Gifted Children

These pages are devoted to gifted children in recognition of one of MWW's goals: to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity through scholarships, gifted children's programs, and other supportive activities.

Goals for the Gifted Children Program

My personal goal is to create and foster activites for gifted children under 18. I've sent questionaires to the Mensans that are younger than 18 asking them what they would like to do. If you have children who would like to meet more of their peers, please give them an opportunity to complete the online version. You will need to download the file, edit the file to show your preferences and then email it to me at the address at the bottom of the page.

Note that Mensa's definition of gifted children includes children of Mensans and anyone that is invited by another Mensan. And, I'll invite anyone who wants to attend, with the presence of a parent or a signed permission/release, even if they just show up. (I'll always have premission forms.)

Thanks for your help,
Charles Zandell
MWW Gifted Children Coordinator

My thanks to the Seattle Times and The Olympian for permission to link to their material and for caring enough to collect and organize the information.

Winners of the Short Story Contest!!

Congratulations to the students who submitted stories. The judges were impressed by many of them. One judge compared them favorably with the submissions for the 'open' story contest for Mensans. Another judge wrote, "Most of these kids have some real ability." And, another wrote, "Several of these young writers show real talent for creating engaging characters or interesting narratives. That includes some who didn't place in the top three."

First place: Abby Burns, for "It Began with Shoes"

Second place: Shannon Kerr, for "Mistletoe"

Third place: Clayton Dewey-Valentine, for "Lucy"

In addition, the judges chose three stories for Honorable Mention:

Derek Strausbaugh, for "A Boy and His Dog"

Laura Nash, for "Angel Kisses"

Heather Willis, for "The Tooth Fairy Trap"

The stories are one click away.

Activities and Events

The activities and events for Gifted Children are open to all children. So invite your friends. Everyone will need either a parent or a signed permission and release form from our web site.

Please check the calendar or the Totems for details about activities and events.

Stuff for everyone

Frequently asked questions

Distance/online learning, virtual schools

Seattle Times "College Guide 2005"

"Planning calendar" — Get organized if you want to be ready. Would you believe there are things to do in the 9th grade?

"How to tell hype from true quality" offers a different set of attributes for choosing.

"Practice essay can be an online awakening" — The SAT essay merits practice; you have to write it by hand!

Scholarships

Stuff for kids

Web links for homework
Better studying — Online guides, preparation for tests and study tips (how to take notes, how to read).

Stuff for parents

Seattle Times " A parent's guide" These are the key pieces, but there is more.

"Get the best from teachers"

"Learning to make, keep friends"

"Ins and outs of getting into a private school"

Seattle Times "Your guide to schools in the greater Seattle area" covers Bainbridge and Vashon Islands, Eastside, North Snohomish, North End and South End; 27 school districts.

The Olympian "School profiles" includes detailed statistics and reader comments for each public school in Thurston County.

Report card for Washington's schools — Statistics and WASL scores for the entire state and for each school district. The per student expenditures might be relevant in comparing schools.

Searches for gifted/talented children

Registration for these searches is now available.

The Washington Search for Young Scholars (WSYS) is a regional talent search for students in grades 5-8. The goal of the WSYS is to identify and serve the needs of Washington's brightest young scholars. Students qualify for the WSYS by meeting score requirements on a standardized test.
Johns Hopkins University Searches for Gifted Children. This fall, enroll your child in JHU's talent search, for students in grades 2 - 8. Learn more about your child's math and verbal reasoning abilities, and have them celebrated and recognized by a leading program for gifted young people. And, perhaps qualify for summer and online courses. Financial aid is available. Find out more, and apply online.

The links above are provided as informational resources and in no way indicate an endorsement of or any particular partnership with any organization. Mensa of Western Washington is not responsible for the content of any of the linked Web sites; this includes updates to or availability of linked sites and the accuracy, reliability or helpfulness of the information on these sites.

For general MWW information or questions about events, contact either:

Ed Ledger by email at locsec@westernwashington.us.mensa.org or phone at (206) 285-8936,
--OR--
Allan Ripley by email at allan@arbion.com or phone at (360) 871-0910.

For questions about our Gifted Children program, please email the GC Coordinator at gifted@mensaww.org.
To comment on this Web site, please email the MWW Webmeister at webmeister@mensaww.org.
For questions about our newsletter, ToteMs, please contact the Editor at totemseditor@gmail.com.

Copyright © Mensa of Western Washington. The Mensa logo is a registered trademark of Mensa International, Ltd. and American Mensa, Ltd., all rights reserved. Mensa does not hold any opinions, or have, or express, any political or religious views.