GATEWAY (Gifted and Talented Education With All Youth) Mission:    

To support all students through talent development and to identify, challenge, and encourage academically advanced and creative learners.

Hello Families,

Happy February… how time flies!

Students in grades 1-3, who are identified using multiple measures, have been participating in Tier 3 pull out GATEWAY instruction.  Each Tier 3 rotation consists of 7 weeks.

Through exploration of the Primary Education Thinking Skills (PETS) program students have been learning about convergent, divergent, visual, and evaluative thinking.

Examples of thinking skills lessons…

• Convergent Thinking - One characteristic of students who excel at convergent thinking is the ability to arrive at the one correct answer intuitively.  Through collaboration third grade students solve logic elimination grids.

• Evaluative Thinking - Decisions are based on valid, factual, observable or measurable criteria rather than opinions.  Second grade students use this thinking skill to decide on a fictional school improvement plan.

• Visual Thinking - Students enjoy activities involving the mental manipulation of shapes and may respond well to visual images such as graphic organizers.  Through the manipulation of symmetrical shapes, first grade students were able to complete a domino challenge.

Please ask your child about the activities they have been working on.  We’d love to hear about some GATEWAY Memories.  Please take a moment to record your child's memory.     A few responses will be highlighted in a future newsletter.

Our brains love the GATEWAY workouts!

Sincerely, Lynn Tabor & Ellen Zontini