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Weekly Newsletter
August 26, 2010
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First Grade Commencement
Starting Grade 1 is a truly exciting and  memorable experience at GAIS. Our traditional
Grade One Commencement ceremony took place on a hot Tuesday morning with all of
the students in the Elementary School participating and eager to welcome their
new friends. There was also a large crowd of happy parents and relatives
on hand to witness this important moment and see the joy in the faces of their
children. As has now become a part of our tradition, we were pleased to have a
team of fire fighters from our local Menlo
Park station with us to give out the Schultüte. Each first grader was introduced into the
community and given a welcome card and a flower by a friend in Grade 2. Thanks
to our Grade 2 teachers, Janet Roitsch and Barbara Bensen, for preparing their
students. Following an exciting picture taking session in front of the fire
truck, the students were lead to their new classes by Grade 1 teachers Luise Genzinger and Claudia
Gruber. We all wish our Grade 1 students a wonderful year of
friendship, learning and discovery.
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News from the Head of School
GAIS joins Small Schools Intermediate League
This
year our Middle School has grown from 23 to 33 
students with even more on the
way. Thanks to this continued growth, and true to what was promised to our
students and parents last year, GAIS has officially joined the Small Schools Intermediate
League (SSIL) which has been operating sports and athletics events in the Peninsula for many years. This is made up of small private schools that
have a middle school enrollment of less than 200. Some of the schools involved in the league
are Gideon Hausner in Palo Alto, Bowman in Palo Alto, Charles Armstrong in Belmont
and Corte Madera in Portola
Valley. The league organizes a wide variety of sports
events and in our first year we will be participating is just a few.
Yesterday
I had the pleasure of attending the SSIL organization meeting for 2010-11 together
with Jörg Matzeit, who as our Sports Department Chair will be organizing the
GAIS teams. Soccer is definite and we are considering
other options which might include tennis, swimming or basketball. Fortunately 5th graders can
participate and thus we should be able to field a few teams at the Junior
Varsity level which is for students lower than 8th grade.
In
the coming weeks and months please look for more information on games and
venues and come and support our teams.
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IB Corner by Maike Silver
The first week of school started with a bang. After a
cool summer a sweltering heat wave hit the school as we launched students back
into the structured school day. During the first assembly our Head of School
welcomed new students and teachers, reminded students of our last year's focus
about the culture of respect - which will be the continuing focus of school life -
and introduced the year of creativity.
In all of the classrooms the teachers focused on
establishing essential agreements that will help guide the students through
their daily classroom activities. These will be posted in each classroom and
include the attitudes and attributes of the learner profile promoted in the IB
Programs. The attitudes are "how we want students to act" (showing, respect,
tolerance, appreciation, commitment, cooperation, confidence, empathy,
enthusiasm, independence, creativity,
curiosity, integrity), the attributes of the learner profile show
"what we want students to become" (knowledgeable, balanced, responsible,
reflective, inquirers, caring, principled, communicators, risk takers,
thinkers).
The IB Learner Profile
is an integral part of all three IB programs. It is the heart of
international education through which we aim to
develop international minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and
shared guardianship of the planet, help create a better and more peaceful world.
It is a high aim, but we believe that all our students will be playing an
important role in the future and we want them to recognize their responsibility
towards a global community. You can contribute by reflecting on these same
attributes at home.
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Preschool Corner by Heike Schmalstieg
The new school year is under way and many children
are 
getting to know new routines, children, teachers and for many also a new
language. Parents are invited to our Back-To-School Night on Thursday, August 26
at 6:30 PM to learn more about our program. The extra-curricular classes are
starting next week and we still have room for Deutsch-Sternchen. This class is
offered on Thursdays from 2 - 2:50 PM for children born after 6/06 and is a
perfectly playful way to help your child with the German language. Many children
in Preschool understand German but don't know how to express themselves in
German. In a small group they will read German books and stories, sing German
songs, paint pictures and talk about their artwork. This is a supporting class
for non-native speakers. If you are interested, contact Stella in the office at
sklose@gais.org
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Back to School Night VS/K to Grade 5
The schedule of the Back to
School Night for VS/K to Grade 5 is as follows:
18:00 - 19:00
Grade 5 In the Grade 5 classroom
Grade 3 Both sections in the 3B Room
19:00 - 20:00
Grade 1 Both sections in the 1L Room
Grade 4 Both sections are in the 4V Room
20:00 - 21:00
Grade 2 Both sections in the 2R room
Vorschule Both sections in
the Aquarium room
Please note this event is
only for parents and and no child care is offered.
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School Sports Uniforms
In
conjunction with our participation in the Small Schools Intermediate League (SSIL),
we will be producing real GAIS team jerseys.
It would be great if we could find a sponsor for these jerseys. The sponsor's name/logo would be on the
jersey. If there are any parents who
would like greater exposure for their companies, and of course support the
school, please email me at pmetzger@gais.org.
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Extra Curricular Programs
The following great
programs are in need of more sign-up: Basketball (4-6 years), Little Gym (Preschoolers), Schmahl Science (New Program for Grade
2-4), Arts & Crafts (Grade 1
& 2), Creative Writing (Grade
3-4), Deutsch Sternchen (4-6 year
olds) and Chess (Grade 2-8).
Please contact Stella Klose sklose@gais.org for details.
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Field Trips
At the back to school
nights, your teachers will outline the calendar of field trips planned for this
year. To simplify the administration of
these trips, a flat fee for field trips for the entire school year will be
added to your September statements.
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Kid Chow Lunch Program
We are delighted to once
again be offering Kid Chow's hot and cold lunches at GAIS this year. Kid
Chow offers locally-sourced, organic, kid and planet friendly lunches to your
children. To register and begin ordering, go to www.kidchow.com. Returning
families will be asked to update their child's grade and school information.
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Library Hours
The library will be open
each day from 8:00 until 12:00. On Mondays it will stay open until 15:00 and on
Thursday until 14:00.
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For
newsletter information, questions or article submissions, please
contact Dagmar Stullich at offmgr@germanamericanschool.org. or call the
office at 650-324-8617.
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