Dylan Rogers Wins Trophy

Dylan Rogers, son of Jeff Rogers and Sally Sparks-Rogers of Altamont, won a first place trophy in advanced chess at GEM Day. GEM Day is a special one-day program sponsored by District C of GAM (Gifted Association of Missouri). The purpose of GEM Day is to provide enriching experiences for gifted children and their parents. GEM Day took place on March 5 at Bode Middle School in St. Joseph.

Other Gallatin students attending from Mrs. Kim Brammer’s enrichment class were Devlin Smith, Samantha Smith, Michael Stanley, and Michael Youd. Mrs. Nancy Andrew presented the “Pizza and More” class. This is Mrs. Andrew’s second year to be selected as a presenter for GEM Day.

Michael Youd said of GEM Day, “It was really fun. The Saguaro Saga class was really fun. We talked about the desert, looked at desert things, tasted desert food, and smelled desert smells. The chess tournament was also fun.”

Samantha Smith said, “It was fun. In the Geometry Art class we learned to make curved lines with a ruler. In the Pizza and More class we got to make candy pizzas and eat them.”

Devlin Smith said, “I went to Chess Challenge and Geometry Art. I thought it was really fun because in Chess Challenge we played chess, and I love chess. In Geometry Art we learned how to make weird shapes with numbers. I am so happy I went.”

Dylan Rogers said, “It was crowded. There were a lot of kids there. I didn’t know there were so many gifted kids. This was the second time I’d been to GEM Day. Chess Challenge was my favorite because I played a lot. Pizza and More was fun. I knew the teacher, Mrs. Andrew. Chess Challenge was my favorite.”

Michael Stanley said, “I thought it was noisy. I went to Art Surprise and Sonic Sound. In Art Surprise we learned how to make boxes out of cards. In Sonic Sound we made a whole lot of noise! I really like Gem Day.”