G.A.T.E. News
Mrs. Brown
TUSD GATE
Department
March
Newsletter
Theme: Communication
Hello…
Spring is in the air!
We are all enjoying learning new strategies,
reviewing ones we know, continuing an
environment of creativity, critical thinking,
and hands-on lessons in our GATE class.
During this time of the year there is so much
going on in the classroom, school, and
home. Let’s continue to do our BEST every
day to show what we know!
STRATEGIES:

Philosophical Chairs
Students are given a topic and asked
to agree, disagree, or be neutral and
explain their reasoning.

Rules of Effective Communication
 Listen to others and allow for equal
voice.
 Keep your communication positive.
 Support your ideas with clear and
logical reasoning.
 Seek to understand the opposing
point of view.
 Keep emotions under control
GATE Itinerant Services
The best way to reach me will be by email:
[email protected]. Don’t forget to sign up
for Remind 101 for your school site which is a
safe, simple messaging system that I can give
important updates and reminders with students
and parents. Each month I will post the newsletter
and any relevant information for all schools at
http://tusdgate.weebly.com.
Things to Remember
There will be No school:
March 17, 2017 – Grading Day
March 20-25 – Spring Break
Your child’s GATE Progress Report will be
sent home with the classroom Progress
Report after Spring Break.
All GATE Testing is completed! All test
results will be sent out by March 2017. If
you have any questions about the test
results please email me or contact
the GATE office at 225-1310.
Wish List for GATE
classes
We really appreciate the families that have
already donated!
 Markers
 Pencil top erasers/erasers
 Glue sticks
 Clorox Wipes
 Index cards
G.A.T.E March Newsletter
Page 2
Family Life with Gifted Children by Carol Bainbridge
Being a parent is never easy, but being the parent of a gifted child can be even more complicated. Here’s what you
can expect.
If your family members seem to be going in different directions, consider setting aside some time every week or so
for special family fun nights. Here are some ideas for those special nights that your family will enjoy even if your
family members don't have super busy schedules.
Different families have different interests, but every family should find one or more of these activities fun. Of course,
any of these activities can be done anytime, but if you find one your family enjoys and make it a regular special
family night, you will create a tradition that bonds the family together and leads to fond memories.
1. Game Night - Set aside a night every week or every two weeks to play one or more games. It may require
some effort for some families to make the time for regular game nights, but it's worth the effort. Just be sure to
have games that the kids will find fun and challenging. Many popular games may not hold the interest of
gifted kids for a whole evening and not all games can be played by the whole family. You'll also want games
for gifted kids that the whole family can play.
2. Reading Dinners - All you need for a reading dinner is dinner and something to read! Instead of the usual
table conversation, the family reads. Reading dinners can be done two ways: 1. Each family member brings
his or her own material to read during dinner. Reading required for work or school is not allowed! 2. The
family agrees on something to read together. It should be something everyone can enjoy, which can be
challenging! Then everyone takes turns reading, even if it's just a page or paragraph. Plays can be fun to read
together since each person can take a different role. These dinners help stress the importance and joy of
reading.
3. Movie Night - Movie watching is another activity the family can enjoy together. All you need is a movie and
some popcorn. If you can plan ahead a bit, the kids can make posters and tickets. If you rent a movie on Friday
and plan to watch it on Saturday night, the kids will have time to make a poster. Some animated movies are
perfect for gifted kids. You might even consider educational videos on their favorite subject, volcanoes or
space, for example.
4. Music Night - Whether your family is particularly musical or not, you can set aside one evening every two
weeks or so for music night. You can watch children's music DVDs or videos, such as KidSongs, and play
instruments or just sing along, you can listen to CDs and play along, or you can create your own music. If no
one in the family is a musician, toy instruments or anything that makes music, even homemade kazoos and
pots and wooden spoons, will work just fine. Not only is this a good family activity, but it's also a good way to
introduce children to music. Musicians in the family can "jam" with their instruments.
5. Art Night - If your family prefers art to music, you can have an art night,during which the whole family paints
or draws or creates some work of art. Each night can have a theme, "nature," for example, so that whether
someone wants to paint, draw or work with clay, he or she will create something related to nature. Or the
family could choose to work with one medium, paint, for example, on each of their art evenings. You can
explore different techniques with brushes, paints, and colors. The youngest can work with finger paints, or the
whole family might work with finger paints.
6. Science Night - For the family who enjoys science, a couple nights a week can be set aside for conducting
simple experiments. A great source for fun and easy experiments is Robert Kampf's The Happy Scientist Web
Site. There is a wealth of information there and quite a few videos of experiments. He also has an Experiment
of the Week newsletter. You simply subscribe to the email list and each week you will find a new experiment
in your email inbox. Most of them are cheap and easy and all of them are fascinating. You can also find
numerous books with simple science experiments at your local library.
7. Drama Night - If your family loves acting and theater, then a drama night might be your special family night.
You can find plays for children in books like 12 Fabulously Funny Fairy Tale Plays. You can also find some
scripts for children's theater on Aaron Shepard's Web site. As your children get older, you can work with more
difficult dramatic material. With the shorter, easier plays, your goal can be to come up with costuming and
sets, and then rehearse and perform the play in one evening. With longer and more difficult works, you can do
just a reading one week and then work on production the next week.