Happy New Year and welcome back!

I hope you had a restive and restorative winter break. While the break is a welcome time to recover after a busy start to the school year, I am happy to be back. It is great to see all of the smiling faces in the hallways and classrooms this week.

We have a busy few months ahead of us. January always seems to be a challenge as we adjust from three weeks away from school back into an action packed school year. The students start back to assessments in Math, Reading and Writing in the first few weeks. We will also have Sports Days and Arts performances coming very soon and your children will be busy as they get back into studying as well as the extra curricular fun to be found at GAA.

To ease this transition for your children, I would like to share a useful list of suggestions from San Diego Family for helping your child have a smooth start after the winter break:

• Cut back screen time and make sure your children have a suitable bed time for school
• Make sure your child starts with a healthy, filling breakfast
• Read - take time each day to help your child rediscover the joy of reading together
• Check-in with teachers - just an email or a brief visit to the school. It is great to make sure you are clear on your child’s classroom goals so you can support them from home
• Returning to a homework schedule - three weeks off is a long time for children and it is difficult for them to pick up those good habits from before.

Any support you can provide will help your child to be more focused and successful. We greatly appreciate all you do to help us help your children.

Have a great week,

John O’Neill

Grade 3, 4, & 5 Vice Principal

In our current unit on ’Sharing the Planet’, Grade 5 has been exploring how natural processes and human activity affect the Earth’s spheres. Recently, we went on a local field trip to Al Wathba Wetland Reserve to observe nature and look for evidence of the different spheres and how they interact with one another. Earth’s spheres include the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. On the 3km walk, the local guides pointed out some pretty cool things such as a parasitic plant, a toothbrush bush, a fox carcass, a fox den, some snake cultures, and thousands of Greater Flamingos. Grade 5 had a great day exploring nature, getting some exercise, all while learning about Earth’s different spheres.

Our Islamic Non-Native and Native students are involved in different creative activities in their classes to enhance their learning experience.

يقوم طلابنا الأعزاء بعمل أنشطة منهجية ولا منهجية داخل حصص التربية الإسلاميّة

Save the date! “Art Around the World,” performances and artworks presented by 1^st grade. Located in GAA Auditorium and Atrium. February 20, 2020 at 1:00pm. More information to come!

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE GAA EVENTS CALENDAR

(please note, updated regularly)

• January 12: ESM paid ASAs sign up @2:30-3:30pm
• January 19: GAA Parent Community Lunch @12:00-15:00 at Circles Cafe (Gardens Plaza)
• January 21: Meet the Elementary Counsellors for Triple P @8:30am in MPR room (2nd floor)
• January 26: Grades 1 & 3 Sports Day
• January 27: Grades 2, 4 & 5 Sports Day
• January 28: IFF Planning Meeting @8:30am in GAAPA Room
• January 29: KG1 Sports Day
• January 30: KG2 Sports Day
• January 29-30: Elementary Musical "Madagascar Jr" @6:30pm in the Auditorium
• January 30: Half-Day, school dismisses @12:00. Also a Dress Down Day/Pizza Day