WE NEED YOU!
Want to be more involved at WLE? Sign up HERE or email westlake.pfa@gmail.com & we'll let you know about the volunteer opportunities available.
The Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program provides unique education opportunities for students who have been identified as gifted and talented. GATE students at Westlake are clustered into classes by grade-level, facilitating differentiated instruction and dynamic interaction among students. Focus is placed on the development of critical thinking skills and problem solving activities. Westlake students participate in an eBlock session during their school day, once a trimester GATE students participate in a specific class geared towards problem solving activities (K-2) and entrepreneurship skills (3-5).
Westlake holds GATE parent meetings three times per school year. Additionally, CVUSD has a GATE District Advisory Committee that meets once a month to discuss program goals and needs. A parent representative from Westlake attends these meetings and brings back information to share with parents. Westlake also has a teacher who serves as GATE coordinator, who attends monthly meetings, shares information with the staff, and helps coordinate the GATE parent meetings.
Talk to your child's teacher if you are interested in having your child tested for the GATE program. Parent permission to participate is on file in the front office. Once students are identified, they remain part of the GATE program.
Informative Websites
Westlake Elementary
GATE Programs
Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Teams bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and World level. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and from about 25 other countries participate in the program.
At Westlake Elementary, all students and parents are welcome to participate in Odyssey of the Mind (OM). Passionate about expanding our students' learning potential, WLE is encouraging students and parents to utilize this opportunity for enhancing creativity and problem solving.
The Noetic Learning Math Contest (NLMC) is a semiannual problem solving contest for elementary and middle school students. The goal of the competition is to encourage students' interest in math, to develop their problem solving skills, and to inspire them to excel in math. During the contest, students are given 45 minutes to solve 20 problems. Many problems are designed to challenge students and to enrich their problem solving experiences. The contest is for students in grades 2-5.
At Westlake Elementary, we have been partnering with local college professors to enhance and develop our GATE student’s “entrepreneurial” growth-mindsets. The Start-Up Kids program help them discover, create and grow entrepreneurial ideas by encouraging independent thinking, inspiring creativity, and enabling problem-solving skills that are necessary for a successful and fulfilling future.
GATE students in grades 3-5 will participate once a trimester in the program completing three modules: Explore, Create and Build. We are so very excited to have Start-Up Kids at our school.
Calling all GATE students to Lunch Bunch. Westlake Elementary will host guest speakers and special activities designed to engage the gifted child.
Our next GATE Lunch Bunch is Thursday, January 18th.
Math League
Journal Club
This is a companion to our Math League. Students work on writing portfolios in a bimonthly class. Classes will begin in early November and will meet on every other Monday in Room 30. Please contact Svetlana Redeva if you have any questions.
GATE
Books & Resources
Informative Websites
www.cagifted.org - The California Association for the Gifted
www.nagc.org - National Association for Gifted Children
www.sengifted.org - Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted
www.giftedstudy.org - Summer Institute for the Gifted (The Summer Institute for the Gifted offers residential and day programs for gifted and talented students in grades K through 11.)
www.tri-countygate.org - Tri-County GATE Council (The Tri-County GATE Council, a volunteer organization, is an affiliate of the California Association for the Gifted (CAG). It belongs to the Pacific Region of CAG, which includes San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties.)
www.cde.ca.gov/sp/gt/ - California Department of Education, Gifted and Talented Education
www.gt-cybersource.org - Davidson Institute's GT-CyberSource
www.hoagiesgifted.org - About Hoagies' Gifted Education Page
Recommended Reading
Living With Intensity by Susan Daniels
Children: The Challenge by Dreikurs & Stolz
Make Your Worrier a Warrior by Daniel Peters
From Worrier to Warrior by Daniel Peters (written for children!)
Smart Boys by Kerr & Cohn
Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults by Webb & Amend
A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children by Webb & Gore
Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students by Christine Fonseca
Five Levels of Gifted by Deborah Ruf