Celebrating Gifted

Welcome to December! With the late Thanksgiving break, it seems we will be breaking again for winter in no time! There are special events ahead on every school calendar this month! Enjoy the moments of celebration and community. As always, we wish our secondary students best of luck on final exams! We will see you in 2025!

Sincerely,

FBISD GT Department.

It was a fantastic night to learn about the universe at Astronomy on Wheels! Almost 100 families came out for the great weather, clear skies, and fantastic presentation put on by the Fort Bend Astronomy Club volunteers. The night wrapped up with the students getting to peer into telescopes positioned on Saturn, Jupiter, a galaxy, and the moon. Many thanks to the student ambassadors from the Gifted and Talented Academy, as well as student volunteers from the Gifted and Talented Mentorship Class of 2025 for helping this event to run smoothly!

This challenge will allow gifted students the opportunity to use creative thinking and critical thinking

skills while developing an authentic product from a choice of three activities. Students may select "Living Legends," "My Favorite Things," or "Let's Roll" as their activity for this challenge. Please see the flyer below or the Family Series Web Page for details. Registration is open from Wednesday, December 4, through Monday, December 16. Video submissions are due by Friday, January 17, 2025!

Family Series Web Page

Winter Challenge Registration

The Bryan Museum is hosting its annual I Am Texas Writing and Art Contest, with an April 30, 2025 deadline. The Art contest is open to students in grades 2-12. The Writing contest has two divisions: Letter Writing (grades 2-5) and Fiction/Non-Fiction (grades 6-12). For detailed information on writing prompts and contest rules, please visit the Bryan Museum website linked below.

The Bryan Museum I Am Texas Contest

Kick off the end of the year with a celebration of library resources. Join the librarians on Saturday, December 21, from 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. for sugar cookie decorating with the Youth staff, crafts, games, and more! WOW Party Art group will be in attendance, making balloon twisting art for attendees to take home. Light refreshments will be provided. Please see the event website by clicking the link below!

Fort Bend Libraries - First Colony Branch

Students at the Gifted & Talented Academy at Quail Valley Middle School have participated in some incredible learning experiences in recent weeks. As the only school-of-choice program for middle school students in FBISD, the GTA offers unique programing tailored to GT-identified learners. You can visit the GTA website at www.fortbendisd.com/gtacademy to see pictures of GTA students on conceptual field experiences and participating in one-of-a-kind learning experiences under the “Academy Highlights” tab. Here are examples of just a few. On October 31st, GTA 8th Graders traveled to the MECA in Houston to see, learn about, and critically consider authentic community-created ofrendas for Dia del los Muertos. They also learned cultural dance and created crafts led by the MECA staff. On campus, they created ofrendas themselves, practicing their Spanish language skills and research skills. On November 14th, GTA 6th Graders participated in a day long on-campus field experience titled Imagining the Change. This day centered on the children considering issues of social justice in relation to their burgeoning self-understanding. Guided by a self-selected “north star,” students chose real world issues upon which to base their Texas Performance Standards Projects and began planning them with the aim of somehow making a difference in their own community. On November 19th, GTA 7th Graders led a student-directed conference called EdCamp. In addition to spending the morning solving escape room lock boxes, playing creative brain games, and creating their own dreamcatchers, over 40 GTA students submitted proposals and developed their own EdCamp sessions that were attended by other students in the GTA. This student-led conference featured sessions on live action role playing, coding, cricket, cultural foods, painting, hurricanes, boba, solving the Rubik’s cube, military aircraft, and so much more—all designed by and presented by GTA student leaders.

The number of campuses currently implementing Innovation Hour has reached 28. Moving forward, the GT Department will continue to offer support through campus visits and open labs. Our students are eager to showcase their projects and explain the reasoning behind their work. The creative and innovative ideas emerging highlight that students are taking charge in the development of their products.

Innovation Hour Web Page

As December approaches, campuses will finalize dates and committees for their showcases. Students will continue conducting research and planning their final projects. Keep an eye on the Gifted and Talented website for campus-specific updates and spring showcase dates.

To navigate to your campus GT web page, please go to the campus home page, click the "Students and Parents" tab, and select "Gifted and Talented."

District TPSP Web Page

GT students continue to work toward completing the academic and social & emotional goals identified for the school year. In January, students will review their goals. This review provides an opportunity for reflection, feedback, and adjustments to ensure ultimate success in the GT Learning Plan process.

GT Learning Plan Web Page

Each Quarter the Gifted and Talented Department reports on progress updates to the Board of Trustees. This report covers programming, pilot(s), outreach, and administrative updates for the quarter, and it is posted on the GT District web page in the "News" section. In an effort to make this publication easier to locate for our GT community, we will be posting the link in the Celebrating Gifted newsletter each quarter. Please see the link to the Quarter 3 (July 2024 - September 2024) Report below!

Quarter 3 Report Link

Designed by the students in the Class of 2025 GT Mentorship cohort, this fun lanyard is a great way to stand out! The picture of the brain and the statement, "Ask Me About My Ideas!" is sure to spark conversation! You can order yours to be delivered to your child's campus, or, if you'd like to keep it a surprise, come by the FBISD Administration Annex to pick up your package.

All purchases go through the RevTrak Web Store: Click Here to Order or scan the QR code above!

All proceeds go to the GT Mentorship Class of 2025 for their showcase event at the end of the year. Thank you for your support!

New to the GT Mentorship Program this year is Strike Marketing! Strike Marketing in the Houston Heights will be the mentorship site for one of our Ridge Point High School seniors, where she will learn about strategic marketing, media placement, and digital marketing from a passionate staff of creatives. Welcome aboard! We are also excited to welcome Sienna Dermatology to the GT Mentorship Mentor family! The office staff and physicians at Sienna Dermatology will be mentoring one of our Marshall High School seniors to learn about the multiple aspects of private medical practice in this specialty area. We are so pleased to welcome them!

GT Mentorship Web Page

All GT-identified juniors will be invited to an on-campus GT Mentorship Information session during the month of January. Students will learn about the components and requirements of the GT Mentorship Program, as well as the application and interview process. Two virtual parent information sessions are scheduled as well. We looking forward to meeting our juniors!

Please visit the GT Mentorship Program web page for the dates and times for all of these sessions.

GT Mentorship Web Page