Weekly Newsletter December 8, 2011

Fifteen thespians took their well-deserved, but raucus bows Wednesday night following the final performance of the GAIS Theater Club's Fall production of Puppies. You might be excitable too - or jet-lagged--after a jarring zoom deep into outer-space and back again. The thirty minute play featured small ensemble scenes as well as big show tableaus. And don't forget the costumes: make-shift spacesuits, wormy-headed aliens, muscle-touting extra-terrestrials, and a caftan-feathered owl. Oh, and the play? A deceptively simple psychological study of humanity written for the grade-school set.

We hope to see you next term for our next tromping of the boards!

News from the Head of School

IMS Band 2011 We are just one week away from our Winter holiday and the school has been buzzing with good cheer and holiday related activity. It was impressive to see so many members of the GAIS community and friends at the Winterfest last Saturday. This was one of our biggest events to date and we estimate there were over 700 participants. Congratulations to the teachers in PS and VS for their students' performances and special congratulations to our music teacher, Amy Nathan for a great program. This was also a sort of world premier for the GAIS Middle School Band and they did a super job, especially considering that they started the band program just a few months ago. The Middle School students and parents also organized a very successful bake sale that netted over $2000, which they will use to support their ski trip. I would also like to mention our event organizer Stella Klose for putting everything together and to the teachers and volunteers that came to help set up and run the events.

Yesterday was the last day at GAIS for Anna Geibel, who was with us for an internship. Anna helped out in Grade 2, Vorschule and in some other classes during her 4-month internship. She is now returning to Germany where she will complete her program in my hometown of Karlsruhe. Joining us in January, and assisting in the same classes as Anna, will be new intern Lydia Selmeier. Interns are student, or recently graduated, teachers and are a great help to our faculty and support our students in many ways. It is possible for us to have interns as a result of parent collaboration by hosting these young teachers in their homes. Please do not hesitate to speak with me personally if you are interested in hosting an intern in the future.

PYP Corner by Maike Silver

Playground manifesto
As mentioned earlier we invited the class representatives to a meeting in which we discussed the playground manifesto as well as consequences for misconduct. It was wonderful to hear the student's sharing at first a list of ideas of how to solve conflicts independently before they would even approach a teacher. This included going to the circle of choice in the middle of the playground, where they can find help. Eventually they talked about consequences for misconduct. Below please find the steps they agreed upon that the school should take:

First or slight offense: warning
Second or a big offense: time-out near teacher or community service (example pick up garbage)
Repeated or major offense: send to office to talk to administration and fill out reflection form/inform parents

Preschool Corner by Heike Schmalstieg

PS Musik 2 Since the preschoolers did not visit the San Francisco Symphony this year, Oliver Theil, director of the symphony and father in the 'Dachse' group made up for it by visiting and literally bringing the orchestra with him. He read a short book to the kids explaining the different music families and then showed and demonstrated an instrument from each music family as an example. Oliver explained how the different instruments work together in the symphony and showed the kids a short video on his laptop. Afterward, the children each picked a different instrument (a violin, a trumpet, percussion instruments and even a small piano) and with him conducting, they were the orchestra. The children were listening attentively and were engaged throughout the whole session. It was a very fun and hands-on introduction to the orchestra.

Holiday Break

Our Holiday Break will be from December 19, 2011 to January 2, 2012. The last day of school is December 16 which is a Minimum Day. The students will be released at noon. The first day of school is January 3. Please note that the office will be closed and we do not offer Day Care/Hort during the break.

Parent Talk & Information Evening

On January 11, 2012 from 6:30 to 8:30 we will have another Parent Talk & Information Evening. Susan Stone Belton, Family Coach and Motivational Speaker, will talk about "Setting limits with children" (Pre-K to Grade 6). After the talk there will be information sessions about our school program in Preschool, Elementary and Middle School. Invitations have been sent out.

This workshop is being offered in collaboration with Parents Place - A Program of Jewish Family and Children's Services. Please spread the word!

Winter Ballet

Katya Panchenko and Jamilla Zahir (Grade 4B students) will be dancing with Bayer Ballet Company in a holiday ballet "A Winter Fairy Tale" on December 17th (5 pm) and 18th (2 pm), at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Will the the Snow Maiden, Santa, the Lovely Fairy and the Magician rescue the little bunny from the Queen of Bats? Come and find out! Exquisite dancing set to music from your favorite holiday classical ballets is enhanced by custom-made costumes and lovely settings. For more information and tickets please visit www.bayerballetacademy.com.

Holiday Camp Menlo

Holiday Camp Menlo offers professional swim instruction in a fun-filled camp format for all levels, ages 5-10. Daily level appropriate instruction provided by our excellent team of Menlo Swim School instructors in lessons with a 4:1 ratio. Out of the pool, campers enjoy various group games and activities that encourage self-confidence, growth, teamwork, and fun. Three sessions, December 19-22, December 27-30 and January 3-6. Register Now!

Talk about spreading Holiday Cheer!

Help eliminate poverty in the developing world, while you do your holiday shopping at FAIR TRADE Marketplace, 846 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park, opening Monday, December 5. Every time you buy their handcrafted jewelry, accessories, home products, gifts for adults and kids, chocolate and other foods, you help improve the lives of the poor and marginalized. Open daily 10am - 8pm.

Little League Baseball Season 2012

Online registration for the Menlo Atherton Little League Baseball 2012 season is now open at www.m-all.org. The league offers several divisions to support different levels of player ability. Players between the ages of 5 1/2 and 16 (by April 30, 2012) are eligible if registered by January 13th, 2012. Recommended divisions are:

*   TBall/Coach Pitch (5-7 years old: There are 2 levels of Tball, one for   first year players and one for returning players)
*   A, AA -Pitching machine (A 7-8; AA 8-9)
*   AAA, Majors - Live pitching (AAA 10-11; Majors 11-12)
*   Junior, Seniors (Jrs 13-15; Srs 15-16)
*   Challenger (Players with physical and mental disabilities, 6-18)

Registration for A, AA, AAA and Majors Divisions closes January 13th. Registration for other divisions will remain open after this date - if there is still space available! Please sign up early to guarantee your child a roster spot.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Player evaluation day will be on Saturday, January 21st.

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For newsletter information, questions or article submissions, please contact Dagmar Stullich at offmgr@gais.org. or call the office at 650-324-8617.

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