As school ends next Tuesday, this will be our last newsletter. At today's school assembly we gave out certificates, awards and said our farewells to teachers leaving GAIS. We will dearly miss our Grade 5 team of Frau Taatz and Frau Strasser. They have been an outstanding duo and in their years together created an amazing program in Grade 5. Frau Taatz will be returning to Germany to be with her fiancé and Frau Strasser will move to another International School in the US. We also said goodbye to our two long-term interns, Lydia Selmeier and Lina Hoerter. Both have gone a fantastic job supporting our teachers and staff and we wish them great careers in education.  

The most difficult good-bye was for Frau Van Deusen who leaves the school after 22 years for retirement. Frau Van Deusen's teaching ability is mythical and her dedication to GAIS has been the stuff of epics. The mere fact the she comes to GAIS every day from Sausalito is already enough to make anyone say WOW! So when you think about that over the course of 22 years, it adds up to about 500,000 miles, 8,500 times over the Golden Gate Bridge, not to mention teaching about 400 students. Frau Van Deusen, who taught every grade level from 1-10, was Principal of GAIS for 7 years, and who started her work at GAIS when it was still at the Alpine Road campus, will be most remembered for her ability to teach all of the values of the IB Program to her students. It was she who first introduced the IB at GAIS and at a Members Meeting in 2000 of over 300 parents, convinced the school that this was the right path to take.  

This will be my last newsletter entry, though an end-of-year letter will go out next week. My thanks to all parents for a wonderful send off at today's assembly for all myself and all of the teachers leaving the school. GAIS is a special place and we will all dearly miss it!

Outdoor Education in Sierra Nevada   

Last week, the 7th graders ventured into the great outdoors of Sierra Nevada to learn about the Civil War and Gold Rush as part of their Humanities program. From the moment they left for the Mother Lode River Center in Coloma on Tuesday morning, until they returned Friday night, students were busy engaged in activities such as: hiking to a secluded waterfall, panning for gold, touring Native American settlements, talking with local historians, participating in challenging team building activities, and finally, white-water rafting as a climactic conclusion to their journey. They developed an understanding of the history which changed California in 1850 and they related to migrating westerners as they toured historical sites and "walked in their shoes". In the end, the students got to know each other a little better, they had many fulfilling experiences, and they became a little richer; both with proudly acquired gold flakes and with the knowledge that we can face any challenge head-on, if we're willing to take a risk and trust ourselves to make the right choice.

As PYP teachers we constantly contemplate on "what do we teach", "why do we teach it" and "how best do we teach it". So here is an interesting perspective on: "Have I taught them?"

I know they will forget how to multiply over the summer, and next year the teacher will show them how to do it all over again. I know they will forget the difference between an adverb and an adjective, how to spell spaghetti, and when the pilgrims sailed the new world. 

• But have I taught them that it is better to tell me, that they did not do their homework last night, than to lie?
• Have I taught them that it is better to include somebody in a four square game than to tell them they cannot play?
• Have I Taught them to work in groups of four when there are only 2 red markers and everyone wants the red one?
• Have I taught them how to say Good Morning" when they pass someone in the hall and "Good-bye" when they leave the room?
• Have I taught them that Jefferson could not live without books and neither can I?
• Have I taught them to think, when an answer is not right there in the text?
• Have I taught them that imagination really is more important than knowledge?  
• Have I taught them that most of Thomas Edison's experiments did not work first time either?
• Have I taught them the joy of singing every day?
• Have I taught them the satisfaction you feel, when you have done your best?
• Have I taught them to laugh, but not at others mistakes or when someone's name is different from their own?
• Have I taught them that learning is lifelong and shown them my French homework?
• Have I taught them it is ok to make mistakes and shown them my French homework? 

If I have taught them these things, then I do not care if they forget when the pilgrims sailed to the New World or how to spell spaghetti.

 

Follow the Child Summer Camp, run by Jay Levin, the Fifth grade English teacher, is a mobile camp for children between the ages of 6 and 12 who love to be outdoors. They go to a different exciting location each day.  Science based, Follow the Child Summer Camp runs between June 18th until August 17th, and is designed for active children that love to hike, draw, paint, write, explore, and learn. We pick-up in two locations in San Mateo and Palo Alto. If you would like to learn more about the camp please click here or email Jay Levin at followtchild@gmail.com.  

Surely you already know that soccer is the world's # 1 sport. And you must have heard how popular soccer is in Germany and how seriously it takes its soccer history and future. 

This summer from June 25th to July 13th, GASPA is offering 3 one week camps, for ages 8-12 and 13-17, during which we will combine soccer craziness and the German language to offer an intercultural exchange; the goal being to experience a cool sport in the German language and get to know contemporary Germany.

Become a better soccer player by learning from coaches from Germany, a world class soccer powerhouse! The Camp provides the opportunity for the participants to pass the DFB-McDonalds Fußballabzeichen (German Soccer Federation/DFB-McDonalds Soccer Insignia). 

The camp is open for beginners and pros in soccer and German language, for boys and girls.
Hauptsache: Fuβball verrückt!

For more information, please visit our website at www.gaspa-ca.org