GAIS Tennis Team Kicks off Season in SSIL 

Our first official event in the Small Schools Independent League took place this week with a tennis tournament against Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School in Palo Alto.  Our tennis team is composed of 8th grade students Michael Rogenmoser, Olivia Pintz, Sara Groenke and Lieselotte Bensen.  Although the results of the tennis matches are not recorded in the SSIL website, we are happy that our team did very well winning one of the two doubles matches and all of the singles matches they played.  Two soccer matches also planed for this week had to be postponed by the opposition teams because of scheduling problems.  

News from the Head of School  

Next week we will be closed for our Spring Break and students, teachers and hopefully some parents will have a last chance to rest to recharge batteries before we head into the last lap of our academic year. On Monday April 18 our teachers will be on hand for an in-service day which will focus on such things like math strategies, books and material coordination, planning units and evaluating progress in the learner profile.  Although the students and teachers will absent from the campus, a number of important events will occur.  The new portable to house the two sections of next year's Grade 5 will arrive and be set up.  It is our plan to have the new classrooms ready for use by the end of the year and effect the classroom transitions before the Summer Break.

In light of the earthquake in Japan, GAIS is responding in two ways.  A second earthquake drill was conducted recently and with great efficiency and order.  A review of emergency procedures was done at a recent staff meeting and teachers are checking back packs, emergency forms and first aide supplies to ensure that they have been replenished and updated. We will buy an additional 100 blankets to be kept in our container along with the three day emergency supplies.  Parents are asked to ensure that the school has all updated telephone numbers so that parents can be contacted should something occur. Please make sure that you have your emergency phone chain easily available or numbers stored on your cell phone.  In order to help the people that were affected by the devastation in Japan, GAIS will hold a flea market on April 22 from 8:45 - 10:00 am.  Students are encouraged to bring in sellable items from home.  The proceeds from this will be donated to an organization that provides relief in Japan.   

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MYP Corner by Dominic Liechti

In the International Middle School (IMS) ongoing further education plays a critical role in the development of the "Middle Years Programme" (MYP).  Therefore I have sent all the teachers to different MYP workshops. So far, some of the staff members have gone to Math and Language A workshops on different levels. At the workshops they meet other teachers from a variety of MYP schools. As a result they are networking and sharing more knowledge and methods of applying the sophisticated MYP concepts in the lessons.

Another objective is to share the best practices in a presentation with the IMS staff when they return.  Moreover to support collaboration at IMS we provide the ATLAS curriculum planner and a "share point server" for the documents. In addition, there are several team meetings designated for collaborative planning.

I would like to highlight Julia's Mumme recent participation in the highest workshop in Math, which was distinguished by assessment and implementation of all required components. Currently she is utilizing some valuable suggestions from the workshop leader that are conducive the improvement in the unit planners.

Because an additional important component of the MYP is the assessment structure though one staff member and I are attending a workshop during the spring break. Our goal is to learn how to restructure our assessment tools and evaluation report, which is based on a 1 to 7 scale.

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PYP Corner by Maike Silver 

Promoting a community of learners includes also team-building.  To promote school spirit the student leadership team came up with a plan of activities for the week. It started with prank day on Monday where students and some teachers had a lot of fun trying to trick each other. Nature day prompted some community members to ride their bikes to school, wear flowers on their clothes or in their hair. Crazy hair day was when students really let loose and the colors and hairstyles where a sight to see. As the week progressed teachers also became more involved and for today's International Day we had dirndls, sport shirts, and other international attire. Let's see who will be the risk taker tomorrow and come in pajamas or something they sleep in. Thankfully there is one rule - you have to be fully clothed! Thank you students for a job well done.

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Whether as a parent or teacher at GAIS, we all agree that teaching children to become bilingual has many advantages and research supports the idea that children can increase their cognitive ability and their cognitive flexibility by learning a second language in childhood. In other words, being bilingual may boost their brain power. Read more about this in a recent NPR article at:

www.npr.org/2011/04/04/135043787/being-bilingual-may-boost-your-brain-power

As teachers we have the ability to observe the effects and different stages of second language learning on a daily basis. We have many children that have started the school year with little or no knowledge of either German or English. Being well in the second semester, it is wonderful to observe the transformation the children are going through. Not only are they able to follow directions in the new language, they are becoming increasingly more confident in its use, naming things, using phrases and negotiating with others.

Also stated by the Society for Neuroscience, studies have found that bilingualism "might also protect against the onset of dementia and other age-related cognitive decline". In all, the studies show that bilingual children are, indeed, more apt in mathematics and abstract ideas in addition to being more imaginative. All these talents result in better problem solving skills.

Annual Fund Up-date - Week 5 

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Yearbook 2010-11 

The order form for the yearbook 2010-11 has been sent out this week. Please submit the form to the office by April 20^th. Only the exact number of pre-ordered yearbooks will be printed! We are also looking for companies to advertise in our yearbook.  This is an excellent and low cost way for your company to support international education and the school's mission.  Please contact the office if you would like to discuss this further or if you have any ideas or leads.  Finally, we would like to find some more pictures of this year's Beach Party, any of the many Fundraiser Parties, and the GAIS Campout. If you would like to share your pictures please send them to the office at

offmgr@gais.org or drop by and we can download them from your USB stick.

Stammtisch - Tonight 

This month's GAIS Stammtisch will take place on Thursday, April 7 (moved from April 14, due to Spring Break) at 7:00 PM at the Gourmethaus Staudt (www.gourmethausstaudt.com) in Redwood City. Here is the schedule for this school year, please mark your calendars:

• May 12
• June 9

See you there!

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GAIS Traffic Reminder 

Recent discussions with Elliott Drive neighbors have brought to light concerns about non-compliance with the 15mph speed limit and problems with residents getting out of their driveways in the mornings. All GAIS parents are asked to given the greatest attention to how they travel up and down these circa 200 meters from the corner of Elliot and O'Connor to the school.

Vorschule Field Trip to Cactus Garden 

The Vorschule children visited Stanford Cactus Garden - "The Arizona Garden", one of the oldest parts in Stanford. The children admired the different cacti, searched for flowers and fruits, and looked for animals also. The children where impressed about the variety of cacti. This is part of our "sharing the planet' unit, where we learn about different gardens.

Another Workday - May 5 

Are you interested in accumulating some volunteer hours? We will hold our 2^nd workday on Saturday, May 5 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Tim Farris will organize volunteers in a variety of tasks including painting, sanding, cleaning and repairing.  

If you wish to participate please email the office by May 1^st so we can set up the program. Email to: offmgr@gais.org.

Book Sale Up-date 

The Library Team wants to thank everybody who helped making the book sale last Friday a success. We sold many bags of books and earned $120 for the Library to buy new books.

There will be another book sale at the "Sommerfest".

The Library is always happy to accept donations of used

German children and youth books.  However, please no adult German or any English books (except non fiction for children).

Summer Camp at Campshoreline  

An experience unmatched in Silicon Valley: Kayaking, windsurfing, pedalboating, sailing, and more... Besides being fun, local and safe, kids get the chance to burn off all that summer energy and keep their minds engaged by learning watersports - without the risk of the actual Bay.

This is like a regular day camp for 5-11 year olds, but it's also close to home, sheltered from the Bay's traffic, and it's in the middle of a nature preserve behind the Shoreline Amphitheatre. Kids stay busy all day, with recreational challenges that also include hiking, birdwatching and history activities. The camp is the perfect combination of the cerebral and physical, with a season that runs from June 13th through August 19th, in week-long sessions.

To learn more about this unmatched experience in Silicon Valley, visit:

campshoreline.com or call 650-965-7474.

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