News
November 2024 Newsletter
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Growing with Gifts
Cu Discovery Days
The Gifted and Talented department, in partnership with Colorado University Boulder, hosted a STEM makerspace experience at Morgan Community College. One hundred fourth-grade students from Fort Morgan's elementary schools participated in a two-day event designed to stimulate interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. A HUGE thank you to CU and all the volunteers that made this possible.
YouCubed Math Mindset Experience
We had our second Math Mindset Experience at FMMS last Monday! The students worked on solving challenging math problems in creative ways. This experience is geared to help students build a growth mindset around math and learn the value of productive struggle. More dates to come! Keep an eye out next semester for our spring dates for the YouCubed Math Mindset experience! This is an amazing event for all 5th and 6th grade students.
Exciting Events!
12/13/2024-Local Spelling Bee (5th-8th grade)
2/1/2025-Brain Bowl Elementary Tournament
2/1/2025-FMMS Brain Bowl Regional Tournament
2/20/2025-Legislative Day (9th-12th grade)
UNC Math Competition
With the help of our MS/HS math teachers and instructional coaches, we had 7th-12th grade students participate in the first round of the UNC math competition. The second round is hosted on UNC's campus in the spring.
Brain Bowl
Brain Bowl and Knowledge Bowl season is here! All Elementary Schools will have a 3rd/4th grade and 5th/6th grade team. The middle school qualifier is coming up soon and they will have two teams per grade level. The Middle School and Elementary Brain Bowl tournaments are on February 1st, 2025.
Knowledge Bowl
The high school knowledge bowl team has already been practicing this year with sponsor, Brian Whitney! If you have any questions, please free to reach out.
Parent Resources
Addressing Social/Emotional Needs for Gifted Students (Blog)
On October 28, our 5th and 6th graders had a blast at the second YouCubed Math Mindset Experience! They dove into challenging math problems, collaborating and problem-solving creatively. Stay tuned for two more exciting events coming up in the Spring!
On October 31st and November 1st, the Gifted and Talented program, in partnership with Colorado University Boulder, hosted a STEM outreach program at Morgan Community College. One hundred fourth-grade students from Fort Morgan’s elementary schools participated in a full-day makerspace experience, fostering creativity and engineering skills through hands-on challenges.
John W Buckner Grant: Automatic Enrollment in Advanced Classes
The Power of Enrollment in Advanced Courses:
Traditionally, disadvantaged minorities and low-income students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds who perform well in school do not enroll in advanced classes at the same rate as their peers, regardless of preparedness. All students deserve the opportunity to learn higher-level content and students who have access to a rigorous curriculum perform better across multiple measures, including graduating high school and completing higher education.
The John W. Buckner Automatic Enrollment in Advanced Courses Grant Program, Senate Bill 19-059, is intended to increase the number of students enrolled in advanced courses for subjects in which the student has demonstrated proficiency.
The FMMS is taking on the Buckner Grant for 2023/2024 and will spend the year designing curriculum to help facilitate the automatic enrollment of our gifted students in advanced classes at the High School.
Read more about the Buckner Grant on CDE's website:
I-REECCH to tap gifted students in rural Colorado
Norma Hafenstein and Kristina Hesbol know what it’s like to grow up in a rural community. Both professors at the Morgridge College of Education have spent their careers advocating for equity, so their new journey is personal. The University of Denver professors say few gifted students are identified in rural areas, especially those who are minorities or from low-income families. So they’re deploying a team of researchers to help educators identify gifted students in rural Colorado.
Recursos Para los Padres de Familia
¿Qué puede hacer usted como padre por su hijo? Cada niño tiene capacidades en ciertas áreas, ya sea en las matemáticas, lengua y literatura, ciencias formales, naturales y sociales, música, artes visuales y escénicas, liderazgo, atletismo, filantropía o algún otro campo. Para ayudar a los niños dotados a descubrir sus talentos excepcionales, hay que explorar sus intereses y habilidades.
Explaining Giftedness to Your Child
"Whether identified as gifted, referred for an evaluation, or placed in a gifted and talented program, children quickly form their own impressions. They may wonder if this makes them different or smarter or weirder or better than the other kids."
What To Do When One Child Is Identified Gifted And Another Is Not
This article discusses how you can approach this subject with your children. The author shares several talking points to share with your child as well as tips for advocating for your children if you feel further assessment is needed.