Counselor Corner

News from our Secondary Counselors

Yvette Cuenco

Middle School Counsellor

(grades 6-8)

Kimyanna Bradford

High School Counsellor

(student last names A-D)

Lynn Brown

High School Counsellor

(student last names E-Z)

Greetings from the GAA Counseling Team,

In an effort to stay connected during our distance learning time, we are offering virtual counseling sessions/parent meetings from 8:00-3:00 PM Sunday to Thursday. Please email your counselor to book an appointment. The meeting platform we use is Google Hangouts. Students will need to login using their GAA email address. For parents and students who request meetings - counselors will send a Hangouts invitation to join the meeting.

Ms. Bradford, HS Counselor (Last names A-D) - k.bradford_gaa@gemsedu.com
Ms. Brown, HS Counselor (Last names E-Z) - l.brown2_gaa@gemsedu.com
Ms. Cuenco, MS Counselor - y.cuenco_gaa@gemsedu.com

We look forward to working with you!

Virtual Coffee with the Secondary Counsellors -

Sign up link: https://bit.ly/2SvTenI

GAA Secondary Parent Coffee: Monday, May 11 @ 11Am

Join our Secondary GAA counselors & special guest Ms. Bene Katabua(therapist at KidsFirst) for a virtual parent coffee: "The Adolescent Brain: Supporting Your Teens & Tweens". We will be discussing the developmental changes our students experience from the ages of 9-18 and strategies to support them at home and at school.

If you are interested in joining us, please sign-up here to receive an invitation to the Google Hangouts Meet. Invitations are limited to the first 40 parents to sign-up. Should there be greater interest, we will explore scheduling an additional session.

Middle School Wellbeing Activities

Distance learning has now been extended to the end of the year as has the extended community quarantine plans throughout many locations around the world. The lack of access to offline activities such as parks, pools, gyms, or sports can be cause for concern. During this time it is important for students and their families to try to maintain some balance. Here are some great wellbeing activities for students and the whole family to try at home!

Mind Yeti - Mindfulness exercises for the whole family

ParenTeen Connect - videos, resources, and useful advice to help teens and the adults in their lives address hot-button topics.

Social Emotional Learning Activities - middle school wellness and social emotional activities similar to Advisory activities and can be adapted for use at home with your families

Accomplishment Box - fun hands-on activity for students and parents to celebrate their accomplishments while distance learning

Apps that Encourage Outdoor Activities - list of apps compiled by Common Sense Media that encourage students to get outside

Message from

IB Department

The class of 2020 IB Scholars will mark as part of their academic journey being part of the historic decision to not offer World Exams. This is the first time since its 1968 inception that this decision has had to be made. Although not made hastily, the IB has moved forward with developing a process by which students will still be able to earn their Diploma or Certificate. Our scholars and instructors have met the news with resilience and a commitment to excel. The IB instructors and scholars have worked with renewed purpose to make sure that the data that is submitted for scoring as a means of awarding their IB Diploma/Certificates is polished and best reflects their abilities – all while working in a virtual classroom.

I have had the opportunity to participate in some of their classes and it has been such a joy to see them exhibiting many of the IB Learner Profiles – knowledgeable, inquirers, principled, open minded and caring. Students have been advised that their work will not go in vain, the IB will score their internal assessments in a holistic manner, and have all submissions scored by IB examiners versus applying moderation from the teachers. Additional historical data from previous scoring sessions, the school’s historical data, and predicted grades will also be taken in consideration in a desire to holistically support the work that our students have completed.

Pursuing an IB curriculum was never solely about preparing for the World Exams. The pedagogical foundation for our curriculum is predicated upon real world principles as aligned in each of the disciplines plus Core of the programme. Our IB scholars continue to embrace the challenge of garnering further education to support their future university endeavors. Teachers continue to engage their scholars and make connections to real world data in their disciplines. Moving forward virtual instruction will align with further preparing scholars to study at the university level.

IB faculty and the GEMS Administration salute our IB scholars on their continued academic commitment and successes.

Monica Martin

IBDP Coordinator

email: m.martin1_gaa@gemsedu.com

Virtual Universities Fairs and Information:

Although High Schools as well as Colleges/Universities are instituting health and safety measures, this does not mean you no longer have access to resources that will help you continue your university research. Please know that many schools have webinars, chats and virtual campus tours available on their webpages. There are also some institutions that are creating additional platforms to help you in your research. Click on the link below to explore a Three day University Fair that includes Universities/Colleges from around the world!

https://explore.cialfo.co/webinar

I will continue to post information on a wide variety of areas related to College/University applications so check on your G10-11 College and Career Class Pages often.

Take care,

Your Counselors

Class of 2020 College Acceptances

Please help us celebrate acceptances to the following institutions:

United Kingdom

Cardiff Metropolitan University
Cardiff University
Keele University
Kingston University London
London College of Fashion
London Metropolitan University
London South Bank University
Middlesex University
Newcastle University
Nottingham Trent University
Regent’s University London
Royal Holloway University of London
SOAS University of London
The University of Law
University of Aberdeen
University of Bath
University of Birmingham
University of Brighton
University of Central Lancashire
University of Dundee
University of Exeter
University of Essex
University of Glasgow
University of Kent
University of Leeds
University of Lincoln
University of Liverpool
University of Nottingham
University of Reading
University of Saint Andrews
University of Salford Manchester
University of Sheffield
University of Southampton
University of Strathclyde
University of Surrey
University of Warwick
University of Westminster

Canada

Carleton University
Dalhousie University
Mount Allison University
University of Alberta
University of Calgary
University of Guelph
University of Guelph Humber
University of Saskatchewan
University of Toronto
Vancouver Academy of Dramatic Arts
York University

Asia

Chinese University of Hong Kong
City University of Hong Kong
Singapore University of Social Sciences
Seoul National University
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Europe

Eindhoven University of Technology
Humanitas University, Italy
KU Leuven, Belgium
Maastricht University
Palacky University, Czech Republic
University of Navarra, Spain
Tilburg University, Netherlands
Universidad Europea, Spain
University of Groningen
University of Nicosia, Cyprus
University of Twente, Netherlands

United States

Arizona State University
California State Polytechnic- Pomona
Carthage College
Central Washington University
Daytona State University
Depaul University
Fordham University
George Mason University
Houston Baptist University
Illinois Institute of Technology
Kalamazoo College
Lawrence University
Michigan State University
New York University
Pacific University Oregon
Pennsylvania State University
Princeton University
Purdue University
Rochester Institute of Technology
Sam Houston State University
Savannah College of Art & Design
Syracuse University
Temple University
Texas A & M
University of Arizona
University of Buffalo
University of California Davis
University of California Riverside
University of Cincinnati
University of Colorado Boulder
University of Houston
University of La Verne
University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of New Mexico
University of Texas at San Antonio
University of Virginia
University of Washington Bothell
University of Washington Seattle
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Washington State University
Western Michigan University

Middle East

American University of Beirut
American University Cairo
American University Dubai
American University of Sharjah
Canadian University Dubai
Dubai Institute of Design & Innovation
Emirates Aviation University
German International University Egypt
Heriot-Watt University Dubai
Higher Colleges of Technology Abu Dhabi
Khalifa University
Koc University, Turkey
Middlesex University Dubai
New York University Abu Dhabi
RCSI Bahrain
Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi
University of South Wales Dubai
Zayed University of Abu Dhabi

Coping w/ COVID-19: Useful Tips & Resources!

Your school counselors have put together the following resources for students and parents. The wakelet will be updated regularly with useful tips and resources so please bookmark it to check back often!

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