KG & Elementary

With thanks,

Mike Hopaluk

Elementary Principal

email: esprincipal_gaa@gemsedu.com

I would like to extend a very warm welcome back to our Grade One and Two community!

After such a long absence from school it has been truly wonderful to see students in the halls and classrooms again. It is heartening to see the students engaged in learning and smiling with their teachers and peers once again. My hope is that you have enjoyed some wonderful family time over the summer break and throughout lockdown. I also hope that you and your children are excited about getting back to school, seeing friends, and diving back into some exciting learning. We always love to hear about all the great things our students did over the summer holiday, and are amazed at how much they have grown.

Thank you to all parents for all of your support and dedication of the school through this difficult period. The school empathizes with parents and recognizes the challenges they face when trying to support their children’s education in partnership with the school whilst also balancing work obligations. This approach to education is new for all of us and it will continue to evolve and improve as we move forward and learn what works best. In these unprecedented times we are all continuing to adapt and seek ways in which we can support each other. We are all in this together and appreciated the resilience we are continuing to display as we pull together as a community of mutual support. Thank you for your understanding, patience and support.

At this time of the year I am reminded of the wonderful book ‘First Day Jitters’ by Julie Dannenberg. This book playfully highlights how we can all feel excited and perhaps a little apprehensive on our first days of school and focuses on how we can all help each other to feel more comfortable when settling in. The main message is about how good it can make us feel to do nice things for other people, and I look forward to sharing it with classes again in the coming weeks.

I look forward to a positive school year as we assimilate ourselves with ‘new normal’.

Joe Aldus

Elementary Vice Principal

4C has started the year fantastically. We have settled in to new routines very quickly and are showing real flexibility, innovation and problem solving skills in our daily learning. It has been fantastic to welcome our full time online students into the class to connect with us via live Google Meets for our lessons.

We are learning about realistic fiction in our literacy currently and enjoying our read aloud story of Tiger Rising.

In UOI we are focusing on what it means to be a responsible digital citizen.

We are learning new ways to connect and collaborate with each other using social distancing. Pictured are Leyan and Adam working hard at their new individualized learning spaces.

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