Grade 3 Field Trip
 Under the transdisciplinary theme "Sharing the planet" the Grade 3K students are currently exploring the concept of how people deal with waste. To get a better understanding of the concept the students participated in an informative and very impressive field trip to the company "Rethink Waste". Returning to class students divided into two groups and applied their knowledge of "reusing" by creating an art piece out of waste. During this activity the students applied the attitudes of creativity and cooperation. They had to make group decisions on the topic and the planning of the art piece. Before creating their product they had to present their ideas to the class and reflect upon the process. We are looking forward to see the final products displayed in the classroom.
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News from the Head of School
 Recently a number of the parents touring the school commented to me on how neat and attractive the GAIS campus was. Clearly we take pride in our campus and have worked hard to create a pleasant learning environment for our students. We also feel that it is important that our students are active in keeping our campus neat and tidy and gain an awareness of their responsibilities for the environment they live in, be it the school as a microcosm, or also extended to the entire planet, which is one of our trans-disciplinary themes in the PYP. Currently the Grade 3 students are doing a unit under this theme with the central idea, "People need to deal with the waste they create to protect the environment." This is a great unit for students to learn about waste, resources, re-cycling and our common stewardship of the planet.
One of the activities that we initiated last year involved students taking more responsibility for their school environment by doing trash pickup for a few minutes during their recess. Other students have table duty and clean up the picnic benches after lunch. These tasks are done on a rotary basis so that all the students have a share in the responsibility. As this is done on a daily basis, the amount of time needed each day is minimal. The net result is that we have a clean campus and students who have a sense of responsibility and ownership of their environment.
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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, Science, Assessments and Language A workshops on different levels. Additional workshops in Performing Arts, Language B, Humanities and PE will be attended in the next few months. The goal is that every teacher is trained on the second highest level (Level 2). 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 integrated "ManageBac" curriculum development web based software. 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 Assessments, 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 and the assessment rubrics. back to top
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PYP Corner by Maike Silver
Why don't the students fill out all the pages in their workbooks?
 As a PYP school we use a variety of resources that help students inquire and learn. Some projects are done as groups and information gets recorded on a group poster. Students use games, the computer, mini chalk boards, cards, dice, word walls and other material to practice certain skills. The more material we can use the more likely it is that we will tap into the multiple intelligences of the students. Teachers at the school ensure that the concepts of our curriculum are explored, understood and applied in real life situations. To achieve this, it is not always necessary, and often not even beneficiary that the workbooks are completed.
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Preschool Corner by Heike Schmalstieg
 For the past few weeks, the preschoolers have been exploring the 5 senses. Today, everybody was able to participate in a hands-on workshop with Schmahl Science about how animals use their sense of smell. They learned that animals use their senses everyday to find food and stay safe. Sometimes animals use different body parts for their senses, for example the snake uses its tongue to smell the air. The children were able to explore themselves with simple experiments and get a better idea how flies see, whales hear and much more.
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Plants & Animals in Grade 2
 Today the Second Grade got in touch with life at the pond - quite literally! Jessica from YSI Sanborn Park explained plants and animals that call the pond their home and showed the class how they are all connected within the habitat. After that the students were introduced to real pond wildlife: they got to hold a newt, gently pet a turtle and a crawdad, marvel at a frog's long leaps, and get a high five from a Western toad! Jessica had a great story to tell about each one of them and often left students in awe about the animals' great abilities. Students vowed to keep an eye out for newts, frogs, and turtles at their next trip to the pond.
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News from the Music Department - Amy Nathan
 In light of the fifth grade exhibition coming up in May, we have decided to put together a song. The song we have chosen is Michael Jackson's 'Man in the Mirror', which has a very powerful message about social responsibility. The students were very quick to pick up on how this song is related to what they are learning about in this unit, and they sing it with enthusiasm. The Music and Sport departments are collaborating with a goal of a choreographed performance of this song. We hope that it will be a perfect culmination of the exhibition unit!
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Easter Picnic this Saturday!
The picnic will take place this Saturday, April 7 from 11 am to 3 pm at Huddart Park (Werder Shelter) in Woodside. The Easter 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 6 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. The weather forecast is good and we look forward to seeing you at this fun annual school event!
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Cub Scout Clothing Drive
 Thank you to the many families who have already donated to this drive! If you haven't done so yet, there is still time to clean out your closets and drawers. We will be accepting donations of new or gently used shoes, jeans, pants, shirts, and sweatshirts in toddler to teen sizes until Friday, April 13th. Donation boxes are in front of the office and in front of the preschool. Thank you!
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