Hello GAA Parents and Students,

We have reached the end of the first semester (23 January). We have been happy with the first half of this school year, and we expect the second semester to be even better. Next week, we will send report cards to families. Please take some time to sit with your student(s) and discuss where your child is in their learning progression. Our report cards are very detailed with both academic and behavioral information. The Approaches to Learning (behavioral) section is often an indicator as to why a student is successful or not. Have your student explain the report card. This exercise will give you a better understanding of your student’s classes as well as his/her approach to those classes. Please remember that with our system students are not penalized for poor grades in the beginning of the year. We acknowledge and give credit for learning whenever that happens. Therefore, you can help your student develop second semester goals so that the end-of-year results meet everyone’s expectations. Of course, we encourage students and parents to communicate with teachers throughout this process.

During February, students will begin the course selection process for the 2020-2021 school year. We meet with every grade level to explain the process and the course options available to students. When selecting courses, students should determine their selection based on interest and career and university aspirations. We provide help and information for all students. However, it is important that we partner with parents in order for students to make the right choices. Please contact our counselors, Ms. Lynn Brown (High School E-Z), Ms. Kimyanna Bradford (High School A-D), and Ms. Yvette Cuenco (Middle School), for assistance.

We are in the middle of the year, which means that our calendar is full of events. Please keep the following dates in mind:

• 25 January - TEDx (noon-3pm)
• 30 January - ½ Day
• 11 February - IBDP Course Fair

Sincerely,

Kain Klinkhammer

Secondary Principal

In the school year 2019/20 the Math Department at GAA has been focusing on continuous development of the standard based curriculum and its implementation. Our most recent efforts are in providing consistent grading across grade levels where multiple sections of the same course are taught. The Integrated Math II and III courses, for example, have three sections each. Every section is taught by a different teacher.

Middle school teachers, Mrs. Lodhi and Mrs. Allan, in grades 6 and 7, are helping to fill in identified gaps for students who graduated from elementary classes last year. Mr. Carpenter is helping grade 8 students to be ready to start High School courses next year.

To highlight one of the ways teachers try to use real world data in their math classes I would like to mention the Integrated Math III section taught by Mrs. Kanyi. Students from this class collected data during the recent sports day, then used various mathematical methods to analyze the data in their math class.

January and February are very busy months for IB DP 2 Math students who are submitting their Internal Assessments at this time. Internal Assessment in IB Math makes for 20% of the overall course grade. For many of the IB students the IB Math Internal Assessment is their first piece of a longer writing in a Mathematics course in their life. IB DP 2 teachers and students worked hard during fall 2019 on getting familiar with the IB requirements for Internal Assessment. Most of the DP2 students then sacrificed their winter holiday time to write their Math IA.

I would also like to recognize and applause the fact that many of the GEMS AA Math classes are taught by a team of two co-teachers. The help of the co-teachers, especially in the larger classes, is a crucial part of the success of many of our math students. Some of the math classes have 30+ students. Dear co-teachers, a big hug and a thank you goes to you!

Without a doubt, Mathematics is a difficult subject to learn at school. In all sincerity, most adults, including Math teachers, do not use mathematics in everyday life beyond a simple plus and minus. Can you think of a time when you used multiplication outside your math class? Perhaps when multiplying ingredients of a recipe while preparing a meal for a larger group of people, perhaps on some other rare occasion. Yet all people recognize the value of Mathematics in the development of a child. Whether one likes math or not, struggling with mathematical concepts at school keeps our brain in tonus just as exercise during PE classes helps our muscles to be strong enough to support our skeleton so that we are able to go about our daily business. Mikhail Lomonosov, the founder of modern Russian science, said that “Mathematics should be studied if only for that it puts the mind in order”.

I wish all of the GEMS AA Math students and teachers a successful and a rewarding second half of the 2019/20 school year, and lots of fun (and yummy pies!) during the upcoming Pi-Day in March.

Frantisek Plasil

Mathematics Head of Department

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE GAA EVENTS CALENDAR

(please note, updated regularly)

• January 25: TED-X @ Auditorium
• January 28: IFF Planning Meeting @8:30am in GAAPA Room
• January 29: Coffee with Secondary Counsellors @8:30-10:45am in the Planetarium:
  • 9:00 – 9:45 - Grades 6, 7, 8 will meet with MS Counsellor Yvette Cuenco
  • 8:00 - 8:45 - Grades 9, 10, 11 (not interested in IB) will meet with HS Counsellors Kimyanna Bradford and Lynn Brown
  • 10:00 – 10:45 - IB Parents interested in IB 10:00 – 10:45
• January 30: Half-Day, school dismisses @12:00. Also a Dress Down Day/Pizza Day
• February 1: Stu Williamson Sibling Photo Session
• February 6: Re-enrollment opens!
• February 9: Stu Williamson make up Student Photo Session
• February 11: IB Course Fair @3:10-4:30 pm in the MPR

Our preferred Apple provider, JTRS (Just The Right Solutions), has created an e-store from which you can purchase a number of Apple products below retail costs. JTRS Education is offering discounts on MacBook Pros, MacBook Airs and iPads, as well as add-ons, cases and extended warranties.

Below, you will find a document on how to locate and sign-up for the e-store to see the discounted products and make a purchase. Once purchased, JTRS Education will be in communication with you about when they will be delivered to the school. Once they have been delivered to GAA, you may pick your devices up from the ICT office here at the school.

If you have any further questions, please contact JTRS directly at +971 4 338 0990 or info@jtrs.ae