GHA bid a fond farewell to Luke (3rd) and Maddy (5th) Golden as they head out with their family to Liberia, Africa for the next four months.  The Golden family will be experiencing many exciting adventures and they will be posting Facebook updates, blogs and will have a Skype account so all of us can follow their trip and keep in contact with them. Bon Voyage Golden Family!

Gig Harbor Academy is the winner of the school prize for the Safety is NO Accident: Live Injury Free contest presented by Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One, along with Safe Kids Pierce County, Key Peninsula Fire and the Gig Harbor Firefighters Association. Gig Harbor Academy  had the greatest percentage participation of students for all the schools in the Peninsula School District and will be awarded $500 to use toward the purchase of safety related products for the school.

Special thanks goes to P.E. teacher, Megan Johnson, for getting all GHA students involved in this contest!

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Math Connects, GHA's core math curriculum, was included in the State Board of Education's review and was one out of only two programs that were recommended for Elementary Grades    K-5. It also received top scores in Washington States Superintendent's Report (click here). Math Connects offers an online resource for families and students to do activities that will extend math concepts and skills. If you haven't already, check it out by clicking on the above image or the quick link to the left. 

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Big Wide World - 3 Spots Left

July 5-8

9 AM-Noon

Grades K - 2

Geography, Adventure and Culture!

Our Place in Space - 2 Spots Left

July 11-15

9 AM - Noon 

Grades K - 2

Explore the universe and our place in space!

Arts & Crafts - 2 Spots Left

July 25-28

9 AM - Noon

Ages 3 - 5

Express yourself through handmade art!

Summer Camp registration is now open to the public. Be sure to register soon to secure your first choice spots in our camps.  

Summer Camp Registration Forms

Summer Camp Medical Form 

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Wednesday Cooperative Meetings

 Our teachers are meeting during the lunch & recess hours every Wednesday through the end of May in order to work collegially as cluster groups as we prepare to complete our self-study work for the PNAIS accreditation visit next school year.

These meetings address topics such as curricular integration across grade levels, the role of information services in the classroom, how critical thinking skills are observed and measured and much more. Faculty requested these additional times to meet as our twice monthly faculty meetings are devoted to operational planning. We thank the various volunteers who have joined with the office staff and aides to cover lunch and recess monitoring during these weekly lunch meetings! 

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Last Chance For Little & Big Kids Night Out

Openings For Camp Out at Bryant's Farm Remain

The Gig Harbor Arbor Day committee awarded GHA third grader, Samantha Dainty, with first place for her winning essay about her love of trees for this year's Arbor Day celebration. Samantha and her teacher, Mrs. Perry, won a $25 gift certificate from Mostly Books, Samantha also read her essay in front of an audience at the Arbor Day celebration on April 16th.

 Congratulations Samantha!

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Scientists from Harbor Wildwatch brought sea life from the Puget Sound to campus in touch tanks for 3rd through 5th grade students to experience up-close-and-personal. Students learned a lot about the habits of the animals and how they all work together in the ecosystem.   

About Harbor Wildwatch:

Harbor Wildwatch is a local grassroots 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to environmental education in Gig Harbor and the Key Peninsula, our goal is to inform children and area residents about their marine environment and inspire them to protect and preserve the wealth of our natural resources. 

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Ms. Holland's 2nd grade class had a wonderful afternoon launching their rockets on the soccer field Thursday afternoon. The excitement brought the entire school outside on a warmer-than-usual day.

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Wednesday and Thursday was "Beach Day" for students in Preschool. Children came to school in their beach attire, they "surfed", did the limbo and many more fun beach-themed activities.  Although the weather has been chilly, everyone had a lot of fun at the beach!  

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Friday, April 22

This Friday, GHA students will celebrate and join in activities for Earth Day. Most classes will begin the day with a reading of "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss and beginning at 2 PM classes will plant trees and conduct a campus clean-up. There will be a special "colors" gathering at 3 PM, please join us!  

Mrs.Grochowski's Fourth Grade class got a head start on the campus clean-up today. Fourth grade students have been working on clearing up brush and scotch broom along the play field near the driveway.  

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April 25 - 29

We hope everyone has a fun and safe Spring Break!  

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May 2-May 6

SFN will be showering GHA teachers with tokens of appreciation all week long.

If you are able to help with Teacher Appreciation activities, please contact Cristina McDougall.

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Wednesday, May 4

9:00 AM ~ GHA Library  

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Thursday, May 5

For $1.00 you can purchase yummy treats provided by the prekindergarten students of Gig Harbor Academy. Proceeds go to support GHA!

Click the image to download Snack Sale Schedule & Punch Card Purchasing Form.

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Friday, May 6

12:00-3:00 PM

Get ready for a fiesta! Senora Agee & Senora Wider proudly present a day to celebrate Spanish language and Latin culture throughout the world. Prekindergarten through 5th grade students will be treated to a lunch of Mexican "comida" from Puerto Vallarta Restaurante at noon (so no need to bring a lunch that day) and the festivities will begin around 12:45 with singing, dancing, soccer and skits. Parents are welcome to join us at 12:30. 

Partido de Futbol: Remember to sign up for the "Partido de Futbol" (soccer game)! Sign up sheets are outside of each classroom.

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Saturday, May 7

Truman M.S. - Tacoma

8:00 AM - 2:30 PM

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Tuesday, May 10

After School - 4:30 PM

Coach Abbie Bushley is ready to get kids excited for the Kids' Dash, Run for Fun Summer Camp and GHA Cross Country! She'll be on campus Tuesday, May 10 to lead a practice run and training on the GHA play field and fitness trail, much like a typical cross country practice.  

Any student interested in joining coach Abbie for this 45-minute run workout needs to sign up in the office by Monday, May 9, or you can email Leigh Ann.  

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Thursday, May 12

Afterschool During Pick Up

Proceeds of the popcorn sale go to support GHA!

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Saturday, May 14

8:30 AM

Goodman Middle School

Join GHA Technology teacher, Jenny Buys, and her friends for a community event to raise money for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) at Kid's Dash for Micah's Miracle. This event is a kid's dash to benefit Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy's: "Run for our Sons".

Register for the race online by April 29th!

$15 covers race registration and a t-shirt. All children participating in the event are encouraged to raise sponsorships for this event. Prizes will be awarded to the top fund raisers!  

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Saturday May 14 or May 21

9:00-3:00 PM

Families with chain saws, brush cutters, limb loppers and other heavy-duty landscaping tools are needed to help with a campus and woodland clean-up. 

The day will begin with a meeting over coffee and doughnuts to assess the projects at hand. We will be clearing overgrown areas, pulling invasive brush and generally grooming the woodland area surrounding the GHA campus.

If you can help and have tools that you can bring, please contact Paul Hoover  as soon as possible.   

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Tuesday, May 17

Grades K - 5

Grandparents/ Special Friends Day is a fun-filled opportunity for grandparents and other friends and family to learn about your child's education and enrichment at Gig Harbor Academy. A form went home this week for you or your child to fill out with the name and address of the person that you would like to invite to come to school on May 17. Please return this form by May 2 so that we can send out a special invite!

And don't forget about that evening...

Gig Harbor Academy Music Festival  

Gig Harbor High School

6:00 PM - Preschool

7:00 PM - Prek - 5th Grade

May 16-20

GHA Library 

GHA's 4th graders have been trying to remain screen-free during "screen-free week", a national celebration where children, families and schools promise to turn off entertainment screen media (TV, computers, handheld devices, etc.) to promote healthy lifestyle changes and devoting seven days to reading, daydreaming, and playing outside.  

Teaching Toys, Too in Gig Harbor also supports screen-free week efforts and has a promotion going on for the month of April. Teaching Toys, Too is offering a $10 gift certificate for each child who successfully remains screen-free for seven days in April. All parents need to do is sign a written statement saying that children remained screen free for seven days.  

Learn more about Screen-free week on Teaching Toys Facebook page.

Interesting Facts:

Although the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends zero screen time for children under two years of age, and less than two hours a day for older children; the average preschooler spends 32 hours a week in front of a screen. That number only gets higher as the child gets older.   

For the younger set, 40% of three-month old infants are regular viewers of screen media, and 19% of babies under one year have a television in their room.  Before a child is school age, they will have seen 25,000 television commercials a year.   

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Saturday, April 23

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Discovery Village