Pruett's AIG Blog for IBJ

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, ...

The second primary document fifth grade ESG students reviewed was a broadside from 1770. Ask them about what a broadside is - AND what this example urged colonists to do (or NOT do)! Students applied their understanding of this document to concerns of their own. Here are some examples of what our students considered topics important enough to urge change!