News from the Elementary Principal
Dear GAA Community,
What a successful back to school night! Thank you to all of those who were able to attend. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The meaningful interactions and focus on our students were the highlights of the
night. If you were not able to attend, please know that our teachers are always willing to help and answer any
questions you may have. You can alternately email or write a note in your child’s passport.
I am very pleased with the number of parents who have returned the Parent Contract at the back of the Elementary Community Handbook. I was happy to hear that parents were flipping through the handbook and reviewing expectations with their children. The homework policy was brought up, and for those wondering, it was inspired by conversations with students, teachers, coordinators, and parents during last year’s Elementary wide handbook review. The handbook can be found at tiny.cc/thelauncher and is also pinned to the top of this page.
The Launcher - What is tiny.cc/thelauncher? The GAA ICT Team has created this page as a central access point for information at GAA. It is like a watering hole. A place you can always come back to for more! At tiny.cc/thelauncher you can find everything from handbooks and curricular information to calendars and teacher email addresses. If you have not had a look and bookmarked this page on your web browser, please do!
The drop off of students has been improving. I want to thank the parents whose children are ready to hop out of car with their bags. This really helps our flow of traffic and getting our students hitting the ground running for the school day. Teachers have remarked how there have been fewer disruptions in learning this year with parents waiting patiently in the foyer for dismissal time. I do appreciate your support.
The [email protected] email address has been up and running since the beginning of the school year. From a Kindergarten perspective, we ask that parents who have questions regarding their child’s grade placement to please send an email or
make an appointment with Dina Morad, GAA Registrar. Grade movement will be frozen on September 18th as GAA will be three weeks into the school year and our students are settled in for a productive year of learning!
Some Kindergarten parents will have received an invitation to join an Islamic Studies class. Like Arabic language in Kindergarten, this is not mandated by the Abu Dhabi Council of Education but something that we facilitate. GAA values our host country language and cultures and is happy to support this co-curricular offering. KG Islamic classes will start on September 24, 2014.
Please remember to inform either the class teacher or reception before 8am if your child is absent. If we do not receive a message, we will send an SMS to parents of KG and Elementary students asking them to contact the school. Please be aware if your child is a little late for school or buses are delayed, you may receive an SMS. Please don’t panic – if you respond to the message, we can check the classroom and confirm your child is in class. Thank you for your continued support.
I am so happy to have the 2014-2015 school year well underway and believe the needed partnerships to enhance learning are in place.
Have a great weekend,
Ben Voborsky
Elementary Principal
Dear GAA Community,
What a successful back to school night! Thank you to all of those who were able to attend. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The meaningful interactions and focus on our students were the highlights of the
night. If you were not able to attend, please know that our teachers are always willing to help and answer any
questions you may have. You can alternately email or write a note in your child’s passport.
I am very pleased with the number of parents who have returned the Parent Contract at the back of the Elementary Community Handbook. I was happy to hear that parents were flipping through the handbook and reviewing expectations with their children. The homework policy was brought up, and for those wondering, it was inspired by conversations with students, teachers, coordinators, and parents during last year’s Elementary wide handbook review. The handbook can be found at tiny.cc/thelauncher and is also pinned to the top of this page.
The Launcher - What is tiny.cc/thelauncher? The GAA ICT Team has created this page as a central access point for information at GAA. It is like a watering hole. A place you can always come back to for more! At tiny.cc/thelauncher you can find everything from handbooks and curricular information to calendars and teacher email addresses. If you have not had a look and bookmarked this page on your web browser, please do!
The drop off of students has been improving. I want to thank the parents whose children are ready to hop out of car with their bags. This really helps our flow of traffic and getting our students hitting the ground running for the school day. Teachers have remarked how there have been fewer disruptions in learning this year with parents waiting patiently in the foyer for dismissal time. I do appreciate your support.
The [email protected] email address has been up and running since the beginning of the school year. From a Kindergarten perspective, we ask that parents who have questions regarding their child’s grade placement to please send an email or
make an appointment with Dina Morad, GAA Registrar. Grade movement will be frozen on September 18th as GAA will be three weeks into the school year and our students are settled in for a productive year of learning!
Some Kindergarten parents will have received an invitation to join an Islamic Studies class. Like Arabic language in Kindergarten, this is not mandated by the Abu Dhabi Council of Education but something that we facilitate. GAA values our host country language and cultures and is happy to support this co-curricular offering. KG Islamic classes will start on September 24, 2014.
Please remember to inform either the class teacher or reception before 8am if your child is absent. If we do not receive a message, we will send an SMS to parents of KG and Elementary students asking them to contact the school. Please be aware if your child is a little late for school or buses are delayed, you may receive an SMS. Please don’t panic – if you respond to the message, we can check the classroom and confirm your child is in class. Thank you for your continued support.
I am so happy to have the 2014-2015 school year well underway and believe the needed partnerships to enhance learning are in place.
Have a great weekend,
Ben Voborsky
Elementary Principal
News From Grade 5B
During the first week of school students in Grade 5B collaborated to create Essential Agreements for their homeroom class. The agreements were focused on how they believed their environment, relationships and habits will best allow them to be safe, be respectful and be a learner.
Grade 1 Unit of Inquiry - Force and Motion
This week Grade 1 opened their first Unit of Inquiry this week with a friendly game of Tug of War. In this unit, How the World Works, the first graders will be exploring how forces explain movement. The students definitely displayed the PYP attitude of Enthusiasm as they built background knowledge for their investigation of force and motion!
Dear Parents
This is an exciting time yet again for the GAA Campus! We’ve settled in our classrooms and we will inquire into, and learn about globally significant issues in the context of our first Unit of Inquiry.
In the PYP a balance is sought between acquisition of essential knowledge (guided by Virginia Standards and the PYP Scope and Sequence documentation) and transdisciplinary skills, development of conceptual understanding, demonstration of positive attitudes, and taking responsible action.
Each Unit of Inquiry takes about six weeks and addresses a “Central Idea” relevant to a particular theme. Themes are supported by knowledge, concepts and skills from the traditional subject areas but utilized in ways that transcend the confines of these subjects.
It will be rewarding to see how students make connections when inquiring during Homeroom time (English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Personal Education), Arabic Language, and Arabic Social Studies, Visual and Performing Arts, Sports and field trips. Please support your children as they show commitment to the Learner Profile traits: Caring, Open-minded, Principled, Reflective, Thinkers, Balanced, Communicators, Risk-takers, Inquirers and Knowledgeable.
These are the first units of inquiry that the children will be studying:
This is an exciting time yet again for the GAA Campus! We’ve settled in our classrooms and we will inquire into, and learn about globally significant issues in the context of our first Unit of Inquiry.
In the PYP a balance is sought between acquisition of essential knowledge (guided by Virginia Standards and the PYP Scope and Sequence documentation) and transdisciplinary skills, development of conceptual understanding, demonstration of positive attitudes, and taking responsible action.
Each Unit of Inquiry takes about six weeks and addresses a “Central Idea” relevant to a particular theme. Themes are supported by knowledge, concepts and skills from the traditional subject areas but utilized in ways that transcend the confines of these subjects.
It will be rewarding to see how students make connections when inquiring during Homeroom time (English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Personal Education), Arabic Language, and Arabic Social Studies, Visual and Performing Arts, Sports and field trips. Please support your children as they show commitment to the Learner Profile traits: Caring, Open-minded, Principled, Reflective, Thinkers, Balanced, Communicators, Risk-takers, Inquirers and Knowledgeable.
These are the first units of inquiry that the children will be studying:
We will be holding our first Community Sharing assembly on Thursday, 18th September at 7.45am-8.30am in the Auditorium. This Community Sharing will be hosted by Grade 1 and Grade 2. The following Thursday, grades 3, 4 and 5 will lead the Community Sharing
assembly.
In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions regarding the Primary Years Programme or curriculum.
Kind regards
Sofia Lyons
IB PYP Coordinator and IB PYP Workshop Leader
We Are Special In Kindergarten Because...
Don't forget!
Sunday 14th September - Elementary Soccer programs begin – JEAC and under 9’s Non-competitive ASA’s begin
Sunday 14th September - Non-Competitive After School Activities Begin
Thursday 18th September - Elementary Community Share 7.45am, parents are welcome
Wednesday 24th September - Kindergarten Community Share, 7.45am, parents are welcome
Thursday 25th September - Professional Development Afternoon for Teachers, School finishes at 12pm
Thursday 2nd October - Hajj Celebration
Need more details for you diary? Email Fiona the elementary secretary [email protected]
Sunday 14th September - Elementary Soccer programs begin – JEAC and under 9’s Non-competitive ASA’s begin
Sunday 14th September - Non-Competitive After School Activities Begin
Thursday 18th September - Elementary Community Share 7.45am, parents are welcome
Wednesday 24th September - Kindergarten Community Share, 7.45am, parents are welcome
Thursday 25th September - Professional Development Afternoon for Teachers, School finishes at 12pm
Thursday 2nd October - Hajj Celebration
Need more details for you diary? Email Fiona the elementary secretary [email protected]