Welcome to Gig Harbor Academy's newly designed weekly newsletter!  There are many different people that make up a school....parents, teachers, grandparents, and administration, but the students are the common focus for all.  There are boundless extraordinary learning opportunities at GHA and our Thursday's weekly newsletter will be the gateway to and documentation of those experiences.  We look forward to providing you with many weeks of fun stories, up to date event information, links to local community happenings, and much more.  This is an exciting new venture for GHA to keep constant connections open between home and school, which will in turn create better experiences for the students, who are......The Common Link.  

Our very own art specialist, Lisa Mellinger, is one of many artists being featured at the 8th Annual Juried Exhibition located on TCC's Tacoma Campus!  The exhibit has been running since September 15 and will continue until October 15.  The Gallery is open Monday through Friday 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM and admission is free.  To access The Gallery, use the entrance just off South 12th Street between Pearl and Mildred Streets.  For more information, please call 253-460-4306. 

Back To The Top

Our very own GHA parent Devon Raney, father of Madrona Raney and Cross Country Team Co-Captain, has written and published his first children's book, "The Adventures of Jake Skater."  He was recently third grade's mystery reader where he shared his book to the class.  There was an article featuring Devon in the October 6th edition of the Peninsula Gateway. Devon will be signing copies of his book at Mostly Books, located at 3126 Harborview Drive in Gig Harbor, on October 16 from 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM.

Click on the above image to see the Peninsula Gateway article.      

Fifth graders buried "dinosaur bones" for the kindergarteners to dig up in the school's first archeological dig of the year. The young kindergartner paleontologists carefully dug up their treasures and then cleaned them with brushes. With the help of their fifth grade buddies, they mapped the location of where each artifact was found. 

There will be several other archeological digs throughout the year, all with the help of the fifth graders.  The first graders will dig up ancient egyptian artifacts and Mr. Funk will bury colonial relics for the fifth grade class.

Camp Orkila was a 4 day/3 night field trip for GHA fourth grade students.  They traveled by car and ferry to beautiful Orcas Island in the San Juans.  While at camp, students studied salmon, learned survival skills, and went on a night hike.  Camp Orkila was a great opportunity for students to learn about their own strengths and practice communicating with others.  Thank you to Christina Hitchcock, Brandon's mom, for providing the fourth grade class with the Camp Orkila shirts. 

Click on image to see more pictures of the fourth grade at Camp Orkila.   

Friday, October 8

Professional Development Day

Monday, October 11 - Friday, October 15

SFN's first community service project will be for Gigh Harbor's FISH Food Bank.  The fifth grade class will be collecting food from October 11th through the 15th.  Please drop off all donations to their classroom.  During Math Night, there will be money jars in each classroom for those who choose to give monetary gifts.  Items that are most needed are:

• Non perishables such as juice, canned fruit, vegetables, baked beans, coffee, spaghetti, Top Ramen, sugar, flour, dry cereal, etc. 
• Personal hygiene items such as shampoo, deodorant, razors, etc.
• Household cleaning items like dish soap, laundry soap, etc.
• Baby products of all varieties, but especially diapers.    

Please click on the image above for more information about this SFN Community Service Project and others to come. 

Back To The Top

Tuesday, October 12

5:00 PM 

Wednesday, October 13

Approximately 9:30 AM
Don't forget to bring your current photos to Molly if you are planning on getting retakes. 

Thursday, October 14 - After School

Enjoy an after school treat of popcorn and lemonade provided by the kindergarten class for only $1!  Proceeds from their popcorn sales help support GHA.  Last year, they raised enough money to purchase four Flip Video Cameras for the faculty to share and then some of the proceeds helped finance the rental of a scanner from Renaissance Learning. The scanner enables the school to label the classroom and library books with the Accelerated Reader points and reading levels.  The kindergarten class plans to hopefully raise enough money this year to purchase some web cams for the faculty.  GHA certainly appreciates everyone's support in this project.  THANK YOU!

Back To The Top

Thursday, October 14

6:30-7:30 PM

Join us for a fun-filled evening for the entire school, all about math!  Hosted by GHA Faculty & Staff, kids will be able to explore the many concepts of math at their own level with hands-on engaging activities.  This will be a don't miss evening for all preschoolers through 5th graders and their parents. 

Click on image to the right for a detailed flyer about this exciting event. 

Wednesday, October 21

Hosted by Third Grade Families
Enjoy yummy snacks for $1 each. 

Click on the image to the right for the entire year's schedule and an order form to purchase a $20 punch card. 

Monday, October 25 - Friday, October 29
Fall Book Fair is coming soon!  Mark your calendars and be sure to support our book fair October 25th to 29th.  The fair will be open every day including before and after school and we will have special hours the night of Pumpkin Carve (Friday, October 29th).  Thank you for your support.  Reading is fun and sharing a good book with your child is always a great experience. 

Click on the above image for all the details including information on volunteering.

 Back To The Top

Last year GHA implemented the Accelerated Reader Program, which is a curriculum-based assessment tool that provides a summary and analysis of results to enable teachers to monitor both the quantity and quality of reading practice engaged in by their students.  Students administer comprehension tests voluntarily themselves, and the system is intended specifically to have strong formative effects on subsequent learning.  This is a wonderful tool that all of our teachers are embracing.  To help in the selection of the right book we are in the process of labeling our classroom books with detailed information that will help our students use the AR program with ease.  We have rented a labeling system and need your help in completing this task by October 22, 2010.  If you are able to help with this process please sign-up in the office.

Back To The Top 

Click on image above to be sent to the Kids' Fest website.

Sunday, October 31

4:00 PM 

Little ghosts and goblins come from all around town for a safe "Trick or Treat" event.  Downtown merchants give out treats, while families have a Happy Halloween. 

Each name is a link to that person's email.

Bruce Shoup

Head of School

Paul Hoover

Business Officer

Niki Vanderford

Director of Admissions & Marketing

Donna Hanenburg

Adminstrative Assistant

Diana Nold

 Preschool Teacher

Carolyn Von Zimmerman

Pre-Kindergarten Teacher

Pat Felton & Sheila Walther

Kindergarten Teachers

JoAnn Johnson

First Grade Teacher
 

Amber Holland

Second Grade Teacher

Eileen Perry
Third Grade Teacher

Kallie Grochowski

Fourth Grade Teacher
 

Jeff Funk

Fifth Grade Teacher

Xinia Agee & Ilene Wider

Spanish 

Jenny Buys

Technology

Megan Johnson

Physical Education

Lisa Mellinger

Art

Lynn Swanson

Music

Back to Top