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Brisbane West

Welcome to the Brisbane West Branch of QAGTC. 

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

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 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

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

ZOOM event - Supporting gifted students during their transition back to school

Zoom Meeting
Event start
It has been a most unusual year for us all; however gifted students returning to school after a period of remote learning are experiencing a range of challenges that are related to who they are and how they learn.
How do parents and educators appropriately support gifted students to positively transition from a remote learning environment to a school setting?
How can we ensure that gifted students' learning and psycho-social needs are adequately addressed at this time?
How might adults manage the fluctuating demands of our society's 'new normal' while safeguarding students' emotional well-being and ensuring that opportunities available for gifted students are responsive to their learning needs?

Join us via ZOOM to listen to Michele Juratowitch as she provides some guidance on this topical issue. Please see Michele's bio below. When you register for this FREE event, a ZOOM link will be provided to you via email, an hour before the event.

Strengths and Vulnerabilities: Exploring Characteristics, Complexities, Emotional and Social Needs of the Gifted

Event start
Understanding the psychosocial characteristics of gifted youth is critical if we are to know how to support the emotional and social needs of gifted students while simultaneously providing optimal intellectual and academic challenges – whether at home or at school. Presented by Michele Juratowitch

KEEPING YOUR COOL ON THE MOON

Man on the moon
Event start
The theme of National Science Week 2019 is Destination Moon. QAGTC-West invites budding science students in Years 3-6, to conduct a real-life science experiment in a real-life science laboratory on the theme of keeping astronauts at a comfortable temperature on the Earth’s Moon. A prize will be awarded to the student with the best graph interpretation. Parents are welcome to observe in the lab.

Early Childhood Panel

Panel discussion
Event start
Brisbane West Branch of the QAGTC invites you to attend an event focused on giftedness in early childhood (8 years and under). Experienced educators will form a panel to review issues related to young gifted children.

Managing Boredom: Increasing Engagement

Children stream wide
Event start
We all recognize the word, the look and the frustration but do we really understand what ‘boredom’ means or know how to respond to the phase “It’s boring!” when expressed by students. Parents, who are concerned about their child receiving adequate academic challenge, may be perceived as an affront by teachers who work hard to provide stimulating lessons for students. Is learning to deal with boredom an expected life skill or does the experience of boredom result in cognitive difficulties, academic underachievement and psychological difficulties?

Drawing with Escher- the art of the impossible!

Art 1
Event start
Come and join QAGTC West Branch for our semester 1 Children’s competition in the area of the Arts. This time we will venture into the world of drawing for a lesson on Escher and his impossible art creations. End the morning by creating your own Escher inspired art piece and the big reveal of the winners of the drawing competition. There are always 2 prizes up for grabs- a judge’s choice and a people’s choice award. The prizes are $25 gift certificates generously donated by the creative gift shop, Presents of Mind.

Topic: Advocating for your child at school?

Children Jumping wide
Event start
Advocating for your child can be a difficult ask for any parent. Knowing what to reasonably expect from a school, knowing how to ask and getting results can be difficult for parents who feel uncomfortable for any number of reasons. This talk will navigate through the school factors that can affect the outcome of your discussions and how best to deal with the fears and phobias at both ends of the conversation.