News from our Secondary Principal, Katherine Banner
Dear Parents,
Last week culminated in the GAA Harvest Festival and a great time was had by all. The evening culminated in the best costume contest and we had some fantastic contestants! Kids also had fun “sliming” Ms. Jamesion! Thank you GAAPA parents and GAA students for planning such a spectacular event!
Last week culminated in the GAA Harvest Festival and a great time was had by all. The evening culminated in the best costume contest and we had some fantastic contestants! Kids also had fun “sliming” Ms. Jamesion! Thank you GAAPA parents and GAA students for planning such a spectacular event!
GAA Yearbook
You can now preorder the 2016-2017 GAA Yearbook for just 250 AED (68.50 USD) until January 12, 2017! After January 12th, the price will increase to 300 AED (82.00 USD). This year we are ordering yearbooks based on how many people preorder, so make sure to order your book sooner rather than later. To order the 2016-2017 GAA Yearbook, use our Jostens’ online website designed specifically for GAA. Through the online website, you can also add cover customizations for additional fees.
The Yearbook Staff, made up of 11th and 12th grade students, is looking forward to creating the 2016-2017 Yearbook. Their goal is to have a yearbook that captures who they are as a KG1-12th grade student body. They want to design a yearbook that will serve as a time capsule for the 2016-2017 year and be used years to come as a trip down Nostalgia Lane.
This is the first year GAA is using the Jostens’ online platform, Yearbook Avenue, to design the yearbook. The program allows students to design pages, upload and edit photos, communicate to one another and the Jostens’ representative, and market the yearbook all from the one webpage—so anywhere Wi-Fi is available, the students have access to the program. GAA and the Yearbook Staff are very excited about all the possibilities Yearbook Avenue offers and to present the 2016-2017 GAA Yearbook in May 2017.
Parent Conferences
Just a reminder that Parent Conferences take place next week. There will be no regular classes on Wednesday, November 9 or Thursday, November 10. Instead, teachers will be available in the gymnasium and the adjacent dance studio to discuss your child’s progress throughout the first quarter. Your child is also encouraged to attend the conferences. Conferences run from 11:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday and from 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Individual conferences should last no longer than 10 minutes. There is no need to make an appointment, simply come at a time that is convenient for you and wait for one of your child’s teachers to become available.
We look forward to seeing you then!
IB Extended Essays
This week our Grade 11 class found out who will be supervising their extended essay for the next year. The process of writing the extended essay (a 4,00 word University-style research paper) is demanding but highly enriching. The process is aided, guided and supported by a supervising teacher with a shared interest and expertise in the subject. However, it is the student that must lead this process and contact their new supervisor. We have a very interesting range of topics this year ranging from ‘rocket fuel’ to ‘the power of suggestion’. The topics represent the passions and experiences of our diverse range of students and provide opportunities for them to explore their academic curiosity and reflect on how research can inform opinions. The supervisors are also excited to learn just what makes these students tick and what insights these young people can bring to their subjects. If you are a Grade 11 parent, please talk to your child about their topic and ask them how their meeting went with their new supervisor. Hopefully they will have interesting tales to tell.
Regards,
Katherine Banner
You can now preorder the 2016-2017 GAA Yearbook for just 250 AED (68.50 USD) until January 12, 2017! After January 12th, the price will increase to 300 AED (82.00 USD). This year we are ordering yearbooks based on how many people preorder, so make sure to order your book sooner rather than later. To order the 2016-2017 GAA Yearbook, use our Jostens’ online website designed specifically for GAA. Through the online website, you can also add cover customizations for additional fees.
The Yearbook Staff, made up of 11th and 12th grade students, is looking forward to creating the 2016-2017 Yearbook. Their goal is to have a yearbook that captures who they are as a KG1-12th grade student body. They want to design a yearbook that will serve as a time capsule for the 2016-2017 year and be used years to come as a trip down Nostalgia Lane.
This is the first year GAA is using the Jostens’ online platform, Yearbook Avenue, to design the yearbook. The program allows students to design pages, upload and edit photos, communicate to one another and the Jostens’ representative, and market the yearbook all from the one webpage—so anywhere Wi-Fi is available, the students have access to the program. GAA and the Yearbook Staff are very excited about all the possibilities Yearbook Avenue offers and to present the 2016-2017 GAA Yearbook in May 2017.
Parent Conferences
Just a reminder that Parent Conferences take place next week. There will be no regular classes on Wednesday, November 9 or Thursday, November 10. Instead, teachers will be available in the gymnasium and the adjacent dance studio to discuss your child’s progress throughout the first quarter. Your child is also encouraged to attend the conferences. Conferences run from 11:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday and from 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Individual conferences should last no longer than 10 minutes. There is no need to make an appointment, simply come at a time that is convenient for you and wait for one of your child’s teachers to become available.
We look forward to seeing you then!
IB Extended Essays
This week our Grade 11 class found out who will be supervising their extended essay for the next year. The process of writing the extended essay (a 4,00 word University-style research paper) is demanding but highly enriching. The process is aided, guided and supported by a supervising teacher with a shared interest and expertise in the subject. However, it is the student that must lead this process and contact their new supervisor. We have a very interesting range of topics this year ranging from ‘rocket fuel’ to ‘the power of suggestion’. The topics represent the passions and experiences of our diverse range of students and provide opportunities for them to explore their academic curiosity and reflect on how research can inform opinions. The supervisors are also excited to learn just what makes these students tick and what insights these young people can bring to their subjects. If you are a Grade 11 parent, please talk to your child about their topic and ask them how their meeting went with their new supervisor. Hopefully they will have interesting tales to tell.
Regards,
Katherine Banner
“As part of their North America Unit with Mr. Cruz and Ms. Jamieson, 8th Grade World Geography students worked on modeling demographic data collected by the United States Census Bureau. Students were challenged to create population pyramids with age cohorts further defined by levels of educational attainment. In pairs, students were assigned different U.S.-based ethnicities with the directive to compare the ethnicities’ educational attainment against that of the U.S. overall population. The interactive results of their demographic research and comparisons are published HERE.”