Partnership for the Advancement of Gifted Education

Forsyth County

(Forsyth County PAGE)

Newsletter March, 2017

The Forsyth County PAGE chapter welcomes gifted students and their parents from public schools, private schools, charter schools, and homeschools operating within Forsyth County, offering support for families and students at all levels (K-5, 6-8, and 9-12).

Publications and Websites

1---Parents should investigate the following websites, each of which comprises an extensive storehouse of information about giftedness and the unique problems and obvious advantages related to giftedness:

A---Davidson Institute for Talent Development

B---Hoagies Gifted Education Page

C---National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC)

2---An online article titled “Fast but Slow? Processing Speed and the Gifted Child” from Every Day Learning is written by Dr. Chi Huang, a psychologist trained in neuropsychological assessment, discusses considerations parents of gifted students should weigh carefully before dismissing issues related to how rapidly their gifted child solves problems.

For instance, some gifted children easily and quickly solve difficult, complex math problems but bog down when dealing with multiple, yet far simpler math problems.

Find the article at

3---Another online article from Davidson Gifted titled “Don’t Always Choose Academics! Why Sports Participation May Be Just as Important” written by L. Kathleen Casper notes that “…very few acknowledge that some childrenexcel in sports is their gifted talent area and that nurturing this interest will bring about success equal to or perhaps even greater than what they could ever achieve in academics.”

Find the website at

4---A third online article from Davidson Gifted titled “8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted” written by L. Van Gemert explains that “Giftedness means that you have ability. Like a seed, it is a potential, but it must be nourished, cared for, fertilized, and have sun in order to grow.”

And “These kids feel differently, as well as think differently. Ifthey don’t get labeled as gifted, they may not get the understanding they need.”

And finally, “Gifted kids think qualitatively different from the norm. They tend to be divergent thinkers, finding the showing of work to be nearly impossible, the explaining of reasoning overly burdensome, and the working within a group virtually unbearable.”

Find the website at

5---Technology, Entertainment, and Design (TED) Talks such as “Let’s Teach for Mastery---Not Test Scores” by Sal Khan (2016) and “How to Raise Successful Kids Without Overparenting” by Julie Lythcott-Haims (2016) are definitely worth a listen.

Find the website at

6---2 books recommended by Dr. Kristin Bennett of Summit School:

A---Quiet Power: The Secret Strength of Introverts written by Susan Cain and Gregory Mone focuses on how introverted kids can use their natural dispositions to help them in school.

B---Susan Cain’s Quiet: The Power of Introverts is a World That Can’t Stop Talking addresses introversion in adults.

REMINDER: Dr. Rick Courtright from the Duke Talent Identification Program (TIP) in Durhamwill speak at Summit School to Forsyth County PAGE parents on May 4that 6:30 PM.

TIP is a non-profit organization that has served over 2.8 million academically talented students in grades 4 through 12 since 1980, helping gifted students assess the extent of their abilities with above-level testing, recognizes them for their achievements, and provides them with a variety of enrichment benefits.

Dr. Courtright will focus his remarks on Mindset, a term coined by Dr. Carol Dweck, that distinguishes between contrasting perspectives on intelligence and has significant ramifications on student performance. Dr. Dweck’s research-based findings on Mindset offer guidance about how parents can interact with their gifted children to optimize academic performance.

Find TIP online at

Educational Opportunities

UNCSA Symphony Orchestra

Saturday, March 18th at 7:30 PM.

Sunday, March 19th at 3:00 PM both performances to be held at Freedman Theatre

Bookmarks Presents Chipper Jones: Behind the Plate

Thursday, April 6th at 6:00 PM at the BB&T Ballpark

Raleigh National College Fair

Tuesday, March 14th 4:30 to 7:30 PM at the Raleigh Convention Center

500 S. Salisbury Street

Charlotte National College Fair

Sunday, March 12th noon to 4;00 pm at The Park Expo and Conference Center

Independence Hall 800 Briar Creek Road

Divergent Thinking Summit: A Conference for Inspiring Learning

Wednesday March 15th 8:30 am to 2:30 pm at Summit School

2100 Reynolda Road

Community Resources

Bookmarks is a literary non-profit organization that delivers experiences celebrating books and authors throughout the year with the goal of creating a community of passionate readers and connecting readers with authors and books. Bookmarks holds monthly events culminating in the annual Festival of Books and Authors every September.

Find the website at

Southeastern Center for the Contemporary Art brings living artists, theorists, cultural producers, and luminaries from across the arts, humanities, and sciences to the community from all corners of the world. SECCA’s unique talk programs are responsive to their exhibitions and share far-ranging ideas and perspectives. Free gallery tours led by SECCA educators facilitate conversation and encourage new interpretation of their exhibitions. One of their future exhibitions is titled “SoundSeen: Remix.” Sound turned to images remixes the senses.

Find the website at

The University of North Carolina School of the Arts is apublic coeducational arts conservatory that grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. It is one of 17 campuses which comprise the University of North Carolina system. Founded in 1963, the UNCSCA was the first public arts conservatory in the United States.

Find the website at