News from our IB Diploma Coordinator, Patrick Lyons
The Grade 12 students have hit the ground running in 2017. It is an impressive sight to see; the leaders of our student body all sporting new Senior sweat-shirts with the number 17 emblazoned on the back. This is their year. It will not be an easy one either. They have completed many Internal Assessments, Extended Essays and ToK Presentations already but they still have much ahead of them in the next few weeks. ToK essays, CAS projects and experiences, Language orals and all other Internal Assessments must be completed soon. The Art Show along with final Theatre and Music performances will follow soon after that. Dates are set for mock exams before the spring break and the DP World Exams are starting at the end of April.
At this time, you will be seeing students who no longer need motivating or persuading to work. They know what is ahead of them and have plans to see it through to graduation and that prized diploma. What they need from their teachers, their classmates, their parents and the whole community is just support. So if you see a white hoodie with a flag proudly worn on the sleeve, let them know we are pulling for them and believe wholeheartedly in their success. Go GAA Senior Class! We are with you all the way.
Paddy Lyons
IB Diploma Coordinator
At this time, you will be seeing students who no longer need motivating or persuading to work. They know what is ahead of them and have plans to see it through to graduation and that prized diploma. What they need from their teachers, their classmates, their parents and the whole community is just support. So if you see a white hoodie with a flag proudly worn on the sleeve, let them know we are pulling for them and believe wholeheartedly in their success. Go GAA Senior Class! We are with you all the way.
Paddy Lyons
IB Diploma Coordinator
GAA to host jazz icon; Wynton Marsalis
We are delighted to announce that GAA will play host to the American Jazz icon; Wynton Marsalis. Wynton and his band are among the headline artists set to perform at the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival in March. Whilst in the UAE, Wynton has offered to lead an interactive workshop with the students here at GAA.
Wynton Marsalis is a nine-time Grammy Award winner and the only person to achieve 5 consecutive awards (between 1983-1987). He has produced over 80 albums that span the jazz and classical sphere and has been awarded 25 honorary degrees from America’s leading academic institutions including Columbia, Harvard, Howard, Princeton and Yale.
In 1987, Wynton co-founded the jazz program at the Lincoln Centre in New York. He currently serves as Manager and Artistic Director for the established Jazz at the Lincoln Centre, which has become a mecca for learning as well as a hub for performance.
In addition to performing and talking about music, Wynton and members of his ensemble will spend some time working with the combined GAA Big Band and High School Jazz Band. This will be an incredible opportunity to learn from an internationally acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, educator and leading advocate for American culture.
GAA will be inviting music students from our GEMS network and across the UAE to attend this event as we take this opportunity to engage and collaborate with the wider community.
We would like to thank the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation (ADMAF) for their commitment to educational outreach projects and further details of the festival can be found here.
In 2016, music students from GAA visited the Emirates Palace to watch an open rehearsal with the Orchestre de Paris under a similar initiative.
Dave Holland
Secondary School Music Director
We are delighted to announce that GAA will play host to the American Jazz icon; Wynton Marsalis. Wynton and his band are among the headline artists set to perform at the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival in March. Whilst in the UAE, Wynton has offered to lead an interactive workshop with the students here at GAA.
Wynton Marsalis is a nine-time Grammy Award winner and the only person to achieve 5 consecutive awards (between 1983-1987). He has produced over 80 albums that span the jazz and classical sphere and has been awarded 25 honorary degrees from America’s leading academic institutions including Columbia, Harvard, Howard, Princeton and Yale.
In 1987, Wynton co-founded the jazz program at the Lincoln Centre in New York. He currently serves as Manager and Artistic Director for the established Jazz at the Lincoln Centre, which has become a mecca for learning as well as a hub for performance.
In addition to performing and talking about music, Wynton and members of his ensemble will spend some time working with the combined GAA Big Band and High School Jazz Band. This will be an incredible opportunity to learn from an internationally acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, educator and leading advocate for American culture.
GAA will be inviting music students from our GEMS network and across the UAE to attend this event as we take this opportunity to engage and collaborate with the wider community.
We would like to thank the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation (ADMAF) for their commitment to educational outreach projects and further details of the festival can be found here.
In 2016, music students from GAA visited the Emirates Palace to watch an open rehearsal with the Orchestre de Paris under a similar initiative.
Dave Holland
Secondary School Music Director