G&T application process - 3rd graders

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never understood those questions about social environment in the HGCs and then, the discussion is degenerating. Why are you parents afraid of trying it out and if you feel it's not for YOU, you can pull your child out at any time. Your home school director will be happy to receive back your super smart child, very endowed socially. Or, if you are afraid of trying it out in vivo, go for in vitro! Instead of asking strangers, just go and ask permission to observe an hour of a 4th grade in a HGC. If you are the parent of a HG child, I assume you are somewhat smart too.

Why participate in this site if you think that asking questions here is so unproductive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never understood those questions about social environment in the HGCs and then, the discussion is degenerating. Why are you parents afraid of trying it out and if you feel it's not for YOU, you can pull your child out at any time. Your home school director will be happy to receive back your super smart child, very endowed socially. Or, if you are afraid of trying it out in vivo, go for in vitro! Instead of asking strangers, just go and ask permission to observe an hour of a 4th grade in a HGC. If you are the parent of a HG child, I assume you are somewhat smart too.

Why participate in this site if you think that asking questions here is so unproductive.

First of all, let's be precise, degenerating and unproductive are not synonyms! Second, take my advise: go and observe instead of labeling kids accepted to HGC as lacking social skills.

[Anonymous]

I never understood those questions about social environment in the HGCs and then, the discussion is degenerating. Why are you parents afraid of trying it out and if you feel it's not for YOU, you can pull your child out at any time. Your home school director will be happy to receive back your super smart child, very endowed socially. Or, if you are afraid of trying it out in vivo, go for in vitro! Instead of asking strangers, just go and ask permission to observe an hour of a 4th grade in a HGC. If you are the parent of a HG child, I assume you are somewhat smart too

This diatribe penned by the poster not only reflects a lack of social skills but also skills related to syntax and sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This diatribe penned by the poster not only reflects a lack of social skills but also skills related to syntax and sense.

You must be the author of this diatribe and you desperately need a break to sharpen your social skills:

The teacher portion is a checklist- it's not a letter, like for college.

A child who scores mary-poppins-perfectly-perfect-in-every-way is actually moved down the list of considered students, not up.

They are looking for students who's needs cannot be met in a mainstream classroom setting. It's actually better for acceptance purposes if your kid is a hall wanderer with frequent bathroom breaks, or takes 10 minutes to sharpen a pencil while they stare out a window daydreaming. They don't want disruptive students, of course....there is a happy medium.

[Anonymous]

Oh wow, the ellipses wars from the other thread have followed us here, to a chest-thumping, my-IQ-is-bigger-than-yours about syntax and word choice. And ouch, some of these posts are really lacking in both!

[Anonymous]

I went to the GT Center at Pine Crest Elementary School in 4th grade (3 years ago) and I just want to say that it was probably the BEST experience I've ever had. The kids there are extremely happy and intelligent, and if I can speak on behalf of my classmates that were there, there wasn't any place we would rather have been.

[Anonymous]

lotta dweebs in this post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know how important the teacher recommendations are? My DS is new to MCPS this year (3rd grade) and his teacher is a 1st year teacher. I'm just wondering that without much of a "history" in the school and with an new teacher (who also lacks much "history"), will he be disadvantaged?

I don't think it's a terrible disadvantage. Even kids who have been at the school for years are new to their 3rd grade teachers, who I believe write the letters. My child also has as new teacher, so we'll give some her some additional information about his strengths, why we're looking at the center, etc.

We were totally new to MCPS in 3rd grade and still got into the Center for 4th. One thing you might want to request, which can be done right away, is to have your child do the "global screening" for Gifted and Talented which is usually done with all second graders in the spring. If you were not in MCPS, your child did not get that. It is the "terranova" testing. The purpose of this is to identify kids who might benefit from GT services in their home school (whatever that means in terms of what's available at your school -- the opportunity to skip a level in math, William and Mary reading, etc.)

This testing is different from the HGC testing that doesn't take place until Dec. or Jan. Ask for the global screening/terra nova, and you will get some data about your child's testing capabilities now.

You should also make sure that your child's grades from their previous school are transferred to your MCPS school. If your child is demonstrating a history of straight A's and extremely positive teacher report card comments, that helps bolster the argument that your child is not being challenged at their present grade level (no matter which school).

[Anonymous]

How many kids get into the GT center each year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many kids get into the GT center each year?

If I remember correctly, this year there are 442 spots, with different numbers of spots available (ranges from 50-something to 70-something) at each of the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many kids get into the GT center each year?

If I remember correctly, this year there are 442 spots, with different numbers of spots available (ranges from 50-something to 70-something) at each of the schools.

Are those numbers per year, so there are 442 4th grade spots open each year, or are only half of those spots for 4th graders?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many kids get into the GT center each year?

If I remember correctly, this year there are 442 spots, with different numbers of spots available (ranges from 50-something to 70-something) at each of the schools.

Are those numbers per year, so there are 442 4th grade spots open each year, or are only half of those spots for 4th graders?

New poster here. I believe they said 442 spots for 4th grade, and 2000 kids usually apply each year. (That's out of 10,000-11,000 3rd graders.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many kids get into the GT center each year?

If I remember correctly, this year there are 442 spots, with different numbers of spots available (ranges from 50-something to 70-something) at each of the schools.

Are those numbers per year, so there are 442 4th grade spots open each year, or are only half of those spots for 4th graders?

New poster here. I believe they said 442 spots for 4th grade, and 2000 kids usually apply each year. (That's out of 10,000-11,000 3rd graders.)

I also heard about 442 and 2000 numbers. But are you sure there are only 10,000-11,000 3rd graders? Because then the overall acceptance rate would be about 442/10000= 4%. I thought it was more like 2%, since people keep posting that only 1 or 2 kids per school get accepted.

[Anonymous]

THe centers are designed to serve the top 3 - 5% of kids so those numbers make sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many kids get into the GT center each year?

If I remember correctly, this year there are 442 spots, with different numbers of spots available (ranges from 50-something to 70-something) at each of the schools.

Are those numbers per year, so there are 442 4th grade spots open each year, or are only half of those spots for 4th graders?

New poster here. I believe they said 442 spots for 4th grade, and 2000 kids usually apply each year. (That's out of 10,000-11,000 3rd graders.)

I also heard about 442 and 2000 numbers. But are you sure there are only 10,000-11,000 3rd graders? Because then the overall acceptance rate would be about 442/10000= 4%. I thought it was more like 2%, since people keep posting that only 1 or 2 kids per school get accepted.

3 or 4 kids per school get accepted. I wonder, do they care about gender balance or balance among the schools?