Thanks to the nearly 30 parents (and grandparents!) who participated in yesterday's webinar with Professor Seth Lerer. It is not an understatement to say his presentation was riveting, and the ensuing discussion quite lively! A recording of his webinar was sent out for you all to enjoy. Professor Lerer will be joining us for a second session on Dec. 2, at 10 a.m. to share ways that children's literature can serve as a tool for having difficult discussions...
The Grade 3 Blood Drive and Bake sale was a huge success! Overall, we raised $4,092.07 for the San Diego Blood Bank on behalf of Gillispie School and collected 44 pints of blood. That makes 423 pints collected and more than $27,000 raised since 2010! We'd like to thank everyone who donated blood and baked goods and bought items from the bake sale. We'd also like to thank the following bakeries for donating treats for the event: Brick & Bell...
What is the best way to organize our classroom library? How might we reduce food waste at our school? How can we combat pollution on the La Jolla coastline? In what ways could we address the homelessness issue in San Diego? Questions like these, whether small or big, drive the work of students in classrooms that take a project-based approach to learning. They also look a lot like the types of questions adult professionals face daily...
It has been over a decade since Gillispie first rolled up its sleeves and hosted the first blood drive, and the tradition continues with our annual Grade 3 Blood Drive and Bake Sale February 11, 2020. An event that was organized to support a former Gillispie family affected by childhood leukemia has now turned into our blood drive--a life-saving, annual event that our local community depends on. Over the past ten years, our Gillispie blood donors have saved...
Our recent Early Childhood Parent Coffee featured a panel discussion about child nutrition, spurring a healthy ongoing conversation among parents. The speakers on the panel consisted of current Gillispie parents with backgrounds in nutrition, cooking, and treating eating disorders. A few key phrases that came up: “You provide, they decide.” “Don’t yuck my yum!” “Food is neutral.” Some interesting take-aways include the following tips: Include kids in the process of making a meal. Include them in grocery shopping, food preparation,...
On Friday, October 25, Gillispie held its 17th annual International Day! Students grabbed their “passports” and traveled to themed areas of campus representing Egypt, Colombia, Slovakia, Singapore, China, Sweden, Scotland, Cuba, and Fiji. Parent volunteers and faculty members decorated classrooms, wore traditional dress, prepared ethnic foods, and shared interesting facts about different countries around the world in order to provide students with an opportunity to learn about life outside of our borders. International Day began as a social studies...
Kindergarten students had some very special visitors from the San Diego Fire Department recently. Firefighters pulled up in the Fay driveway in their big, red fire engine for a demonstration. Students learned about the different tools on the firetruck, heard some loud sirens, and even climbed through the backseat! They waved goodbye as firefighters hopped on the truck to get back to their job of helping our community. What an exciting visit!...
A jury of Gillispie fourth graders found their classmate guilty in a mock trial at Superior Court. After the judgment, bailiff Lucian escorted fictional defendant Dahlia in handcuffs to serve her sentence in a jail cell. The issue was whether or not the Harry Potter character, Harry, played by Dahlia, intended to assault Draco Malfoy, played by Aurom, when she cast a spell on him. Judge Frank Devaney presided over the case alongside his fourth grade judicial...
New this year, the Spring Arts & Science Showcase was a day to celebrate the performing arts, visual arts, and science at Gillispie! Parents, grandparents, and special friends were treated to musical performances and guided walks through exhibits and displays around campus. Thank you to Ms. Walters for her beautiful backdrops and for helping coordinate the students' art projects, Mr. Edwards for inspiring some amazing science displays, Mrs. Jacobs for leading the beautiful (and her final) spring musical...
Last week, Gillispie's Annual Graduating Seniors Reunion was held in the Sustainable Garden. Alumni and former students graduating from high school this spring caught up with each other, their elementary head of school, and former teachers over ice cream and sodas! This get-together was a chance for Gillispie 5th and 6th graders from 2012 and 2013 to see each other before attending college in the fall. What a wonderful reunion had by all! Best of luck to our Gillispie alums...
