Pruett's AIG Blog for IBJ

Here's a snap of our proud NOETIC Math Contest participants who scored in the top 50% in the nation! Take my word for it, there are few principals like Sarah Cain, who funded this celebration. Here she is picking up the tab and tweeting pictures of this success! Thank you students and Ms. Cain!

Our enrichment study groups used convergent thinking to generate HUGE lists of rules for succeeding at Jones. We discussed and broke down all these ideas with the synthesis being a Top Ten List. Here's the final 10 - what do you think? Don’t be afraid to do what’s right Make friends not enemies Don’t be distracting Stay safe Be respectful Treat others the way you want to be treated Don’t judge people by their appearance Follow the rules Let your actions set a good example Work hard

Our fourth grade math students have been working with 30-second multiplication quizzes to ensure their easy access of this hugely important building block for mathematical work. Here's a snap of a chart I'm keeping for mastery - that is passing TWO quizzes for each multiplication table. One is in order, the other random! Tricky! Anyway, they're doing pretty well. Here's a snap! (That's right, no names attached, but I'm happy to share at parent's request!)

About forty 4th and 5th grade students qualify for Duke's 4/5 Grade Talent Search, notices of which were mailed last week. Here are some benefits from the program: Benefits of participation—what should my students expect if they enroll? Students will receive a monthly email with important program reminders, including a link to  Navigator , our online magazine that explores new topics each month, helps students discover potential areas of interest, and highlights the creative work of our talented students. Throughout the year and until the student finishes sixth grade, students can participate in our bimonthly book club (see below for our newest title), submit a story in December or an illustration in March for our annual  Writing and Illustration Contest , find other challenging programs across the country through the  Opportunity Guide , and get advice on how to make the most of their time at school in our annual  Academic 411 . Parents can help students decide if the

Here's a couple of likely math students studying Paschal's Triangle. Ms. Brown and I have been working together to provide for gifted learners within the math enrichment block. I'll soon meet with groups to pursue some math simulations. Exciting!

Congratulations to Ms. Sarah Cain, ACS Principal of the Year!

So I am the proud owner of a new phone extension at IBJ! The number, as noted, is 350-6709. Please feel free to call! I usually have it on silent, so leave a message, and I'll be in touch!

Duke University's Talent Identification Program (TIP) recognizes high performing students in grades 4-6. TIP provides some recognition for these students as well as available programming both online and in summer programs. None of this is free, but enrollment isn't too expensive with opportunities for needs-based scholarships. One advantage shared with me over the years is the opportunity for off-grade-level testing. Basically, students can take assessments like ACT and SAT before high school. In terms of preparing for these measures, I think it can be helpful to know the formats. The measure for participation is 95%ile or greater on any number of tests. Current IBJ fourth grade  qualifying letters went out this week. The notice includes an application. It is not intended as an exhaustive data review - as it will include one or maybe two qualifying scores. If you're interested in more information contact me or Duke:   https://tip.duke.edu/programs/4th-6th-grade-tale

Here are three likely math students, demonstrating concepts of division by modeling their thinking with words and base 10 blocks. Ms. Warren continues to challenge all math students with lessons and ideas from DMI math training. I'm lucky enough to sit in when I can!

Many of you may know that AMS AIG teacher Jo Landreth Gibbs lost two of her sons to a car crash this week. In an attempt to rally community support, AMS has set up a Go Fund Me site for Jo and her surviving son, Henry.  Here's a link to this site, if you are interested:                                        https://www.gofundme.com/jo-and-henry-gibbs-fund Thanks for keeping this family in your thoughts and prayers!

If you've never had a chance to see the positive referral celebrations led by S. Cain, you're missing something! Here are some shots of K-5 students whose behavior and actions have ranked them as Super CUBS this week. Note a bunch of Safety Patrol!

How exciting to be back at Jones with a dynamic new space for AIG services! Welcome back, all! This week I'll plan with our district team and Jones teachers for services to begin next week. Many thanks to Ms. Cain for hewing out this cool new space -formerly the Volunteer Center. I look forward to seeing you all soon!

I'd be remiss if I didn't comment on this delightful sculpture left for me earlier in the year. What an interesting treat to find! Y'all have a great summer!

Here's a snap of our outgoing class!

And here's a less formal letter from me to our rising sixth graders. Best of luck in middle school, no matter where! June 2017 Dear students (and parents/supporters, too): Well, that’s about it. For your time at Jones at least. I have (for this fleeting moment at least) the distinct pleasure of working with amazing kids through several years in school. And I want you to know that I value our time together. When asked (infrequently) as to what is the value in what I do, I often respond that it has little to do with curriculum - a fancy way of saying the stuff we teach. You all have academic and intellectual gifts. You mostly ‘get’ the skills in classrooms. Our time together was a chance to go beyond a bit. But also to have a place where your gifts were valued, a place where we could talk about how to measure love, the value of penguins and poodles, and the risks of getting in duffle bags. I hope to have accomplished that. Maybe you’ll remember our time together w

Here's the last crop of Jones Stories from fifth graders in ESG. I included all the ones that didn't try to defame me, LOL. You know who you are! Have a great summer!

Hello, all! I will be sending home folders with a lot of fifth grade work this week. Included in this packet are results from our simulations from ESG and ASG Math. ALSO there is a front/back letter. One side is an official letter about sixth grade in ACS while the other is a brief letter from me. Here's the official one: June 2017 Parents of Rising AIG 6 th Graders: As we approach the end of the school year, it is time to look towards gifted services at the middle school level.  We have already begun, and will continue in the fall, to collect data on each AIG student in order to determine the very best service match for your child. Here is the process that will be used to match appropriate services to a student’s determined needs: ALL 6 th grade students, including those identified as AIG, will take the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) in the fall of 2017. The CogAT consists of three sections: Quantitative, Nonverbal, and Verbal. It measures students’ le

Here are a few more snaps of fourth grade ASGR students playing games they made to reflect our final novel, The House with a Clock in its Walls.

I have to laud this young lady for her perseverance! Between technical difficulties and time constraints, it took a few tries. But we got it! Enjoy!

Here's another installment of our fifth grader's recollections:  

Everyone has a story to tell. Our fifth grade ESG students definitely have theirs! Over the past couple of weeks, they've worked on "Jones Stories" to tell.  We watched some kids storytelling contests as models. So classes are rolling out these stories, here's a few for your consideration.

Think Tic Tac Toe is just for younger kids? Think again! Ultimate Tic Tac Toe is a considerably more challenging game. Strategy plays a bigger role as you determine where your opponent plays! Ask your kids about it! I sent home new games with them for you to check out!

Here are the last two of Mr. Brown's ESG students to present. Enjoy!

I've had some minor setbacks with technology, but we managed to get this one in today. Here's a heavy one from fourth grade inquiry work:  

More inquiry projects from fourth graders:

Here’s some of what’s going on in AIG at IBJ: ASGMath 5 Having wrapped up simulations, students will be working with decimal and measurement conversion (5) and multi-step word problems (4). Sounds easy? Not really. The work will begin fairly simply and then get very hard very fast. I’m going to run this work like a competition, so hold on tight. This work, btw, comes from my favorite mathematician, Ed Zacarro.  Those who wrap up are working on presentations about famous mathematicians. Hopefully they’ll be wrapped up and ready to share by year’s end! 4 With Noetic Math Competition results released (7 students in our nation’s top 50%!) these folks will be reviewing the math work. I’ll give them a couple of classes to revisit the challenge and revise their answers. 3 These students continue their work with pentominoes. They’ll be working with geometric flipping, sliding, and symmetry prior to more challenging work with area and perimeter. All using pentominoes. What is

I am proud of all 28 students who stepped up to take the Noetic Math Contest. Regardless of results, it's always a good thing for students to have challenge - which this contest certainly provided. Here are snaps of our team winner (student with highest score) and the national honor roll recipients (those students in the top 50% of national scores).

I've been posting the fourth grade inquiry presentation separately, but we had a VERY productive day in Mrs. Fox's ESG and there are a number available for your viewing pleasure! Check them out!

Another inquiry presentation from fourth grade:

Here's another in a long line of fascinating fourth grade inquiry projects:

Fourth grade readers recently completed John Bellairs' spooky classic, The House with a Clock in its Walls. Students worked on a number of assignments during this work. The culmination was to design a game based on it. Here are some snaps of what these look like!

Oops! Here's a Math Problem of the Week winner from April! Belated congratulations!!

Inquiry project from Enrichment Study Group:

Inquiry project from Enrichment Study Group:

Today it was my honor to emcee the Elementary Battle of the Books at IBJ. EBOB students benefit from the hard work of ACS media coordinators, including our own beloved Mrs. Eva Page. Ms. Sarah Cain was also on hand to welcome schools and introduce the proceedings.

Over all, the Noetic Math Competition had 32431 participants in 47 states. Of these, nearly 7400 fourth graders took the challenge! Results are in from the website:  https://www.noetic-learning.com At IBJ, although we had no students finishing in the top 10%, we had seven students finishing with Honorable Mention - those finishing in the top 50%. That, btw, is awesome!! I'll be in touch with the seven families PLUS there will be forthcoming recognition for all students who participated!

Prior to spring break, it was my pleasure to host a paideia (pie-dee-uh) seminar with all three fourth grade classes. The focus of our work was Robert Lindneux's painting Trail of Tears , shown below. Paideia seminars are chances for students to learn through guided Socratic questions. Ask them about it!

Maybe you know this week's Math Problem of the Week winner? Awesome!!

Here are some third graders reflecting on our work in ASG Reading. We read a story about a kind who thought more highly of his ability to trick than he actually could! Ask your kids about how a poor but clever peasant made this work to the advantage of a village!

Here's another installment of fourth grade inquiry work. The video does lighten up after a few seconds!

STEAM (science technology, engineering, art, math for the uninitiated) education is and should be a national priority. It's important for young people to have experiences that draw on their ability to problem solve and apply concepts to actual work - in this case construction. In 3rd and 4th grade enrichment study groups, we've been working with Little Bits, robotic construction kits. These cool sets provide problems for students in terms of how to use circuits to build interesting machines.

Our Advanced Subject Group in Math meets on Thursdays in the media center. Here are some students working with the tools we'll be using to study geometry. They are constructing pentominos. Ask you kids what a pentomino is!

Twenty-eight fourth graders took the Noetic Math Contest today. Twenty questions in forty-five minutes! It seemed to be challenging, and that's great! A couple of folks registered their opinion: Hard builds character! I'll grade and post results to Noetic. Official results will be after Spring Break, around April 28.  Remember that recognition is based on national performance, and it will take time to crunch those numbers!

Some student challenged me to post this video. Go girls! Seek out STEAM education!

Way to go IBJ Science Olympians! Congratulations on your awesome second place finish!

Here are some examples of work from our third grade ESG students. This work (and others) should go home this week. At the end of the post please find the attached letter for parents. Cheers! Dear Parents and Supporters: Students qualify for an AIG Enrichment Study Group (ESG) based on either a high aptitude measure - in ACS that’s the Cognitive Abilities Test - or a combination of aptitude and additional achievement measures like the EOG, BOG, or iReady assessments. These groups are designed as multi-curricular enrichment opportunities for students. Inherent also is the time to work with like-ability peers. At Jones this year, these groups began with a pretty extensive review of AIG services and qualifications. As part of this introduction, we shared a book called Insects Are My Life by Megan McDonald which depicts a girl who has an intense interest in bugs. It is my experience that gifted kids often have such interests,