From ADDitude: "Q: How Can We Teach Accountability to Our Middle School Child? We are trying to teach independence and accountability to our middle school student with ADHD. But he forgets assignments a lot, doesn’t remember lessons, and generally fails more than we’d like. How can we help him take responsibility for his obligations and education without setting him up to fail or accepting his excuses?" Read more here.

Would You Rather Questions for Kids with ADHD: Conversation Starters (additudemag.com)

"How was your day?" Nothing inspires shrugs and grunts better than an uninspired question. To spark a real conversation with your kid, try asking one of these "would you rather" or "if you could" questions — plus find additional talking tips and sample language to foster connection »

Cinema/Chicago announced this year's CineYouth Festival with 71 international short films will be streaming in-person April 22-24 at FACETS Chicago (1517 W. Fullerton Ave.) and streaming globally from April 25-May 1! Tickets are free and open to the public.

This year's selection spans 10 short film programs featuring everything from mind-bending animation to nuanced portraits of home to our Opening Night program of new filmmaking voices from the Chicagoland area.

CineYouth is the Chicago International Film Festival’s annual film festival that showcases short films made by filmmakers 22 years old and younger from around the world. CineYouth encourages the talent of young filmmakers and supports diverse youth voices by providing opportunities to have their work showcased, to learn about filmmaking from industry experts, and to network with their peers.

Live events including panel discussions and livestream Q&As with filmmakers, to be announced soon.

Click here for complete details.

The Illinois Association for Gifted Children (IAGC) is asking for witness slips in support for of a gifted education bill that was just filed. We encourage you to take a couple of minutes and sign a witness slip before Tuesday of next week, February 22nd.  Detailed instructions below or see here for more information from IAGC. Please forward this information to others who may be willing to sign this important piece of legislation for all our advanced learners. 

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Dear Gifted Education Supporter:

Our first step is that HB5277 must now pass the Illinois House Education Committee this Tuesday, February 22, before it can go to a House floor vote. Illinois has a simple way for you to publicly show your support for the legislation::

HB5277 must now pass the Illinois House Education Committee this Tuesday, February 22, before it can go to a House floor vote. Illinois has a simple way for you to publicly show your support for the legislation::

The 11th annual One Earth Film Festival offers several free film screenings and discussions for children and youth ages three through young adult and up. These screenings are virtual/online, and all explore science and the environment in ways that speak to youth and reflect their interests. See complete details here.

From Field Museum 2/18 email . . .

Current high school students can get hands-on experience with many of the things that we do here at the Museum—from facilitating guest interactions to assisting in the Crown Family PlayLab, with plenty of exploration of the sciences in-between.

There is limited capacity for the teen volunteer program. All participants are expected to apply and interview prior to acceptance into the program. Our teen volunteers are outgoing, adaptable, and love learning about the world around them. Interested teens should demonstrate a strong interest in the sciences and/or early childhood education. Bilingual skills are a plus.

Applications close on March 14. Selected interview candidates are expected to interview in April. Teens will be notified of final selections by May 1st.

See complete details and apply here.

From the Argonne National Laboratory Education E-News February 2022:

SUPERPOSITION: THE “SUPER POWER” OF PARTICLES

Quantum physics looks into what happens at the smallest, most fundamental levels of matter and energy. Rules of behavior are different there. Strange things happen at such a small level. In this activity, you’ll explore a quantum physics topic called superposition. Then, you will create examples of that topic to share with your peers and us.

Download the challenge here. Recommended for grades 7 and up. Submissions might be featured on Argonne's Education Instagram account.

We would like to call your attention to a free leadership program for high school aged kids who feel drawn to developing their leadership skills in a safe, supportive and positive weekend of learning, sharing and networking with others. 

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is an intensive leadership experience organized by Rotary clubs and districts where high school students develop skills as leaders while having fun and making connections. The local chapter will be sponsoring a three-day leadership conference this spring at Edwards Camp in East Troy, Wisconsin.

As a RYLA participant, students attend an all-expense paid camp with other young talented young people.  The organizers go to great lengths to make sure the weekend is fun and recreational as well as educational for everyone involved.  There are two sessions offered: March 10-13 and April 7-10. Activities include outdoor problem solving, dance, skits, campfire, low ropes course and team building activities. 

For more details on how to apply, please see brochure below or contact Chris Joyce, Chairman of the Young Leaders. 

RYLA Brochure 2022.pdf

We would like to call your attention to the Carol Strip Whitney Scholarship for gifted children. The Columbus Foundation offers more than 300 scholarships, through which they award more than $3.6 million annually! 

• Candidates must be graduating high school seniors with a minimum 3.25 grade point average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale; or graduates with a 3.0 GPA in college.
• Candidates must be residents of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, or Ohio.
• Candidates must participate in extracurricular activities.
• Candidates must be considered gifted, as denoted by the parent ID letter from their school district.
• Candidates must demonstrate high moral character in his or her daily life.

The application is available now and the deadline is March 1, 2022! 

Please go to https://cfprograms.smapply.io/prog/whitney/ for more details and share the information with any eligible candidates.