Middle School Dance 

Last week the Leadership Academy organized our yearly dance. This year the academy invited the Woodland school as well.  The students were already extremely excited some weeks ago and discussed eagerly what they should wear at the dance. The academy conducted a poll among the IMS students about the theme for the evening. As a result it was a "fairytale" dance.  The academy learned different skills for organizing such an event. They had to develop a plan, an invitation, a materials list and creative decoration. Moreover, they had to come up with a communication plan that included two different schools. Finally, they also organized two DJs who were responsible for the playlist and the performance. In sum, all the students had a blast at the dance and a great time was had by all. The seventh grade helped clean up the gym afterwards. A special thanks goes to Julia who organized the whole event with the Leadership Academy and to Amanda, Celine and Sabrina who chaperoned during the evening. 

News from the Head of School

Fundraising is Fun 

Maike Silver and I had a great deal of fun taking a group of students to the tide pools at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve this past Sunday.  This activity, which was both enjoyable and educational for the students, was part of the myriad of fundraising activities which have occurred this year at the school. Fundraising is an important activity in all private, and public schools.  At GAIS we have a tradition of outstanding results due to the support and generosity of the parent community and this has helped us keep our tuition level relatively low in comparison to other private schools in the area. The GAIS Fundraising team, headed by Indra Pachtner, has managed to raise a total of $214,353 to date this year.  The success of this has been in part due to the concept of making fundraising truly fun. The annual auction in October had more of the feel of a big party and was supplemented by an amazing total of 56 individually organized parties and events for kids and adults.  Congratulations to the Fundraising team for their great work and to all the parents and teachers who offered events as well as those who participated and had FUN!!

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MYP Corner by Dominic Liechti

A2 Ceremony
On Wednesday, May 25th, two officials from the German government plus the parents joined us to celebrate the success of all sixth-grade IMS students in passing the A2 test in the German language. Elke Ruehl, representative of the German Government and Ursula Doerre, vice consul from the German Consulate in San Francisco handed out the A2 certificate to the students in a congratulatory atmosphere. The A2 certifies our students on the second level out of six levels of the Common European Framework for Language and prepares them well for the "Deutsches Sprachdiplom I" (DSD I) that will be conducted on the third level in eighth grade. In addition, it helps them to meet the requirements at a "Studienkolleg" (High school) in Germany. We are proud of our dedicated students and we would like to thank the German Government for their authorization and for their recognition of the school which allows us to conduct the two internationally recognized tests at the International Middle School.  

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PYP Corner by Maike Silver  

In the PYP it is recognized that students come into the program from various backgrounds and with a wealth of experience. This also becomes apparent when we interpret the meaning of the attributes of the learner profile in the different classes. Below are some famous quotes. 

Communicator: The words you choose to say something are just as important as the decision to speak. - Author Unknown
Reflective: You cannot fully understand your own life without knowing and thinking beyond your life, your own neighborhood, and even your own nation. - Johnnetta Cole
Balanced: Be aware of wonder. Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some." - Robert Fulghum
Thinker: No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.

- Voltaire
Risk-taker: I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.  - Pablo Picasso
Open-minded: You don't get harmony when everybody sings the same note.  - Doug Floyd
Knowledgeable: Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.  - Chinese Proverb
Caring: If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.  - Dalai Lama
Principled: Every time I've done something that doesn't feel right, it's ended up not being right. - Mario Cuomo
Inquirer: Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton asked why. - Bernard Baruch

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Our annual parent weeks are in full swing and we have many parents offer activities for the children. It is always fascinating to see many creative ideas parents have. Some of the activities have included baking, ballroom dancing, shooting rockets, playing soccer, Persian dancing, bass guitar, shadow play, Puma Fun Run, Japanese Children's Day, story reading, sand castle competition and many more. The children are always very excited and proud when the parents come and get involved in an activity and all children benefit from the wide range of activities they are exposed to during that time.

Meet our Future Graduates featuring  

Michael Rogenmoser 

I am Michael Rogenmoser and I am the only boy in the 8th grade at GAIS. I recently relocated to Switzerland for half a year - to get a break from all the other girls in my class ;-). While there, I went to school at the Literargymnasium Rämibühl and really enjoyed it. I made friends quickly in my class of 26 students and had fun with them, both in class and outside of school. Every day I rode the bus to school with my new classmates and had lunch with them in Zurich regularly. I even went skiing with them once at Davos. With my aunt as my chaperone, we had a very fun weekend and it was cool to see that I could ski faster than they could snowboard. I am looking forward to moving back to Switzerland and seeing my new friends again.

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School Forms 

The school forms are due by Friday June 3rd. Please drop them off in the office. 

Memorial Day May 30 - No School 

The school will be closed on Memorial Day, May 30. Please note that we also won't offer Hort/Day Care.

Board Meeting  

The last Board Meeting for this school year will be on Thursday June 2 at 7:30 pm. 

Volunteer Corner 

We would like to offer many thanks to all the parent volunteers. The Volunteer Corner will become a regular feature in the newsletter and will keep you up to date with all the activities and inform you of volunteer opportunities at the school. For example, we are still looking for volunteers for our Summerfest on June 4 and Sportfest on June 10 from 8:00 am to 12:45 am. In addition we will hold a last workday on Saturday, June 11. If you still need volunteer hours, or if you are just interested in helping, please contact Stella Klose at sklose@gais.org.  

Drama Club

The Spring edition of the GAIS Theater Club presents "Cab Mountain" Thursday evening, June 2, 6:30 in the GAIS gym. Thirteen young thespians tell the story of two kingdoms and two young daughters--not princesses, mind you. Young Sprimy lives in the kingdom of King Thwart, who makes his fortune selling pickles. Evangeline lives in the forests of King Ray, an environmentally-conscious new-age guy. Both girls want to visit, but there's too much work for their parents to escort them across the bear, lion and witch-infested lands separating the two kingdoms!
    
What will happen? Can dear friends see one another when busy work schedules occupy their parents?
 
All families are welcome to this "still a little rough around the edges" but fully entertaining production featuring the fanciful set work of Gillian Claus. The play is presented the evening of the GAIS Board meeting, so come see the play, then linger to meet the school's "production crew" parents!  

Reading Program at Menlo Park Library 

Summer Reading Program for Children, Teens and Adults.  We invite you to join the Summer Reading Program to read books, keep a reading log, write reviews, win incredible prizes, and attend entertaining events.  Some highlights include music by Jose Luis Orozco, cooking with television personality  Joanne Weir, animal education by Wild Things, Inc., visiting King Tut's Tomb with Stanford Professor Patrick Hunt and poetry slamming with internationally acclaimed poet and storyteller, Kealoha.  Please check our website or call for details: www.menloparklibrary.org, 650-330-2530.