Link to TAG Family Info Night Slides

The presentation slides from our Family TAG Information Night are now posted on our Sabin Website: http://www.pps.k12.or.us/schools/sabin/507.htm

Nomination forms due November 2

Please remember TAG nomination forms are due to Ms. Schachner by November 2.  Forms are posted outside the office.  You fill out the parent portion and then pass it on to the teacher.  Teachers are required to complete part of the form as well as evidence (projects, assignments completed, test scores, etc) to support their portion/recommendation.  We are getting down to the wire if you plan to nominate!  Please pick up a form and pass it on to your teacher ASAP.

Sabin TAGAC is Official!

Sabin Tag Advisory Council (TAGAC) was officially voted on yesterday at School Site Council.  Please reach out if you'd like more information on how to get involved and advocate for your child.  Here is our mission statement:

TAG Advisory Council

Sabin School

Established to support the needs of TAG Identified students at Sabin School.  Goals include:

• ·         Serving as a resource to newly identified TAG families.
• ·         Supporting teachers and TAG coordinator in sharing and implementing ideas for TAG plans (both Building Plan and Individual TAG plans).
• ·         Helping to make the TAG identification process at Sabin more transparent and equitable.
• ·         Serving as a liaison between District TAGAC, Sabin Administration, Parents, and Teachers.
• ·          Supporting the district TAG goals:  “PPS TAG Department is charged with creating and establishing a program to meet the unique and diverse needs of all students. For our community to continue to move forward; changes are necessary. One of these critical shifts is in our interpretation of gifted education. The prevailing, historical context of gifted education is based on the predominant view of the majority culture. By establishing a neighborhood program at each school, we may be able to better address the needs of TAG students AND provide an opportunity for development and the nurturing of potential students.” (PPS TAG Program model 2015-2016)

Establishing Sabin TAGAC Members: Meghan Whitaker, Jenna Cooper, Kim Ford, Helen Kilber, Dana Anderson

Sabin TAG Night 6-7pm *Tonight* 10/28

TAG night at Sabin has been rescheduled for Wednesday 10/28 from 6-7pm in the auditorium.  We are working on getting a middle schooler to hang out with younger kids during the meeting, as many 8th graders are trying to earn $ for their DC trip.  Children are welcome as long as they do not distract too much from the meeting.  Please come and meet Ms. Schachner, our new AP and TAG coordinator.  Hope to see you there!

OATAG Conference is in Portland this year!

To quote Deborah Martelly, current TAGAC member and PPS parent:

Some of us have gifted children who demonstrate their unhappiness by acting out at school and others of us have kids who wait until they get home to explode. Problems, at home and at school, can happen when gifted children feel they have to suppress their overexcitabilities, or if those overexcitabilities are uncontrolled.

“We can make an analogy between people’s overexcitabilities and television channels. Most people are wired to receive, say, 10 channels. Others come equipped with a wide selection on cable. Some have a satellite dish and high definition. They receive and respond to signals that many others don’t even know or can’t imagine might exist. It can be difficult to keep track of several stations, so it’s easy to imagine a person being overwhelmed by trying to manage the hundreds of signals on a satellite dish. While this analogy is helpful as a description, there is one caveat: In our modern world, we can upgrade our television service to receive cable if we don’t have it. Overexcitabilities, which we call OEs, are referred to somewhat tongue-in-cheek as ‘original equipment.’ They are innate predispositions. We are born with them. Although everyone is born with basic modes of experience, persons with overexcitabilities are usually intense in their experiences. They react to lower stimuli than others – that is, one’s reactions may be higher or greater than others’, but also one’s threshold for reaction may be lower, and a person may react strongly to what others perceive as a non-event.” (p.35 Living With Intensity by Daniels & Piechowski)

For insight and tools to help parents/teachers understand overexcitabilities and, thus, help children harness their overexcitabilities, I encourage you to attend this year’s OATAG conference; this year’s theme is “Supporting Success: What Do TAG Students Really Need?” – it will look at the whole child’s needs, awareness of social-emotional development in addition to intellectual stimulation. Insight into ways our children struggle, coupled with strategies on how to turn overexcitabilities into superpowers, can completely change home, and school, dynamics.

The Keynote Speaker is James T. Webb, Ph.D., the founder of the national nonprofit organization SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of Gifted Children, Inc.)

This year’s conference is conveniently in Portland at Floyd Light Middle School (10800 SE Washington St., Portland, Oregon 97216) on Saturday, October 10, 2015 from 9:30am to 4pm.

In addition to attending yourself, I strongly encourage everyone to invite PPS teachers and administrators to go to the conference so they too can learn more about what “TAG Students Really Need”

http://oatag.org/OATAG_Conference
http://sengifted.org

Sabin TAG Family Information Night

Sabin TAG Family Information Night
October 15th  6-7pm
Come meet Ms. Schachner, our new AP and TAG Coordinator.  Whether you are currently nominating your student or already have children at Sabin who are TAG identified, this is a great time to get your questions answered about everything TAG at Sabin.