Stay up to date with events and important information regarding all things K-12 G/T.

Dear CFBISD G/T Families,

As everyone winds down the year, we hope your students are enjoying all of the year end celebrations!

Please enjoy this brief bulletin wrapping up all things G/T for the 2024-2025 school year.

Read down for our upcoming events, and remember that you can always stay up-to-date by checking our CFBISD Website.

Sincerely,

Stacy Carroll

Executive Director of Advanced Academics

On Wednesday, April 24th, all G/T families were invited to our Annual Spring G/T Parent Meeting. We spent time discussing what our identification and services look like for G/T in our district. The G/T specialists led families in some hands on activities to demonstrate how Depth and Complexity is used to differentiate in the classroom. Please see the power point presentation to get a recap of the evening.

Thanks for all those who came out!

Please provide ideas about how we can serve your family's G/T needs through the link below. Thank you for your input.👍

May 3rd, AGT President Cherin Escher hosted a Family Game Night for G/T parents at McCoy Elementary. Students and families played games, enjoyed snacks and heard updates from the AGT Board. New officers were confirmed for the 2024-2025 school year and we took recommendations for event for next fall. Please consider joining!

My name is Kristen Mitchell. I am originally from Little Rock, Arkansas. I graduated with my B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville campus. I then moved back to Little Rock for a year and taught 1st grade while I was earning my Master's in Reading Science from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock campus. In the summer of 2014, I decided to take a chance and move to Texas to teach. I began teaching in the Dallas Independent School District, where I spent the majority of my teaching in 4th grade. The state of Texas did not honor my master's from my university, so I enrolled in the University of Texas-Arlington and studied Curriculum and Instruction. I earned my Master's in Curriculum and Instruction/Reading Specialty in 2019. After 2020 COVID-19, I made the switch to the Carrollton-Farmers Branch district where I was hired to teach 2nd grade at McCoy Elementary. I spent last year in the Austin area teaching, and now I am back to stay in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch District as a LEAP Teacher at McCoy Elementary. My husband and I just bought a house in the Highland Village area. I have two wonderful sons, Andrew, who is almost 4, and Henry, who is almost 18 months old, and our beloved rescue, Luna. We love to spend time outdoors and learn from authentic moments around us.

2014- 2015 Little Rock, AR- Bale Elementary - 1st grade

2015 -2020 Dallas, TX- Mount Auburn STEM Academy - 4th grade, 1st grade, 2nd grade;

Mockingbird Elementary - 4th grade

2020-2021- LoneStar Online Academy through K12- 1st grade

2021- 2022 Carrollton, TX- McCoy Elementary - 2nd grade

2022- 2023 Leander, TX- Whitestone Elementary -4th grade

2023 - 2024 Carrollton, TX- McCoy Elementary- 4th grade LEAP

For the third year in a row, DeWitt Perry Middle School journalism students have taken the top spot in the Dallas Bar Association's Annual Law Day Essay Contest. Eighth-grader Ghayathiri Anandaraman and seventh-grader Saanvi Singh, received first and second place, respectively. The students, accompanied by their parents and journalism teacher, Teena McMills, were presented their awards at the annual Law Day luncheon on May 9 at the Dallas Arts District Mansion.

Sponsored yearly by the Dallas Bar Association, this year's theme, "Voices of Democracy," recognizes that in democracies, the people rule. This year's theme, says DBA spokesperson Melissa Garcia, was based on the fact that for nearly 250 years, Americans have expressed their political views and wishes by speaking their minds and voting in elections. In 2024, the United States will hold its 60th presidential election, and Americans will address fundamental questions about democracy and the rule of law.

Essay winners addressed the following topic: "In light of the upcoming presidential election, explain or depict the value of voting and expressing political views within our democratic system."

The keynote speaker for the luncheon was Kenneth Wainstein, Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis at the Department of Homeland Security.

Says winner Ghayathiri Anandaraman, "I was glad my message about the power of young voices being able to support democracy and create awareness resonated with such an impactful audience."

The DeWitt Perry Robotics Club travelled to Oklahoma City, OK this weekend to participate in the Oklahoma State Botball Tournament. Botball is a 100% autonomous robotics competition for middle school thorough high school students, though the majority of the schools are high schools. Our middle school kids compete directly against kids in high school, private school, college prep and technical education schools. Students have around 12 weeks to design, build, test and document up to two robots to compete in the competition. The students must build their robots from a kit of raw parts and the students program their robots in Python and C and there is NO remote control.

The Perry Robotics Club did extremely well against the field of 42 other teams. Two of the Perry Teams placed first place in the documentation and onsite presentation, being the only two teams to make perfect scores in their documentation across all three turn in periods, assignments and the on-site presentation. Perry won the award for the best designed and programmed code and finally they placed 1st place in double elimination.

C-FB appreciates the opportunities you afford students every day.👏👏👏

Check this article out! It is from this month's TAGT Pulse Bulletin.

Do you have a high school student? If so, have them log in and join now! They can plan for life after high school. Compare colleges. Explore career possibilities. Learn about financial aid and scholarships. This is also where they can apply for College Board Recognition Programs.

Don't miss out on 💲💲💲and opportunities!

You Deserve to Be Seen!

Colleges are looking to recruit students like you. The 2024 verification form is now open! This is a tangible way to recognize the academic achievements of rural area/small town, African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, Indigenous/Native American, and (new in 2024) first-generation students. The 2024 submission form is now available. The deadline to submit is June 14, 2024. Register through the link below.

"Being gifted doesn’t mean you’re better than other kids, and it doesn’t mean that everything will come easily to you". Lisa Van Gemert offers great insight regarding the conversation to have with your child about being gifted. Click the picture to read the article.

The 🦅s are singing and the 🌸s are blooming which means it is time to start thinking about what activities your gifted child might do during this summer break. There are so many possibilities that it is important to first know what most interests your child. Summer is a wonderful time to explore new interests and investigate a passion more fully.

Your 🧑 should continue to read throughout the summer. Summer is also an excellent time to spend having family adventures. Take time to take a hike, or 🚲 ride. On very hot days you can play games or do a project together. Children can have a space in the garden or plant a container garden. Visit a museum or local park.

Another area to explore may be summer day camps. There are camps for every interest. Ask your child what they would like to learn or do this summer. Perhaps your child wants to be outdoors learning a sport or exploring nature. This is the time to let your child’s interest take the lead. Don’t forget that there are camps for the arts as well as the sciences. Local public libraries and community parks and recreation departments offer events, camps, or activities as well. Check online with your local library or parks & recreation department.

Here is a sampler of activities that are available in our area this summer:

• 🦓 Dallas Zoo holds a wild Adventures Camp for students who love animals in grades K-6 (summer camps are each a weeklong).
• 🎨 Dallas Museum of Art has summer camps for the artist in your house.
• 🔬 Perot Museum has summer camps for students who love nature and science.

Other noteworthy options with summer camps include:

• 🐦Heard Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary in McKinney:

• 🧪STEM summer camps are also offered via Camp Invention, Destination Science, and more.

For more on camps and summer opportunities visit:

• Dallas Morning News Parents Guide to Summer Camps
• TAGT Enrichment Program Listing

Have a wonderful summer of enrichment, exploration, and learning!

Gifted Buzz brought to you by G/T specialist Sarah Eaton.