Garwoods Gifted and Talented Classes Continue
Submitted by Carol DelConte
Members of the Garwood Public Schools Gifted and Talented class have been meeting virtually since September. But during the first week of December, eight students in grades four through eight gathered for an in-person full afternoon session of team building and independent activities. Students remarked that the two hour session, held at a socially-safe distance in the school cafeteria, was a “morale booster” and that it was “good to have in-person meetings once a month to work together without being separated by a screen.” One middle school student noted, “We can communicate better during in-person sessions. Online we don’t communicate as well.” An eighth grader said, “The session helped us dust off the team skills that have not been used in a while…It helped me visualize what it was like before the pandemic.” Yet another student stated, “Even though everyone was wearing a mask, it was better than seeing them through a screen as I normally do.”
In this year’s G&T program, students have been asked to consider the many new hobbies and skills people honed during the early days of the pandemic. Everyone was home-bound; people learned to sew, cook, and craft; they read new genres of literature and improved their musical skills. So, using this idea as a springboard, students in the enrichment program will teach themselves a new skill or develop a greater understanding of their chosen subject; ideas include origami, cooking, sign language, calligraphy, a town-wide tree survey, a Union County historical tour pamphlet, and a teen wellness manual. Each student will work independently from January through May on their three part plan: learn something new, create an artifact, and make a video. Throughout this time period, students will check-in weekly with the program coordinators, Mrs. Tamara Benc and Mrs. Carol DelConte, and meet once a month at the school. The program will culminate with individual presentations by students at the annual G&T Parents Night event in June.
