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Brisbane West

Welcome to the Brisbane West Branch of the QAGTC. 

You are invited to become involved in supporting Gifted Children by attending, participating or volunteering at our meetings and events.

PARENT/TEACHER ACTIVITY:

We host a parent/teacher information session once a term on Monday nights usually from 7:30-8:30 in the Kenmore Library Meeting room 3.  Check the "events" tab for details on these events and booking.  Sign up to have events emailed directly to you so you don't miss out!

Want more than an information session once a term?  Come along and join our team of committed parents and teachers dedicated to providing support and raising awareness for gifted children in our community!  We meet on the second Monday of the month during school terms from 6:30-7:30 in the Kenmore LIbrary meeting room 3.

CHILDREN'S ACTIVITY: 

National Science Week

 

Each year pre-Covid, West Branch has run a children’s activity during National Science Week. This year, despite lockdown and closures, we can still get plenty of science into our everyday lives at home.

As we are aware, the human population is getting larger and food growing areas are shrinking due to accommodating the increasing population. We know that a healthy body that is well nourished will give us the best chance of a speedy recovery from any disease or treatment. In Queensland, most people have access to healthy foods but we don’t always make the correct choices for a healthy body.

The theme for National Science Week 2021 is “Food: Different by Design” and encourages us to explore the many ways science is developing ways to ensure we have enough nutritious food available for all in a sustainable way. By becoming knowledgeable about the food we need, how it is “grown” (even in small spaces), methods of preserving and preparing foods, avoiding food waste and even packaging and transporting foods, we can conscientiously and responsibly feed ourselves with minimal ecological impact.

Let’s learn about the science of food. Whether you are in Prep or all the way through to Year 10, here are some sites you may like to access which will guide you into activities you can do to make you more aware of the science of food production and the current technological developments in the food industry:

   1.     https://www.scienceweek.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Food_different_by_design_teacher_book.pdf, this site is the official National Science Week site and has numerous activities that can easily be done at home. They are graded for Prep through to Year 10.

   2.     Citizen science projects:

             a.     Do you have a macadamia tree growing near you? https://www.wildmacadamias.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Wild-Macadamia-Hunt-Project-Info.pdf

             b.     If you go fishing and you enjoy a bit of dissection work: https://scistarter.org/got-guts

             c.     Wild Pollinator Count  has the next Citizen Science Count from 14th to 21st November, https://wildpollinatorcount.com/

   3.      General Citizen Science Projects in Brisbane West:

             a.     The Moggill Creek Catchment Group welcome those interested in studying and preserving the ecology of Moggill Creek https://www.moggillcreek.org.au/

             b.     https://wildlife.org.au/rbcn/ plant a vine to help save the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly

If you are always interested in things scientific, you may like to take up this offer from CSIRO’s Double Helix magazine:

https://doublehelixshop.csiro.au/special-subscription-offer

Let’s not let Covid deter us in our quest for science knowledge and exploration.

Enjoy,

The team at QAGTC West Branch

 

 

QAGTC WEST CHILDREN’S COMPETITION 

 

Check out our competitions from our first season:

PAST EVENTS

We plan to facilitate the following activities:

Support Group Meetings:

Brisbane West Support Group welcomes Parents, Carers and Teachers of gifted children.  Meetings will be held on selected Monday evenings (7:30 – 9:00pm).

These meetings will provide an opportunity to discuss the needs of our gifted children by sharing of knowledge and experiences.  We hold these meetings in one of the following formats:  Support Group (sharing & resourcing), Focus Topic(s) or Guest Speaker(s).

We can also identify topics of interest for future West Branch Events, eg: Children’s Activities, Gifted Family Networking Events, Guest Speakers or Support Group Meetings.

Please be aware that our Support Group meetings are purposed for Parents, Carers & Teachers, do not bring children to these meetings.

Parent Information Nights (PINs):

Our PINs are suitable for interested Parents, Carers & Teachers.  Please note that children cannot be accommodated for at these evenings.

We will be providing an information night each term.

West Branch Committee Meetings:

Our Branch Committee meets once per month immediately before our Support Group meeting.  If you would like to help, join the committee, contribute to or facilitate activities for Parents and Children in the local area please contact us via:  west [at] qagtc [dot] org [dot] au (WEST) 

Attending our Events

Note:  For Registration & the latest details, please check the Events menu to access all events, or scroll down to the News Items at the bottom section of this page to access West Branch events.

Please regard instructions for child free events (ie: Parents, Carers & Teachers only) versus Children's Activities or Gifted Family Networking Events.  At this stage for Children's Activities purposed events our Branch will not be having any 'drop & go'  arrangements.

Please email our West Branch if you need to clarify any instructions.

Email: west [at] qagtc [dot] org [dot] au

Office bearers

President - Leisa Taylor 

Treasurer - Sue Stevens

Secretary - Melissa Dornhart

 

Branch events

QAGTC West Branch Annual General Meeting

AGM
Event start
Please join us for our Annual General Meeting on the 9th of October.
This is a great opportunity to have your voice into the activities of the branch and to find out what is planned for the future. We welcome any financial members to nominate for the committee as this is by far the best way to expand your knowledge of gifted provisioning and supporting your own gifted child.

Understanding Underachievement - Journal deconstruction

Event start
Join us to delve into some of the research regarding perfectionism, underachievement and mindset with regards to gifted students. We will be looking at two articles with sound methodology and relevant findings. The abstracts and references for the resources are below - if you are able to access them prior to the event, please do. We hope to engage with you in a discussion around the importance of these concepts for gifted children, as we explore the academic literature.

Perfectionism

Event start
Join us in learning about perfectionism and gifted students from Michele Juratowitch, Director of Clearing Skies. This is an online event . ZOOM, link to be sent on the day of event.

There are differing views on perfectionism, ranging from a belief espoused by Anna Quindlen that perfectionism is "inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious", through to Tal Ben-Shahar's statement that "failure is a critically important part of any successful life". Parents and Educators tend to see perfectionism as a negative characteristic that must be addressed. Because perfectionism is usually underpinned by anxiety, it can be problematic and restrictive for the gifted. Understanding the forces involved in perfectionism, appreciating the difference between healthy and unhealthy forms and knowing how to support a gifted person develop skills and become talented can be extremely helpful.

Parent Support Group

Event start
Welcome to 2023! We would like to invite you to an informal parent night to meet our committee members and share experiences of parenting and/or teaching gifted or GLD students. All welcome - a light supper will be provided.

Guiding gifted adolescents

Panel discussion
Event start
QAGTC West Committee Members (Michele Juratowitch, Leisa Taylor, Susan Stevens and Melissa Dornhart) will form a panel to share information about supporting gifted adolescents with differing needs, within various contexts. Please register and come along to the QAGTC West meeting to listen to those who have varied experience supporting gifted adolescence.

Why test? What is involved?

Panel discussion
Event start
Are you curious about the benefits of psychometric assessments for gifted or twice-exceptional students? Do you want to know more about what is involved in these assessments and/or what to consider when looking for a reliable assessor? If so, please join us for a presentation by Lydia Elsworthy, who regular conducts assessments and has a strong understanding of the needs of gifted children.

Our meeting will be held in meeting rooms 1 and 2. Please access via the lift to the library which is located in the covered carpark area between the buildings at the entrance to the shops.

Advocacy for Gifted Students

Event start
Join us via ZOOM to find out about effective advocacy for gifted and twice-exceptional students. Michele Juratowitch will be presenting an information session for parents and teachers that highlights the role of advocacy in relation to educational equity.

Michele Juratowitch is Director or Clearing Skies. She has worked with the gifted in all levels and systems of education; provides a range of services, programs, counselling and advocacy, for gifted youth, parents, professionals, institutions and organisations. Michele was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study counselling and interventions for the gifted. She often presents at conferences and is a member of educational advisory committees. She writes articles related to the diverse needs of gifted students; wrote Study: The Simple Facts and a series of e-books, collectively titled Raising Bright Sparks; co-authored Make a Twist: Curriculum differentiation for gifted students and the research report, Releasing the Brakes for High-Ability Learners. Michele regularly advocates for gifted students, in various ways, at all levels of education, across different educations systems and institutions.