Gifted and Talented Education, SAISD

🚀 LEVELING UP at the ESC 20 Annual GT Student Conference! 🚀
Our middle school students and incredible GT specialists absolutely brought their A-game to the "Level-Up Your Mind" conference! 🧠✨ Students from all across the San Antonio region gathered for an epic day of hands-on learning, peer collaboration, and pure fun.
A massive shoutout to our talented SAISD GT Specialists who stepped up to lead some of the most popular, action-packed sessions of the day, including:
🌫️ Dry Ice Science
🥽 Virtual Reality (VR)
🚁 Drone Piloting
🎮 E-Sports
Our students had the ultimate opportunity to dive into their passions and explore exciting new areas of interest. They got hands-on experience with:
💻 Cybersecurity & Artificial Intelligence
🎭 Acting & Storytelling
🎧 DJing
🛠️ Engineering
📜 History ...and SO much more!
We are so incredibly proud of our students for taking this opportunity to shine, explore, and connect with their peers from across the region. Way to level up your minds, SAISD! 🌟

The power of chess in our schools! !

🎉 What an incredible day of strategy and wordplay! The Gifted and Talented Department is always looking for engaging ways to connect our brilliant students with peers across the region. On May 16th, we did just that by hosting TWO amazing events: the Chess Without Borders Scholastic Tournament and the SAISD Scrabble Tournament! 🧠✨

♟️ Chess Without Borders Scholastic Tournament
At our 3rd chess tournament of the year, we welcomed 145 chess scholars ranging from Kindergarten all the way to 12th grade! These talented players represented 32 different campuses across the city, including 21 of our very own SAISD schools.

🔠 The Return of the SAISD Scrabble Tournament!
For the first time in over 6 years, competitive Scrabble is back! A massive thank you to the Ed Tech Dept and Jennifer DeWaelsche (Burbank HS Librarian AND National Scrabble Champion!) for teaming up with GATE to bring this event back to life. Students from Burbank HS, Woodlawn Academy, and ALA brought their A-game to the board.

Interested in starting a Scrabble team at your school next year? The GATE Dept and Mrs. DeWaelsche have tons of supplies and training ready for you!

🏆 CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR TEAM WINNERS! 🏆

♟️ Chess Division Winners
Primary (K-1)

🥇 1st: Semmes Public Library Team

🥈 2nd: Irving DLA

🥉 3rd: Steele Montessori

Lower Elementary (2-3)

🥇 1st: ALA

🥈 2nd: Irving DLA

🥉 3rd: Japhet ES

Upper Elementary (4-5)

🥇 1st: Japhet ES

🥈 2nd: Irving DLA

🥉 3rd: Highland Hills ES

Middle School

🥇 1st: YMLA

🥈 2nd: Steele Montessori

🥉 3rd: Irving DLA

High School

🥇 1st: ALA

🥈 2nd: Whittier MS (playing up!)

🥉 3rd: Burbank

🔠 Scrabble Division Winners
Elementary

🥇 1st: Woodlawn Academy

🥈 2nd: Advanced Learning Academy

High School

🥇 1st: Burbank HS

🥈 2nd: Woodlawn Academy (playing up!)

We are so proud of all our competitors for their dedication and sportsmanship. See you all at the boards next year! 🌟

Thank you for supporting us! https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DNLvJeccD/?mibextid=wwXIfr

And the Award Goes To... 🏆✨
On May 13th, the GATE Department hosted the UIL A+ Academics Awards Show, celebrating our incredible Elementary (2nd–5th) and Middle School (6th–8th) scholars!
Did you know there are 108 different competitions in UIL A+ Academics? From Chess and Art to Math, and Oratory, there truly is a place for every student to shine. The competition was tougher than ever this year, but these campuses rose to the top to claim the Sweepstakes Awards!
Elementary Division Winners:
🥇 1st Place: Graebner Elementary
🥈 2nd Place: Advanced Learning Academy (ALA)
🥉 3rd Place: Maverick Elementary
Middle School Division Winners:
🥇 1st Place: Advanced Learning Academy (ALA)
🥈 2nd Place: Young Women’s Leadership Academy (YWLA)
🥉 3rd Place: Irving Dual Language Academy
Join us in giving a huge SHOUT OUT to every student, coach, and campus that participated this year! 👏🎉

Set Sail! ⛵ The SAISD Middle School Boat Regatta was a Splash!

Earlier this year, our GATE Department launched the "Boat Regatta"—a high-stakes engineering challenge where students have limited time to build a seaworthy vessel using only cardboard, duct tape, and trash bags. 📦🛠️

After our High Schools kicked things off in October, it was finally time for our Middle Schools to get "on board" last week! A huge shoutout to our competing teams from Harris, Poe, Rhodes, Rogers, Longfellow, and Whittier Middle Schools.

Congratulations to our winners:
🏆 1st Place & Most Creative: Poe MS (Group #1)
🥈 2nd Place: Rogers MS
🥉 3rd Place: Poe MS (Group #2)

This incredible event was led by GATE Specialists Mr. Pena and Ms. Jordan, with massive support from the GATE team. We also want to extend a huge thank you to:

👩🏽‍🔬The SAWS Engineers for mentoring our brilliant students.
🏊🏼The SAISD & the City of San Antonio Natatorium for hosting us at their fabulous pool.
🌟The SAISD Foundation—this event was made possible through a grant we were honored to receive!

🚤Riverwalk Boat Cruise: Structures, Design, and History! 🏛️

Last week, we closed out the school year by bringing our GT curriculum to life. Over 4 days, we transported nearly 300 5th grade GT students from across the district to downtown San Antonio.

"This is the best type of learning—where the city becomes the textbook."

Students learned how Robert Hugman turned a vision for flood prevention into one of the most iconic architectural landmarks in the world. For many, it was their very first visit to the Riverwalk, witnessing architectural history spanning decades for themselves and exploring beautiful public art.

Thank you to our leads, Ms. Martinez and Ms. Oropesa, and the dedicated GATE Team for making this logistically impressive trip a reality!