Gifted and Talented Report
My thanks to all staff, students and families who supported the 2024 Newman Symposium. It was a new format, with our Newman students taking on the role of the teachers and the parents experiencing life as a student. The students planned, prepared and presented 20 minute workshops on a variety of different topics. Parents experienced English workshops where they had to deconstruct poetry, solve logarithms in Maths, run Science experiments and ponder philosophical questions. Parents even got to experience a PDHPE practical lesson, where students ran pickleball sessions. Thank you to the many students for their efforts and for the families who attended – it was wonderful to see families socialising and getting to experience what an MSCW education is all about.
I would like to share with you an interesting and highly relevant article on gifted education.
Gifted and ignored: The smart kids who can’t afford to succeed
Some key ideas it raises:
- High ability children are at risk of disconnecting from school.
- Up to half of gifted students fly under the radar, uninspired and even ignored, they never reach their potential.
- Truly inclusive education means supporting all learners across the full range of abilities. Talent development is the ultimate goal of gifted education.
- A solution for this underachievement must be found in the classroom: how are gifted children identified, how is their learning differentiated.
- Children from low-SES areas or from less advantaged backgrounds — including First Nations and refugee students — are at risk of not even being offered opportunities in gifted programs.
The article explores the options in catering for gifted and talented students – citing the SCS Newman program – and gives interesting insights into selective schools. I encourage you to read the article during the break.
Congratulations to Year 8 talented actor Madison Hanchard on her performance in “Pushed” which I thoroughly enjoyed at the Play Project. For other talented actors, I would encourage you to find out more about this youth theatre initiative which is designed to provide passionate and driven young actors with the opportunity to bring a play from page to stage.
Finally, I would like to extend my gratitude to Dr Anne Ireland, who’s vision, leadership and perseverance of the Newman Program has made it the success it is today. Being a Newman school requires the support of principals and Dr Ireland has been the driving force behind the program at MSCW.
Thank you Dr Ireland for believing that girls can do anything and MSCW girls can do everything.
