Greetings GAA Community,

Hello, my name is Mike Hopaluk and while this will be my sixth year at GAA, I am about to begin my first year as the Elementary Principal. I lived the first half of my life in beautiful British Columbia, Canada before beginning my life as an International Educator. I taught for 12 years in South Korea before starting a new adventure here in Abu Dhabi. In my previous five years at GAA I was a Grade 5 teacher for a year, the PYP Coordinator for two years, and the Upper Elementary Vice Principal for the last two years. I am extremely excited and honoured to be the new Elementary Principal and am looking forward to another great year of learning.

Our previous Principal, Dan Trimble, wanted to share a farewell message with the community:

Dear Parents and Students,

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for all your wonderful support and friendship over the past two years. Mrs Trimble and I have made memories and had experiences that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. Being a part of the GAA family has been so much more than we ever imagined. Unfortunately, our time in Abu Dhabi has had to come to an end before we planned. The needs of our families back home have changed and I have had the opportunity to take a position as principal of Kanab Elementary School, back in Utah, USA. This move will put us closer to our children and grandchildren, as well as our parents who are dealing with various health concerns.

I also want you to know that the administration of GAA plans for events like this and because we share in all aspects of planning and management of the school, you will see that GAA will continue with very little change. With Michael Hopaluk as Principal and Niamh Callanan, Joseph Aldus and John O’Neill as Vice Principals, will continue to lead your GAA with the same academic excellence and kindness that you’ve come to expect. I’ll say goodbye for now, but knowing how small the world has gotten, I’ll expect to see many of you in future travels.

This is always such an exciting part of the school year as families and colleagues return and share their summer adventures while new members of our community join us with their own perspectives and experiences. It is also very interesting to see all the changes around the school that have taken place. This year, we have new tiling on our first floor mezzanine and a new field outside for our students to enjoy- when the heat sumsides a bit.

We have just spent the last week welcoming our new teachers to our community and getting to know them better and how they are going to be wonderful additions to our already stellar team of PYP educators. The next week will welcome our returning teachers and make the final preparations for the 2019-2020 school year.

This year the Elementary Leadership Team consists of:

• Mike Hopaluk (Elementary Principal)
• Niamh Callanan (KG Vice Principal)
• Joe Aldus (G1-2 Vice Principal)
• John O’Neill (G3-5 Vice Principal).

We at GAA pledge to be a diverse and caring international learning community offering a rigorous, relevant and holistic education. Where we develop global citizens who have the confidence and conviction to pursue their dreams and impact the world. We don’t just post this mission on our walls, we live these words every day. Every person who walks through our doors and joins the GEMS American Academy community will be part of this pursuit to be a positive force for change in the world. I am very excited for what this year has instore for the GAA Learning Community as we prepare our students for their future.

I will see you all soon,

Mike Hopaluk

Elementary Principal

email: esprincipal_gaa@gemsedu.com

A very warm welcome to our Grade One and Two community!

My name is Joe Aldus and I am the Elementary Vice-Principal with the good fortune to be working with students in the Lower Elementary. I am going into my third year here at GAA, having spent the previous two years as the Elementary PYP Curriculum Coordinator. Previously, I have taught Grades 1-5 in international schools in Beijing and Mexico City, and began my career in London.

My hope is that you have enjoyed some wonderful family time over the summer break, and that you and your children are excited about getting back to school, seeing friends, and diving back into some exciting learning. We always love to hear about all the great things our students did over the summer holiday, and are amazed at how much they have grown. I spent the summer studying in Switzerland and visiting family and friends back home in the UK.

At this time of the year I am reminded of the wonderful book ‘First Day Jitters’ by Julie Dannenberg. This book playfully highlights how we can all feel excited and perhaps a little apprehensive on our first days of school and focuses on how we can all help each other to feel more comfortable when settling in. The main message is about how good it can make us feel to do nice things for other people, and I look forward to sharing it with classes again in the coming weeks.

I look forward to meeting you in the halls, or at drop-off or pick up, and in particular at our Back to School evening on Tuesday September 17^th.

Joe Aldus

Elementary Vice Principal

email: eslgvprincipal_gaa@gemsedu.com

A very warm welcome back to Grades 3, 4 and 5!

My name is John OʼNeill and I am very happy to introduce myself as the new Elementary Vice-Principal for Grades 3, 4 and 5.

I am beginning my third year in GAA. I have two children in the Elementary school and my wife, Corrina, also works in GAA, as a reading specialist in Grade 2. I am from Canada, but have been teaching internationally for 20 years. I have been lucky enough to teach in the UK and Japan as well as my time here in Abu Dhabi. I have been in education for 22 years and, in my long career, have taught all ages, from Grade 1 to Grade 12.

My passion is in English Language Learning and supporting students with additional needs. This is a very interesting and rewarding area of education in which I have dedicated much of my career. I have been working with the new incoming teachers this week and I feel very excited about this year. Personally, I feel lucky to work with such a team of capable and experienced colleagues. While I enjoy the company of such colleagues, the best thing to consider is how such a team will impact the learning of your children. I can not wait to see the experiences and opportunities that the new and returning teachers have in store for your children this year.

At this time of year, I would like to emphasize the need for students to take risks. Starting a new school year is all about taking risks. It is a mix of excitement and worry that makes this time of year so special for our children as they grow and settle into their new classrooms. In my experience, the students who gain the most from the school year are the ones who take risks. Anxiety can be a powerful obstacle to learning and growth. Children do not learn to manage their anxiety through easy options and avoiding struggle - it only comes from taking risks. Taking risks does not guarantee success and failure is a welcome part of a childʼs year of learning. We learn best when we struggle, which means that we do not only learn from success. We also learn and grow by taking risks and failing AND reproaching the challenge.

I look forward to seeing you in school and meeting you over the course of the academic year. Please take a risk and introduce yourself to me. I promise to do my best to make our conversation worth your effort.

See you at the Back to School evening on Tuesday, September 17th.

John OʼNeill

Elementary Vice Principal

email: esugvprincipal_gaa@gemsedu.com

Attention all 3^rd through 5^th grade families!

The Elementary musical will be during first semester this year and it will be Madagascar Jr. Auditions will be Sunday-Thursday from 15:00 to 16:00 on September 8-12 in room 165 and you can sign up with Ms. Pugh or Ms. Caitlin during class.

Rehearsals are three times a week Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday and the performances will be January 28^th and 29^th. Please make sure you can commit to these times.

For the audition the student should have one song ready to perform for us to hear their voices and we will prepare a script for them to read from. Be a risk-taker and come try out!

Some Scheduling reminders.

• First day, Early Dismissal
  • Our first day on Sunday, September 1, 2019 will be a half day for Grades 1-12 with early dismissal at 12pm.
• Drop Off Procedures
  • Parents are asked to drop off students from Grades 1-12 at the back gate. This will leave the front gate for our youngest wildcats in KG. We thank you for considering the safety of our students.
• KG will start the bus service and catering service from Wednesday, September 4th.
• Grade 1-Grade 5 will start the bus service and catering service from September 2nd.
• KG - Grade 5 will have lunch in their classroom. Please see the Slices Catering section of the Newsletter for more information.

Parent Orientations are scheduled for the first week of school in the auditorium. This is usually attended by new parents to GAA, but is open to all.

• September 1, 8:00-9:00am Grade 1-Grade 2 and 9:00-10:00am KG group A
• September 2, 9:00-10:00am KG group B
• September 5, 8:00-9:00am Grade 3-Grade 5
• Save the date for Elementary Back to School Night- September 17th.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE GAA EVENTS CALENDAR

(please note, updated regularly)