A final 2011 post--Thank you for everything!

Anne, from Shadowland Theater, who we worked with on our masks, came by today to drop off photos. She'd had some issues with the camera, so these few are the best of the ones we've taken (the rest are more washed out, but do email if you'd like me to send along what I do have).

Thank you to students and parents for your kind words and thoughtful gifts. Have a lovely summer all!

First Names

No doubt you've been wondering about this post with just the first names of all the students in 305. I posted it to help students as they wrote their kind things about each other this past week. Yesterday, at graduation, I read out some of the lovely things they'd said about each other, and today I gave them all a copy of their own nice things, hopefully to keep for a while. (I slipped my own nice comment onto each sheet as well--the trick is to guess who wrote what, but I like the anonymity of it too)

Today we also sent home the movies that students collaborated on earlier in the year. It took a bit of work to get them edited (Thanks John!) and burned (Thanks Edwin!), and wrapped (Thanks Stephanie, JinJin and Alissa!). Thanks as well to all the parents who came in and helped us film! What I enjoyed most about watching the movies were all the little memories tucked into each of them--Rose's formality, Justin's mustachio, Edwin's absolute commitment to his role, etc.

Thanks for all the memories, and have a great summer.

What does gifted mean?

As we come to the end of this year together, I've been thinking about students moving on to new classrooms and new schools. With about half the students in 305, we've grown together for two years now and I'll miss the glints in many of those eyes I've come to know so well.

We have a number of things still planned, as many of you know: last Friday's labour history walk was an interesting pilot test that I look forward to repeating and refining. Many students had positive feedback about learning the "hidden history" of Toronto, which I think will be fascinating to explore further. In some ways, it was a serendipitous extension of the "commoning" project they had where they planned a playscape for Dundas Square, by becoming more aware of the city around them.

Tomorrow (Monday), we'll revisit the COBWEB program at University of Toronto, where students will continue to explore this program. Tuesday and Thursday, we have Mika's father, Matt Price, in to work with us again to explore web based programming (especially html) through a program called Hackasaurus. Students seem overwhelmingly excited by the chance to "hack" and remix web elements. We've got a school spelling bee and Play Day planned for this week as well. Next week, we'll start off our final few days together with a bowling field trip on Monday (June 27th), followed by Grade 6 Graduation on Tuesday and a final day celebration on Wednesday, June 29th. All in all, there's a lot to look forward to these next few weeks.

A parent in my friend network with gifted kids of her own passed on this video link and the gentleman speaking does a good job of summarizing some of the key things behind my own practice as a teacher (chiefly that challenge, structure and a recognition of individual need are key to the success of these students), but he also addresses some of those key questions people often ask about gifted education with research and data to back it up. Normally, I'd post something like this at the beginning of a year, but with all the upcoming transitions, it seems as good a time as any to reflect a bit:

Accurate Assessment? Asperger's Disorder, and Other Common Misdiagnoses and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children - IME Video Library

Making Toronto a Playground

I was inspired on my recent trip to Montreal by an installation they have at the Place des Artes that encourages people to play and build experiences together. Here is a video showing the piece:

Basically, it uses the movement of the swing to create music and, swinging together, small groups of people can create chords and music. Place Des Arts reminds me of the potential in Dundas Square, both are central places where people are encouraged to mix together and are used for various festivals and city events. 

One of the students in 305 told me of his ambition to become a playground designer and the idea hatched that this would be an engaging way for us to look at some of the geometry and science expectations. 

I've attached the project outline below. Students will be working singly or in pairs and I expect them to be able to use classtime to meet most of the requirements. 

T.O. Play

Here's an online version of a bridge builder game to help give you a sense of some of the physics involved:
Bridge Builder Game