Gifted Education News
Bloomingdale Elementary School
School Mission:
To ignite a passion for
learning and teaching
at high levels.
School Vision:
From school to the
world: All students
prepared for pro-
ductive futures.
Lets Remember
Our Bear
Necessities:
Be Prepared to Learn
Expect Excellence
Accept Responsibility
Respect Everyone
Show the Golden Rule
Points of Interest
March 16, 2017
Report Cards Issued
March 17-March 24
Spring Break
March 30, 2017
PBIS Event for Students
March 31, 2017
GMAS Pep Rally
Volume 1, Issue 2 Winter/Spring 2017
Fifth Grade Students are Keen Investors
The fifth grade gifted students participated in the Georgia Stock Market Game from
October to December. The competition involved building a hypothetical invest-
ment portfolio by researching publicly traded companies, reading business publica-
tions, & crunching the numbers to buy stocks. Each team began the simulation with
$100,000 in cash. They traded stocks and mutual funds listed on the NASDAQ
Stock Market & the New York Stock Exchange. The teams worked together each
week to evaluate their portfolios. They bought and traded stocks based on their
profit margins. Teams across the state of Georgia competed. At the end of the
competition, the teams with the highest equity within their portfolios were recog-
nized. We had four teams to compete and our top team ranked 19 out of 184
teams. Congratulations to the Turtle Taco group on their ranking.
Bloomingdale Shines at STEM Competition
Several students from the fourth and fifth grade gifted classes par-
ticipated in two STEM Competitions held at the Savannah-
Chatham County Schools Success EXPO on January 7, 2017. The
fifth grade team participated in the Egg Drop Competition and the
fourth grade team participated in the Straw Tower Building Com-
petition. The fifth grade team received 2nd place in our district.
The fourth grade team also did a great job! Mr. Lawrence served
as the coach for these events. Great Job Bears!
Students Advance to State Social Studies Fair
Bloomingdale Elementary petition and went on to wish them the very best
School will be repre- place Best in Class at as they compete at the
sented at the Georgia the Regional Social Studies state level.
State Social Studies Fair Fair held at Georgia
Competition on April 22, Southern University on
2017 at Clayton State Uni- February 25, 2017. These
versity. Two fifth grade students researched, col-
gifted students won Best lected, and analyzed data
in Class at our district associated with the Mighty
Social Studies Fair Com- Eighth Air Force. We
Page 2
How to Enhance Highly Creative Students
In an article by Lisa Van
Gemert, she suggested the 3) Allow messes. Diverse
following steps in developing
highly creative children in
todays society:
1) Allow students to know
that being creative is more
than completing an art pro-
ject. Help them realize that
they can solve ordinary
problems by being creative.
2) Encourage curiosity. In-
stead of asking your child
how his/her day was at
school, ask them what inter-
esting questions they asked
Genius without
Math Games Can Strengthen Math Concepts
education is like
According to Marilyn
silver in the Burns, games used cor-
mine. rectly in math can moti-
vate students, capture
-Benjamin
their interest, and rein-
force critical math
Franklin
skills. First all students
should be taught how
to play the games. Di-
rections should be read
carefully and rules
should be followed for
Five Healthy Habits to Instill Success in Your Child
As a parent, you can encour-
age healthy habits to lead your
child toward the confidence
he/she needs to succeed.
These are five simple exam-
ples that we can model for
our children:
1) Be productive. Kids
who see an adult leading a
productive life will usually
set the same standard for
themselves. 2) Be confi-
dent. Children who
in class today.
environments rich in
supplies and invitations
to create are conducive text of creativity sends a mes-
to exploration.
4) Be seen at practice.
Allow your child to
observe you solving
problems. You can use
trial and error as a
strategy and then re-
flect on the ideas that
finally worked.
5) Recognize it. Point out
creative problem solv-
ing in the news, books,
consistency. Games can
be cooperative and com-
petitive. Cooperative
games foster communica-
tion and unity. Competi-
tive games help students
test their skills, take
risks, and learn to be
graceful winners and los-
ers. Students should be
encouraged to choose
games that require rea-
learn inner control by
making decisions be-
come more independ-
ent and usually more
resilient. 3) Be an ex-
ample. The greatest
factor in helping your
child is the example
you set. 4) Be consis-
tent. Children learn
to follow rules from
parents who are con-
sistently fair. 5)Be per-
Gifted Education News
etc.
6)Find an audience. When
your child creates something
shareable, share it. The con-
sage about its value. Go be-
yond just placing it on the
fridge. Use artwork for family
holiday cards or if they come
up with a creative solution to
a community problem let
them write the mayor.
7) Prove they can do it. Use
approachable, nonthreatening
art forms to help children
rediscover their creative
sides.
soning and chance.
Games that combine
strategic thinking with an
element of chance are
especially effective for
providing practice and
promoting thinking, rea-
soning, and problem-
solving. The chance as-
pect makes it possible
for students at all levels
to participate .
sistent. Generally,
nothing worth having
comes easily. We must
teach our children to
work hard and push
through difficult times.
By: Matthew Arrington