We received official results today from Fiona's multiple days of testing this past month--Fiona was accepted into the Gifted Program at Ellis! Yay!!!!
The children in the gifted program receive extra resources and opportunities beyond their own classrooms. They have special field trips and explore diverse topics that aren't typically covered in an elementary school setting. For example, Alex had an architecture class through much of the past year. He also created a and performed a skit with his Odyssey team. Last year, they spent a day at the Children's Theatre, where they finished by putting on a mini-production. They work quite a bit on computers, and they were introduced to algebra recently. Anyway, I'm very excited by her acceptance--obviously!!!
I sometimes feel a bit concerned at the fact that my children receive these extra resources, but I've also read that gifted children receive much less in the way of teacher instructional time and remedial instruction. They typically require less teacher attention for behavior problems and are actually utilized by the teachers to help the other children (which is true for both Alex and Fiona). So, even with the extra funds for the Gifted Program, the gifted children by and large are not receiving more than their fair share. Soothes my conscience to believe this, anyhow!
Fiona and Alex will both be attending GEP (Gifted Enrichment Program) in the fall, which is typically several hours per week. Fiona has been receiving 'Enrichment' classes throughout the past year for perhaps an hour each week--being groomed for the Gifted exam, from some of what I've gathered from her reports of their activities. Hey, I'm not complaining!
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