Welcome to Winter Break, GAA Community!

We have had a wonderful first three and a half months so far this year. Almost all students have been in school every day and we have been able to get back to whole lot of ‘normal’ with After School Activities, Athletics, Community Shares, Arts Performances and very little disruption to learning due to COVID. If it wasn’t for the masks, we might not know we are in a pandemic.

Please see below for a few notes and reminders.

“The Announcement”

This week brought an interesting surprise with the UAE changing it working week. GAA Leadership met yesterday to make a plan and we are pleased with it. Please make a note of these points in regards to Elementary Schedules and Learning:

• We return to school on Monday, January 3, following regular school hours

• The school days starts at 7:45 every day

• Our current Sunday schedule will be followed on Mondays, Mondays will be on Tuesdays, etc.

• Every Friday will be a Half Day with student dismissal starting at 11:45 (just like our usual Thursday Half Days)

Returning Expectations

While we have not had an official announcement on PCR testing results from the MOH or ADEK, we are anticipating that all students (and staff) will need to show a negative test result that is valid within 96 hours. If we hear otherwise over the break, the school will contact families by email and SMS. Please stay tuned so that we can avoid any disruption to your child's learning.

I hope all of our students and families have a wonderful Winter Break and make some joyous memories together.

See you next year!

Mike Hopaluk

Elementary Principal

At GAA we promote the concept of growth mindset with all of our learners .The term ‘growth mindset ‘describes the underlying beliefs people have about learning and intelligence. According to author Carol Dweck, students with a growth mindset believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through hard work, persistence and dedication – they feel encouraged to take risks and not cower away from failure, but instead see it as necessary to success. On the other hand, students with a fixed mindset believe qualities like intelligence or talent are unchangeable traits and are likely to avoid developing them. They shy away from challenges to ultimately avoid failure. Having a growth mindset is essential to lifelong success, and it is something that students can develop with practice.

How to help your child develop a Growth Mindset:

A big part of have a growth mindset is not letting failing at something stop you from working to improve. It is important for children to know that setbacks and learning opportunities that can actually provide a way forward. Tell your child that it is okay when something isn’t working. Encourage self-advocacy, giving things a try and asking for help. Children also need to know that the people around them believe that they can find ways to fix mistakes and improve their performance. It is natural to want to say something like “Don’t worry about it. Maybe Art just isn’t your subject.” However, that reaction can promote a fixed mindset. It teachers that Art is something you are either good at or not. Instead, learning should be viewed as something we can always improve in. Have a reflective conversation about next steps, what went well and what they could try differently next time. Developing a flexible growth mindset is an ongoing process and we must continue to work on. Getting feedback from others, learning from mistakes and finding new ways to approach tasks can be challenging but it is a highly valuable way to help children learn that their abilities can always be developed.

Joe Aldus

Elementary Vice Principal

2D has been learning how important team work is in problem solving. We worked in small groups to try and “break out” of Break Out boxes in the Maker Space. The boxes entail clues that open up a succession of boxes which have locks. Each clue opens up a new box until you accomplish the final break out which makes you a winner. Our class did a fabulous job “breaking out” and had lots of fun working together to complete their mission.

3rd Grade Artists have been working very hard on their self portraits. Students looked in mirrors, sketched with pencils and then painted on a canvas board. Their self portrait was part of a unit on Frida Kahlo, the Mexican artist best known for her self portraits. Their self portraits reflect who they are on the outside and show some characteristics of what they are like on the inside.

• December 12-31: Winter Break

• January 3: Semester 2 starts

• January 7: Half-Day. School dismisses at 12.