Mrs. Ingersoll has a new valentine this year!  On January 23rd, Mrs. Ingersoll and her husband welcomed Oliver Zachary into their family.  Everyone is healthy and doing well.  Congratulations!

What are the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) ?

You may have heard teachers or the local news referring to the Common Core State Standards.  These are the new math and language arts standards adopted by the 2011 Idaho State Legislature. These standards were designed through a voluntary, state-led effort and coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).  This group set out to define the knowledge and skills students should have to graduate and succeed in post-secondary education and the workforce. Standards in other top performing countries also played a key role, with the hope that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy.Idaho joined the effort in January 2009.  


It is believed that these standards are aligned with college and workforce expectations, and will be clear, understandable, and consistent for schools and teachers to implement.  They include rigorous content and application of knowledge through high-order skills. 

As teachers in Middleton begin to work with these new standards, we are finding that they will require more advanced and deeper thinking of all students. The standards appear to be rich and deep, but we anticipate that they will require much more of student performance than the multiple choice ISAT of the past.

Here is a brief timeline of Idaho's expections for implementing these standards and when they expect students to take the new state standardized test.

Timeline for Implementation

Many Middleton teachers have begun the process of professional development as they familiarize themselves with the new CCSS.  Currently, the advanced reading intervention and advanced math groups that we work with are using the CCSS to plan learning targets for your children.  If you have more questions about the standards themselves, please ask or check out the website: http://www.corestandards.org/.  If you have questions about implementation in Middleton I'd be glad to help.

Gifted Parenting Resource

This is a go to book for parents or teachers who need a little advice on their gifted children.  Judith Winn Halstead does a fabulous job of explaining many of the social and emotional issues that many gifted and highly capable students deal with.  She also includes books for each age range that exemplify characters who deal with the same issues.  This gives parents and kids a chance to think and talk about the issue without it being about the child.  Honestly, this is one of my favorite go to resources for suggestions and ideas when a parent calls me for advice.  Over the last 6 years the Middleton Gifted Program has owned and loaned as many as 6 copies and we don't have one currently on our shelves! This makes me smile because I know they are being read and used.  Time to order more!

Book Description - From Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Some-Best-Friends-Are-Books/dp/0910707960

Good books are often good friends. Because gifted readers often intensely identify with characters, good books can provide bridges to new insights and better communication of feelings, values, and decision making, while also fostering intellectual and creative development. Now in its third edition, Some of My Best Friends Are Books describes: Intellectual and emotional needs of children of high ability; Typical and advanced reading patterns for grades K-12; How parents and teachers can give reading guidance and discuss books with young readers; A well-indexed annotated bibliography of more than 300 books for readers of all ages, carefully selected to promote intellectual and emotional development; Books that deal with themes such as Achievement, Aloneness, Arrogance, Developing Imagination, Intensity, Introversion, Perfectionism, Relationships with Others, Sensitivity, and Resiliency; and An index with suggested titles for each theme and the page numbers for short summaries of these titles

 

Can you Guess?

I came across this quote about a famous children's author and thought it was so beautifully written.  Who do you think this is about?  Send in your guess by Thursday, January 19th to be put in a drawing for an ice cream treat.  Winner to be announced Friday, January 20th.

"Sam was struck in the funny bone.  Burdened with literary imagination and originality, he grew up to snatch the dust covers and embroidered antimacassars off the novels of the day.  He changed literature forever.  He scraped earth under its fingernails and taught it to spit.  He slipped in a subversive American sense of humor.  He made laughing out loud as respectable as afternoon tea."

PAGE - Parent Advocates of Gifted Education

Middleton families of gifted students have been extended and invitation by the Boise Area PAGE group.  This group, lead by Nancy Gregory (Boise School District Trustee and mother of 5 gifted children), organizes monthly gatherings for parents and teachers who are interested in learning more about their gifted children and advocating for them.  Guest speakers and professionals bring information about a variety of topics and parents get a chance to network and learn from each other.

PAGE meets monthly on the 3rd Thursday at 7:00 PM at Grace Jordan Elementary on Overland Road in Boise.

If you are interested in learning more please let me know and I'll get you Nancy's email.  You can also get more information at http://itag-sage.org/Page.html