Easter Buddies  

The GAIS buddies program matches up students from older and younger classes to create friendships and build community. The buddies program is a great role modeling experience for the older students and a positive learning experience for the younger students.Grade 3B and Vorschule Aquarium have been buddies this year and have gotten together once each unit for a sharing activity.  These encounters have included showing off art work and model cities made by the Vorschüler and magnet games and self made food products by the third graders.  Today the buddies meet again to do an Easter related activity in the Vorschule classroom.    

News from the Head of School  

On the Monday of the Spring Break our new portable arrived at 6:00 am.  The new portable, purchased from American Modular, is identical in design and construction to the two portables beside it and thus maintains a campus wide harmony of look and aesthetics.  This new structure has two classrooms and will be home of Grade 5 which for the first time will have two sections. Although the classrooms will not be used until August, it was decided to have the portable arrive before the summer to give ample time to have them set up, furnished and ready to go before the new school year starts. Work on the electrical and fire alarm hook up will continue in the next week. During the workday on May 7th, volunteers will be asked to put together some IKEA furniture needed for the classrooms.    

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PYP Corner by Maike Silver 

After the earthquake/tsunami tragedy in Japan, GAIS students showed a lot of compassion and concern for the Japanese people. The Elementary and Middle school school students came up with the idea of hosting a flea market this Friday morning to raise money for Japan.  Earth Day seemed the appropriate day, seeing that the human-created nuclear disaster multiplied the effect of the natural disaster. Students can bring toys, baked goodies, and fruits from the trees at home, or anything else that might help raise money which will be sent to a local organization "The Enoch Choi Foundation" which has already made an impact with their actions in Japan. 

Added to this fund will be the student-initiated fundraising from Julian Blecken, Antje Hipkins, Annliesa Urban and Annika Schneider who together raised over $500 already. Congratulations fourth graders on a great effort!

After the flea market the school has organized, together with the City of Menlo Park, and in partnership with the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA), a complimentary environmental educational assembly with performances by Earth Capades Environmental Vaudeville. The show will be followed by earth day class activities.

We will finish the day with our annual Malawi Walk which raises funds to support schools and day care centers in Malawi that serve more than 3,000 children orphaned by AIDS. This event is organized by the student leadership academy and is sponsored by Roche and one of our GAIS parents, Gabrielle Heilek.

Earth Day at GAIS truly represents a way to care about our shared humanity by showing compassion tothose in need, and affords the opportunity to learn about our own actions and their effect on earth.

So what will be your families' earth day pledges? Send them to msilver@gais.org  and I will collect them and add them to the students' pledges.
 

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Who doesn't know the classic film musical "The sound of music"? The San Carlos Children's Theatre will present the musical form May 5-15th. Don't miss the show, as Lisa Bock, one of our preschool mothers will be part of the cast, playing Elsa. More info is available at: 

http://www.sancarloschildrenstheater.com

Last Chance to order a Yearbook 

If you haven't had the chance to order your copy of a yearbook, this is your last chance. Please fill out the order form sent out by the office and turn in by tomorrow, Friday April 22^nd. Only the exact number of pre-ordered yearbooks are available.

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GAIS Easter Picnic 

We hope you have received the invitation for our annual Easter Picnic which had been sent out earlier. The picnic will take place this Saturday, April 23 from 11 am to 3 pm at Huddart Park in Woodside. It is important to note that the Egg Hunt will start at noon. All participants are asked to bring 12 filled and taped plastic eggs per child to the office by Friday April 22 at noon.  You can fill the eggs with little surprises such as stickers, erasers and so forth.  Of course, sweets are welcome, too. The taping of the eggs is important to ensure that the eggs remain closed until the actual egg hunt. We look forward to seeing you at this fun annual school event! 

Japan Relief Flea Market 

GAIS students in Grades 1-8 are organizing a Flea Market to help the victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami. The flea market will take place tomorrow, Friday April 22 from 8:45 to 10:00 am. It will be held on the school playground and each class will set up their own sale items. All parents are welcome and encouraged to come to support our students!   

English Book Fair: May 2 - 5 

The annual English Book Fair is just around the corner so get out your agendas so you don't miss this great even. Our book fair team will be offering a huge selection of books thorough the Scholastic Book Fair program.  The Fair will take place in the GAIS library and run each day from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. Books can be purchased with cash, check or credit cards.  We thank our librarian, Jana Seidel and her team of volunteers for organizing this event which helps our library collection to grow.  The school will earn 25% of the sales which go back into new books.    

Help Needed 

The GAIS office will have a new telephone and we would need someone to help with the set-up. If you are interested to help please email Dagmar Stullich at offmgr@gais.org.   

Another Workday - May 7

Are you interested in accumulating some volunteer hours? We will hold another workday on Saturday, May 7 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Tim Farris will organize volunteers in a variety of tasks including cleaning, painting and putting together IKEA furniture.  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.

Sports Activities at GAIS  

Today at 4:00 the GAIS soccer team will play their first game of the season against Alma Heights School in Pacifica. There are three other games on the schedule in the coming weeks.  Next Thursday, April 28th we will play against Gideon Hausner in Palo Alto. The following Thursday we will be in San Mateo against North Shoreview School and finally we will have a home game against GISSV on Tuesday, May 10.  Good luck to our team and thanks to our Head of Sports, Joerg Matzeit, for organizing these matches.  Other upcoming sports events include a golf tournament on May 4, a swim meet on May 20th a bowling tournament on June 1 and tennis matches on May 17th. GAIS began participating in the Small Schools Independent League this year with sports activities open to students in Grades 5-8. 

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Grade 2 Visits the San Francisco Zoo 

Both Grade 2 classes recently visited the San Francisco Zoo. 2R went this week and 2B went before the Spring Break. The visits are part of the current unit whose central idea is "All Living Things Are Dependent On Each Other Within a Living Habitat".  

In class the students are each writing a research paper or Tierbericht about a chosen animal like the Grizzly Bear, Anaconda, Lion, etc. The docents of the Zoo listened to the students' research papers during the Habitat tour and answered many questions. At the end of the tour the kids got all excited by visiting the Insect Zoo. 

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GASPA Summer Camp 

The German-American School of Palo Alto will run a summer program called....Summer Camp auf Deutsch!  Whether you already speak a lot of German, a little bit of German, or no German at all, you can contact them and find out all the great things you can learn about German in German at their wide variety of summer programs! GASPA offers full immersion programs for children between the ages of 3 and 16. This year they have expanded their program to offer even more opportunities to learn in a fun and hands on way. The programs include Crafts, Singing, Soccer, Sailing, Skateboarding, Reading, Field Trips, Story Telling, Cooking, Camping (for the older Students), and enjoying summer the way it was meant to be, OUTSIDE!

The first program starts on Monday, June 20th. Programs will be held at the German-American International School campus except for Camping for older students which will be at the Montara Lighthouse. If you are interested and would like to learn more, please visit their website www.gaspa-ca.org for the program flyer, complete program details, and registration information. GAIS is pleased to collaborate with GASPA to provide this interesting opportunity to our community.

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Looking for a dog sitter during Summer Break! 

This summer my family is going to Switzerland. Therefore we would need a family from June 16th till July 30th who takes in and could care of our dog "Fly". Fly is a lovely dog full of energy. She is three years old and very friendly with kids. Every day she needs around 30min outdoor activity. (walking, running or dog park). We would provide dog food and the veterinarian insurance. Please let me know by E-mail at dliechti@gais.org if you are interested in taking care of her.    

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Multi-Cultural Event in Menlo Park 

 
There will be a multi cultural event taking place at Onetta Harris Community Center on Friday, May 13, 2011 from 4-7pm. There will be cultural performances such as dance, singing, poetry, and more! This event is free and is a great way to visit with members of your community. The organizers are looking for residents that are interested in sharing their cultural talent. If you are interested in becoming a performer or would like more information about this event, please call 650-330-2250. 

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