News from our Elementary Principal, Ben Voborsky
Hello GAA Community,
It has been a busy week again at GAA. Our teachers are coming off a high from working with Erin Kent on the integration of Writer’s and Reader’s Workshop to support the PYP. They have been applying their learning directly to our classrooms and Erin Kent will be back for the fourth time in the spring to continue to enhance our high quality literacy model of instruction. Erin also hosted an engaging session for parents so please attend in the spring!
The Health and Wellness Summit (HAWS) received very positive feedback again this year. Our student presenters were very knowledgeable about their subject areas and demonstrated strong communication skills. Thank you to everyone who supported this event.
This week all Grade 4 students took part in a GEMS wide pilot assessment called the CAT4. This pilot online assessment is designed to measure verbal, non-verbal and special reasoning. As we are learning how to best use the data to inform instruction, we will first work with our teachers using just school-wide and grade level data to help better differentiate instruction to address a student’s learning style. This is a timed assessment in a series of 3 parts with each part lasting about 40 minutes. As this is a pilot assessment focused on collecting school-wide and grade level data, we will not be able to share individual student results with parents. The data we collect will support students as they move forward in their learning. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact out Data Team Leader, Shari Duhaime [email protected].
Please remember that next week is Parent Engagement Week! Have a look over the sessions and see if there are any you would want to attend.
A big thank you to everyone for your support with the Harvest Festival and GAAPA. Thank you to our awesome room parents! Please, please support them in facilitating the Harvest Festival for our students.
Have a great weekend,
Ben Voborsky
Elementary Principal
It has been a busy week again at GAA. Our teachers are coming off a high from working with Erin Kent on the integration of Writer’s and Reader’s Workshop to support the PYP. They have been applying their learning directly to our classrooms and Erin Kent will be back for the fourth time in the spring to continue to enhance our high quality literacy model of instruction. Erin also hosted an engaging session for parents so please attend in the spring!
The Health and Wellness Summit (HAWS) received very positive feedback again this year. Our student presenters were very knowledgeable about their subject areas and demonstrated strong communication skills. Thank you to everyone who supported this event.
This week all Grade 4 students took part in a GEMS wide pilot assessment called the CAT4. This pilot online assessment is designed to measure verbal, non-verbal and special reasoning. As we are learning how to best use the data to inform instruction, we will first work with our teachers using just school-wide and grade level data to help better differentiate instruction to address a student’s learning style. This is a timed assessment in a series of 3 parts with each part lasting about 40 minutes. As this is a pilot assessment focused on collecting school-wide and grade level data, we will not be able to share individual student results with parents. The data we collect will support students as they move forward in their learning. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact out Data Team Leader, Shari Duhaime [email protected].
Please remember that next week is Parent Engagement Week! Have a look over the sessions and see if there are any you would want to attend.
A big thank you to everyone for your support with the Harvest Festival and GAAPA. Thank you to our awesome room parents! Please, please support them in facilitating the Harvest Festival for our students.
Have a great weekend,
Ben Voborsky
Elementary Principal
Action in the PYP
An explicit expectation of the PYP is that successful inquiry will lead to responsible action, initiated by the student as a result of the learning process. Student-initiated action is an important component of the IB Primary Years Programme. The term ‘student-initiated action’ describes action that a student has done by choice without any prompting or direct instruction by an adult. Everyday we see examples of student-initiated action but it is important for adults and students to recognise when they occur. Action can be as simple as a student taking a book from home to school to share because they can see that it relates to something they are learning.
This week, I visited the grade 2G classroom to find out how they have been taking action. Here are some student actions and reflections:
Pareena made some sticky notes about reading, listening and writing. Pareena said “reading is not just about levels it is about enjoying the book and having fun”!
Ariba learned how to use a printer and scanner by herself. “I wanted to do this because I wanted to be independent and not rely on my father or my older brother to do it for me. In fact, my older brother and twin sister didn’t know how to do it. I printed photos for my big brother”.
This week, I visited the grade 2G classroom to find out how they have been taking action. Here are some student actions and reflections:
Pareena made some sticky notes about reading, listening and writing. Pareena said “reading is not just about levels it is about enjoying the book and having fun”!
Ariba learned how to use a printer and scanner by herself. “I wanted to do this because I wanted to be independent and not rely on my father or my older brother to do it for me. In fact, my older brother and twin sister didn’t know how to do it. I printed photos for my big brother”.
Nour made a board game called Snakes and Ladders because it is her favourite game. “I made it because I wanted people to play it and have fun with my game”.
Andrea loves to write and she decided to do some self-initiated writing homework. Andrea said, “so I wrote two stories, not just one. One was about helping my dad to wash the garage and I got wet. The one was about my goal to read the longest Mother Goose book in one day”.
In the PYP effective action does not need to be grandiose. It can begin at the most immediate and basic level: with the self; within the family; within the classroom, the hallways and the playground. Effective action can be a demonstration of a sense of responsibility and respect for self, others and the environment. For younger children, the cycle of action helps them to develop the core of values and understanding upon which awareness of themselves within society and a sense of responsibility toward that society will, hopefully, grow.
Ask your child, how have you taken action today?
Sofia Lyons
Elementary Vice-Principal
Andrea loves to write and she decided to do some self-initiated writing homework. Andrea said, “so I wrote two stories, not just one. One was about helping my dad to wash the garage and I got wet. The one was about my goal to read the longest Mother Goose book in one day”.
In the PYP effective action does not need to be grandiose. It can begin at the most immediate and basic level: with the self; within the family; within the classroom, the hallways and the playground. Effective action can be a demonstration of a sense of responsibility and respect for self, others and the environment. For younger children, the cycle of action helps them to develop the core of values and understanding upon which awareness of themselves within society and a sense of responsibility toward that society will, hopefully, grow.
Ask your child, how have you taken action today?
Sofia Lyons
Elementary Vice-Principal
News from our Vice Principal, Louise Dunn
Dear Parents,
We are excited to share with you that this week all students in the school from grade 1 to 5 are assigned to a house. Our houses represent Wild cats which is of course our school mascot. Students will earn “GEMS” for their houses by displaying PYP learner profile attributes. Please see the chart below which will let you know to which house your child belongs.
Regards,
Louise Dunn
We are excited to share with you that this week all students in the school from grade 1 to 5 are assigned to a house. Our houses represent Wild cats which is of course our school mascot. Students will earn “GEMS” for their houses by displaying PYP learner profile attributes. Please see the chart below which will let you know to which house your child belongs.
Regards,
Louise Dunn
The last weeks in 5F have been awesome! Mr.Omar (an energy expert) came in the auditorium to talk about renewable energy. Right before the presentation, we had the awesome Health and Wellness Summit (HAWS), where we learned and presented health issues to 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students! In the classroom we learned about circuits and explored making them. In reading, we worked on making achievable goals and choosing just right books. In writing, we are revising our rough drafts of our research papers on a form of energy of our choice! Math has been really fun too! We start each lesson with multiplication facts and have learned about factors, prime factorization, prime numbers, number values, lattice method, and lots more! All the specialist’s classes are as awesome as homeroom. With exciting upcoming events and awesome teachers, this month is gonna be a blast!
By: Federica Arena and Hannah Salim 5F
By: Federica Arena and Hannah Salim 5F
Elementary Art
In Art, Grade 3 has begun their new unit, How We Express Ourselves. We are getting ready for our Arts Festival as we inquire into the idea that “The Arts engage an audience and invite a response.” We are thinking about questions like…What is art? Where do we get ideas? How can we make our art better? We have listened to a variety of musical styles and responded to them visually. We are currently exploring ways to show emotion in our artwork, using facial expressions, line and color. Please be sure to join us on November 16th for our Arts Festival!
In Art, Grade 3 has begun their new unit, How We Express Ourselves. We are getting ready for our Arts Festival as we inquire into the idea that “The Arts engage an audience and invite a response.” We are thinking about questions like…What is art? Where do we get ideas? How can we make our art better? We have listened to a variety of musical styles and responded to them visually. We are currently exploring ways to show emotion in our artwork, using facial expressions, line and color. Please be sure to join us on November 16th for our Arts Festival!
Dear Parents,
This week, we’re starting our creative art project with Drawings By Me. The programme is all about championing artistic expression and filling the kids with confidence. Your child will create their own special artwork. Their drawings can then be magically transformed into keepsakes for friends and family, like mugs, calendars, greetings cards and more. (Click HERE for product description). We have had great success in previous years and hope that enthusiasm continues! The company is very organized and produces high quality items that any parent would be proud to display. The envelopes and the artwork that students have made will be sent home on Sunday, OCT 30th 2016.
If you DO NOT wish to purchase anything please keep the artwork at home.
Should you or your child rather have another piece for Drawings By Me, please have your child create an artwork (no pastel, chalk or glitter permitted) at home on blank A4 paper and replace it with the one made at school. To ensure on time delivery, it is important to write the following details on the back:
First Name
Last Name
Age
Grade and Section
School Name: Gems American Academy Abu Dhabi
Classroom Teacher’s Name
If you DO wish to purchase something please deposit the artwork back to school with the EXACT money (no change given) in the sealed envelope provided, by November 6th at the latest. All orders must be in the Drawings By Me Mailbox located at the Main Reception. All orders will be delivered to classrooms before Winter Break. For more information, please see your grade level Art Teacher.
Beautiful samples are on display in both the main and the KG receptions.
Kind regards,
Elementary Visual Arts Department
This week, we’re starting our creative art project with Drawings By Me. The programme is all about championing artistic expression and filling the kids with confidence. Your child will create their own special artwork. Their drawings can then be magically transformed into keepsakes for friends and family, like mugs, calendars, greetings cards and more. (Click HERE for product description). We have had great success in previous years and hope that enthusiasm continues! The company is very organized and produces high quality items that any parent would be proud to display. The envelopes and the artwork that students have made will be sent home on Sunday, OCT 30th 2016.
If you DO NOT wish to purchase anything please keep the artwork at home.
Should you or your child rather have another piece for Drawings By Me, please have your child create an artwork (no pastel, chalk or glitter permitted) at home on blank A4 paper and replace it with the one made at school. To ensure on time delivery, it is important to write the following details on the back:
First Name
Last Name
Age
Grade and Section
School Name: Gems American Academy Abu Dhabi
Classroom Teacher’s Name
If you DO wish to purchase something please deposit the artwork back to school with the EXACT money (no change given) in the sealed envelope provided, by November 6th at the latest. All orders must be in the Drawings By Me Mailbox located at the Main Reception. All orders will be delivered to classrooms before Winter Break. For more information, please see your grade level Art Teacher.
Beautiful samples are on display in both the main and the KG receptions.
Kind regards,
Elementary Visual Arts Department
UK Author visits GAA
GAA welcomed author Chris White from the UK this week . Author of “Space Rocks", "Never give a Duck a Pen" and “Don't put Dave in the Microwave”.
Grades 3, 4 and 5 participated in his in library workshops. He took students on a journey of writing poetry through drawings. As a class students created an animal and then each student got the chance to write a poem related to that animal. Students enjoyed the interactive session and many went home with a signed copy of one of his books.
A big thank you to our GAA Librarian Kerryn Tucker who organised Chris’s visit to GAA and the book fair last week.
Grades 3, 4 and 5 participated in his in library workshops. He took students on a journey of writing poetry through drawings. As a class students created an animal and then each student got the chance to write a poem related to that animal. Students enjoyed the interactive session and many went home with a signed copy of one of his books.
A big thank you to our GAA Librarian Kerryn Tucker who organised Chris’s visit to GAA and the book fair last week.
KG Corner
Hello KG Families
What a busy few weeks we’ve had inquiring into our unit ‘Who We Are,’with our central idea focusing on ‘Every day I learn about myself.’ The children have been busy engaging in a variety of experiments and making their own discoveries. This week we are Going Furtherwith the information we gathered from last weeks’ activities. We are discussing how we are the same and different to our friends. We have our first swimming lesson this week which we are super excited about! Take a look at some of our photos from the past couple of weeks…
What a busy few weeks we’ve had inquiring into our unit ‘Who We Are,’with our central idea focusing on ‘Every day I learn about myself.’ The children have been busy engaging in a variety of experiments and making their own discoveries. This week we are Going Furtherwith the information we gathered from last weeks’ activities. We are discussing how we are the same and different to our friends. We have our first swimming lesson this week which we are super excited about! Take a look at some of our photos from the past couple of weeks…
OUR NEEDS AND WANT
We had the chance to work together and sort the needs and wants of human beings. Using our prior knowledge, we voted on what is a need and what is want. We defended our decision on why we placed certain items under needs and wants! We had a great time using our cooperation skills to complete this activity. We will extend this activity by drawing our own personal needs and wants. Lookout for those drawings in our classroom.
We had the chance to work together and sort the needs and wants of human beings. Using our prior knowledge, we voted on what is a need and what is want. We defended our decision on why we placed certain items under needs and wants! We had a great time using our cooperation skills to complete this activity. We will extend this activity by drawing our own personal needs and wants. Lookout for those drawings in our classroom.