Anonymous wrote:My dd got 126 in Nnat. she is in first grade. I am reading all the posts and it feels that her scores are on lower side as the cutoffs are ~130. How can I prepare her for other tests? Thanks for the reply.

I think the AA or GT program is nice and my kids do well BUT you really should not have to prepare a child for this. Never even occurred to me at that age. If they needed to be prepped, I think the schools would be doing it - much like the sol's. They drill that style of test and make them practice every day. Please relax if you can. You have many years ahead to worry about school. A good friend's child just got accepted to an excellent school, took all IB in HS and never stepped foot in a GT center. Things have a way of working out. I know easier said than done but I have kids in reg and GT and it is all good. Hope this helps.

My dd got 126 in Nnat. she is in first grade. I am reading all the posts and it feels that her scores are on lower side as the cutoffs are ~130. How can I prepare her for other tests? Thanks for the reply.

I would think that most teachers aren't going to mention the word "gifted"...ever.
Don't ask them if they think your kid is gifted. It puts them in a horrible position. Would you want to be asked that question? It wouldn't be easy to say no, even if the teacher felt it was the honest truth.

Teachers are smarter than you think, and 99% of the time, they want what is best for the kids in their class. My very quiet but exceedingly bright daughter got into AAP on the first round last year. I never mentioned the program to her teachers and they never mentioned it either, but apparently they knew what she needed. I am hoping it works out the same way for my son who in my opinion needs the program even more than my daughter did.
Have a little faith in the teachers and in the system. It's not perfect, but it works.

I don't think teachers are *supposed* to talk to parents about AAP. The AART handles all questions. If the teacher needs to write a GBRS, she needs to keep that info private until she's sent it to the central committee...so it's in her interest to keep quiet about AAP for now.

Also, many teachers just don't like AA centers. They're a brain drain on the base school. I'm sure, however, that that bias does not affect the teacher's objective rating of individual students (if she as at all a decent human being).

Wow, 23:02, I think you need to chill out a bit. You sound a little intense. Maybe your dc's teacher is cold to you because she sees you as a pushy tiger mom, but is perfectly lovely to the children she teachers.

Only advice is don't be so desperate. There is life outside of AAP. If your teacher thinks your child is a quick thinker and quick learner, she should give him a good rating. If not you can appeal like everyone else.

Above comments are very helpful.

I think I will only use the certificates where my son got 1st or 2nd place.

I also got a very good recommendation from the robotics coach who conducted the class in the morning at the school before the school timing.

The only concern I have is my son's teacher who is very cold and strict. She does not want to talk to parents about AAP and the child chances to get into the program. She alwasy refer us to the AART teacher.

My son is in the pool but I am very much concerned about the GBR due to the teacher's behaviour.

My son seems like having a personality clash with the teachers cold personality.

Any advice folks?

I find it annoying that they even ask for certificates. Participation certs show that you paid for a class--end of story. Last summer my DS did a robotics camp and came down with strep the second day, so he missed all but one class. A week later, I got a certificate in the mail!

I don't think that the committee is interested in your son's various summer camps. He has a wide variety of interests and that is great, but I would just mention it somewhere in the parent questionairre and leave the certificates out of the file. I think you would drive them nuts with all that irrelevent paperwork to sort through.

Don't bother with the certificates.

Well, my son spent entire summer on the activities/competitions and collected participation certificates. these are related to Photography, robotics, puzzle, arts, swimming and maths. Total he collected 16 certificates, few of them he got 1st or 2nd positions.

Anonymous wrote:I know, but my question is on the standard 8 1/2 x 11 paper can I print three or four reduced size certificates.

This is due to 12 to 15 certificates my son has.

What are these certificates for?

I can't imagine a 2nd grader having 12-15 certificates that actually indicate advanced academic ability.
Standard issue student of the month/honor roll/extracurricular class participation certificates maybe...but not all academic awards that the committee might actually be interested in.

I know, but my question is on the standard 8 1/2 x 11 paper can I print three or four reduced size certificates.

This is due to 12 to 15 certificates my son has.

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for your quick response, the guide line states that for the student work sample and not for the certificates. Do you still think that the first guide line will be applicable on the certificates/recommendation sections as well?

Maybe you can email the AART at your school and ask? There is still another week to prepare the optional materials.

Thank you for your quick response, the guide line states that for the student work sample and not for the certificates. Do you still think that the first guide line will be applicable on the certificates/recommendation sections as well?