Expo

GSN Committee

The GSN Expo held on the evening of Tuesday, October 30th, 2007 was a resounding success.  We had an excellent attendance and were very pleased to see that the widespread advertising had succeeded in reaching people who had not heard of GSN before.  The room was full of a pleasing hum by the time the speakers were ready to start.
 
The first speaker was Maxine Cowie from Star Jump.  She gave some valuable insight into the ways that visual spatial learners operate and how this can make life difficult for them in a standard classroom.  Next, Claudine Berman and Pat Slattery described the service provided by WiseOnes.  I know from conversations later in the evening that a number of parents were very interested in asking their schools to consider running a WiseOnes program as part of their in-school extension activities.  Finally, Heather McIntosh from Curious Kids gave an overview of the games and toys that she sells.  These are educational toys and games of strategy that are ideal for stretching both the old and young GSN minds.
 
With the conclusion of the formal presentations, attendees were free to wander around and visit all the exhibitor’s tables.  These were VAGTC, Star Jump, WiseOnes, Curious Kids, Unhalfbricking Games, Art Encounters, Monash University, Gifted Resources, Chess Kids and Dr.Gail Byrne (psychologist).  Gifted Support Network also had a table and had collated a wide range of information from sources such as GERRIC, local psychologists, art and music services, etc.  Feedback afterwards indicated that the evening had been valuable for both participants and exhibitors.  

Many, many thanks must go to those who put in so much effort to make the evening a success – especially Carolyn, Colleen and Louise; all the other members of the Gifted Support Network committee; our young helpers Danny on piano, Nick and Georgia on food; and of course the speakers and exhibitors.