Gifted & Talented at Georges Hall PS

Georges Hall PS, in line with the Department of Education and Training (DET) guidelines, aims to identify gifted and talented students and to maximise their learning outcomes.

Georges Hall PS adopts Gagnes (2003) Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent as outlined in the DET Gifted and Talented Policy.

The DET and Georges Hall’s Gifted and Talented policy states that:

Gifted students are those whose potential is distinctly beyond the average for the student’s age and encompasses a broad range of abilities in the following domains:

• Social-emotional eg. leadership, empathy, self awareness

• Intellectual eg. reasoning (verbal, spatial, memory, judgement)

• Creative eg. originality, humour, inventiveness

• Physical

Talented students are those whose achievement is distinctly beyond the average for a student’s age as a result of application to training and practice.

 Policy Statement

Georges Hall’s Gifted and Talented Policy statement recognises that decision making in relation to programs and provisions for gifted and talented students is a complex and interactive process.

The school principal, in consultation with parent/caregivers, teachers, school counsellors and other appropriate personnel, has the prime responsibility for decisions in relation to the education of gifted and talent students. 

South Western Sydney Region and Georges Hall Public School provide opportunities for staff development in the education of gifted and talented students.

Georges Hall Public School caters for gifted and talented students in the classroom, in a K-6 Withdrawal Program and in an Opportunity Class.

 Classroom

Teachers understand the importance of modifying content (what is taught), process (how content is delivered) and product (what is the student required to do in order to demonstrate understanding) and this is implemented to meet the learning needs of gifted students.

Classroom lessons have an emphasis on thinking as an integral component of curriculum delivery for all students and students have the opportunity to engage in programs based on a variety of curriculum models such as Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Classrooms have available structures that enable self-selection and self-pacing, such as Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, learning centres and individual study plans.

Withdrawal Program

The Gifted & Talented Withdrawal Program at Georges Hall Public School has had the following focal points:

• K-2: the early identification of gifted students and those working beyond their chronological developmental stages.  Students educational needs are met through, acceleration and extension in small group withdrawal, for a lesson once a week.  Content changes bi-annually or annually according to need.
   

• 3-6: enrichment and extension programs for nominated or identified students in the area of mathematics and literature.  This achieved through group withdrawal and continuing class support for these students in the area of mathematics, Technology and literature.

The literature program is written using a range of curriculum models, process includes divergent and creative thinking and there is a conference-based assessment approach.  There is an emphasis on developing and applying higher-order thinking skills in the presentation of any product.

In mathematics, students engage in enrichment and extension mathematical groups and also in the Mathematical Olympiad.

In technology students engage in multimedia activities, research and skills development for levels beyond their stage of development.

Additional Activities

Extra activities for gifted and talented students include: Chess groups; Tournament of the Mind Teams; Skipping Teams; Debating Teams - Premier’s Debating Challenge and District Debating; Public Speaking – Plain Speaking and Multicultural Public Speaking; Dance Groups for each stage; Drama Groups and a selection of teams that engage in PSSA sport.