October 17, 2016

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.

Thomas Edison

Dear Parents,

We have reached the conclusion of our Growth Mindsetunit. During this unit students learned a great deal about the brain and the benefits of having a Growth Mindset. Today your child is bringing home work from this unit along with a progress report. This progress report is meant to monitor your child’s progress toward meeting the continuation policy for the gifted program. Most of our work is hands-on, so you will not receive many papers from this class. Most of the activities that we do are carried out in a group/partner setting. As you look through your child’s work, please realize that this is just a portion of what your child did while in Gifted Exploratory. You can look for pictures and videos on Class Dojo. Some of the highlights of this unit include:

  • What does the brain do and why is it important for me to know about my brain? To explore this question weread several books, watched video clips, played board games, created a brain, made a brain hat, and even painted the lobes of the brain on a clay model.
  • How does a neuron send and receive messages? We learned about neurons (nerve cells) in a variety of ways. We made neurons using string (see pictures on Dojo).Students also learned that neurons make connections when new learning occurs. We even sang songs about the brain.
  • What is a growth mindset and how can it help me succeed? To cover this question we watched some amazing video clips (posted on my webpage) and discussed growth mindset terms such as: determination, persistence, perseverance, effort, practice, and optimism. We focused on having a Growth Mindset including the Power of Yet! Students are encouraged to no longer say, “I can’t do it”. Instead they say, “I can’t do it…YET”. This teaches students that we have to work hard to achieve our goals. Having a Growth Mindset also encourages students to understand that obstacles, failures and mistakes help us grow and become better. We do not only learn by getting things correct. We learn more by making and correcting our mistakes.
  • What is the connection between inventing, creativity, and a growth mindset?We discussed that inventors must deal with set-backs while inventing. They must also be creative. Students researched the history behind a popular invention and how that invention was either invented by mistake or happenstance.
  • What are the 4 C’s? The 4 C’s are 21st century skills that are part of the graduation competency goals. Throughout engagement in various activities students work to improve the following four skills:Communication, Creativity, Collaboration, and Critical Thinking.
  • What are PLP goals and Learner Profiles? As part of the gifted program, students have a Personal Learning Plan which includes an academic goal, a social goal, and a personal goal. At the beginning of the year, parents were asked to help set a personal goal for their child. These goals can be monitored and viewed on the Learner Profilesplatform. The link to Learner Profiles can be found on the Timber Ridge webpage or click on the following link:

Username: 6-digit student number (This is also your student’s lunch and media center number)

Password: 6-digit birthday + hashtag (For example, the password for Jane Doe born May 10, 2010 would be jd051010#)

We started our next unit on Mysteries. Students will analyze a mystery, create and present their own mystery, and solve logic critical thinking mysteries. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Christine Jones