March AMC agenda imminent

Looking forward to seeing what is on the agenda, especially the proposed budget. The agenda is apparently scheduled to come out tomorrow, Feb. 28.

Gifted Youth Program

There are lots of resources related to the Gifted Youth Program within American Mensa. To list some:

--mensaforkids.org website

--MERF scholarship program (not restricted to Mensans)

--BrightKids e-list (open to both Mensans and non-members)

--Newly hired Gifted Youth Specialist to implement model program to be emulated around the country

--Gifted Youth Program Mini-Grants to the local group (to assist in putting on gifted youth-oriented events)

--Gifted Youth Coordinator awards (which recognize individual members for their service to American Mensa's Gifted Youth Program)

--Items featured in the Gifted Youth section of the AML website (and accessible to non-Members, I believe):

--Book list for parents of gifted children

--Facts on being gifted

--Fred: The Magazine (approximately quarterly magazine)

--Gifted children FAQ

--Gifted resources (lots of links to different websites related to children children)

--Is my child bright? (list of commonly observed characteristics)

--Parent/Teacher resources (includes educational activity plans, various lesson plans grades K-12)

--Article on succeeding in school

Here in MWM, we are currently looking for someone (preferably a parent with kids with elementary or secondary school) to be our Gifted Children Coordinator. We're in the process of trying to arrange a get-together with "gifted children families", will have a presentation regarding "Whole Family Activities" at our upcoming Leadership Development Event, and are seeking other ways of getting out the word and stirring up interest.

Are you a Mensan with a gifted child (regardless of whether they are a Mensa member)? Interested in helping to organize and lead events for your kid to be involved with others of his/her intellectual peer group? We've got a couple of people who are great informational resources regarding gifted children, but who aren't able to organize and attend activities any longer.

If you're a member of MWM and have any interest (even if it's only "hey, can you tell me a bit more? it seems too vague to me"), please drop me a note or reply to this blog.

Get the Lead Out - Prepare to Take the Lead

Our Leadership Development Event is coming together. We will be reserving a meeting room so that we can hold the LDE at:
Tyson's-Pimmit Regional Library
7584 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, VA

Date: Saturday, May 21, 2011
Time: 10:30am - 4:30pm (library opens at 10am and closes at 5pm)

Preliminary order of presentations to be given is as follows:

Running Effective Meetings
Dispute Resolution
Getting People Involved
Whole Family Activities Programming

The event is FREE to Mensa members and food and drink will be provided; RSVPs are required, though, for planning purposes. Keep an eye on the newsletter for more information.

Cross-referencing documents

There have been intermittent calls from a couple of LocSecs to index the Local Group Charter with the various documents and ASIEs that are referenced so that when any of those source documents is amended or updated, it can be properly reflected in the charter, and vice versa. This would help prevent changes in one document from getting lost in the cracks in a different document that references it. I thoroughly agree with this proposal. Alas, it has not managed to gain steam.

If elected AMC Secretary, I will take on this task to make for more useful/user-friendly documents.