T he SENG Circle

By: Kate Bachtel

SENG President

Gratitude

As 2015 closes, the SENG team is reflecting on the past year and identifying areas for growth. We are grateful for each of the amazing individuals within our community. Wherever you are, whatever your stage in life or community role, SENG is dedicated to supporting your social and emotional needs. You are the reason we are here.

 

The strength and depth of our roots help determine how tall we grow. Children raised in inclusive communities have exceptional outcomes - they grow into adults who are mindful of the greater good and aware of the impact of their actions on others. They care for one another throughout the myriad events and emotions that inform the human experience. When you grow up in a circle, there is nowhere to hide or be lost. Inclusive communities can be found everywhere, in rural, urban, suburban and virtual locations of all economic, racial, gender and linguistic compositions. In SENG circles across the U.S. and abroad, we aspire to support each of you in growing both roots and wings. Which leads to our vision for next year... More  

 

In Memory Sharon Lind  

2015 marked the passing of a dear friend, colleague, and former SENG Board President Sharon Lind.   

Integral to the success of SENG, Sharon sat on the 2000  National Advisory Committee tasked with determining SENG's future.   The committee became SENG's first board of directors and Sharon assumed the responsibilities of Board President as well as facilitating SENG's not for profit status in 2001.  

Her leadership ability, her facility in communication, her skill at marrying theory with real-world application, and her strong sense of purpose drove her to become a respected expert in her field. 

In addition to being a nationally sought-after speaker and consultant, Sharon also served on the Board of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), and as chair of the Guidance and Counseling Division of NAGC. 

She published numerous articles still cited in gifted education, and continued to receive requests for her services long after she retired from consulting.  She is sorely missed.  More ...

 

100 Words of Wisdom: Lori Comallie-Caplan

Nurture our gifted children. Encourage their complex thinking and sensitivity, for one moment they will be pondering the physical properties of the sun and the next they will be shedding silent tears over the beauty of the sunset. Understand their perfectionism and their idealism, for there will be times of confidence and there will be times of self-doubt. Support their intensity, for it will bring great disappointment, but it will also

bring great joy. But, most important, listen, listen, listen. And then say, "must instead of mustn't, and do instead of don't, should instead of shouldn't and will instead of won't, then his future he will see, that anything can be!" (adapted from a poem by Shel Silverstein). 

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Lori Comallie-Caplan, LMSW, is in private practice specializing in therapy and evaluation of gifted children and adolescents in Las Cruces, NM. She is a frequent presenter at SENG and NAGC and provides professional development to school districts and parent groups.