Upper  St.  Clair  School  District     Volume  1,  Issue  2  

Progress  ...pointing  gifted  learners  to  a  promising  future!    

The  Monthly  Newsletter  of  the  Upper  St.  Clair  High  School  Gifted  Education  Program  

 

October  2013  

Upcoming  Events  November  5  

November  8  

November  11-­‐15  

November  19  

No  School    

Teacher  In-­‐Service  

Model  United  Nations  

@  University  of  Pittsburgh  

International  Education  

Week  

PA  Math  League  #2  

November  26   Mattress  Factory  Art  

Museum  Tour  &  Workshop  

Nurturing  the  Potential  of  Gifted  Learners     Gifted   learners   present   a   specific   profile   that   requires   attention   and  

nurturing.    Take  a  look  at  the  checklist  below.    Which  intellectual  and  affective  

characteristics  remind  you  of  your  child?  

 

While   this   cross-­‐section   of   dimensions   certainly   does   not   represent   all   gifted  

learners,   it   is   valuable   to   note   specific   characteristics   that  make   our   children  

one  of  a  kind!  

Mrs. P. & Tim

Intellectual  Characteristics  ___Highly  motivated  to  learn.  ___  Intense  interest  in  a  topic  or  an  activity.  ___Effective  problem  solving  abilities.  ___Exceptional  memory.  ___Keen  sense  to  inquire  and  explore.  ___Highly  logical.  ___Exceptional  imagination  and  creativity.  

Affective  Characteristics  ___High  sensitivity  and  empathy.  ___High  intensity  and  enthusiasm.  ___Perfectionist  ___Introverted  ___Superior  sense  of  humor.  ___High  sense  of  morality  and  integrity  

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking

we used when we created them.

– Albert Einstein  

Quote  for  Gifted  Thinkers  

November  21  &  22  

Middle  School  CalcuSolve  

Scoring  &  Judging  

  lorem  ipsum  dolor   issue,  date  

2  

Twenty   students   participated   in  

CalcuSolve   competitions   at  Duquesne  University’s  ballroom  early  

in   October.     Sponsored   by   the   II-­‐VI  Foundation   and   the   Allegheny  

Intermediate  Unit,  CalcuSolve  is  both  a   team   and   individual   math  

competition  that  stretches  the  brain!  

Student  participants  

answered  questions  such  as  “Find  all  values  of  x  for  which  the  expression  z  

=  [-­‐x  +  10  +  (x+2)i](x-­‐i)  will  be  a  real  number.”  and  “After  the  king  of  clubs  

√900  ÷  2  +  251/2      Students  1  Competition  

is  removed  from  an  ordinary  deck  of  

playing  cards,  the  cards  are  shuffled  and  the  top  card  is  discarded  without  

its  face  value  known.    What  is  the  probability  that  the  next  card  on  the  

top  is  a  king?”  

Ninth  grade  team  members  

included  Aditi  Chattopadhyay,  Mahima  Reddy,  Thomas  Vissman,  

Yang  Zhang.    Tenth  grade  participants  were  Zach  Christiansen,  

Hunter  Lantzman,  Amanda  Mittelman,  and  Christina  Park.    The  

upperclass  team  members  included  

Matt  Becker,  Ananya  Cleetus,  Brinda  Doshi,  Doug  Hapeman,  Christian  Heil,  

Kevin  Monpara,  Michael  Piroli,  Eva  Roy,  Sriparna  Sen,  Ben  Stalnaker,  

Tony  Wang,  and  Brooks  Wilding.    

  Special  congratulations  are  

extended  to  the  third  place  team  from  the  9th  and  10th  grade  

competition,  freshmen  Aditi  Chattopadhyay,  Mahima  Reddy,  

Thomas  Vissman,  and  Yang  Zhang!  

 

On   November   8   fourteen   students  

will  attend  the  Model  United  Nations  simulation   experience   at   the  

University   of   Pittsburgh.     This   year  the   team   will   represent   Germany.    

Each   of   two   students   will   represent  seven   UN   committees,   from   the  

World   Health   Organization   to  UNESCO  to  the  Security  Council.    

As   part   of   the   preparation  

for   the   simulation,   students   had  

three  enriching  experiences.     In  mid-­‐October   Eliana   Ondrejko   arranged   a  

Skype  meeting  with   family   friends   in  Germany   and   consultants   from  

Global  Solutions  Pittsburgh  came   for  a   lecture   on   the   UN   and   this   year’s  

simulation.    On  October  21  we  were  fortunate   to   host   Frau   Baird’s  

German   exchange   students.     USCHS  

students  were   able   to   interview   these   native  

Germans   to   hear   their   perspectives  on  a  variety  of   issues.    Their   insights  

were   invaluable   on   many   of   the  issues   that   students  will   discuss   and  

debate  at  Pitt  in  November.  

Model  UN  /  German  Exchange  Experience  

 

 

Mrs.  Patricia  Palazzolo,  412.833.1600,  ext.  2522  Dr.  Timothy  M.  Wagner,  412.833.1600,  ext.  2530    

     

Upper  St.  Clair  School  District   Volume  1,  Issue  2  

Pennsylvania  Governor’s  School    for  the  Sciences  (PGSS)  Announced!  

 

On  Thursday,  October  31  during  mods  9-­‐10   juniors  are   invited   to  an   informational  meeting  about   the  PA  Governor’s  School   for   the  Sciences   (PGSS),  a   summer  experience  hosted  at  Carnegie  Mellon  University.  

  At  the   informational  meeting,  Mrs.  Palazzolo  will  provide  background   on   becoming   a   competitive   applicant,   while   Mrs.  McGinty   from   the   counseling   department   will   discuss   letters   of  recommendation.      

  Juniors   are   invited   to   pick   up   a   permission   slip   for   this  informational  meeting  –  and  a  pizza  lunch!    Interested  families  and  students   may   visit   the   PGSS   website   here:   http://www-­‐pgss.mcs.cmu.edu.  

Contact  Us!  

The  Conrad  Foundation’s  “Spirit  of  Innovation  Challenge”  provides  an  opportunity  for  teams  of  students  to   create   commercially   viable   products   or   services   to   address   issues   of   global   sustainability   for   the  benefit   of   humanity.   This   annual   competition   is   available   to   students,   ages   13-­‐18,   from   around   the  world.    Two  teams  of  Upper  St.  Clair  High  School  students  worked  around  the  clock  to  make  the  October  24  deadline.  

Team  eCharge  (Vashisth  and  Vedant  Parekh)  submitted  the  design  for  their  innovative  charging  device  in  the  Energy  &  Environment  category.    Team  Asclepius   (Aditi  Chattopadhyay,  Mahima  Reddy,  and  Tyler  Besselman)  submitted  their  proposed  InjectoNerve  device  in  the  Health  &  Nutrition  Category.    (It  helps  neuropathy   sufferers   by   transforming   the   vestigial   muscle   Arrector   Pili   into   much-­‐needed   neuronal  cells.)  Congratulations  to  both  teams  for  their  hard  work,  creative  ideas,  and  perseverance!  

 

Spirit  of  Innovation  Challenge