News From the Elementary Principal Ben Voborsky
Hello GAA Community,
GAA Elementary had a successful week of MAP testing. Our secondary school is up next! When the entire school is completed, NWEA crunches our numbers and we will get our comprehensive data back shortly thereafter.
Thank you to our Secondary faculty who hosted a fabulous Middle School informational session to inform Grade 5 parents about GAA’s Middle School Program. Feedback was very positive and the presentation will run again in the Fall. The Grade 5 Middle School induction program for student is planned for late May.
The Grade 5 PYP Exhibition has kicked off with our students getting to work researching. The group of students that I mentor visited my office yesterday and it was the highlight of my day!
Student Led Conferences are scheduled for April 22nd and 23rd. Conference bookings will open after spring break. We have shifted the timings a bit to accommodate working parents. Conferences on the 22nd will run from 11am to 7pm and on the 23rd from 7:30am to 3:30pm. More updates as the dates approach.
Please continue to check tiny.cc/thelauncher for all your needs. This one stop directory will get you where you need to go, keep you in the loop, and get your connected. You will once again be able to click through the launcher to the GLG to get your child’s report card. End of year report cards will be released on June 25th. GAA Report Cards will be digital again and available to you anywhere in the world on June 25th. Color copies can be printed upon request or you can print them from your home. If you are leaving the UAE early for summer break, please inform you class teacher for work that will be missed and Felicity Harding <[email protected]> our Elementary Secretary who will mark your child’s absence as excused. You will not be able to access your report card until June 25th.
Have a great weekend and hang in there, only one week until spring break!
Have a great weekend,
Ben Voborsky
Elementary Principal
GAA Elementary had a successful week of MAP testing. Our secondary school is up next! When the entire school is completed, NWEA crunches our numbers and we will get our comprehensive data back shortly thereafter.
Thank you to our Secondary faculty who hosted a fabulous Middle School informational session to inform Grade 5 parents about GAA’s Middle School Program. Feedback was very positive and the presentation will run again in the Fall. The Grade 5 Middle School induction program for student is planned for late May.
The Grade 5 PYP Exhibition has kicked off with our students getting to work researching. The group of students that I mentor visited my office yesterday and it was the highlight of my day!
Student Led Conferences are scheduled for April 22nd and 23rd. Conference bookings will open after spring break. We have shifted the timings a bit to accommodate working parents. Conferences on the 22nd will run from 11am to 7pm and on the 23rd from 7:30am to 3:30pm. More updates as the dates approach.
Please continue to check tiny.cc/thelauncher for all your needs. This one stop directory will get you where you need to go, keep you in the loop, and get your connected. You will once again be able to click through the launcher to the GLG to get your child’s report card. End of year report cards will be released on June 25th. GAA Report Cards will be digital again and available to you anywhere in the world on June 25th. Color copies can be printed upon request or you can print them from your home. If you are leaving the UAE early for summer break, please inform you class teacher for work that will be missed and Felicity Harding <[email protected]> our Elementary Secretary who will mark your child’s absence as excused. You will not be able to access your report card until June 25th.
Have a great weekend and hang in there, only one week until spring break!
Have a great weekend,
Ben Voborsky
Elementary Principal
Grade 5 PYP Exhibition
Students in Grade Five at GAA carry out an extended, collaborative inquiry process, known as the Exhibition, under the guidance of their teachers and mentors. The Exhibition is the culmination of the Primary Years Programme. Students are involved in synthesizing the essential elements of the PYP and sharing them with the whole school community. It is an opportunity for students to exhibit the attributes of the IB Learner Profile that have been developing throughout their engagement with the programme. Students are given flexibility in their choice of real-life issues or problems to be explored and investigated in the Exhibition.
This year the students are planning their Exhibition under the PYP transdisciplinary theme of How We Organise Ourselves. This involves an inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function of organizations; societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment.
This year’s Central Idea is ‘Communities can be changed through our actions’. Each student group will be developing their own Lines of Inquiry reflecting some of the PYP Key Concepts that will help them guide their inquiries into local issues and the action they take to bring change.
All the Grade 5 students spent one morning being exposed to books, magazines, posters, movies and other media as a means to provoke their thoughts, ideas and questions.
The Grade 5 Team
This year the students are planning their Exhibition under the PYP transdisciplinary theme of How We Organise Ourselves. This involves an inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function of organizations; societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment.
This year’s Central Idea is ‘Communities can be changed through our actions’. Each student group will be developing their own Lines of Inquiry reflecting some of the PYP Key Concepts that will help them guide their inquiries into local issues and the action they take to bring change.
All the Grade 5 students spent one morning being exposed to books, magazines, posters, movies and other media as a means to provoke their thoughts, ideas and questions.
The Grade 5 Team
We Are Monsters
Tickets to the elementary musical “We Are Monsters” are now on sale! These can be purchased through every elementary school homeroom teacher from Grade 1-5 from now until March 25th. Please speak to your child’s teacher to request a ticket ordering form today! Tickets are on sale for 20 AED each (children 5 and under do not require a ticket) for the performances on Wednesday, April 29th and Thursday, April 30th at 6:00pm. Tickets will also be sold at the front reception of GAA from 3:00-3:30pm on Monday, March 23 and Wednesday, March 25.
Pick up your tickets today and come to support our performers at GAA!
Kindergarten Corner
Importance of Play through the Primary Years Program at GAA
Engaging children in meaningful activities through play, supports and enhances the children's communication, social and emotional skills, cognitive development, fine motor, creative and critical thinking skills and problem solving skills.
Over the past few weeks, the KG children have been busy exploring and learning through various interactive learning activities.
Building a sense of agency (choice) and independence, enhances many life skills necessary as they grow older. This includes decision making, compromise, negotiation, empathy, humility, responsibility, risk taking, thinking and inquiry. Through the PYP these activities are conducted in a safe and caring environment fostering confidence, enjoyment and a passion for learning.
Kathryn Head and the KG Team
Please click on the link below to read the blog of Kristen Blum, a grade 5 PYP teacher at Yokohama International School in Japan..... KEEP PLAYING!
http://blogs.ibo.org/sharingpyp/2015/03/10/keep-playing/
Engaging children in meaningful activities through play, supports and enhances the children's communication, social and emotional skills, cognitive development, fine motor, creative and critical thinking skills and problem solving skills.
Over the past few weeks, the KG children have been busy exploring and learning through various interactive learning activities.
Building a sense of agency (choice) and independence, enhances many life skills necessary as they grow older. This includes decision making, compromise, negotiation, empathy, humility, responsibility, risk taking, thinking and inquiry. Through the PYP these activities are conducted in a safe and caring environment fostering confidence, enjoyment and a passion for learning.
Kathryn Head and the KG Team
Please click on the link below to read the blog of Kristen Blum, a grade 5 PYP teacher at Yokohama International School in Japan..... KEEP PLAYING!
http://blogs.ibo.org/sharingpyp/2015/03/10/keep-playing/
Learning Maths through play
KG1 E have been having so much fun sharing our learning in the classroom. Most recently parents volunteered with our home building project. We learned that some homes have flat roofs while some have a pitched roof. “Red day” was also celebrated in KG and we shared a healthy snack of fruit kabobs during snack time. It’s important for us to have a variety of color on our plate to ensure a healthy snack/lunch. KG1 E wish everyone a happy and safe Spring Break!
Splish, splash,Splosh! Water encourages children to try out new ideas and solutions to problems and use their imagination in a safe environment. The students of KG1F are experimenting with concepts such as more/less, same/different and empty/full. Water play is not only incredibly fun but also encourages a child’s physical and social skills too.
KG2I preparing to show what we have learned for our Community Share!
KG2J celebrating Book Week with at the wonderful Teddy Bear’s picnic!
In Arabic the KG2 Students are now able to:
KG1
Through play the KG1 students are demonstrating their knowledge of
Arabic letters, numbers and shapes.
They enjoy singing songs about the days of the week, colors, shapes, number
And body parts .
- Introduce themselves by saying their own names and nationalities
- Write and read simple sentences such as “This is a duck”
- Say the sound and write the shapes for most of the letters
- Identify most shapes,colors,and some body parts
KG1
Through play the KG1 students are demonstrating their knowledge of
Arabic letters, numbers and shapes.
They enjoy singing songs about the days of the week, colors, shapes, number
And body parts .