Weekend Classes

August 10, 2006

To All Gifted Program Participants and Parents,

I regret to inform you that after a very successful uninterrupted run of nine years of fall and winter weekend classes for gifted children, we have been forced to cancel our upcoming session. The next session of classes, normally scheduled to begin in late October, will not be held due primarily to the loss of our program coordinator, Mrs. Jessica Pfitzner, late this summer. Mrs. Pfitzner, who has been a tireless and invaluable member of our special projects staff for the past six years, recently completed her masters degree in special education, and will be leaving Bishop Dunn in September to work in the Minisink School District.

We hope, once we have had a chance to reorganize our special projects department and train new staff members, to be able to offer courses again for our 2007 winter session beginning in late January. We are also now in the process of deciding whether to run gifted program classes next summer, once we evaluate the six-week pilot program that concluded earlier this month.

As the creator of Academic and Artistic Adventures, I have been extremely gratified over the years to see how well the program has been received and how enthusiastically loyal many of our student and faculty participants have been in returning each year for a new round of exciting educational offerings.  A lot of hard work has gone in to keeping Academic and Artistic Adventures thriving, but seeing so many young scholars giving up their Saturday mornings for the joy of learning each new fall and winter has made being part of the program a priceless experience.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has participated in the program and to all the parents who have sacrificed their own time and money to help your children grow intellectually. I wish you all the best in the coming school year and, God willing, hope to see you again at Bishop Dunn before too long.

Gratefully,

James DelViscio

Program Director

Summer_2006_Gifted_Classes.pdf