It sounds like our basket was a success at the Gala and that many people liked our idea.  We enjoyed putting it together.

As many of you know I wasn't able to attend the Gala because I was in Minnesota at the National Association for Gifted Children conference.  It was a truly great experience getting to hear from the experts in the field and getting to actually talk to them about issues in gifted.  There were over 4000 participants from 50 states and 15 countries.  There were also over 350 different sessions one could attend on many different topics in the field of gifted.  I had several interesting conversations and attended many of the great sessions.  I look forward to reading the books I purchased and putting into practice many of the strategies I learned.  It is hard to be away for 5 days, but it was definately a well worth it experience.

As we get ready for our adventure to Keystone Science School, here is some helpful advice.

• The kiddos love to take pictures, I would suggest a disposable camera.  This way if it were to get dropped in the stream, roll down a mountain, fall out while hiking, there's no harm done.
• Try on all winter clothing first.  That way if you have grown, you have time to get new stuff and "break it in" before tromping around in the forest.  We do a bunch of walking and that's no fun if you have blisters from your new boots.
• 2 water bottles - you need to drink a lot of water.
• Sleeping bag and pillow in a garbage sack so they won't get dirty or wet while you carry them to the dorm.  Bring another sack for the trip home, sometimes the first one gets destroyed and we end up with lost and forgotten items.
• Put your name in your ...

Founder's conference is coming!  Founder's conference is coming!  It is Saturday, October 27 from 8:30-3:30.  There will be some great speakers and some fantastic presentations.  Registration includes breakfast and lunch.  To register you need to visit www.stargateschool.org and go the the "Parent" tab.  Nancy Hall, one of Stargate's creators, will be there.  It will be great to see her again!  Please come if you are able.

Our Gala basket is underway and we have had some great "things" come in.  Please remember we are asking everyone that is able to send in two items - one "gag" type item; these can be a plastic ice cube with a fly in it, a rubber chicken (the most popular idea so far), fake teeth, anything silly, and one real item; these can be gi ...

We will finish sharing our information from the American Revolution Scavenger Hunt today.  We will then spend some time talking about the individual acts that contributed to the causation of the revolution.  I look forward to seeing you all at conferences.  Please remember to bring in your donations for our Gala basket.

As we begin to think about our outdoor ed adventure to KSS, we would like to invite some parents to come with us as chaperones.  We can tell you that it is great fun and a truly wonderful experience.  If you are able to go with us, please let me know.  We leave from school on Monday, Oct. 29 and get back around 2:00pm on Wednesday, Oct. 31.  If you want to/need to drive your own car that is an option and we understand that sometimes riding a school bus as an adult can bring back some gruesome memories.   We strongly encourage you to think about it because it really is a great time to spend time with your kiddo in the mountains while getting to see their friends in a different environment.

We are really getting to know each other.  I'm surprized by the number of children who are afraid of clowns.  We did bio-poems this week and several students mentioned clowns as one of their fears.  Very interesting.  I also loved everyone's posters, it is so great to get to see the children's lives outside of school.  Next week we will be doing some messy matter experiments, hopefully finishing the week by making ziplock bag icecream.   YUM!

What a fantastic first week!!  Our year is off to a great start.  Hopefully next week we will get a chance to get to know each other better with some activities and community building. Have a great long weekend.