MCGT and Chapter Events

MCGT invites interested parties to submit proposals for presenters and kids' program leaders at our fall conference to be held on October 24, 2009.

We seek proposals for presentations on topics of interest to parents and educators of gifted children:

Proposal for adult breakout sessions (pdf file)

We are also looking for half-day and full-day kids' session presentations that will be of interest to gifted and talented children in kindergarten through seventh grade who are attending the conference with their parents:

Proposal for kids' programs (pdf file)

The 4th Annual Joint Mensa/MCGT Picnic is just around the corner, on Sunday, July 19, and we hope that many of you will be able to attend. Our picnic is an effort sponsored jointly by MN Mensa (www.mnmensa.org ), the MN Council for the Gifted and Talented (www.mcgt.net ), and American Mensa Limited (www.us.mensa.org ).

The picnic will be held again this year at the Tony Schmidt/Lake Johanna Regional Park Shelter from noon to 5 p.m. This facility worked very well for our group last year, so we decided to return. Information on the park's location and amenities may be found at the Ramsey County Park web-site below. There is a swimming beach there, so be sure to bring your suits and towels (but NO inflatable devices or buoyant objects-park rules). Throw a couple of lawn chairs in your trunk as well, since we invariably have more people than the shelter has places to sit.

As always, burgers (meat and veggie), hot dogs, buns, condiments, and paper products will be supplied by our groups. We ask that families bring side dishes such as salads, munchies, and desserts to share (and their own beverage selections-there is a water fountain there, but we will not be supplying beverages). We will have lots to do for the kids (including the ever-popular squirt guns), as well as an information table and door prizes for the parents.

Note: This year, to help defray the costs of holding this event, we are asking for a suggested donation of $1 per person up to $5 per family, but everyone is welcome to come whether or not they can afford to pay.

These events are important opportunities to connect with other families facing the challenges and rewards of raising gifted children, so we encourage participation. Last year, over 200 people RSVP'd, so be sure to get your name on the list as soon as you can.

Because food is being provided, RSVPs are required by July 15. Please send an email to temafiki@comcast.net with the number of people attending, the ages of your children, and what dish you are going to bring. (The last item is so she can give good answers when people ask what we need more of.)

It is important to those of us planning this event that you respond in a timely fashion with complete information. Everyone will have more fun if we have enough food, supplies, and door prizes to go around. We'll look forward to seeing you there!

Teresa Manzella, Beth Dempsey, Karl Bunday, and Ken Kuller

P.S. We are hoping to involve the teens in making activities for the younger kids go smoothly. We'll have special tokens of our appreciation for those teens who step forward for a bit of the day. We won't ask for too much time, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to hang with the other teens! This picnic might also be a good chance for some of the older kids to try to set up some of their own get-togethers.

MCGT CHAT Nights are dedicated to informally connecting parents of gifted children, helping them find other parents in similar situations with an ear to listen, experiences to share, and solutions to offer. They are usually held on the first Thursday of each month during the school year from 7:00 to 8:30 pm. Each evening starts with a brief (10-15 minutes) presentation by a facilitator on a topic of interest to be followed by an open discussion on the topic with those present. Please note this is not a formal workshop or seminar.

How does a chapter apply to host a CHAT Night?

First, submit a letter to the MCGT Board indicating your chapter's desire to host one of the seven CHAT Nights in the 2009-2010 year. The letter must include:

• Chapter name and contact information,
• Your chapter's top three desired months to host a CHAT Night, and
• Your top three desired topics. (Previous topics have included advocacy, highly gifted, social and emotional needs of gifted children, summer programs, gifted preschoolers, etc.)
• CHAT Night Hosting letters are due by August 1, 2009.

Second, MCGT will review the application letters in early August. CHAT Night topic and month assignments will be scheduled using a combination of first-come first-serve basis and factors such as facilitator availability and topic timeliness. Chapters will be notified by August 14 regarding their CHAT Night hosting status.

Third, once your chapter has been assigned a CHAT Night you will be expected to commit to the schedule and reserve your CHAT Night location as soon as possible so that MCGT may include the information in the Outlook and on the MCGT website.

A few things to keep in mind:

• CHAT Nights typically occur on the first Thursday of the month, October through April.
• MCGT will provide the facilitator for your CHAT Night.
• MCGT will promote the CHAT Night in Outlook, on MCGT's Yahoo! discussion site, and on the MCGT website. We encourage chapters to promote this in their own community.
• CHAT Nights must be free and open to the public (not restricted to MCGT or chapter members only).
• Chapters may choose to provide optional items such as refreshments and childcare, and may charge fees for those services.

The date has been set and a keynote speaker has been selected for the 2009 Annual MCGT Conference, co-sponsored by MCGT and the University of St. Thomas. This year we're moving from St. Paul (where we've been for 11 years) to Minneapolis. We'll be at the University of St. Thomas' Minneapolis downtown campus at 11th St. and Lasalle Ave. on Saturday, October 24. The Conference includes breakout sessions on a variety of topics for adults, the usual full day and half-day classes for kids kindergarten through seventh grade, and an array of interesting exhibits and information.

The keynote speaker will be Jean Sunde Peterson, Ph.D. In her first career, Peterson, now professor and coordinator of the School Counseling program at Purdue University, was an English and foreign language teacher for many years. Eventually she also became involved in teacher education and gifted education and created a long-running summer foreign-language day camp for young gifted children. When she began doctoral work in counseling and counselor education at The University of Iowa, her research interest in the social and emotional development of gifted children and adolescents was already well established, and she was a published author. As part of her fellowship at the Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education at the university, she consulted for the Center and counseled gifted children and their families in the Center clinic. Subsequently she became a licensed mental health counselor and, concurrent with her work as a counselor educator, had a part-time private counseling practice, largely focused on gifted children and their families.

Registration information for the MCGT Conference will be included in the September/October issue of Outlook and posted for downloading on this website around September 1.

Make a proposal!
You'll find forms above for making proposals to teach a class for the the kids or to give an adult presentation at MCGT's 2009 Conference. Make a proposal yourself or pass them on to someone else you think should know about this opportunity. Maybe there is a teacher or presenter from a past conference that you would like to be sure is invited to return. You can either do it yourself, or contact MCGT at 952-848-4906 or info@mcgt.net and we'll get in touch with them.

Be a volunteer!
You're also invited to participate as a volunteer to co-chair a conference activity: kids' program, adult program, publicity, or vendors and exhibitors. Your reward will be the satisfaction of making it possible for this highly-anticipated MCGT activity to come together. Contact one of the conference co-chairs: Shari Colvin, ssjmcolv@hutchtel.net or 320-587-7519, or Betty Johnson, betty.johnson@mcgt.net or 952-544-6979. We'd like to add you to the team.