Good Day GAA families,

We have had a great September and are in full swing with academics, after school activities, and experiences that promote well-being and the whole child. Please take a few moments to learn about some new procedures and reacquaint yourselves with some procedures in place related to attendance and communication.

Attendance

Students are marked tardy at 7:45. If students arrive between 7:45 and 8:00 they will receive a late notice slip and report directly to homeroom to be marked tardy by the homeroom teacher. At 8:00, all late arrivals will be processed at the reception.

Arriving on time is a critical start to the learning day and we need your help. Please adjust your routines to allow all our learners to start the day on the right foot by arriving on time and ready to learn. Early outs and taking your children out of class is discouraged and also effects the learning day in a negative way. Please keep your children in class until the end of the day.

Late Dismissals

KG and Primary students are dismissed at 2:45. The QR code outside allows for a swift and safe handoff for our families and students. Please use the QR code outside and be on time for 2:45 dismissal.

3:00 - All students are moved to the cafeteria and be collected there until 3:15pm. Siblings and adults escoring children from the cafeteria are asked to collect them on time.

3:15 - All students remaining 30 minutes after dismissal are taken to the reception to be supervised by security. There are no staff/teachers on duty for supervision after 3:15pm. Please work with our school to ensure your children arrive home on time and safely.

Communication related to Seesaw:

The SeeSaw Learning Journal is a great way for students to reflect on their learning and share their successes and challenges with family. One other great feature is the ‘Announcement’ section that teachers use to share classwide, important notices and reminders. As parents/guardians, we ask that you try to help us with the communication. To this end, please:

• SeeSaw is not for for personal, one-on-one communication about your child

• SeeSaw is not the platform to communicate issues or problems

• Refrain from posting comments to teachers (especially specialists) on seesaw.

• SeeSaw is not how to report student absences or other attendance related issues

Thank you for your continued support of our mission, teachers, and teams that support your children each day! Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Leia Kraeuter

Elementary Principal

In the story The Dot by Peter Reynolds, a little girl named Vashti is convinced that she can’t do art. Her teacher gently encourages her to begin with a single dot and her creativity takes flight. This story celebrates the creative spirit in everyone. GAA celebrated International Dot day on Friday, September 16th. Students got a change to make their own ‘mark’ on the school and release their own creative potential through self-expression. In classes, students participated in different activities to showcase their artistic abilities and dressed to impress with creative ‘dots’ of their own.

Sincerely,

Lauren Sargent Alkhalifa

VP Pk-2

In KG 1 A this week, we have had so much fun. We started our exploration into phonemes, looking at the letter ‘S’. We worked with our name study, starting with ‘Santiago’ and learning the first sound of his name. We have been working on our number sense and exploring what numbers 1-5 look like. We sang, danced and celebrated one of our friends, Deema, on her 5th birthday. It’s been a great week and we are excited to dive into our learning again next week!

This week in KG2 has been full of learning! Students have been engaged in writing and reading activities that focus on the relationships that they have. We have learned a lot about what it means to be a good friend and classmate, how to write our friend’s names, and spent time communicating about what makes us the same and different! Students have enjoyed exploring new spaces like classroom libraries and our interactive whiteboard.

This week the students of grade 2F have been exploring how to write small moment stories. The aim of small moment stories is to write about one moment or experience and include a clear beginning, middle and end to the stories.

The students began with the beginning of the stories by using a transition word to open the story. Pictures were also added to give further detail to the small moment story.

Each day the students took on a new part of the story which culminated with a first finished piece of writing at the end of the week. The students have worked tremendously hard on the writing this week and we look forward to continuing to develop our writing skills throughout the year.

Dear GAA Elementary Family,

It has been a great start to the 2022-2023 school year! The administration, faculty, and staff are looking forward to an outstanding school year and we know it will be the best one yet! We are ready for the awesome task of preparing all students to be successful. We ask that you join us in this amazing endeavor of ensuring our students are college and career ready for the challenges to come.

The year will be filled with numerous learning opportunities for our students, as well as the parents. Join forces with us and support student achievement in every way possible. It is our goal to provide excellent services to the community in which we serve and to meet the needs of all students. We promote collaboration and continue to seek ways to improve our services to you.

Your feedback is important to us in achieving our mission as a school that promotes a culture of trust and kindness. Therefore, we solicit your suggestions for school improvement and encourage you to stop by, join in, and share your ideas with us at any time. We look forward to an exciting new year of continued collaboration that will make for an outstanding school community.

Thank you for all that you do, and will continue to do, for the students at GAA!

Sincerely,

Douglas Sherrill

Upper ES Vice Principal

Greetings from 4C!

There were exciting math lessons going on in the 4th grade this week. Mr. James McGlynn opened his classroom this week to share some exciting activities with 4 digit number lines and estimation.

A number line is a pictorial representation of numbers on a straight line. It’s a reference for comparing and ordering numbers. It can be used to represent any real number that includes every whole number and natural number. Writing numbers on a number line makes it easier to compare the numbers. It is also a great tool for practicing estimates.

Number lines are carefully prepared to improve learner's proficiency in recognizing and representing number systems in an effective way! A number line model makes an ideal tool to understand the concept of fundamental math operations. These operations include an assortment of topics like identifying whole numbers, estimation, integers, fractions, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division using number lines and more!

The students in Mr. James’ class got physically involved by creating a number line in the front of the class with each student representing a different 1000. Then the students used their white boards to practice the 4 digit number line estimation further.

We look forward to more exciting classes coming out of 4C all year!!

Dear Grades 1-5 Parents,

From September 26th to October 14th your child is scheduled to take tests called Measures of Academic Progress™ (MAP). MAP Growth scores help teachers check student performance by measuring achievement and growth. Teachers use results to tailor classroom lessons and set goals for students.

MAP Growth tests are unique, and it adapts to your child’s responses to measure your child’s skill level. If your child answers a question correctly, the next question is more challenging. If they answer incorrectly, the next one is easier. These results will provide a more complete picture of what your child knows and is ready to learn—whether it is on, above, or below their grade level.

Since MAP Growth tests provide immediate and accurate information about your child’s learning, it’s easy for teachers to identify students with similar scores that are generally ready for instruction in similar skills and topics, and then plan instruction accordingly.

MAP Growth reports also provide typical growth data for students who are in the same grade, subject and have the same starting performance level. This school year, students in grades 1 to 5 take the tests. Following each testing period, you will receive a Family Report showing a summary of how your child is performing academically.

Science

We are excited to also have science tests for Grades 3,4, & 5. These tests, along with other teacher created assessments will help us analyze your child’s learning. With this information in hand, we will plan your child’s learning program.

Grade Levels and testing requirements

• Grade 1: 2 tests MAP Growth: Reading and Math

• Grade 2: 3 tests MAP Growth: Reading, Math and Language

• Grades 3-5: 4 tests MAP Growth: Reading, Math, Language and General Science

For more information about MAP Growth, visit Family Tool Kit

For information about the MAP test in Arabic, Korean and other languages please see this LINK

The PYP Library on the 1st floor is open from 7:30 to 3:15.

Parents can come at drop off, or after pick up from 2:45 – 3:15 to borrow books. Please collect your child first, before coming to the library.

• September 26- October 7: MAP Testing (Grades 1-5)

• September 30: Elementary Dress Down Day. Theme: Crazy Hair Day

• October 17-19: Mid-term Break (no school)