Semester I

Secondary faculty members are putting the final touches on student gradebooks and comments. Please check-in with your secondary student to ensure all outstanding assessments have been completed and turned in. Gradebooks close on Tuesday, January 10 for Semester I and reports will be available via PowerSchool on Friday, January 13.

WildCart

The WildCart is no longer available for students during the school day. Please encourage your child to bring a recyclable water bottle to fill and either provide lunch and snacks or money for Slices, our school food provider.

Spirit and Dress Down Friday Reminder

Spirit Days - every Friday except the last of the month

A day where students can wear items of clothing created and sold by GAA groups, such as Booster Club, Sports and Activity teams and Student Government. These may include:

• Powderpuff T-shirts

• Spirit Wear (cohort related)

• House Shirts

• Athletic’s Booster Sweatshirts

• Booster Sweatshirts

Dress Down Days - the last Friday of the month

A day where students can wear their choice of clothing, as long as it is is respectful of the Host Country culture and in line with our Handbook guidelines:

"GAA does not require uniforms whilst participating in after or out of school activities or on designated special dress-down days. However, students should be properly dressed in a manner that is not offensive to our host country. The following rules will apply:

• No tight clothes (this includes no leggings or yoga pants)

• No spaghetti strap shirts

• No exposed midriffs

• No hoodies with hood up

• No holes in jeans

• No offensive logos or expressions on clothing

• No hats"

Semester II Standards Based Grading - Reassessment Procedural Change

The Secondary will provide students with a designated afternoon each week (Wednesday at 3:00 p.m.) to make up assessments missed due to absence or a student not meeting the assessment requirements set by the teacher. If absent, the teacher and student will choose the next available Wednesday afternoon to complete the assessment. If the student has not met the assessment requirements, the student and teacher will select a Wednesday afternoon, by which time the student will be prepared to sit the assessment. We are hopeful that this new practice helps students complete assessments in a timely manner.

The student will report the MPR on the specified Wednesday afternoon to complete the assessment.

REASSESSMENT PRACTICE

• Reassessment opportunities will take place within 2 weeks of the original assessment and outside of class time as designated by the subject teacher. Now to be held on Wednesday afternoons.

• In order to be eligible for reassessment students will complete the GAA Reassessment Application which includes:

  • 1. 1. An action plan that outlines the learning that will take place between the first assessment and the reassessment.

       2. A reflection component articulating their learning progression of the standard.

       3. The date and time of the reassessment.

• Teachers will use their discretion when approving reassessment requests, and may consider factors such as completion of formative assessments, when making their decision.

• Missing or late assessments/assignments will be reported in the online gradebook and reflected in the ATLs.

• Gradebooks will communicate reassessments.

• Attainment on reassessments will replace original proficiency level. No reassessments are offered after the final grade report has been finalized.

• Assessment events/deadlines are an opportunity to show learning progress and achievement as well as to receive timely feedback to support the learning journey.

  • 1. 1. As such, if an assessment is missed without appropriate approval, there will be non-academic consequences in accordance with the behavior policy.

       2. Trends in absenteeism during incidences of summative assessment will be addressed through intervention with the Dean of Students and/or IB Coordinator.

• Assessment events, such as an exhibition, concert or end-of-course exam, may not be eligible for reassessment. This would be communicated prior to the event.

• IBDP assessments will adhere to the stated expectations above.

Course Selection for SY23-24

The Secondary Division is excited to announce our course selection process for SY23-24 will begin in February. In order for you and your child to make informed decisions about course options and how those decisions may impact future year’s decisions, our Counseling team, our Vice Principals, our IB Diploma Coordinator and myself will hold grade level meetings to review the options available.

These meetings will be held during the first weeks in February. More details to follow…

Have a great weekend,

Mr. Wyncoll

Welcome back all secondary students we hope that each of you had a wonderful break and enjoyed time with friends and family. Time away from can be remarkably restorative and we are confident that students return with renewed enthusiasm and vigor. The start of a new year provides new opportunities for students, and we want to make sure they embrace every moment and never stop learning.

We wanted to take this opportunity to remind students of our secondary GAA expectations below:

Be Safe

Students are taught that physical and emotional safety is prioritized. Students can only learn and play once their safety is secure.

Be Respectful

Being respectful involves treating others the way you want to be treated, having a positive regard for peers and adults, and valuing differences in culture. Respect also means valuing the dignity given in peacefully agreeing to disagree and moving away from conflict.

Be a Learner

The principle “Be a Learner” essentially relates to valuing the learning process and learning community.

Be Kind

GAA fosters a culture of kindness. Students are taught the values of kindness and are expected to treat others with kindness.

Uniform:

As of the first week, there will be regular uniform checks which will take place during the student's advisory time. The aim of this is to improve the students' sense of routine, helping them gain responsibility and to reward those students who are taking pride in their appearance and how they represent the school.

Please see the uniform guidelines that will be shown to all students Uniform Guidelines Middle School

PBIS Announcement

This year our Secondary School leadership has adopted the Crittercoin initiative which is in partnership with the Primary School section. Crittercoin is used to reward our students who are displaying positive behaviors throughout the day. The coins students receive are comprised of our GAA secondary behavior expectations of Be Safe, Be Kind, Be a Learner, and Be Respectful.

We are very happy to announce that our PBIS store is now open for business- students can now trade their points for goods.

Please find below a message from our Highschool Students who will lead this-

'I hope this email finds you well. On behalf of the PBIS student group, we would like to kindly Inform you that the PBIS merchandise store will open tomorrow during HS lunch and Middle school advisory and will continue to operate every Wednesday (HS lunch/ MS advisory). Thank you; please email if you require any further clarification.

The PBIS team '

The Falcons are currently in the lead but they are closely followed by the Scorpions. Stay in tune to see who ends up first!! Keep up the good work students!

Middle School Newsletter

Welcome back Middle School- to all students, teachers, parents, and staff we wish you all a very prosperous 2023!

We thank all our dear parents for your support & cooperation throughout Term 1. Our children are thriving because of our teamwork! To all our GAA family, we wish you a very peaceful, safe, happy, and successful New Year 2023!!

As we move into the new year there will be a particular focus on certain areas-

Upcoming events

As we have all settled into the new year of Middle School our students will be getting involved in our ‘Middle School Spirit week.’ This is a fun week where our students will be challenged to be as creative as they can and also will be challenged physically with the end-of-week tug-of-war competition! Please find below the dates and themes for this week:

Last week of January-

• Monday: Sports jersey

• Tuesday: Tourist day

• Wednesday: Superhero day

• Thursday: Nerd day

• Friday: Tug of War Shirt/School Spirit

It is great to see everyone refreshed and renewed after a well-deserved the Winter Break.

We are excited to announce Sports Day that will be during the last week in February. It is a great opportunity for students to support their houses and they can showcase their abilities in a variety of sports including football, handball, ultimate frisbee and sprint relays. This is a great competition within the school to help build school spirit here at GAA.

Also, the World Cup Themed Football Tournament ran by Mr. David will be having the finals soon which has been a fantastic event run for both boys and girls in grade 6 & 7 over their lunch breaks. There has been a great turnout from students to support the event and cheer on the teams. It builds a great community here at GAA and helps students make connections with real life sporting events. The semi finals and finals match will be held the week of the 15th of January.

Finally, with the weather getting a little cooler it’s great to get students outside to experience a wide range of sports and understand the importance of health and wellbeing.

• January 11: GAAPA Parent Coffee for Middle School (Grades 6-8) Parents @8-10am, Parent Cafe

• January 12: GAAPA Parent Coffee for High School (Grades 9-12) Parents @8-10am, Parent Cafe

• January 13: Book into Movies event @GAA Planetarium

• January 14: Grade 12 Cap and Gown Photoshoot (including family pics)

• January 17: Positive Discipline in Everyday Parenting Program starts

• January 21: Grade 12 Cap and Gown Photoshoot (including family pics)

• January 26-27: Aladdin Elementary Musical at GAA Auditorium @6-8pm

• January 27: GAAPA Used Uniform Sale

• January 27: Pizza Day by GAAPA

• February 13-14: Mid-term break (no school)

• February 25: International Food Festival