Sydney - Macarthur
The Macarthur Gifted And Talented Support Group - (MGATSG) is a social support group for families with Gifted Children aged 0 to 14 years living in the Camden / Woollondilly / Campbelltown and surrounding areas - all welcome! The benefits of meeting up with other families with Gifted Children are numerous - your children get to socialise with "like minds" and, as parents you are able to share and learn from each others' experiences.
The group is looking for a voluntary support group co-ordinator.
There could be one or two people responsible for co-ordinating the group, or families could take it in turns to run a day each. Co-ordination simply involves choosing a date, venue & activities and then posting it on this website!! Oh, and turning up to activities with a Hawkesbury Gifted and Talented Support Group Sign! The benefit for you is that you can choose the day(s) to fit in with you.
If you are interested or want more information please phone the NSWAGTC Resource Office on 9633 5399 or email the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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The designated OC school for the Camden area is Camden South Public and for the Campbelltown area you have Leumeah and Bradbury Public School. Camden Public (located in John St - often referred to Camden Central to distinguish it from Camden South) also has an excellent extension program. This school operates on a stage basis, ie Years 1 2 are together, years 3 4 are together, etc with 3 classes in each stage. One class in each stage caters for extension & gifted children. My daughter is at Camden and has been accelerated since Kindergarten. With regular communication with staff they have met her extension needs. We expect to discuss her programming for years 5-6 to ensure her ongoing needs are met without having to change to an OC school for years 5 6. (Friendships are extremely important to our daughter and as she is prepared to self-accelerate at her current school then we won't be insisting she go to the OC school.)
Both Camden and Camden South feed into Camden High School which has a gifted & talented class plus extension, main stream and remedial classes from Year 7. The Gifted class is by entrance exam I believe.
In terms of private schools you may wish to check out the Gateway Program at Macarthur Angican School (Prep - Yr12) this is their extension "Honours" program which starts at about year 5. Broughton Anglican College (Prep - Yre 12) at Menangle on the oustkirts of Campbelltown also caters for advance students.
I hope this all helps.
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I would suggest if you are interested in public schools have a look at the Department of Ed's website to see which schools near you have OC classes. Which school your child would qualify for entrance to depends on where you live. The Sydney South West region has a larger choice of schools than some of the other regions. Remember though that these classes are by entrance exam which is normally held in the middle of the year. When you apply it must be done through your school and they must complete part of the paperwork.
Another thing to consider is if your child gets into an OC class do you want to leave your other children at their current school or also transfer them to the new school. It is worth enquiring of the schools you list on your application whether they will accept out of area enrolments for your other children. Also, if the OC school is not local how will you get your child there?
For private schools the only one I know of in the Casula/Prestons area is William Carey Christian School at Prestons. I believe it has its own extension program and everyone I know speaks of the school highly. They also offer a bus service for kids who come from out of area. I know of kids who travel from Camden to the school each day using this private bus service.
Macarthur Anglican also offers a private bus service, travelling as far afield as Wattle Grove (near Holsworthy).
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Any other schools you can recommend?
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In response to the recommendations of Broughton Anglican College, I just have to say that from experience it was largely "all talk". I don't know about the primary school aspect of it, but the high school gifted programs were, on the whole, just labels for students. Little support was offered for gifted students, while the school paraded the results that we got on our own. The school has a great environment, but just doesn't cater for high-achieving students as it only puts emphasis on offering support to the low-achieving students, as this is where it allocates its resources (namely the best teachers).
Good luck with finding a good school!
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While not disparaging your experience in any way, I think there are a huge number of factors that can affect how well a school meets the educational needs of a particular child, so would suggest that any family investigating possible schools should make their own check/contact with schools. Of course being forewarned of possible issues/school attitudes is an advantage.
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NSWAGTC Support Groups
THE NSWAGTC has a number of support groups across NSW and the ACT. The support groups may organise activities for gifted children and/or run a program for parents and teachers depending on the perceived needs of the geographical area or special interest need. Support groups can be a useful first point of contact for those new to the demands of giftedness. We also have a number of support contacts (members who have volunteered to share their knowledge and experience with other parents or teachers of gifted children) in areas across NSW. Contact the NSWAGTC office for details of your closest support contact, or if you are interested in finding out about establishing a group in your area. Most groups are organised by ordinary parents with an interest in "doing something" to meet the needs of their children and the Association can provide assistance in getting things started. |
