Highlights & Action Items

Building an ofrenda for our loved ones
Get ready for a busy October!
Kindergarten Showcase- Tell your friends with little ones
Coffee & Conversation Recap
Firebird Fund Update!

Honoring Our Loved Ones with An Ofrenda

As we continue our celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, we are asking GSA students and families to help prepare an ofrenda again this year. If you’re not familiar with this celebration, its origins date back to Mexico 2,500 - 3,000 years ago. The purpose of this celebration is to honor and remember deceased loved ones. Colorful and vibrant ofrendas, or “offerings,” are built in homes and public spaces in remembrance of loved ones.

Together, our GSA community will create an altar, and your student is welcome to contribute a photo of a loved one that has passed away. This can be a family member, friend, or pet. There are so many lovely details about this holiday, and we encourage you to ask your student to share what they know with you about Día de Los Muertos! If you would like to honor a special someone, please bring in a photocopy of a picture (no frame) or email your picture (or questions) to arie@thegirlsschool.org by Friday, October 20th.

Next Week is October!

Believe it or not, September has come to an end. We wanted to take a minute to remind you (and share important links!) about just a few of the events coming up in October. For the full list, please see below or the events section of ClassDojo.

Oct. 4th - High School Fair for all Middle School
- RSVP here
- Sign up to volunteer here
Oct. 12th - Outdoor Ed Day
- Sign up to volunteer here
Oct. 12 & 13 - Coffee and Conversation
- Topic: Student Support
Oct. 14th (7pm) - Karaoke and Kolache night at Batch!
- This is a parents-only social event!
Oct. 19th- Strategic Planning Think Tank sessions
- Read all info here.
Oct. 27th - Theme Parade
- Sign up to volunteer here.

Kindergarten Showcase - October 14

On Saturday, October 14th, GSA will be joining a Kindergarten fair hosted at Westminster Presbyterian Day School.

This will be a one-stop shop to get to know about different Kindergarten options in the Austin Area. If you know any families with a daughter entering Kindergarten, please let them know so we can meet them and share what we love about the GSA!

Coffee and Conversation Recap

Thank you to those of you who came out to one of our two Coffee & Conversation sessions this week! We finally unveiled the "Portrait of the GSA Graduate" that our faculty and staff have been working on for almost a year! For those of you who could not join us, be on the lookout for next week's Notes from Duncan Hall post when Ms. Yacono will send it out to everyone!

This year we are focusing each session around a particular topic while also leaving plenty of time for questions and discussion. This topic inspired a lot of amazing questions about the following topics:

Executive functions training in Middle School
Upcoming Strategic Planning Think Tank sessions (Please join one of these!)
Strategic Planning process and the committee
Support for High School Placement
How our graduates transition into High School
Opportunities for growth

We LOVE all the questions, and we hope you will join us on October 12th or 13th for our next sessions. The topic of those conversations will be Student Support.

FIREBIRD FUND UPDATE: Week 1!

We are only 3 days into our 2023 Firebird Fund campaign, and we are already at 16% participation! THANK YOU to everyone who has already made a gift. This campaign is so important for our school in supporting all of the amazing things that make the GSA so special!

Your gift makes a HUGE impact!