giftEDnzHow to celebrate Gifted Awareness Week
What did you doing to celebrate Gifted Awareness Week this year?
giftEDnz celebrated this years Gifted Awareness Week (13-19 June) by:
- having members participate in the #NZGAW Blog Tour
- working with the New Zealand Centre for Gifted Education (NZCGE) and the New Zealand Association for Gifted Children (NZAGC) to release a collaborative Position Statement on ‘Belonging‘
- Working with you, the New Zealand Centre for Gifted Education (NZCGE) and the New Zealand Association for Gifted Children (NZAGC) to Blast Parliament with letters, to raise awareness and advocate for the needs of gifted and talented children/learners
- Beginning the undertakings of a new nationwide research project being led by giftEDnz looking into what is actually happening, and what those involved at the coalface really think about the state of gifted education in Aotearoa New Zealand
- Developing a handout outlining some of the amazing work being carried out by giftEDnz members
- Contributing to this year’s annual New Zealand Gifted Awareness Blog Tour
- What do you mean by this belonging thing anyway? By Board secretary Andrea Delaune
- Through Their Eyes: Exploring What Inclusion Means for Gifted Learners by Board member Vanessa White
What did giftEDnz do to celebrate last year?
In celebration of Gifted Awareness Week (15-21 June 2015), the Board of giftEDnz was involved in raising awareness through a range of initiatives.
To celebrate, giftEDnz:
- wrote a letter to the Secretary of Education, Peter Hughes
- released a position statement on Inclusive Education and will soon also release a position statement on the Early Years
- had members contribute to the Blog Tour
- ‘Should We Push In or Lean In?’ by Tracy Riley
- ‘I Just Want to Fly’ by Vanessa White
- ‘A Journey for our Gifted Kids’ by Tracy Riley
- ‘The Ruamano Project’ by Emma Scobie-Jennings
- supported the Taranaki Gifted Community Trust, through Speakers’ Bureau funding, to host two presentations by Associate Professor Tracy Riley during Gifted Awareness Week
- released the latest e-zine with its focus on inclusive education
- ran a special membership offer
Other national and regional organisations are also working hard to raise awareness of the needs of our gifted and talented children and young people, as well as the needs of the professionals working with them.
Some of these organisations are:
- The New Zealand Association for Gifted Children www.giftedchildren.org.nz
- The New Zealand Centre for Gifted Education www.nzcge.co.nz
- Canterbury Association for Gifted Children and Youth (CAGCY) www.facebook.com/CAGCY
- REACH Education www.reachgifted.org.nz.
- The Christchurch Association for Gifted Education (CAGE) barbara.bowron@ilam.school.nz
- Otago Association for Gifted Children www.otagogifted.org.nz
- Gifted Education Consultant www.giftedconsultant.ac.nz
- Secondary Auckland Gifted Educators (SAGE) liz@go2tutoring.co.nz
- Gifted Seminars on Wheels http://www.giftedseminars.org
- Ministry of Inspiration www.ministryofinspiration.org
- Central Region Gifted and Talented Education Network (CenGATE) cengate12@gmail.com
What will you do to celebrate the next Gifted Awareness Week?
Click here for a list of ideas our members and stakeholders can use to celebrate Gifted Awareness Week.
Read and share the Position Statements.
We encourage you to read the letter that was sent to Peter Hughes, the Secretary of Education, and to consider asking similar questions of your own local MP as part of our drive for advocacy in this special week of focusing on the needs of gifted and talented children in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The address you need to use is:
| Member of Parliament (see http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/MPP/MPs/ or click here for a current list of MPs’ contact details). Care of Distribution Services Private Bag 18041 Parliament Buildings Wellington 6160 |
No postage stamp is needed when you are writing as an individual to a Member of Parliament or a Minister. Postage is required if you are writing on behalf of an organisation.
Join or follow the #NZGAW Blog Tour. You can find out more about the blog tour, including how to join it, at https://creatingcurriculum.wordpress.com/2015/06/01/announcing-the-nzgaw-blog-tour-2015/ or follow the tour from the growing list of posts at http://ultranet.giftededucation.org.nz/WebSpace/1286/.
We are at a critical time in gifted and talented education and it is up to us, as educators, to make the difference!
Share with us your events, successes, ideas and stories to celebrate. Email giftednz@gmail.com