Bridges Conference Parent Seminar
Ann Koch, NWGCA President

The 2005 WAETAG conference included a wonderful event for parents on Saturday, October 29th in Vancouver.  Dr. James Delisle entertained us with stories both poignant and amusing, about his middle school students in a breakout session well attended by parents.  I'm sure that for many parents, it was the first time that they were in a group where others who share their world of parenting a gifted child surrounded them.  That in itself was very rewarding and reassuring.
Dr. Delisle spoke of Annemarie Roeper's definition of giftedness that states: "Giftedness is a greater awareness, a greater sensitivity, and a greater ability to understand and transform perceptions into intellectual and emotional experiences."  He also spoke at length about how to talk with kids about their giftedness.  From his book with Judy Galbraith, When Gifted Kids Don't Have All the Answers: How to Meet Their Social and Emotional Needs, he gave us his "Eight Great Gripes of Gifted Kids."  Number One is "No one explains what being gifted is all about - it's kept a big secret."  He supported those ideas with many stories from the classroom, where he continues to teach.
Many parents stopped by the Northwest Gifted Child Association (NWGCA) booth to chat and discuss resources for various interests.  The raffle for a Kodak digital camera, as well as books about gifted education was well received.  Books were won by:
Kristin Ramirez from Dayton
Elizabeth Williamson from Bothell
Charlotte Akin from Vancouver
Cathleen Rolph from Soldotna, Alaska
The Kodak camera was won by Allison Carpenter a middle school teacher of the highly capable from Ellensberg.
Congratulations and thanks to all those who supported NWGCA.

NOVA Discoveries Day Camp
July 31st-August 4th

Looking for a summer experience to keep your highly capable students excited about learning through the summer?  Looking for a place for your gifted child to learn with academic peers?

NOVA School, an independent school for academically talented youth located in central Olympia, is offering a summer day camp experience specifically designed for highly capable students going into 4th , 5th, or 6th grades.

The camp will offer a variety of exciting academically enriched classes in a morning session from 9:00 A.M.--12:00 P.M. and also in an afternoon session from 1:00 P.M.--4:00 P.M.  Students can choose from different offerings in the morning and afternoon and attend all day if they so desire. (Students will need a recommendation from a teacher to enroll.)

For more information call NOVA School  360-491-7097 or watch our website  www.novaschool.org.

The Center for Gifted Education
at Whitworth College


Whitworth's School of Education offers a Master of Arts in Teaching, with an Emphasis in Gifted & Talented.  Each year we conduct a Summer Institute for Professional Development, with several short courses of current and practical use to teachers.  The Center has an extensive library of current and classic gifted materials, including periodicals and major texts in the field. We are also available as a resource for teachers in the areas of curriculum planning, classroom management, learning styles realization, internet resources, and lesson planning for dealing with gifted children in all types of programs, from pull-out to inclusive.
http://www.whitworth.edu/Academic/Department/Education/Gifted/Index.htm