In Focus @ GWA
A news bulletin for the families of George Walton Academy
September 19, 2019
Email: info@gwa.com
Website: www.gwa.com
Phone: (678) 635-3800
Facebook: facebook.com/GeorgeWaltonAcademy/
Twitter: @georgewalton
Key Deadlines & Dates
- Speaker Ellen Carrington: Sept. 19 @ 6:30 p.m.
- Dress Up Days: Sept. 23-27 (see below)
- Homecoming Pep Rally: Sept. 27
- Early Dismissal: Sept. 27
- Alumni Weekend: Sept. 27-29
- Dawgs Unleashed Golf Tournament: Sept. 23
- Dawgs Unleashed Tennis: Sept. 24
- Dawgs Unleashed 5K & Fun Run: Sept. 29
- Senior Yearbook Page Deadline: Sept. 30
It's a Small World
This past Saturday our Spanish exchange students arrived from our partner school in Barcelona, Spain to spend a month with GWA students and their families. Our partnership with St. Paul’s school is in its third year, and only keeps getting better with time. Students who participate in the exchange from both schools are not only saying “yes” to broadening their horizons and fostering a greater global awareness but are also learning valuable lessons in responsibility and self-reliance, as well as forming friendships that will last a lifetime. Students from both schools have spoken of how doing an exchange helped them learn more about themselves and how to be more authentic, while also allowing them to take ownership over their education through experiential learning. All have walked away with intense gratitude for the opportunity and a more personal sense of inter-connectedness with the rest of the world.
Welcome to Eva, Paula, Hugo, Patricia, and Alexia!
Early Dismissal Next Friday
Schedule for pep rally day:
8 a.m. – Students check into first period
9 a.m. – Powderpuff games begin
10:15 a.m. – Beginning of pep rally
11:00 a.m.– Pre-K3, K4, K5 dismissed from front of school
11:30 a.m. – Lower school carpool
11:30 a.m. – Middle and upper school dismissal
11:45 a.m. – Buses run
Important Homecoming Info
Homecoming 2019
Dance: Saturday, Sept. 28, 8-11 p.m. (high school students ONLY) in the cafeteria- this a change from the original venue and the theme is "Under the Sea."
Homecoming dance tickets will be sold during break and lunch. Each ticket is $10. The last day to purchase a ticket is Friday, Sept. 20. After Sept. 20, tickets will be sold at the door for $15.
Dress Up Days: Monday-Friday (Sept. 23-27) READ MORE
The deadline to submit content for a senior page in the yearbook is Sept. 30! There are two options for creating page layout:
• Create your senior yearbook page online at yearbookordercenter.com for $100.
OR
• Have the staff design the page for you for $150. Send in a labeled envelope with the senior’s first and last name, attention Mrs. Jones, to the front office:
- Pictures (high resolution digital pictures on a USB drive – preferred - or physical photos to be scanned)
- Typed text (in a digital format so we can copy and paste – you can email or include on the USB drive)
- Check for $150 made payable to GWA
Workshop Tonight!
Please R.S.V.P. to emcdonel@gwa.com. Event will be held in the auditorium.
Sign Up for Dawgs Unleashed Now!
Our Dawgs Unleashed events are just around the corner and it's time to sign up. The Fun Run begins at 1:30 p.m. and the 5K begins at 2 p.m. with a new route from our campus to downtown Monroe. Click HERE to register for the 5K and Fun Run, and HERE to play in the tennis tournament.
If you are interested in helping out with our Dawgs Unleashed events- please contact Elizabeth McDonel at emcdonel@gwa.com.
Dawgs Unleashed Deals!
See You At The Pole
All GWA families, faculty and students are invited to meet at the flagpole on the footbal field Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 7:30 a.m. for "See You At The Pole" - a global day of student prayer.
Learning Goes Full Circle
Our pre-K3 students have been busy learning about circles and the color yellow this week. Their lesson took a fun twist today as they circled the campus in the big yellow school bus (while singing the "The Wheels on the Bus"!) and enjoyed “Circle Day” along with their parents on the front lawn of our Dawgs 360 house. Circles were everywhere- from pizza to hula hoops and corn hole games. Thanks to Mrs. McDonel and Mrs. Dokes for their help with this educational adventure!
The Twenty-First Century Skill of Critical Thinking
By Lynn Robinson
Middle and High School Counselor
Teachers talk a lot about giving students opportunities to think critically in the classroom; and there is a reason for that. Every indication suggests that the world of work, now and in the future, will be expecting workers to perform this valuable skill. But what does it mean to think critically?
To think critically, the student must look at a topic, problem, or product and think about it in a way that goes beyond the obvious. Nothing about topic, problem or product is taken at face value. It is coming up with relevant questions, questions that may not have been asked before, and reaching for the answers. The student tests his/her own assumptions and the assumptions of others and she puts aside preconceived notions allowing her own thought processes to develop new insights and more questions.
The hardest part of getting students to think critically is to get them to take risks. Unfortunately, students are often more concerned with having a “right” or “wrong” answer, not understanding that the risk of being wrong is part of the process, and that the result of their thinking is not about being “right” or “wrong.” Instead, the result of the process is being insightful, and that is what classroom teachers are going for when they ask students to think critically – insightfulness.
GWA Band Fine-Tunes Its Show
The GWA marching Bulldog Band had a great run of their show at the Cedar Shoals exhibition. The band cheered on nine other bands and had wonderful night supporting the Marching Arts Activity. Matador, Jackson Music (class of 2021) debuted his costume before an excited crowd! Post performance, the band mingled with the UGA Redcoat Band, and supported our alumni, Alex Aull (‘19), Lydia Akin (‘19), Andrew Mappes (‘18), Grace Pulliam (‘17), and Gracie Connor (‘16). The band thanks Coach Whitley and members of the football team for coming out to show them some love!
Playoff Bound Bulldogs
The Bulldogs travel to Hebron Christian Academy on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. looking to avenge their only loss this season. Go Bulldogs!
Be in the Know!
GWA fall sports are off to a great start! Click the calendar link above to check out upcoming sporting events. Go BULLDOGS!
Alumni Weekend Tickets on Sale Now!
Please share the news! All GWA alumni are invited to our first-ever GWA Alumni Weekend! The fun begins Friday, Sept. 27 with a pre-game tailgate in the newly renovated cafeteria- complete with catering by The Varsity, a DJ, campus tours and displays of GWA memorabilia. We will host a party on Saturday night at The Wayfarer in downtown Monroe. READ MORE...