Secondary

Message from High School Vice Principal,

Ms. Erin Lumpkins

Dear GAA Family,

As we continue to move through the last quarter of the school year, students will begin working on End of Course Projects, with many deadlines. As students schedule work time, we encourage the use of tools to assist with time management. One way to approach this is using the Eisenhower Matrix categories:

Urgent and important tasks (do immediately)
Important, but not urgent (tasks to schedule later)
Urgent, but not important
Neither urgent, nor important (eliminate this task)

Other strategies include:

Use a calendar or Google Sheet to track deadlines.
Schedule dedicated work time for projects and assignments.
Exercise
Get adequate sleep
Communicate with teachers prior to deadlines if there are concerns.

Senior Walk

We were excited to see so many of our seniors on campus last week to participate in the Senior Walk, a time honored GAA tradition. Further details regarding graduation will be shared as we receive further guidance from ADEK and the relevant health authorities.

Congratulations Class of 2021!

UN GOALS PROJECT

Ms. Karla Haronga and her Grade 10 Genius Hour group are very happy to extend an invitation to you all to view their UN Goals Project website. They have been working collaboratively on this over the past two months as time allowed in Genius Hour. They published it and shared it the UN Goals Project website on April 29!

The website looks at the goal with were given, what IS happening in countries to contribute to sustainable cities, and what we CAN DO to contribute, with a special focus on our own GAA and Abu Dhabi community. We wanted something we could share with our community to give both information and inspiration. CLICK HERE to view the webpage.

Special thanks for the group leaders who supported their classmates to research, write and complete sections of the website. These leaders were:

Alia Daoud, Layal Al Mukhtar, Nabel Rodriguez Feo and Nardin Mazek.

CLICK HERE to read more about the project globally on the UN Goals Project official website.

NEWS FROM SECONDARY PE DEPARTMENT

The secondary PE department has been working through this unique time to continue developing student competence and confidence in a variety of physical activities that will help them live healthy, successful lives as they mature.

Students are working on their End of Year Projects in earnest. High schoolers are “Being the Teacher” and creating units and lesson plans as if they were going to teach them, thereby deepening their understanding of the material. Middle school students are creating a website that relates to all of the topics of study over the course of the year including nutrition, tactical theory, personal fitness and fitness planning, rules and etiquette, and history of the sport of their choice.

Students that continue distance learning have been encouraged to practice Self-Fit, an autonomous process of choice, for at least 60 minutes each day. Students have the opportunity to pick their own activities and document them.

Secondary PE has also been focused on teaching cooperative games during Ramadan. These activities are less strenuous and encourage students to collaborate and problem solve with their classmates while also having fun in the process.

NEWS FROM STUDENT GOVERNMENT:

Spirit Week and Attendance Showdown

Winner Announcements

Spirit Week took place a week right before Spring Break. Each day we had themed dress-down days and challenges. Out of all of the grades, 6th grade participated with flying colors! They had the most Wildcat spirit, spirit shirt purchases, and some of the best themed costumes! Due to this, the ENTIRE 6th-grade class had a dress-down day on Wednesday, April 28th! Congratulations, you guys deserve it!

Kudos to all participating Genius Hour/Advisory classes in the Minute to Win It challenge! Each class had to pass a series of challenges that would put their skills to the test. But, don’t worry, their efforts were worthwhile! Each winning Genius Hour class had a DRESS DOWN Day on Tuesday, April 27th! The following Genius Hour winners are Mr. Alexander and Ms. Strong’s in 6th grade, Ms. Lodhi from 7th grade, Ms. Dobbs from 8th grade, Mr. Cotman from 9th grade, Ms. Massman and Ms. Zee from 10th grade, Ms. Poole from 11th grade, and Ms. Sciolis from 12th grade. Congratulations!

GAA Secondary has kicked off the Attendance Showdown and for the month of March, Grade 11 were the winners! As a prize, on Monday, April 26th, all of Grade 11 could dress down! Congratulations Juniors for great attendance!

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT!

Kudos to Francois and Alexander Hentschel, who did not just chill during Spring Break, but participated to the Al Raha Beach Water Channel and Promenade Cleaning. They were inspired by David Attenborough’s documentary “A life on our planet” and felt they had to become part of the solution.

Please share your children's achievements with us, so we can celebrate them together! Email to pre_gaa@gemsedu.com

SENIOR LETTERS 2021

Here at GAA we have a tradition of collecting letters from seniors, their families, and friends, in congratulation of all that they have achieved through their 12 years of school. While we are not all currently at GAA, that does not mean we are going to miss out on the opportunity to celebrate our seniors.

This year, we have set up an email address specifically to collect these letters – SeniorLetters21_GAA@gaa-ad.com. Please include the full name of the senior in the email and in the subject line. An automatic response will be sent to verify your email has been received.

You can also write a handwritten letter if you wish. A box will be set-up at the reception for you to drop it off.

We will collect letters until May 20th.

IMPORTANT:

COVID-19 PROCEDURES

Student COVID-19 Testing Schedule for students aged 12 and above:

(attending school in person)

May 1 and May 2
May 11 and May 12
May 22 and May 23
June 1 and June 2
June 12 and June 13
June 22 and June 23

Location: G42 Laboratory at Mafraq Hospital - Shakhbout City - Al Mafraq - https://goo.gl/maps/VqoLBirQAn43JCzP6

School Code: KS-9086

Timings: 08:00am - 10:00pm (Please note that the testing timing may change during Ramadan)

Please upload the results through Parent Portal: http://oasis.gemseducation.com

How to upload covid test results on Mobile and Laptop.pdf

What if my child feels unwell at school?

Non-COVID-related: If your child develops any symptoms during school hours:

The student will be flagged by the teacher and will be referred to the school clinic for triage. If child does not have fever or any other COVID-19 symptoms, Nurse will contact the parent to investigate any possible illness at home by family member. Depending on the condition of the child, parent may be asked to collect from school.
If student is sent home, parent must provide doctor's medical certificate for return to campus.

COVID-related: Your child will be considered as a suspected case of Covid-19, if displaying any signs and symptoms such as cough, fever or breathlessness and:

Child will be moved to Quarantine Room, where they will be monitored by a School Nurse.
Nurse will contact the parents immediately to retrieve the child from the school.
The school shall not administer any medicines to the child.
The school will inform the parents about the nearest hospital and COVID-19 testing center.
If the child tests positive for COVID-19, parents are mandated to inform the school so that they can take measures to secure the health of other students and staff who may have been exposed to the virus.
If child has siblings at GAA attending in-campus, they must be quarantined at home as well.
Student(s) will be able to return to school after 2 consecutive negative COVID tests and doctor's medical certificate.

COVID-19 Reporting Procedures at GAA

We remind parents of our safety protocols with regards to COVID-19:

What if my child or a household member tests positive?

Notify school immediately by calling GAA's COVID-19 Hotline at 052 1048099 to enable us to activate appropriate response. Or email: pre_gaa@gemsedu.com
Keep your child and other GAA siblings isolated at home for at least 10 days and follow the instructions of Health Authorities.
Distance Learning will be enabled for your child.
Child will be cleared to return to school once they have 2 consecutive negative test results, submitting doctor's note and results to the school nurse.

What's the Return to School protocol?

Positive case: They must show a Clearance Report from SEHA or their Health Care Provider confirming they are clear to return to school. This report shows the high-level history of the case including date confirmed positive, the 2 negative results and that the patient has completed the isolation period.

Contacts of the positive case: contacts must continue their 10 day home quarantine, even if they test negative, and are only allowed back in school after receiving 2 consecutive negative test results (approximately day 1 and day 8 testing).

We thank you for your continuous support.

Click here

Circuit X Event Photos

Hudayriat Island

APRIL 23-24, 2021

SECONDARY LIBRARY

Welcome to GAA Secondary Library website! Your access to the library collection, research databases, learning resources and more!

SECONDARY LIBRARY WEBSITE

GEMS Alumni App

As the GEMS community, we understand that it is not just mere nostalgia that we associate our alma mater with, it is much beyond that. Our GEMS alumni across 80 countries are doing amazing things and we want to celebrate their successes every step of the way! Download and join the #GEMSAlumni App today by clicking on the links below:

Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details…

App Store : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gems-alumni/id1496962338

GEMS_Alumni_Flyer_Jan2021[2].pdf