Newsletter- January 2018

Dear Parents-

       It is hard for me to believe that this school year is already halfway over and we have been very busy with several activities. In December, we began learning some computer programming.  Over eight million other students from around the world participate in Hour of Code, which is a global movement in over 180 countries. Learning computer programming helps nurture problem-solving and creativity.

We are also finishing up our research projects. Students in grades K-3 have been working on researching and writing a book on a specific wild animal of their choice. When these books are complete we are planning to display them in our media center.  Fourth and fifth graders have been working with Genius Hour, which is based on a business practice that Google uses with their developers. They are allowed to use 20% of their time, provided that work has the potential to advance the company. Our guidelines/rules for Genius Hour are as follows:

-You must start with a real-world question or problem.

-Your answer/solution must require research. It must require more than a Google Search.

-Your final project must be shareable.

Finally, within the next couple of weeks, we will begin Virtual Literacy Circles where we are using Edmodo and Google Hangout, free technology programs to communicate with one another and other classes from around the world. These Virtual Literacy Circles do a wonderful job of honing literacy and technology skills and are a big hit with the students.

As a reminder, I have an open door policy and if you have any questions and/or concerns please contact me through email snyderf@manateeschools.

                                          Thank you,

 Frances M. Snyder (Francie)

 Educator of the Gifted

 Abel, Bayshore, Oneco, and Prine Elementary Schools

Newsletter-October 2017

Dear Parents-

Our Gifted Laboratory is off to a great start this year! One thing we have been striving for is

to keep a focus on our learning process rather than our final products. Since many of the strategies we use in one inquiry will be needed in another, it is my hope this focus will help strategies transfer. This quarter, we have spent a great deal of time exploring and discussing the idea of metacognition, or the awareness and understanding of your own thoughts. We are identifying and exploring these concepts in a variety of subjects from dealing with text to strategy games.

During the next quarter we will be exploring the ideas around Grit. Grit is defined as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals.” The research on Grit has shown it contributes to long term success. It proposes individuals who possess a drive to tirelessly work through challenges, failures and adversity to achieve, set goals and are uniquely positioned to reach higher achievements than others who lack similar stamina, no matter their intelligence level. With this in mind, we will spend time defining, listening to experts, holding group discussions and writing reflections on the role Grit plays in our personal success. Throughout the year, these types of explorations will encourage students to own their individual growth process. As a parent, one thing you can do to encourage and/or develop this mindset in your child is to focus your praise on process, learning, and effort (You really worked hard on this and have learned a lot. You did a great job of developing a plan and following it through. You’ve really developed as a musician.), as opposed to ability (You’re so clever. Look how smart you are; you did that so fast. You’re good at math. You’ve got a lot of talent.)

We will also begin to explore the topic of Genius Hour, which is based on a business practice that Google uses with their developers. They are allowed to use 20% of their time, provided that work has the potential to advance the company. Like everything else we do in our program, we will be focusing on the process. There will be mini lessons on strategies such as choosing an appropriate topic, note taking, developing a quality product and other items that may appear throughout. 

Our guidelines/rules for Genius
Hour are as follows:
-You must start with a real-world question or problem.
-Your answer/solution must require research. It must require more than a Google Search.
-Your final project must be shareable.
I am really looking forward to seeing where these students take these projects.

Again, if you need to reach me, the best way is through email snyderf@manateeschools.net.

Thank you,
Frances M. Snyder (Francie)
Educator of the Gifted
Abel, Bayshore, Oneco, and Prine Elementary Schools 

Newsletter- January 2016

Dear Parents-

       It is hard for me to believe that this school year is already half way over and we have been very busy with several activities. Again, this December we participated with eight million other students from around the world in the Hour of Code. This is a global movement in over 180 countries. The organizers feel that-Every student should have the opportunity to learn computer science. It helps nurture problem-solving and creativity.

            During this quarter some of our older students continued their work on  Genius Hour, which is  based on a business practice that Google uses with their developers.  They are allowed to use 20% of their time, provided that work has the potential to advance the company.

Our guidelines/rules for Genius Hour are as follows:

-You must start with a real-world question or problem.

-You answer/solution must require research. It must require more than a Google Search.

-Your final project must be sharable.

I am really looking forward to seeing where these students take these projects.

Students have each crafted an Action Plan that clearly states what they hope to accomplish. This includes:  the goal, the procedures, a definition of what their completed  project looks like, and how it will be evaluated. We are really looking forward to sharing our work sometime after spring testing.

            Other groups are working on research projects and with all of these projects the process is our focus. There will be mini lesson on strategies such as: choosing an appropriate topic, note taking, developing a quality product and other items that may appear throughout. Our younger students are each working on Animal Projects and have been exploring an animal of their choice.

            Finally, Virtual Literacy Circles where we are using Edmodo and Google Hangout free technology programs to communicate with one another and other classes from around the world. In December we had two Virtual Literacy Circles up and running with several more this spring. These Virtual Literacy Circles do a wonderful job of honing literacy and technology skills and are a big hit with the students.

            As a reminder, I have an open door policy and if you have any questions and/or concerns please contact me through email snyderf@manateeschools.net.

                                                                                    Sincerely,

                                                                                    Miss Snyder

Newsletter-October 2015

Dear Parents-

We are off to a great start this year! One of the things we have been striving for in our Gifted Laboratory is to keep the focus on our learning process and not the final products.  Many of the strategies we use in one inquiry will be needed in another and it is my hope that by focusing on the process of learning rather than final products, strategies will transfer. Don’t get me wrong, we are not sacrificing quality, we are attempting to stress if you plan and execute quality throughout you are more likely to produce a quality final product with less stress.  With that theme in mind, we spent some time both exploring and learning to use The Scientific Method. Students worked in small groups to design experiments using bubbles and other materials in the classroom. There were many discussions about the need for measurable data, it is okay for a hypothesis to be wrong, and other elements of the process. There are plans for a lot more Science Technology Art and Math (STEAM) this year in the program.

We have also begun to explore the topic of Genius Hour, which is  based on a business practice that Google uses with their developers.  They are allowed to use 20% of their time, provided that work has the potential to advance the company.  Like everything else we do in our program we will be focusing on the process. There will be mini lesson on strategies such as: choosing an appropriate topic, note taking, developing a quality product and other items that may appear throughout. Our guidelines/rules for Genius Hour are as follows:

-You must start with a real-world question or problem. 

-You answer/solution must require research. It must require more than a Google Search.

-Your final project must be sharable. 

I am really looking forward to seeing where these students take these projects. 

We have also begun to explore the idea of Grit, as a personal trait. Grit is defined as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals.” The research on Grit has shown it contributes to long term success. The research propose that individuals who possess a drive to tirelessly work through challenges, failures, and adversity to achieve, set goals and are uniquely positioned to reach higher achievements than others who lack similar stamina, no matter their intelligence level. We have spent time defining, listening to experts, holding group discussions and writing reflections on the role Grit plays in our person success. These types of exploration throughout the year encourage students to own their own growth process.  One thing, as a parent, you can do to help encourage and/or develop this mindset in your child is focus your praise on process, learning, and effort (You really worked hard on this and have learned a lot. You did a great job of developing a plan and following it through. You’ve really developed as a musician.), as opposed to ability (You’re so clever. Look how smart you are; you did that so fast. You’re good at math. You’ve got a lot of talent.)

This quarter has brought us some good news as well. Thanks to Donors Choose and some friends of mine, we were able to purchase locks and other supplies for our Break Out Room. Our Breakout Room activities will teach teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking, and troubleshooting by presenting participants with challenges that ignite their natural drive to problem-solve. These materials will be used several times throughout the year. Also, we received a three hundred dollar grant from the Manatee Education Foundation entitled “Creative Engineering”. These hands on materials will be utilized throughout the this year to provide inquiry based STEAM (Science, Technology, Arts and Math) Activities. I am looking forward to getting these materials into the students’ hands as soon as possible. If you know an organizations or any individuals who donate to the Manatee Education Foundation please be sure to thank them for what they are doing, not only our gifted laboratory, but so many other classrooms across the district. 

I try my best to ask for very little supplies throughout the year and only ask for things that we use a great deal of. I want to personally thank the four or five families who have sent in the items I requested and please know the extra help goes a long way. If you have not already done so we could still use your help. Thank you in advance

Supply List:

-2 reams of white copy paper

-4 sharpened pencils

Thank you, 

Frances M. Snyder (Francie)