As an international school with students coming from all over the Bay Area we are well aware of the importance of community building and see the school grounds as a means for doing so. In order to allow for this in a safe and healthy environment it is essential for parents to adhere to the following guidelines which we have set for Preschool and Elementary School students staying on campus after their classes have ended:

• A supervising adult for each student must be clearly identified. 
• Students need to be within ear and sight range of the supervising adult.
• Foul language from any student is not to be tolerated.
• The bathrooms are off limit for play.
• Ball play can only happen away from the windows.
• Rough play, play fighting, tackle football is prohibited on campus.
• Toys must be kept off of the play structure and students need to stay off the outside and top of the structure for safety reasons.
• All garbage must be put in the trash cans.

Lately I spent some time researching and discussing learning challenges students have, in particular when it comes to behavior.  Last weekend I watched an Indian movie  "Like Stars on Earth" and it struck a cord with me.  It is a movie about an eight year old boy, who is thought to be lazy and a troublemaker, until the new art teacher has the patience and compassion to discover the real problem behind his struggles in school.  Although behavioral disorders are increasingly widespread, they are still poorly understood by most of society. The lack of knowledge is further compounded by the stigma that often accompanies a diagnosis of a developmental or behavioral disorder. In our culture many people tend to jump to conclusions and label children, who don't function in a "perceived" normal range, as troublemakers; their parents and teachers are looked at as not being able to control the children. Parents themselves often question their ability to parent. Watching the movie this weekend, the teacher in the story made apoint to not only look at the behavior, but also try to uncover, whether the behavior is a reaction to an underlying cause. Is it a voluntary or involuntary inability? Are we dealing with plain disrespect or inability? Does the student need to be given differentiated support to function? Does the child just need more time and he/she will out grow the behavior? These are questions parents and teachers spend hours contemplating. Compassion and understanding, for all children as well as for the parents who deal with the challenge on a daily basis, is where we as a school community can demonstrate that we are caring citizens who understand that other people, with their differences, are also stars on this earth.  

At GAIS, there is representation of many different cultures and nationalities. Last year, I counted as many as 12 different nationalities within one class of 16 preschool students. It is always immensely enriching and rewarding, when parents come into the classroom and share their holidays and traditions with the class. On Tuesday, thanks to Judy Law, the 'Dachse' class was able to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Michaela Coan, the teacher of the class is sharing the experience: "In the morning, we read a book about the Chinese New Year. We followed some of the traditions described in the book, such as sweeping out the bad of the old year, hanging up good luck poems and fireworks (substituted by sparklers). Each child made a personal dragon mask and as a group, we created the big dragon head for the dragon dance and parade. When Judy came, she read another book about the Chinese New Year and showed us how to write Happy New Year in Chinese. She helped each child to write part of it (to my surprise the children were absolutely mesmerized by it). We shared some fortune and sesame cookies and oranges - something the Chinese would traditionally do, followed by a dragon parade. At the end, Judy gave each child an envelope with a quarter and a handwritten red paper with the Happy New Year greeting".

The first semester has concluded and students have been making good progress in our Music Program here at GAIS. Every couple of weeks I will use the newsletter to keep you up to date on happenings in my department. To start off, I would like to address a question that has been asked frequently by parents. What is Orff Schulwerk?

Orff Schulwerk is a way to teach and learn music. It is based on things children like to do: sing, chant rhymes, clap, dance and keep a beat. These instincts are directed into learning music by hearing and making music first, then reading and writing it later. This is the same way we all learned our language.

Orff Schulwerk is designed for all children, regardless of ability or experience. It happens in a non-competitive atmosphere where one of the rewards is the pleasure of making good music with others. When the children want to write down what they have composed, reading and writing find their place.

Orff Schulwerk uses poems, rhymes, games, songs and dances as basic materials. Spoken or sung, they may be accompanied by clapping and stamping or by drums, and bells. The special Orff melody instruments include wooden xylophones and metal glockenspiels that offer good sound immediately. Played together as in a small orchestra, their use helps children become sensitive listeners and considerate participants.

Improvisation and composition is a key component of the Orff Schulwerk. With the ease of key removal on the xylophones, the children can be comfortable improvising in the pentatonic scale (5 notes that sound good together). By creating their own music, using language and melody, the children start on a lifetime of knowledge and pleasure through personal musical experience.

We had a very good turnout for our mid-year members meeting last Thursday evening. The most important item on the agenda for this meeting is the election of Board members. In the new Board we will no longer have the services of Bernard Putz who stepped down from his position as Board Vice-President. Also leaving the Board was Laura Vaughan. Laura had an important leadership role as Chair of the Facilities Committee and her work resulted in the development of our school facilities, leading the project to increase our enrollment cap and in fostering positive relations with neighborhood organizations. Our sincerest thanks go to Bernard and Laura for their service on our Board of Directors. We welcome new and returning Board members, Indra Pachtner, Kristen Hughes, Matthias Hausner, Elke Plechschmidt and Sabine Dillon. Our thanks to all of the parents that stepped up to the plate to serve the school. This was the first time that we used the proxy voting system and this resulted in the large number of votes cast.

During last weeks members meeting our school president Serena Grown-Haeberli joined the  meeting usually only attended by parents. I asked her if she would explain a game promoting respect amongst students that the leadership team will initiate on Valentine's Day. Without thinking twice she got up and spoke with confidence in front of the crowd. How many of us would have done that in 8th grade?  Well done Serena, you are a true IB student.

Girl Scouts from Troop 32628 that go to GAIS will have a cookie sale after school on Monday, February 13. See you there!

Winterbreak will be from February 20 - 24. President's Day on Monday, February 20 the school will be closed and we do not offer Hort/Day. We do offer Hort from Tuesday, 2/21 to Friday, 2/24. If you need a spot for your child/children please sign- up by Friday, Feburary 10. An email with the sign-up sheet has been sent out to all parents.