From the Head of School
This week saw the return of all of the Lower School classes. The GPS campus is again buzzing with activity in the classrooms and on the playgrounds, and the excitement has been felt by all. The news of our return to on-campus instruction has also been heard by the greater community, and this week we welcomed seven new students to the school. We now look forward to seeing our Middle School students when their on-campus classes start this coming Monday. Students who are not able to return to campus are continuing with remote learning and participate with their classmates and teachers online.
5th Grade Exhibition Unit Begins
Our 5th grade class wasted no time in gearing up for their next unit of inquiry, which is the highlight of the year, and indeed the entire Primary Years Program. This is the Exhibition Unit, where students work in small groups to pick a topic that they are interested in, carry out research and present their findings to classmates and parents at the end of the unit. Each group has a mentor that guides the group in their work and meets with them a couple of times each week to check on progress. As such, this becomes a community endeavor with various members of the GPS faculty and staff involved in the mentoring.
2021-2022 School Calendar
We are now ready to share our school calendar for 2021-22. The GPS campus will be open for classes on Wednesday, August 25 and the school year will run through to Friday June 3rd, 2022. Here is the complete calendar.
Learner Profile for March
In all of our classes this month we will focus on the attribute of being ‘principled’. As defined by the IB, students who are principled act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them. Universities and colleges have found that in general, IB students are infused with the academic integrity that is a fundamental value of post-secondary education.
Parents can help to develop students who are principled at home. Here are some things you can do:
Connect behavior to character.
Provide opportunities for your child to make their own decisions, discuss the consequences of their decisions.
Read and tell stories in which the story characters demonstrate making principled decisions.
Discuss how being principled is life long commitment and well sought after as a characteristic to have.
Here you can find some good books on integrity and being principled.
End of Trimester and Parent Teacher Conferences
Today is the last day of the 2nd trimester. Report cards will be sent to you this coming Thursday so that you will have them as a focus for discussion at the parent-teacher conferences, which take place next week. Please remember that the school day will end at noon on Thursday, March 11th and we be closed all day Friday, March 12th for the conference schedule.
Student Council News
8th Grade Community Project
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