From the Head of School
Our Preschool students have been engaged these past few weeks in a very exciting, and hands on unit on farms. Students have been wondering and learning about how things grow and change. This had led to a variety of great inquiry based activities from planting to milking, and the students are very excited to see the eggs hatch that they have been incubating in the classroom. According to a calculation by Preschool Director and teacher, Miss Mary, this will happen on Monday. Look for exciting pictures in the next week’s COMPASS.
Yesterday we have heard some very encouraging news from the Center of Disease Control. According to the CDC, mask wearing in most cases is no longer necessary for people who have been vaccinated. This is a great development, but at GPS we will continue to wear masks even if we are vaccinated. It is important to be good role models for our students and we ask all parents to continue to wear masks when coming to the school. During the month of May and into the last days of school in June, we are focusing on two IB Learner Profiles. One is that of being a thinker. Students who are thinkers exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions. In our classrooms, every day, we see that our IB students contribute to discussions in a meaningful way. They do not shy away from challenging questions and, once they know the answer, follow up by asking “why?” At home, parents can help to develop students who are thinkers in the following ways:
Encourage your child to engage in pretend play, children are naturally curious and imaginative.
Pause and wait...give your child time to think for him/herself, be patient.
Don't intervene immediately, it's okay to let your child explore on their own.
Ask open-ended questions.
Help children develop hypotheses.
Encourage your child to retell stories, put on plays with story props.
Leave time for unstructured play.
Encourage your child to play and explore outside.
Let your child experience failure, and then let him/her figure out how to turn their failure into a positive learning experience.
The following website has a list of picture books to promote independent thinkers:
One of the consequences of this year’s COVID pandemic, and the resulting safety measures, was the closing of the library to student use. For the 2021-22 school year we will re-open the library. Historically, we have had a team of parent volunteers work in the library to help with its running. We are looking to re-constitute our library volunteer team for the fall. If you would like to help out in the library and have a morning or two free, please send a note to office@gpsschool.org.
Middle School Production of the Lion King All GPS families are invited to the Middle School production of the Lion King that will take place on May 27 at 5:00 pm under the tent in the GPS parking lot. To attend, you must sign up so that we can organize suitable seating arrangements. Look for a special email next week. In the meantime, mark your calendars.