24-Hour Attendance Line: (949) 936-6251
www.iusd.org/tr/May 9 , 2013
Upcoming Events
Past Due!
Residency Verification and Returning Survey Past Due!
Links: Residency Verification and TR Survey for 2013-2014
May 10
Early Dismissal at 1:20 p.m.
Rocket Building, 1:20 – 3:30
NOTE: Begins right after school gets out – EARLY DISMISSAL
May 13
Irvine Junior Games Practice, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
May 16
Irvine Junior Games Practice, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
May 7-17
STAR Testing
May 19
Irvine Junior Games, Irvine High Stadium, 9:30 a.m.
May 21
Scholastic Book Fair, 8:00 a.m. – 3:15 p.m., Room 29
May 22
Art Masters Workshop, 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., MPR
Scholastic Book Fair, 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., Room 29
Open House, 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
May 23
Scholastic Book Fair, 8:00 – 2:00 p.m., Room 29
May 23
Early Dismissal at 1:20 p.m.
May 24-27
Memorial Day Holiday Weekend – No School
May 28
Staff Development - No Students
Volunteer of the Week!
She's the mom who has encouraged our
5th & 6th graders during this year's Team
Kids
Challenge.....Kathleen
Rogers!!!
Kathleen, mom to Amber in 4th grade, has
spent
countless
hours
leading
and
motivating our kids to give back to the
community. Her dedication and amazing
organizational skills have led our kids to
organizing a hugely successful carnival
with proceeds being donated to CHOC
Hospital. We're so lucky to have her on
the PTA Board! Congratulations on a super
job!
Team Kids Service Learning Challenge
Congratulations to our 5th and 6th grade
Team Leaders for hosting a fantastically
fun and successful Carnival! They showed
tremendous team spirit in their effort to
raise money for the Children’s Hospital of
Orange County and to delight their fellow
Turtle Rock students with a rollicking good
time.
Team Leader’s dedication and
collaboration brought 35 entertaining
games and activities to fruition, with an
amazing result.
The Carnival raised
$1,785.80 for CHOC! Awesome job Team
Leaders! Congratulations and thank you to
the entire community of Turtle Rock
students, teachers, parents and staff. Your
support was an essential part of the
Carnival’s success! Please join us at the
June 12th ROCKS assembly, where the
check for $1,785.80 will be presented to
CHOC.
Spring Book Fair – May 21st -23rd
Turtle Rock’s Scholastic Book Fair is
coming during Open House Week. Look for
more information in next week’s conduit.
Residency Verification and SurveyPast Due!
Please Note: Students will not be assigned
to a classroom for the upcoming school
year (2013-2014) until the office has
received
the
completed
residency
documentation.
Please complete and
return as soon as possible.
GATE News
You are invited to attend the next general
meeting of CAC-GATE, the Community
Advisory Committee for GATE, on May
14th, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. at the I.U.S.D.
Administration Center, 5050 Barranca
Parkway, Irvine. Cindy Muchnick, M.A.
Educational Consultant and author of “The
Everything Guide to Study Skills”, will be
presenting “Steps to Success: Middle
School and Beyond”.
“Every child one voice”
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Location: I.U.S.D. Administration Center, 5050 Barranca Parkway, Irvine
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COORDINATOR’S MESSAGE
A
s parents, we want our children to have “the best” in order
to get the most out of life. However, how do we determine
“the best” when it comes to the educational setting?
When it comes to making decisions for our children, it’s impor‐
tant to remember that every child is different. They may share
common attributes; however, just as no two snowflakes are alike,
each individual has a unique structure for every component of
life, even with the concept of learning. There are hundreds of
books outlining theories of how we learn. While there may be
truth to the findings, the prescription does not match every
learner.
IUSD’s leaders recognize that we have a diverse population of
high‐level learners. We could even favorably compare Irvine to
Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon “where all the women are
strong, all the men are good‐looking, and all the children are
above average.” In fact, approximately 25% of IUSD’s student
population is GATE‐identified. These students require a differ‐
entiated program because they are able to think above and
beyond the grade‐level standards, retain more information over
a longer period, and demonstrate understanding at a more
sophisticated level. To best serve our advanced learners, IUSD
provides two options in grades 4 through 6: the GATE‐cluster and
the Alternative Program for Academically Advanced Students
(APAAS).
Back in 1980, GATE consisted of a pull‐out program. Identified
students were removed from their regular classes for a couple of
hours each week to meet with the GATE specialist and work on a
more challenging activity that was not necessarily related with
what was being taught to their classmates.
Fortunately, times have changed, and gifted students are not just
challenged for two hours once a week. Now advanced learners
have opportunities throughout each school day to extend their
critical thinking skills.
The GATE‐cluster program, which every elementary school pro‐
vides, is designed to meet the typical advanced learner’s acade‐
mic needs. Teachers with GATE clusters plan their lessons using
depth and complexity techniques which encourage students to
work at a more advanced level, examine issues from multiple
perspectives, and then add their own ideas to the resulting prod‐
uct. For most elementary aged students, the cluster program
provides sufficient rigor.
APAAS, originally created to serve highly‐advanced learners in a
rigorous, all‐day accelerated program, has also changed over the
past couple of years. APAAS is now a program for those under‐
served, highly advanced, out‐of‐the‐box students who thrive
when the academic “templates” have been removed. These
students require unique methods that allow them to work
(Continued on page 2)
Advisor: Beth Andrews, IUSD GATE Coordinator. The GATER is published quarterly by the Community Advisory Committee
for Gifted and Talented Education (CAC-GATE). Important information can be found at http://iusd.org/parent_resources/gate/index.html.
If you have any questions, comments, suggestions or articles, please call GATE office at (949) 936-5120.
Page 2
May 2013 • GATE News
GATE-CAC Chairpersons’ Message
By Wendy Bokota
A
s the school year comes to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to thank CAC Board members Abdullah
Ficici, Isabel Yepes, Sholeh Dominick, and Maria Howard, who have volunteered their time to make this year such
a successful one. I would also like to thank Beth Andrews and Carol‐Lynn Patist for their continued leadership and
support of IUSD’s GATE and APAAS teachers, parents, and students. Thank you also to the Irvine Public Schools
Foundation (IPSF), who once again, successfully held two GATE Days, one in October and one in February. Over the course
of both days, nearly 200 students were given the opportunity to take enrichment classes in the areas of science, tech‐
nology and creative arts. Proceeds from GATE Days are used to provide funding to support innovative curriculum grant
requests from teachers of gifted students. We are also lucky to have IPSF supporting educational enrichment for our stu‐
dents throughout the summer months. You’ll find summer enrichment opportunities for students in grades K‐12 at
www.ipsfacademy.org.
Please join us at our final meeting of the school year on May 14th, at 6:30 p.m., to hear guest speaker, Cindy Muchnick,
educational consultant and author of several books for parents and students on how to navigate high school and prepare
for college. Her experience as a college admissions counselor enables her to focus on early preparation for success.
Having a junior in high school this year, I am experiencing firsthand the importance of early planning and making every
year in high school count. This topic brings out our biggest crowds, so come early to get a seat.
Also at our last meeting, we will hold elections for positions on the 2013‐14 GATE/APAAS Community Advisory Committee
board. If you are interested in submitting your name, please complete the form at the end of the newsletter. I encour‐
age you to get involved and help us engage our parent community.
As we move through the final months of the school year, I hope each of you notice all of the accomplishments of your
gifted student, whether they be academic, athletic, social or emotional. All of these traits are equally important in rais‐
ing successful, well‐rounded, contributing members of society.
I hope the CAC has been a useful resource for you this year. Please provide us with feedback and ideas to help us improve
what we do to support the parent community.
C o o r d i n a t o r ’ s M e s s a g e (Continued from page 1)
outside of the boundaries as they delve deeper into the core cur‐
riculum. These students achieve success when they can interject
their own ideas into the content and create their own methods
for demonstrating understanding. The content is provided, yet
the process and/or product is driven more by the students.
Approximately 5% of IUSD students truly belong in APAAS.
IUSD takes great steps in placing students in each program and
each class. Our goal is to foster students in their development of
the joy of learning. We focus on how each student learns and
how that individual might best be served. While we hope our
children will have “the best” of everything they want and have
worked hard to achieve, we also want to prepare them for the
world around them. Finally, regardless of which academic pro‐
gram your gifted student is a member of, the most important
component is that he/she develop a love of learning. As a life‐
long learner, he/she will enjoy the process and thrive in any aca‐
demic environment. It’s not about which institution provides the
curriculum and instruction; it’s about who the student is and
what he/she gains from the experience. The reality of life is that
we don’t always get what we want and/or deserve. However,
through the lessons that accompany the trials and tribulations of
life, we truly learn the most, and are best prepared to embrace
our world.
Speaking of the world beyond IUSD, Deerfield’s wonderful fifth
grade APAAS teacher, Linda Heath, is leaving to enjoy her retire‐
ment with her husband, Chuck. Having taught for 25 years at
Deerfield, Linda has devoted a lifetime to working with and for
gifted students. As the consummate communicator with both
students and parents, Linda has always offered her students
words of wisdom along with her wry sense of humor. We wish
Linda well as she heads off on a grand tour of Europe, and then
returning home to spend time with her grandchildren. Linda will
be dearly missed by the Deerfield family and the IUSD APAAS
team. A world of thanks to Linda for her committed and dedi‐
cated service!
Before we head off for the summer, I have a few words of thanks.
First and foremost, I want to thank Carol‐Lynn Patist, GATE
Administrative Assistant, for all of her work over the course of
this year. Carol‐Lynn jumped right into her role and, through her
calm demeanor and discerning abilities, guided many, including
me, along the way.
Thank you to our magnificent CACGATE Board. Without each of
you, well, we probably wouldn’t have a united GATE community!
Also, to the Irvine Public Schools Foundation, thank you for your
(Continued on page 3)
GATE News • May 2013
Page 3
Bonita Canyon
G A T E 2 0 13
All teachers at Bonita Canyon are being thoughtful in their differentiation of our GATE
population as they are creating lessons that are more aligned to the common core stan‐
dards. There has been a stronger emphasis in lessons and activities that will ultimately
help in preparing students to follow the true mission of common core: “To create a stu‐
dent population that is both college and career ready.” This includes the ability to:
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Demonstrate independence
Build strong content knowledge
Respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline
Comprehend as well as critique
Value evidence
Use technology and digital media strategically and capably
Understand other perspectives and cultures
Gate students in the fourth grade have been continuing to problem solve through the Singapore math challenge word problems where
there is a strong emphasis on mathematical language and vocabulary development. Differentiated reading groups are busy using their
skills to research statistics and facts on professional baseball teams. Through the use of digital media, students get to prepare a report
that will allow them to explore in depth and enjoy the novelty of a research assignment. GATE students will also get to go on an histor‐
ical and educational guided tour focusing on the Westward Movement and life in early California on our annual trip to Knott’s Berry
Farm. The activities will focus on gold mining, transportation, living conditions, and hardships of pioneer life in the old West. This field
trip will conclude back at school with teachers organizing GATE students to complete another research report on significant characters
and people of the California Gold Rush.
Fifth‐graders at Bonita Canyon recently finished up the Earth Science Unit with group projects related to extreme weather. GATE stu‐
dents formed in groups to explore more deeply such topics as hurricanes, tornadoes, monsoons, and thunderstorms. Then these groups
presented a dance to rap lyrics, skits, and Powerpoint presentations on the topics. GATE students also enriched their study of social sci‐
ence by reading the historical novel Guns for General Washington. Each student wrote a summary of one chapter which will then be
turned into a collaborative synopsis of the entire story.
Sixth Grade GATE students at Bonita Canyon have differentiated assignments on a regular basis in many areas: Reading, Social Science,
Math, and Writing.
Every day in Math there is a challenge assignment that involves more complex applications of the math skill being studied. Though this
assignment is not entirely based on GATE identification, all GATE students are expected to do the challenge activity each day.
In Reading we use RTI groupings, which engage most GATE students in advanced skill and concept application, as well as additional read‐
ing of related stories and articles. Independent literature studies will sometimes find GATE students grouped in small clusters to read a
novel together, and GATE students always have more challenging projects to complete that demonstrate their understanding of the ele‐
ments of literature.
One project that is unique to Bonita Canyon is World Culture’s Day. This involves researching and writing on several topics about a coun‐
try chosen by the students in their groups of four. Each GATE students is responsible for using more resources in doing research, and for
reporting on more challenging topics. GATE students are often given the responsibility to lead their World Cultures Day groups in prepar‐
ing a display for presentation to the rest of the school.
This year, sixth grade has implemented a writing and critical thinking rotation, in which GATE students are cluster grouped to study
advanced elements of writing and critical thinking skills.
C o o r d i n a t o r ’ s M e s s a g e (Continued from page 2)
commitment in hosting GATE Days for students in grades 4th
through 8th. We appreciate all the extra time and dedication
provided in supporting our advanced learners.
On behalf of the GATE Department, we want to congratulate our
graduating seniors and their respective families. The GATE com‐
munity wishes you all the best in your future endeavors. Go and
do great things.
Parents, we do hope you will be able to attend our CACGATE
meeting at 6:30 p.m. on May 14th at the District Office. Our
guest speaker, Cindy Muchnick, educational consultant and
author, will guide parents in paving a path to navigate through
middle school with a presentation entitled “Steps to Success:
Middle School and Beyond”.
Have a wonderful, restful summer.
Beth Andrews
Page 4
May 2013 • GATE News
4th Grade:
GATE is a challenging, but helpful experience. We are given
exciting challenges that other students aren’t required to do. For
example, while non‐GATE students had to research a real‐life
Native Californian tribe, I was given the task of working with
other GATE students to research the tribes in the desert region
of California and ultimately create a believable, but made‐up
tribe based on our research. For this project, we needed to
develop division of labor skills, so we split up the research and
found information about various tribes’ food, clothing,
resources, children and more. Then we created our fake tribe
and put the information into a slideshow. Finally, we had to pre‐
sent our tribe to the class. Each member presented three slides.
That was a fun‐filled GATE project.
‐Emily Odom
Would you like to know about our 4th grade math challenge
group? In each 4th grade class, a math challenge group meets
twice a week. During the normal math time, the kids who
passed the pretest for the unit get together in a group. We do
many more challenging activities in this group with harder math
that makes us think a lot more. For example, when the class is
comparing fractions, the challenge math group would be adding,
subtracting, and multiplying fractions. Since some kids are in dif‐
ferent math levels, having a challenge math group is a good way
to meet the needs of those who need more challenge. This way,
everyone is challenged to their potentials. By now, I am sure you
get the picture and understand what the math challenge group
is.
‐Hannah Noh
Our mission project was the most fun, challenging and educa‐
tional project of the year! Our assignment was to research three
Californian missions, then create our own mission by taking the
best parts from these three missions. First, I had to do research
on the natural resources, Native Americans, and geography that
surrounded the three missions. Then, I decided which bits and
pieces from these missions to use to create my own mission.
After that, I had to write a persuasive paragraph about why my
mission was the best. I also included a California map and
marked where my mission was located. Lastly, I wrote a bibliog‐
raphy. There were many steps, but the mission project was very
fun and enjoyable.
‐Kara Chu
5th Grade:
The most fun activity in fifth grade has to be the Math Compact
Project. It is a project that some of the fifth grade students cre‐
ate when they score a 95% or higher on a pre‐test before a math
unit. There is a list of projects to choose from, including making
books, posters, a song to organize the unit, a board, and much
more. I choose the board option and made a lesson on adding,
dividing, multiplying and subtracting fractions. It was my
favorite project because it helped me organize and learn more
about fractions.
‐Sarah Yae
My favorite fifth grade project was the Revolutionary War
Newspaper. This project was an amazing experience. When I
came into fifth grade, I knew almost nothing on the
Revolutionary War. When we read about it in our textbooks, I
learned a little, but still not enough. For this project, I was able
to go on the computer and research as much as I wanted. I decid‐
ed to write seven articles on the big ideas in American history
during this time. Once I got the information I needed, I started
writing my articles. After I finished typing my articles, I put on the
finishing touches at home, like staining my newspaper with tea to
make it look old. This project was my favorite because I got to put
myself in the shoes of a colonist living during that time.
‐Aaron Firth
Being a GATE student is wonderful for me. I have more freedom
to explore and challenge myself in many subjects. In science, I
enjoyed having the ability to explore and research more facts
about the planet I was studying. The challenge was to research
outer space and objects out of our solar system. Then I had to
write a brochure to persuade someone from outer space to come
and visit the planet I researched.
‐Gea‐Ho Kim
6th Grade:
The students wrote about two projects that they are doing:
1. Researching three different volcano locations and create a
compelling argument describing why they should build a
research institute at one site, versus the other two.
2. Research an existing erosion problem in Orange County and
develop a plan of action
In each case, they had to choose a presentation mode (poster,
PowerPoint, Minecraft world, 3D model, Scratch project)
For my problem, I chose the article, “Storm Erosion Steals a Bit of
Newport Beach.” I chose this one because Newport Beach is
familiar to me. The article says that 50 feet of sand is taken away
every year, and by fall, they regain most of it. My group and I
came up with a solution: to install a large metal wall under the
sand, 20 feet away from the water. This way, some sand can still
be eroded so it’s more natural. By putting the wall under the
beach, the rustic metal wall won’t be visible to people when the
sand is regained. We also figured out that some water will get
over the wall, but there won’t be enough to come back over with
the sand. The wall will be made up of very thick metal, to with‐
stand the waves. The technology that I am using is our
Chromebook to investigate and research.
‐Catherine Carlson
My project is about ways to help prevent and slow down erosion
in Orange County. The process I used was brainstorming, outlin‐
ing the poster, and searching for ways to stop and slow down ero‐
sion, without spending large amounts of money. I drew pictures
explaining how growing coral, seagrass, and/or trees can help
stop erosion. This project really helped me, technology wise,
because it increased my ability to research further on this difficult
subject. I liked doing this poster because it helps me express my
imagination and creativity in a fun way.
‐Britney Zhang
GATE News • May 2013
Page 5
Creativity Drives APAAS and GATE
at Eastshore
Culverdale Elementary School
GATE Program
Culverdale Elementary School continues to uphold the
highest level of commitment to each student. Our ded‐
icated staff provides an enriched curriculum differenti‐
ated with depth, complexity, and novelty for our GATE
community as evidenced by a variety of activities in the
classroom.
Besides the Challenge activities in the fourth grade
math text and small group enrichment projects,
Culverdale students are introduced and work with
Hands‐On Algebra and Bean Stick Algebra. These activ‐
ities make abstract concepts concrete with a visual rep‐
resentation of algebraic equations. Simulations are
sprinkled throughout social science as 4th graders
study the Gold Rush and the California Missions.
Students join sailing groups and assume actual roles of
a crew on a trading ship bound from Boston to
California where they barter and trade for hides.
Students solve problems along the way in interesting
and creative ways. Book Clubs and Word Master
Vocabulary building activities fill our challenge group
reading time.
Culverdale 5th and 6th grade GATE students are
enriched throughout the day in a myriad of different
ways. Units of study that include additional layers of
learning through simulations, debates, and projects,
develop students’ abilities to question, research, and
form opinions supported with evidence. Furthermore,
during RTI, novels are tied in with global issues, and lit‐
erature is approached from a multitude of different
perspectives. During math, students work on indepen‐
dent activities designed to challenge problem solving
and mathematical reasoning through real life math sit‐
uations.
This year, many of our GATE students participated in the
Science Fair and continued on to the county level. They
also participated in our Culverdale Academic Club
which has a 6th grade team gearing up to participate in
the Orange County Academic Pentathlon on April 27th.
The club met every Tuesday and Thursday from 2:45‐
4:00 during the months of February and March to pre‐
pare for this exciting opportunity. We wish them well
and applaud all their hard work and efforts. Go
GATERs!
One of the hallmarks of any nurturing program for the Gifted and
Talented is the ability for scholars to demonstrate their learning
creatively. On any given day at Eastshore, one will see lively dis‐
cussion and activity in our APAAS and GATE cluster classes.
Leading to those rich discussions and debates, scholars are devel‐
oping strong critical thinking skills and are using the icons of
depth & complexity and content imperatives to guide their stud‐
ies. Following that deep study, the joy of learning ratchets up a
few notches as these fourth through sixth graders enter the phase
that sparks infectious excitement: welcome to the creative zone!
Eastshore’s fourth grade scholars dove into the creative zone fol‐
lowing their study of the genre of fantasy in literary groups.
Scholars utilized their class WIKI space to respond to and pose
questions to engage in academic discussion about the novels.
Then, as a culminating project, students created storyboards to
star in and film their own original iMovie trailers. These highly
energetic and original movies not only highlighted the novels’ sto‐
rylines, but also the movies enticed these scholars to pick up and
read another fantasy novel!
In fifth grade, scholars learn their weekly vocabulary by doing
Wordly Wise “Mr. T. style.” Partners become experts in one of fif‐
teen words and present their word to the class in three ways: the
word as a sketch, the word used in a contextually rich sentence,
and the word acted out in a skit. The scholars love to perform and
to show off their comedic talents! As the scholars complete the
weekly activities, they have three pathways to each word, and
their retention is remarkable – the class average exceeds 95%!
Mrs. Goheen’s sixth grade APAAS class took their study of ancient
civilizations to a new level of depth and complexity as they creat‐
ed a fictional civilization that could have existed between Ancient
India and Ancient China. This long term project, completed in
teams, required not only in‐depth knowledge of both cultures,
but also an understanding of the possible influences of the cul‐
tures’ similarities and differences. The finished product highlight‐
ed city structures as well as blended elements of the cross cultur‐
al influences. The project was a huge success, due in large mea‐
sure to the perseverance of the scholars and expert guidance of
their teacher.
All three APAAS classes love their journey into the creative zone
through class productions. In fourth grade, Mrs. Naramore’s class
presented “California Missions and More.” In May, Mr. Tobenkin’s
fifth grade class will perform “Revivor: Philadelphia,” a look at the
writing of our Constitution set in a reality show format based
upon the popular “Survivor” series. In sixth grade, Mrs. Goheen’s
class will create a theatre for primary students and will bring
Aesop’s fables to life.
Something exciting is happening at Eastshore – welcome to the
creative zone!
Page 6
May 2013 • GATE News
Tour de’ Deerfield
Written by Deerfield’s sixth grade students:
Dominic Cinco, Gabrielle Gillen, Kevin Hwang, Shiva Kandala, and Katie Li
Greetings and welcome to Deerfield’s Museum of Knowledge. Today, we will be your guides to show you our newest exhibits this year
in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grade galleries. Here, we will show you our students practicing depth and complexity, higher‐level thinking,
and collaboration. This year’s tour is now officially starting so follow along in a single file line. Please be respectful at all times by keep‐
ing your hands to yourself. Photos are permitted at most times, although flash photography and videos are prohibited at all times, for it
may distract the students. Thank you for your cooperation. Please enjoy your tour. First, let’s start on our way to the Fabulous Fourth
Grade Gallery.
The Fabulous Fourth Grade GATE Gallery
(hosted by Gabrielle Gillen and Katie Li)
As you enter this gallery, you will be able to see many of the stu‐
dents working together on many different projects. The students
have options to choose different activities such as power points,
book reports, board games, puzzles, and many others. One of the
first things the students are working on as a group is making cat‐
apults to see who can build the best shooting catapult. They also
are working on a protractor project in which children break up
into groups of four to create a quilt. Not only are these projects
enlightening, they are also enjoyable and fun. The students
always work at a higher standard and think out of the box. The
students collaborate and cooperate in many of their projects
throughout the year.
To your left, you will find that the students are working on Box
City, which is a project that teaches students about running a
business, recording all their data accurately, coming up with busi‐
ness plans, getting a license, providing services, and controlling
their finances. The fourth graders work together with the fifth
graders as a team. They compromise with their group to decide
on a service or product to provide for their customers. Such busi‐
nesses include selling ice cream, origami products, game booths,
making balloon animals, and face painting. They buy and sell
using a made‐up currency system. They also use cardboard boxes
to portray their business housing. The students enjoy working on
this project with their peers because they can learn from each
other.
The Fountain Gate Gardens of Fifth Grade
(hosted by Kevin Hwang and Shiva Kandala)
Next up, we have the fifth grade section of our tour around
Deerfield. On our right are the fantastic fifth graders who are div‐
ing into the world of knowledge by learning about our society
and its issues. Here are some fifth graders who get to choose
their own topics and develop their interests. Please follow to see
the next step the fifth graders are taking. Please lower your voic‐
es now for the fifth graders are in the process of gathering infor‐
mation about a US state and writing an in‐depth paragraph about
two current events that have occurred there recently. These fifth
grade students get a chance to connect higher‐level thinking with
what they enjoy, while also learning to incorporate information
into descriptive paragraphs. Giving students a chance to choose
their own topics really helps the fifth graders to have fun while
learning, proving to them that learning is enjoyable.
We are currently heading toward a section where photography
and videos of any kind is prohibited. Finally, we have arrived. We
now present to you the fifth grade APAAS gallery. Here is Martin
Luther King Jr.’s famous speech that we all know, but these fifth
graders are using depth and complexity to research and compre‐
hend it at a higher‐level. In this project, the fifth graders are ana‐
lyzing the speech using the twelve depth and complexity icons,
such as trends, ethics, and patterns. They also learn different
perspectives of his speech and how these viewpoints changed
over time. The students make power point presentations con‐
taining each of the icons mentioned previously. They can also
choose to make a poster or an information sheet. The freedom
of choice in their way of presentation allows creativity and edu‐
cation to co‐exist with one another. They also are using these
depth and complexity icons to investigate manners. The skills
that they are using in this project help not just in education, but
in life as well. One topic they focused on was discipline and how
that had to do with better manners. Here, they are in the process
of learning that the most important thing in life is self‐discipline.
They are using the depth and complexity icons to help represent
these ideas.
The Sixth Grade Hall of GATE Studies
(hosted by Dominic Cinco)
Finally, we get to the sixth graders, the most ancient exhibit of
Deerfield Elementary. We are off to the Land of Architecture,
where sixth graders transform into architects, using proportions
and learning about the early designs of the Greeks and Romans.
If you take a look to your left, you can see students creating a
plan for their zoo. Don’t aggravate the hippos, and you’ll be fine.
On the right, some students are designing their own dream
house. They must take many things into consideration, including
budget, landscape, and the occupant’s way of life.
Now, please enter the hallway on the left. Here are all species of
math problems from the Ocean of Math. You can see propor‐
tions, shapes, and the like swimming around in tanks. In front,
you can see sixth graders working on their Interactive Math
Journals, completely diving into the math. Here students learn
the skills which will help them next year, whether they enter Pre‐
Algebra or Algebra. In the next room, we see some students chal‐
lenging themselves by entering competitions such as the
American Math Competition 8 and Math Counts. They are com‐
pletely submerged into problem‐solving.
This leads into the Ancient History Exhibit, where students learn
about the history of the world with treaties being created and
wars being waged. Starting with the first civilization,
Mesopotamia, and going all the way to Ancient Rome, a whole
year of social studies is summarized at the end of the year with
Ancient Civilizations Day. Sixth graders create booths to repre‐
sent each civilization and create interactive activities. On Ancient
Civilizations Day, students from other classes go around to vari‐
ous booths, getting a head start on the sixth grade curriculum.
Thank you for joining us on this year’s tour of Deerfield. We hope
you enjoyed the visit. Please come back soon to see more of our
exciting exhibits and activities. Farewell!
GATE News • May 2013
Page 7
Highlights from Sierra Vista Middle School’s GATE Program
Sierra Vista’s GATE students have numerous oppor‐
tunities to stretch themselves academically,
creatively and through leadership. Mindful of the
particular needs of GATE students and Common
Core Standards, the staff works diligently to
develop learning experiences designed to pre‐
pare students for the possibilities that the future
holds.
Currently, our 8th GATE students, taught by Mrs. Hall and Mrs.
Wright are preparing to create their second major research pro‐
ject in the form of a Civil War Newspaper. Students will have to
write from a northern or southern point of view as they cover the
same battle and the same historical leaders. To do this, they may
find
themselves
praising Abraham
Lincoln for preserv‐
ing the Union, or
vilifying him as an
oppressive tyrant.
After the research is
done and the news‐
papers are “pub‐
lished,” the students
will use them as the
basis of a debate on
the Civil War. GATE
students are not
memorizing more
facts than the
General Education
population, they are
thinking more deeply.
In addition, Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Ralston and Miss Turner’s lan‐
guage arts students have taken their first two tests in this year’s
WordMasters Challenge, and in both cases they came in first
place!
This annual competition entered by over 240,000
students nationwide provides our GATE students the opportunity
to analyze high level vocabulary and think critically as they study
the relationships between words. Our GATE students have been
successfully competing at the “gold” level, the most challenging
level available.
Both 7th and 8th grade GATE history students create National
History Day (NHD) projects under the guidance of Mrs. Hall , Mr.
Millers, and Miss Turner. This year’s theme is “Turning Points in
History.” NHD challenges students by demanding advanced
research skills, analytical skills, and develops their ability to read
and analyze primary source documents. It also allows students
to present their findings in a way that best suits their talents.
They may create a documentary, build a web page, prepare an
original performance, or write a paper explaining their findings.
This year, Sierra Vista had 6 groups named champions at the
Orange County NHD contest, and they will be representing us at
the California NHD Contest on April 25‐26. Kate Harker also won
the Chuck Staneart History Day Award for excellence in Historical
Writing.
Sierra Vista recognizes the vast potential of our GATE population,
and so we offer extensive opportunities in all areas in addition to
the humanities program. A few of the highlights include:
Math Counts: Coached by Miss Feng, Mrs. Armstrong, and
former Sierra Vista students, Sierra Vista’s MATH‐
COUNTS team meets weekly to prepare for a rigor‐
ous math competition. These dedicated students
battle teams from all over Orange County to earn
awards in individual and team competitions in hopes
of advancing to the state level. This year, our school
team (Annie Gao, Marcia Dai, Alan Shi, and Angelina
Ye) placed third, and Marcia Dai won third place as an individual
competitor at the Orange County competition.
World Math Day: Mr. Zuercher led a group of Sierra Vista stu‐
dents in the World Math Day Competition, where they scored
10th in the world in the 11‐13 age group.
Astounding
Inventions: High
achieving
stu‐
dents are encour‐
aged by Mrs.
Delap to partici‐
pate in this event.
Students learn
how to think like
scientists
and
carry out the
scientific inquiry
process in a cre‐
ative way.
National Junior
Honor Society
recognizes high academic achievement and provides opportuni‐
ties for leadership and service, such as tutoring fellow students at
lunchtime.
Instrumental and Vocal Music: Sierra Vista’s gifted musicians,
under the guidance of Henry Miller, are offered five different
courses including Jazz Band. Two courses, Symphonic Band and
Chamber Orchestra, are designed for the highest caliber of musi‐
cians interested in performing the most challenging music avail‐
able to middle school students. This year, 44 Sierra Vista students
were selected to play in the IUSD Middle School Honor Orchestra,
and 22 participated in the All‐Southern California Honor groups.
In addition, the Chamber Orchestra was selected as the only mid‐
dle school orchestra in California to perform at the All‐State Music
Educator’s Conference.
Working with our vocal musicians is Rebekah Scott who offers
classes in guitar, chorus, and musical theater. Mrs. Scott’s vocal‐
ists learn a variety of authentic musical literature including
Classical, Folk, Spiritual, Broadway, Patriotic and Foreign
Language. The theatrically gifted students will put together a
musical production in the Spring. The Honors Chorus and Honors
Instrumental students will demonstrate their talents at the annu‐
al Irvine Unified Honor’s performances held in April.
Visual Arts: Under the direction of Mrs. Cosgrove, students in
Exploratory Art are mastering new techniques and creating pro‐
jects based on the elements and principles of art. A sampling of
their work this year includes watercolor botanicals, 3‐D African
masks, tooling foil Dia de los Muertos projects, value studies and
(Continued on page 8)
Page 8
May 2013 • GATE News
S i e r r a V i s t a (Continued from page 7)
charcoal self‐portraits, ceramic sculptures and pinch pots, and an
art history presentation using technology. The Advanced Art 2
class delved deeper into the understanding of being a creative
individual while incorporating art elements and principles and
learned new techniques such as silk painting and throwing pot‐
tery on the wheel. The class continues work on their year‐long
Altered Book Project where each student gets an old novel and
alters it with their own art (painting, collage, sketching, etc.)
transforming the book into a personal statement along a chosen
theme.
This project incorporates their history and English classes by
having them add historical quotes, facts and their original poetry.
In addition, a student from our Advanced Art class was the 2nd
place winner in the Imagination Celebration poster contest this
year. Many students will have their work selected for the
Imagination Celebration, Northwood High’s Night of the Arts, and
the IUSD Middle School Art Exhibit
“Emerging Artists” held at U.C.I. in
May.
National Spelling Bee: Led by Mrs.
Vreeland, Sierra Vista enjoyed top
honors at the OC Spelling Bee in
March. Atharva Patil made it to the
top 20, and Alan Shi became the
county champion when he correctly
spelled “Scherzo.” Alan will go to
Washington D.C. for the national
competition in May.
Science Olympiad: Students led by Mrs. Marvin, Mr. Munoz, and
Mrs. Stalter, choose projects as diverse as building cantilevered
towers, helicopters powered by rubber bands that fly for close to
2 minutes and vehicles powered by mousetraps that must stop on
a dime! In addition to the hands‐on part of the contest, students
must prepare for the study events in categories such as anatomy,
metrics, experimental design, food science, Forestry, Rocks and
Minerals, Astronomy and more. In total, there are 23 different
events at the state level competition. Sierra Vista placed 16th out
of the 26 competing teams at the state level in 2011 and moved
up to 9th place out of 26 teams this year. Our goal is to move into
a minimum of 6th place in 2013 so we can bring home a trophy
for Sierra Vista.
Extracurricular Clubs and Activities: Mr. Antonopoulos leads the
charge to recycle paper, cans and plastic bottles with the Green
Team. Mrs. Delap rewards our voracious readers through the
Read a Million program.
Of course these are just a few highlights
of the GATE program at SVMS. All of the
GATE teachers have a passion for creating
an enriching environment that encour‐
ages students to challenge themselves.
Sierra Vista’s GATE students are develop‐
ing the tools which will prepare them to
be our future leaders.
Go Chargers!
Nominations Are Now Open!
If you, or someone you know, are interested in running for a position on the Community Advisory Committee
(CAC‐GATE) board, please complete the form below or email Carol‐Lynn Patist at [email protected].
Please respond by May 7th, 2013. Elections will be held at our May 14th meeting.
For the office of:
• Chairperson ____________________________________________________________________________
• Executive Vice Chair _____________________________________________________________________
• Vice Chair of Programs ___________________________________________________________________
• Treasurer ______________________________________________________________________________
• Secretary _______________________________________________________________________________
• Member‐At‐Large ________________________________________________________________________
Telephone No. ___________________________________(email address) ____________________________
GATE News • May 2013
Page 9
A GLIMPSE OF
GATE 2013
W
hether traveling back in time to explore different cultures and civilizations in 7th grade or exploring our nation’s tragedies and
accomplishments in 8th grade, Venado Middle School GATE students are continually challenged with creative and stimulat‐
ing activities. Dedicated to providing an educational experience rich in both quality curriculum and enriching opportunities,
the GATE teachers at Venado work diligently to develop lessons and projects that meet the special needs of our incredibly bright and
gifted students. Venado’s GATE program is taught by teachers who possess both a passion for their subject areas and a genuine interest
in providing new and enriching experiences for their students. Recognizing the history of the California state standards and the impor‐
tance of the new Common Core standards, we have designed standards‐based language arts and social science classes to offer the accel‐
eration, depth, complexity and novelty so necessary for a dynamic GATE program. More importantly, however, is the move toward help‐
ing our students develop their critical reading and writing skills; in doing so, we continue our mission of Venado’s GATE program, to have
students experience positive, accelerated academic growth in a nurturing environment and to facilitate an easy transition from the mid‐
dle school gifted program into the high school honors classes.
In the 7th grade, Abraham Angel, GATE language arts, and Trish Wimbrow‐Dwyer, GATE world history, lead the students in an exciting
year focused on world civilizations and literature. Mr. Angel begins the year with studies of the classical literature of the Greeks and
Romans interwoven with a creative writing project, Fall Frolics, designed to introduce figurative language and literary elements. A fas‐
cinating selection from the HOLT series provides students with an opportunity to identify the elements of literature and explore their
critical thinking with the use of Kaplan’s depth and complexity icons. From there students read a selection of different novels, which
quickly become favorites as they are given the freedom to express their understanding and analysis of the novel with a variety of think‐
tac‐toe project options. Next, the scene changes to merry old England where the medieval world of ballads comes to life and tales of
King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable parallel their study of the Middle Ages. Once again, students are given the opportunity
to express themselves with an original ballad that recounts a tragic tale or provides a humorous perspective of an everyday event. An
in‐depth study of various versions of the Cinderella story moves students toward a broader understanding of the new Common Core
standards; as a result; students learn to use unfamiliar literary selections to evaluate how they reflect which values are most important
in individual cultures. Equally important are the in‐depth grammar discussions and review as well as the detailed process of effective
essay and narrative writing. When it comes to Mrs. Wimbrow‐Dwyer, the students are willing and eager to take part in her class each
and every day. Students participate in a token “bead” economy, which integrates the life skills of earning salaries for classroom jobs and
paying rent, utilities, and taxes into her classroom management. Her enthusiasm and energy permeate the classroom as she excites her
students by cleverly incorporating a variety of enrichment activities with the state standards to promote interest and to provide maxi‐
mum learning opportunities. Significant events and historical figures of the Middle Ages of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East pro‐
vide the where and when setting for students to delve into how and why questions. Scholarly research, comparison of Cultural Universals,
role‐playing (Anglo‐Saxons facing the Vikings or Charlemagne being crowned by the Pope ‐ complete with props and costume pieces),
and frequent cultural art projects accelerate further learning and provide a practical approach to novelty and complexity. Students mas‐
ter note‐taking with Mrs. Wimbrow‐Dwyer’s brain‐based “Combo‐Notes” method as well as learn the countries of the world through fun
visual and sound tricks. In small groups students participate in three research‐based oral presentations where they create engaging visu‐
als. The first of these expands their understanding of contemporary issues in the Middle East using the New York Times’ “Upfront” mag‐
azine as a springboard for topics such as the Arab Spring and the Palestinian‐Israeli conflict. The second focuses on high interest topics
such as feudalism, the bubonic plague and the Crusades. The last presentation involves in‐depth research establishing a two‐perspective
view about celebrities of the Renaissance. In each of these experiences students are encouraged and coached by the drama side of Mrs.
Wimbrow‐Dwyer regarding their oral presentation and public speaking skills: projection, articulation, eye contact and managing nervous
energy and feeling confident, while practicing how to present the most engaging material for their audience. During her original Chinese
Simulation Game students experience the dynasties of China and her significant contributions and discoveries through role‐playing.
Throughout the year students frequently revisit and discuss the theme “We the people...”, the elements of democracy and how those
before us have lived, suffered, achieved and contributed to this fragile and short‐lived experiment we call America. Through evaluation
and lively discussion students determine whether historical figures and policies should be categorized among “the good, the bad, or the
ugly” in history.
In the classrooms of Julie Campbell, 8th grade GATE language arts, and John Beckman, 8th grade GATE U.S. history, high level academic
content and enthusiasm can be observed on a regular basis. Language arts focuses on an analysis and appreciation of American litera‐
ture from its early beginnings through the late 19th Century. The year begins with writers of the Colonial Period and a study of the
English language. Each time period in American history is linked to literary units incorporating works by famous American authors and
(Continued on page 10)
Page 10
May 2013 • GATE News
statesmen with the various genre of writing. Students explore, analyze, and discuss the historical works of Jefferson, Paine, and
Lincoln before delving into the classic writings of Irving, Emerson, Thoreau, Twain, and O. Henry. In addition, students are
exposed to the timeless poetic skills of Poe, Longfellow, and Whitman and read a variety of classic American novels, including
Tom Sawyer and The Martian Chronicles. Accompanying the literature study are narrative, argument, and response to literature
essays as well as poetry writing and analysis. Of course, heavy doses of grammar and vocabulary development are also essen‐
tial to round out the GATE language arts program. In social science, Mr. Beckman begins the year with a review of the American
Revolution and an in‐depth understanding of how this was an epoch for the United States and how it affected the entire world.
A critical study of the Constitution provides students with a rich understanding of our early government and how this document
is still successfully functioning today. Moving on through westward expansion and Indian removal, students look at how the
actions of the early American government shaped the borders and impacted the residents of the United States. Following a crit‐
ical analysis of the influence of the Industrial Revolution, students enter the Civil War unit, where they look closely at both the
causes and effects of this tragic event in history. Students will analyze a variety of primary source documents to deepen their
understanding of major events in U.S. History. These documents will help students understand and experience the political tur‐
moil of each time period. Lessons, projects, and research projects challenge students to look beyond the surface of the events
and explore the overall impact of how the events have shaped the course of United States history. In his first year of coaching
students for National History Day, Mr. Beckman led his students to victory. With their incredible projects ranging from a closer
look at the sinking of the Titanic to a 3‐dimensional analysis of Social Darwinism, students were rewarded with moving on to the
state level. Congratulations to all of you on your tremendous achievements!
A walk through these GATE classrooms will reflect the high quality of both the content and the product of critical thinking and
thoughtful analysis. In addition to the rigorous curriculum and enriching opportunities, the GATE teachers at Venado complete
the daily experience with compassion, humor, and support. We are so proud of our students who demonstrate a genuine inter‐
est for learning and give us so many reasons to smile and laugh each day. We consider ourselves fortunate to teach such out‐
standing students who take pride in their education.
CALENDAR FOR 2012-2013
May 9
APAAS Math Night
IUSD Administration Center, 5050 Barranca Pkwy., Irvine, 6 P.M.
May 14
Community Advisory Committee (CAC‐GATE) Meeting –
IUSD Administration Center, 5050 Barranca Pkwy., Irvine, 6:30 P.M.
July 16
OLSAT Testing Middle School Students
Plaza Vista K‐8 School, 670 Paseo Westpark, Irvine 92606
All Dates Are Not Confirmed and Subject to Change.
3
201