Dear GAA Families,

Today we celebrate the GAA Class of 2022 Graduation Ceremony at Sheikh Zayed University! This year’s Seniors will be remembered for their many academic, athletic, and artistic accomplishments despite navigating the challenges of the Covid pandemic for much of their high school careers. They were able to fulfill their dreams and hopes through a resilient spirit and formed a unified group with a common bound to support and take care of each other. We wish our Seniors 2022 all the best as they continue to find their voice, find their why, and make their impact on the world.

Congratulations Class of 2022!

On another note, I want to mention that you will now have received the link for the latest GEMS Parent Survey and I would like to remind just how important your feedback is. If you responded to the Winter Survey my staff and I will have contacted you in terms of a “You said, we did” approach to ensure that we took action in response to your feedback. At GAA we continue to push on the four intervention areas of:

• Well-being

• Preparing for the future

• Personalized learning

• Student Voice

During the Winter Survey if you rated us as a 9 or 10 it made you a promoter of the school and I hope you still feel that we deserve the same rating during this Survey. If you rated us as a 7 or 8 this made you a passive supporter of the school. I hope that you now feel that we have improved enough to gain a score of 9 or 10 during this Survey. Finally if you previously gave us a score between 0 and 6 this made you a detractor of the school. I hope that you now feel that we have improved enough to gain a score of 7 or 8 which would make you a passive supporter of our school, or possibly even a score of 9 or 10 which would make you a promoter of our school.

Let’s finish out the school year on a positive note, celebrating the hard work and successes of all our students. I thank you for your commitment and look forward to receiving your feedback.

Kind regards,

Robert Rinaldo

Head of School

أولياء الأمور الكرام,

تحية طيبة وبعد،

نحتفل اليوم بحفل تخرج دفعة أكاديمية جيمس الأمريكية لعام 2022 في جامعة الشيخ زايد. سيتم تذكر الخريجين هذا العام لإنجازاتهم الأكاديمية والرياضية والفنية العديدة وتغلبهم على تحديات جائحة كوفيد في حياتهم المهنية في المدرسة الثانوية. كانوا قادرين على تحقيق أحلامهم وآمالهم من خلال روح مرنة وشكلوا مجموعة موحدة ذات ارتباط مشترك بدعم ورعاية بعضهم البعض. نتمنى لخريجين 2022 كل التوفيق بينما يستمرون في العثور على أصواتهم، والعثور على أسبابهم، وإحداث تأثيرهم في العالم.

مبروك لدفعة 2022!

كما أود التنويه بأنكم استلمتم عبر البريد الالكتروني رابط أحدث استطلاع رأي لأولياء الأمور من جيمس وأود أن أذكر فقط مدى أهمية ملاحظاتكم. إذا قمتم بإكمال الاستبيان خلال فصل الشتاء فسأكون قد اتصلت بكم أنا والموظفين بخصوص نهج "لقد قلت، لقد فعلنا" للتأكد من أننا اتخذنا إجراءً ردًا على تعليقاتكم. نواصل في أكاديمية جيمس الأمريكية التركيز على مجالات التدخل الأربعة:

• الرفاه

• الاستعداد للمستقبل

• التعلم الشخصي

• صوت الطالب

أثناء الاستبيان الشتوي، إذا قمت بتقييمنا على أنه 9 أو 10، فقد جعلك ذلك مروجًا للمدرسة وآمل أن تظل تشعر أننا نستحق نفس التصنيف خلال هذا الاستبيان. إذا قمت بتقييمنا على أنه 7 أو 8، فهذا يجعلك مؤيدًا للمدرسة. آمل أن تشعر الآن بأننا قد تحسننا بدرجة كافية للحصول على درجة 9 أو 10 خلال هذا الاستبيان. أخيرًا، إذا أعطيتنا سابقًا درجة بين 0 و6، فهذا يجعلك تنتقص من المدرسة. آمل أن تشعر الآن بأننا قد تحسننا بدرجة كافية للحصول على درجة 7 أو 8 مما يجعلك مؤيدًا لمدرستنا، أو ربما حتى درجة 9 أو 10 مما يجعلك مروجًا لمدرستنا.

دعونا ننهي العام الدراسي بشكل إيجابي، الاحتفال بالعمل الجاد والنجاحات لجميع طلابنا. أشكركم على التزامكم وأتطلع إلى تلقي ملاحظاتكم.

مع أطيب التحيات،

روبرت رينالدو

مدير المدرسة

📣GAAPA (GEMS American Academy Parent Association) Board Positions for 22-23 - Nominations Now Open

• OPEN POSITIONS: For descriptions of open board positions - elected or appointed, please click here: https://bit.ly/GAAPApositions

• NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN - Please nominate yourself by submitting your name and brief paragraph introducing yourself and mentioning your skills for the position. To submit your name for the 2022-2023 GAAPA Board, please fill out this form: https://bit.ly/GAAPABoard

• OTHER WAYS TO BE INVOLVED: If interested in volunteering for events or heading up a specific event, please fill out this form: https://bit.ly/GAAPAInterest

ELECTION TIMELINE:

• Nominations Timeline: Board position nominations extended until Sunday, May 29 evening.

• Elections: The online elections for Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer and Secretary open Wednesday, June 1 and close, Saturday, June 4.

• Announce: New elected board will be announced on Monday, June 6.

• New Board: First meeting(s) will in June - in person or online.

We look forward to welcoming you and meeting new people!

GAA Parent Association

Congratulations to the Varsity Boys Basketball and Girls Soccer teams for earning a trip to the finals of the Abu Dhabi Sports Champions League Finals.

The Boys Basketball team put in a valiant effort…falling just short of AIS Abu Dhabi by the score of 32-30. The Wildcats were led by seniors Ahmed Alshehhi and Luke Poteete.

The Girls Soccer team beat Emirates Falcon from All Ain by a score of 3-0 with goals by Tamara Atari, Mia Lindborg, and Renate Bonesana.

With their victory the girls earned an all expenses week-long training opportunity at the Manchester City training facility in Manchester, England. CONGRATULATIONS LADIES!

We are so proud of all of our athletes at GAA for their hard work, dedication and determination!

Another year is almost over! But memories will remain forever! Get your copy of 2021-2022 Yearbook from Main Reception.

• If you have pre-paid earlier this year, please show proof of payment to collect your copy.

• If you wish to buy now, please pay AED 175 at Accounts Office room 9 and collect your copy from Main Reception.

Next week, on Thursday June 2nd come and join us on THE GRAND WALK! You can join us at any time between 7 – 8:30pm to walk around the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque (and earn House Points while you are at it).

See the flyers below for more details, and please invite your family and friends to join us!

If you missed school photoshoot or sibling photoshoot, Stu Williamson Photography is now offering it on following dates in Abu Dhabi:

• June 11 & 12th

• June 18 & 19th

You can book your slot directly via following link: http://www.stu.ae/mix-abu-dhabi-schools

Here is the link with the location (which will also show in the booking link): https://goo.gl/maps/gDj8XLfGwriA9TDs9

Please note that any Lost and Found items not picked up by Friday, July 1st will be discarded and uniforms will be donated to Used Uniform Shop (courtesy of GAA Parent Association).

Please check-in with Reception regarding any valuables.

Thank you!

• June 1-4: GAAPA Board 2022-2023 Online Elections

• June 2: The Grand Mosque Walk for All GAA Community

• June 27-28: PYP Exhibition

• June 22-23: KG2 Promotion Ceremonies @8:00AM

• June 23: Grade 8 Promotion Ceremony @10:30AM

• June 30: Grade 5 Promotion Ceremony

• July 1: Last Day of School & Final Reports Come Out!