Info and posts about the Gifted program.
NOTE: THIS INFORMATION WAS SENT OUT VIA OUR AUTOMATED E-MAIL SYSTEM ON NOV. 9th OR NOV. 10th BUT IT APPEARS THAT MANY FAMILIES DID NOT RECEIVE IT. (If you have already responded to the original message, thank you.)
Please read the attached letter with regards to the process for all grade 8 gifted students and the Annual IPRC Review.
The Toronto District School Board recently released the draft Enhancing Equity Task Force report which includes recommendations to “reform” (dismantle) the Gifted Program by placing and integrating gifted students into regular classes.
The report’s recommendation to integrate gifted students into a regular classroom is not supported by the research. Policy changes should be supported by evidence-based decision making and the research consistently shows that congregated gifted classrooms benefit both gifted and non-gifted students.
We wholeheartedly oppose the draft Enhancing Equity Task Force recommendations to dismantle the Gifted Program by integrating gifted students into regular classes. We need your help to protect the Gifted Program!
What you can do:
Interested in more information? Contact St. Andrew’s parent Eleanor Stainsby at eleanor.stainsby@gmail.com
Students can sign up and pick up a permission form in-school from Guidance. Students attending the tour must live in-area for either regular program, technological studies, or gifted program.
NOTE: we will depart SAJH by 11:40. Students are responsible for connecting with their classroom teachers about missed work/material.
Northern Secondary
851 Mt Pleasant Rd
Thursday, January 19th, 2017
12:30 – 3:15 p.m. – Tour (in-area students only)
6:00 p.m. – Info night (parents/guardians and out of area families)
Every year there are many questions that both parents and students have with regard to the process and steps needed to continue in the Gifted Program for Grade 9. I have drafted a checklist in the form of a letter for your information. The first step of the process is the Annual IPRC Review meeting. That meeting has been scheduled for students currently placed in the grade 8 gifted classes at St. Andrew’s JHS for Tuesday, December 6th, 2016. (Please note that this date is set by the board and cannot be changed.) This information was sent home with students (on green coloured paper) with a due date of return by today. I have received very few.
I use this information to set up the agenda for the meeting. Please see the attached document, fill out the second page and send it in with your child on Monday, if you haven’t done so already. (I apologize; I noticed after the fact that in making revisions to the letter from past years I inadvertently took out the spot for the student’s name. If you filled out the green form and sent it back, without clearly printing your child’s name on the form, I humbly ask if you could print off the attachment and send it in, again.)
Thank you, in advance, for your assistance with getting this process underway.
D.M. Watson-Drape
Many families have asked about the path that students in the Gifted program will take following their years at St. Andrew’s JHS. Gifted program secondary placement (grade 9) is done by address, and the following link shows the boundaries on the map.
Map-Gifted Sec Boundary P20151030
PLEASE NOTE: This is the map provided to us by TDSB last year when the gifted boundaries changed. We have not been informed of any changes to it at this time, however changes may be made by the Central Special Education office.
ABC Ontario, Toronto Chapter, is thrilled to announce that tickets for this year’s Annual Conference are now on sale. Please join parents and educators as we explore the theme “Do Gifted Really Have Special Needs?”. There are two power-house Key Note Speakers this year: Dr. Gord Flett (York U) and Dr. Marion Porath (UBC), both leaders in the field of gifted research, as well as a cadre of local speakers with a wealth of relevant and important information for those wishing to better understand the needs of gifted students.
Tickets for the full day event, May 7th at the TCDSB (Yonge & Sheppard), from 8:30 – 5:00, are only $75 and include one free child (age 4+) plus lunch. Additional adult tickets are only $20, additional child tickets $15 (both include lunch). There will be a full complement of activities and care for children. If your student would be interested in volunteering (includes lunch) please let us know!
For information and tickets, please visit abctoronto.org.
The Northern Secondary School Department is pleased to offer students who feel they have covered the grade 9 mathematics curriculum the opportunity to write a grade 9 academic math exam. It is expected that the grade 9 material has been self taught and not covered by the grade 8 teacher. This exam is meant to be a diagnostic test used to determine possible course placement in grade 10 math for next year. (Note students will not automatically be placed in grade 10 gifted math as they have been in the past.)
Advanced Placement Option:
Grade 8 students wishing to write the Grade 9 Math exam for placement in Grade 10 Math in September 2016 should contact jennifer.molloy@tdsb.on.ca
The exam will take place on Wednesday, March 23, 2016 from 3:30-5pm in room 119. You should bring a pencil, eraser, scientific calculator, and ruler to the test.
For this and more details about Math at Northern, please visit:
https://sites.google.com/site/northernmathdept/grade-8-students
