of the Gifted State Conference (FLAG)
May 5, 2012
"Going the Extra Degree for Gifted Education"
Pine View School for the Gifted, Osprey, FL

Parent Seminar Series sponsored by Gary K. Herberger Young Scholars Academy
May 9, 2012
"Understanding the Results of Intellectual Testing," Dr. Paul Beljan
Gary K. Herberger Young Scholars Academy, ASU West, AZ

Millersville University, in Partnership with Lancaster-Leboanon IU 23
May 18, 2012
"Gifted Education: Using Technology to Leverage Learning," Keynote: Oliver Dreon, other speakers include Carolyn K.
Millersville University, Millersville, PA
Also available via streaming video. Call 717-872-3030 for more information.

Global Virtual Meeting for Gifted Education in Second Life
May 26, 2012, 9-10 p.m. (CEST) (3-4 p.m. US-EDT)
Guest speaker, Françoys Gagné (Canada), online, free!

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