Friends Of Johnston ELP Newsletter May 2013

Friends of Johnston ELP NewsletterMay 2013Bright IdeasHelping Thinkers Think2012-2013 Board MembersOur board members represent all schoolswithin our district, as indicated below. Feelfree to contact us with any questions,suggestions, or to volunteer to help with anyof our activities.Fall 2013 Friends of Johnston ELP ProgramMonday, October 21, 20137:00-8:30Lisa Van Gemert—MENSALook for additional details on the Friends of Johnston ELP Valerie Thacker, PresidentTimber Ridge, Summit, JMS, JHS515-334-7208valnmatt@msn.comMark Your Calendars Now!Patti Kliegl, Past PresidentBeaver Creek/515-986-0598pattikliegl@mchsi.comAmy Lucas, VP & SecretaryBeaver Creek, Summit, JMS515-986-0882Lisa Fritz, Co-TreasurerTimber Ridge515.270-9026Fritz.lisa@principal.comJill Boeschen, Database CoordJHS, JMS515-278-1927gjboeschen@msn.comJane McDowell, Co-TreasurerJMS515-270-0012ljmcdowell@mchsi.comAmy JohnsonWallace, Summit515.276.6316asjohn1973@hotmail.comShanyn KramersmeierHorizon, Summit, JMS515-986-0388shanynk@mchsi.comKathy Paul, ELP 2-2013 ELP StaffKathy PaulJCSD ELP CoordinatorMS 8-9 ELP,Assessment, t to contact bye-mailSue ClineELP Teacher at JHSAdvanced act after 3 pmor via e-mail anytimeMitziHethertonELP Teacher at Lawsonand Timber Ridge515-278-0478 (Lawson)515-331-4379 (Timber Ridge)mhetherton@johnston.k12.ia.usContact by e-mail orPhoneNancy McGillPart-time ELP teacher at Beaver Creek515-278-6228nmcgill@johnston.k12.ia.usCall between 3 and 4 pmor e-mail for aconvenient timeKristenHartmanPart-time ELP Teacher at 21Contact by e-mailor phoneColleen ItesELP Teacher at ontact by e-mailor phoneKate FlorerPart-time ELP Teacher at ontact by e-mailor phone

ELP News and Information!JSCD Students Present to International VisitorsOn April 10, a group of six Johnston students presented information about the Mock Trial program to an international leadership group: ”Women and Justice: A MultiRegional Project” at the Iowa Bar Association. Thegroup, consisting of female lawyers and judges from Turkey, Bangladesh, Phillipines, Palestinian Territories,Moldova, and Bahrain were interested in starting Mock Trial in their areas to promote the legal profession.John Wheeler, head of the Iowa Mock Trial program arranged the visit. Johnston teacher and Mock Trialcoach Kathy Paul and some of her students spoke about the Mock Trial program and how it has benefittedthem. Student participants included Aditi Dinakar, Natalie VanderPloeg, and Paige Vaden from Johnston Highschool; and Isabelle Thomasee, Brooke Thacker, and Nicole Hobson from Johnston Middle School.Junior Paige Vaden commented how interesting it was to hear the perspective of the women and thevariances in their legal systems. Eighth grader Nicole Hobson responded, “It was fascinating to learn aboutthe differences and similarities between the American court system and other cultures' court systems.”2

Underachievement Tips sent to all JCSD staffKathy Paul, ELP CoordinatorWhy do bright children sometimes struggle in school? What do we need to know and how can we help? The issue ofUnderachievement was addressed during the optional Teacher Professional Development Day in May and hopefully toparents next fall.Why do Bright Children Underachieve?(Suggestions from leaders in the field of gifted education)“Laws of Achievement” to assist in understanding how we assist students who are not succeeding in school:Children are more likely to achieve if their parents and teachers give thesame clear and positive message about school effort and expectations.Students whose parents fail to support or are not unified in their expectations are prone to underachievement andrebellion. Parents and teachers need to form an alliance of support.Over-reaction to children’s successes and failures lead them to feel pressureor despair.Children have to be taught to deal with criticism and failure. Extreme reaction, either positive or negative to a successor failure by an adult can create stress. Competition is a part of life. Students need to learn winning and losing aretemporary and to function both collaboratively and competitively. Opportunities for both are important in growth.Tension is felt more deeply when worrying about work than when actuallydoing the work.Usually the workload does not need to be reduced, but rather managed. Students may need support with organizationor developing a plan. Tension is reduced when they build confidence with an accomplishment. Gradually learning tocope with small amounts of tension can foster future success.Self-efficacy and resilience are developed through struggle.When a level of difficulty allows children to push their own limits, they develop the confidence and character to copewith both challenge and disappointment. We are tempted to make things “easier” for children but they will grow whenwe give them the skills to move forward through strife.3

Underachievement Tips sent to all JCSD staffKathy Paul, ELP CoordinatorToo much or too little is not a good thing.Students who are accustomed to receiving excess attention or not enough freedom, or if adults do so much that theyhave no decisions to make, exhibit nearly identical symptoms of stress. Children who get too much power too earlyoften become defiant. If they are not given any control, they don’t have a chance to develop self-confidence. We haveto figure out which one is happening before we can provide assistance.Children will achieve if they see a relationship between the learning processand its outcomes.If little effort is made but there is a successful outcome (grade, praise) or when the relationship between grades andwork seems random, they lose a sense of control and attribute grades to luck, or lack thereof. It becomes easy to blameothers because it is beyond their control.What can we do?The answers are not easy nor the same for all students! Some ideas:Strive to provide Challenge every day. Complexity with high level thinking and opportunities to develop sophisticated products Choices in the content, process or the environment (groups, scheduling) Control of their own learning and creating goals. Provide ideas and work collaboratively. Teach children to valuetheir goals and outcomes of tasks, and to believe they can do it. Care—be nonjudgmental, accepting, prepared, flexible and keep your sense of humor. Talk to students about theirabilities. All children possess unique talents but they don’t always believe in themselves. You might be the one whomakes the difference!Resources:Kanevsky, Lannie and Keighley, Tracey. (2003) To Produce or Not to Produce: Understanding Boredom and the Honor inUnderachievement. Roeper Review, Fall.Rimm, Sylvia. (2008) Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades. Scottsdale: Great Potential Press.Siegle, Del (2001) Using the Achievement –Oriented Model to Understand Underachievement. National Research Center on the Giftedand Talented, 2001.Whitley, Michael.(206) Bright Minds, Poor Grades. New York: Perigee, 20064

News from Johnston Elementary SchoolsSubmitted by Mitzi Hetherton, Nancy McGill, Kristen Hartman, Kate FlorerMath Olympiad ResultsHorizon1st Place (4-way tie)Zach AbbeyJaden DavisErina LeeSam SwiftTop Mathletes (not in order)Zach AbbeyJaden DavisMikayla DobsonTeja JettyErina LeeBrooklyn McKeeVannessa NnantahMax OlsenMax RoquetSam SwiftRachel VandenoverEmma WinterboerTimber Ridge1st Place (tie)Shreya ShresthaLaura Paul3rd PlaceOwen Smith4th Place (3-way tie)Ryan EllsworthJoe ArthurTanner Kenin7th PlaceJoe Hoffman8th Place (3-way tie)Logan MorrisMatthew WellsChase O’ConnellLawson1.2.3.4.5.6.6.6.9.10.10.Mary NelsonKayley GehrelsBrooklyn DilleyCharlie PattinsonAlex RoschSam DoldeTyler GehrelsKeyshawn GunnQuincy PullenAustin LedsmaBrylie Stevesonwallace1.2.3.3.4.4.5.5.5.5.5.Madison DunnJonathan SovathMorgan DunnAbbie McLarenMaddie BaldwinLauren AltierErin AndersonAmy LinGriffin KarazijaPrithvi JamadagniSam McDanielBeaver CreekElementary Division1. Anna Janni2. Matthew Ding3. Aditya Desai4. Andrew Holm5. Karson Lee6. Cooper Peddicord7. Gordon Hu8. Morgan Lee9. Ryan Friedhoff9. Connor Grau10. Paxson PickenMiddle School Division1. Aditya Desai2. Cooper Peddicord3. Matthew Ding4. Anna Janni5. Paxson Picken6. Karson Lee7. Jackie Liang8. DJ Dell ‘Anno9. Andrew Holm10. Mackenzie Bryan11. Morgan Lee12. Ryan Friedhoff5The elementary ELP team hasreviewed approximately 624students across the district tobe considered to receivevarious levels of ELP services.The team reviewedstandardized assessments,teacher recommendations,current classroom levels, andparent comments from thesurvey. We would like tothank teachers, students andparents for their input,understanding and flexibilityduring this in-depth andlengthy identification process.

News from Johnston Elementary SchoolsSubmitted by Mitzi Hetherton, Nancy McGill, Kristen Hartman, Kate FlorerLevel 1 SemifinalistsStock Market GameMary Nelson—Lawson (5)Delaney Jensen—Timber Ridge (5)Leaders heading into final week of play:Lawson3rd place overall in regionAustin Ledesma— 3,595 (Lawson)4th place overall in regionJoe Hoffman— 3,265 (Timber Ridge)A bigthank youPattinsonto Mfor cquesr. Bromintionsiangin toand astocanswdvisek choeron poices.rtfolioPrithvi J. and Dylan M. working on creating a knee brace for aninjured knee in our STEM science unit on biomedical engineering.Anthony P. and Jack G. working on planning their kneebrace creation for an injured knee in our STEM scienceunit on biomedical engineering.Chase M., Abbie M., & Ashley F. working on creating a knee bracefor an injured knee in our STEM science unit on biomedicalengineering.6

Belin-Blank Summer ProgramMiddle School SelectionsSubmitted by Kathy Paul and Colleen Ites, ELP TeachersThe following students were selected to participate in this year’s University of Iowa’s Belin-Blank SummerInstitute:Johnston Middle SchoolAsiya Mohammed- Advanced ScienceBrooke Thacker- Global and Cultural StudiesDonald Gee- Performing ArtsSara Siebrecht-Creative Writing;Luke Safris -Invention and InnovationSummit Middle SchoolAditi Jithendra- Advanced ScienceCeci Hodson- Visual ArtsAlternates:Sean Reddick-Social SciencesElvin Niu- Invention and InnovationHannah DeBruin -Creative WritingAlternate: Afshan Chandani- MathThe students underwent a rigorous nomination process from the school district and were submitted alongwith students across the state for the opportunity to be selected for a two-week summer residentialinstitute held in Iowa City. Each student will receive a partial program scholarship, as well as ascholarship towards future admission at the University of Iowa. The students work with specialists in thechosen area and have an opportunity to take advantage of many opportunities on campus. This is a highhonor to have so many chosen to represent Johnston Schools.Congratulations!7