Gifted Advocacy and Support
We did try to come up with a clever name, but eventually decided to hell with perfection; Gifted Advocacy and Support is what we are, we tend to talk a lot and we are full of hot air. So all round, GAS kind of suits!
Support Group Meetings
Formal sessions: A topic is chosen for discussion and there is some structure to the meeting. The idea is to restrict the meeting to about an hour and a half. After that, people are free to go or to stay on and chat. These meetings tend to be in the evening in the Glenview Hotel, Glen O' The Downs. Anyone is welcome, but we do like to have an idea of numbers so that we can book a meeting room.
Informal sessions: These are usually in Avoca Handweavers in Kilmacanogue because they have nice buns. Recently, we have started to frequent the Vanilla Pod in Carrickmines and Salt in Monkstown too. They are often impromptu affairs, referred to as “emergency coffee mornings” where several of us drop in and out over the course of a couple of hours while the kids are at school. Sometimes people just need to connect with other parents to recharge their batteries or to seek help with a particular problem. It is also a nice way of introducing new members to the group.
We welcome parents and teachers to attend any of our meetings. If you are interested in joining our group, or would like more information, please contact us through the link on the upper right corner of this blog. We are also available as rent-a crowd for anyone trying to establish a support group within reasonable driving distance or to collaborate on any advocacy projects.
Next meeting: Wednesday 25th March 2015, 7.45pm, The Glenview Hotel.
For details, please drop us a line to gas.wicklowdublin@gmail.com
Next meeting: Wednesday 25th March 2015, 7.45pm, The Glenview Hotel.
For details, please drop us a line to gas.wicklowdublin@gmail.com
Advocacy
September 2009: A submission was made on behalf of the group, to the Government Innovation Task Force, outlining why Ireland should introduce Gifted Education.
July 2010: Karen and Catherine first published the Irish Gifted Education Blog under the pseudonyms Dazzled and Frazzled.
July 2010: Karen and Catherine, on behalf of GAS, met with Dr Colm O'Reilly, Director of the Centre for Talented Youth, Ireland (CTYI), to make plans for Ireland to participate in EU Talent Day 2011, an initiative of the Hungarians as part of their presidency of the EU.
July 2010: Karen and Catherine first published the Irish Gifted Education Blog under the pseudonyms Dazzled and Frazzled.
July 2010: Karen and Catherine, on behalf of GAS, met with Dr Colm O'Reilly, Director of the Centre for Talented Youth, Ireland (CTYI), to make plans for Ireland to participate in EU Talent Day 2011, an initiative of the Hungarians as part of their presidency of the EU.
October 2010: Karen and Catherine made a presentation at the Irish Teaching and Learning Festival in Dublin.
December 2010: GAS made a submission to the NCCA Junior Cycle review. An summary report was issued in February 2011, in which our submission is specifically referred to on page 16.
January/February 2011: In the run up to the general election, GAS wrote to their local election candidates to highlight the needs of Exceptionally Able children. They subsequently wrote to their local Fine Gael and Labour candidates to welcome the inclusion of Gifted Children in the Fine Gael election manifesto in February 2011.
February 2011: GAS made a joint submission to the Draft National Plan for Literacy and Numeracy Improvement in Schools. As representatives of a Special Educational Needs group, they were invited to a consultation meeting with the review body on 18th April where their input regarding the needs of gifted learners was well received. On 8th July, we attended the official launch of the new initiative.
January/February/March 2011: GAS teamed up with geography teacher, Peter Lydon, to promote EU Talent Day in Ireland and to organise Ireland's first National Gifted Education Awareness Day. This was a huge success, with official support forthcoming from bodies such as the NPCpp, NAPD, ASTI and, most notably, the Department of Education itself. Ruairi Quinn voiced his own support for the initiative in a quote acquired by journalist and GAS member, Natalie Butler. As a result of National Gifted Awareness Day on 8th April, every one of the 4100+ school Principals in Ireland received a poster and a leaflet about gifted education. As part of this event, we jointly established and launched Gifted and Talented Network Ireland.
March 2011: Karen gave a presentation at the CTYI conference at DCU: People are GT-Chatting
February/March 2012: Through Gifted and Talented Network Ireland, we co-organised Gifted Education Awareness Week from 27th February to 3rd March.
March 2013: Karen and Catherine were invited to speak to parents at a CTYI mini-conference event at DCU.
May 2013: Karen and Catherine and the GAS group are no longer part of Gifted and Talented Network Ireland.
It was launched on 9th April 2011 as a joint initiative between parents and geography teacher, Peter Lydon. On 4th May 2013, without warning or consultation, Mr Lydon seized sole control of the website and everything associated with it, including authorship of 18 articles written and published by Catherine Riordan. He has repeatedly refused legal requests to remove this work from gtnetwork.ie.
Our model has always been one of inclusion, cooperation and mutual respect. It has served us well over the years and we are confident that we will be able to continue advocating effectively for gifted children in Ireland.
March 2011: Karen gave a presentation at the CTYI conference at DCU: People are GT-Chatting
February/March 2012: Through Gifted and Talented Network Ireland, we co-organised Gifted Education Awareness Week from 27th February to 3rd March.
March 2013: Karen and Catherine were invited to speak to parents at a CTYI mini-conference event at DCU.
May 2013: Karen and Catherine and the GAS group are no longer part of Gifted and Talented Network Ireland.
It was launched on 9th April 2011 as a joint initiative between parents and geography teacher, Peter Lydon. On 4th May 2013, without warning or consultation, Mr Lydon seized sole control of the website and everything associated with it, including authorship of 18 articles written and published by Catherine Riordan. He has repeatedly refused legal requests to remove this work from gtnetwork.ie.
Our model has always been one of inclusion, cooperation and mutual respect. It has served us well over the years and we are confident that we will be able to continue advocating effectively for gifted children in Ireland.
September 2013: In order to help other parents around Ireland to find each other for support and to develop an effective community, we have established a new website: giftedireland.ie This is very much a work in progress and will be a collaborative effort. Please get in touch if you would like to be included.
