In Focus @ GWA

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Email: info@gwa.com
Website: www.gwa.com
Phone: (678) 635-3800

• Softball Senior Night: TODAY, 4:30 p.m.
• Homecoming Court Recognition: Friday, 8:40 a.m.
• Homecoming Pep Rally: Friday, 9:15 - 10 a.m.
• Powder Puff Game: Friday, 10:15 - 11:30 a.m.
• GWA Alumni Tailgate: Friday, 6:30 p.m. (see below)
• Homecoming Game, GWA vs. RMA: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
• Homecoming Court presented and the queen is crowned at halftime
• Homecoming Dance: Saturday, October 8 in the Nicholson Center, 8 -11 p.m.
• Senior Stone Mountain Trip: October 12
  
• PSAT (Grades 8 -11): Wednesday, October 12
• Dawgs Unleashed Events: October 15, 17 & 18 (see below)
  
• Yearbook Picture Make-up Day: October 17
• Fall Break: October 20 -21

Mr. Gasaway's Robotics 101 class is putting movement to their programming. Students are working on programming a prototype for a new Mars rover using computational thinking to breakdown the problem and create a solution. The first stage is to move a specific programmed distance. Each week the problems become tougher and the programming more intense.

Walton County Fire Rescue visited GWA to help our kindergarteners kick off their community helper's week. Students learned about the important job of a firefighter, and fire safety rules. They also had the chance to check out the fire trucks and firefighting gear. Thank you to WCFR for teaching our youngest Bulldogs about fire safety and for protecting and serving the public!

Tuesday’s groundbreaking for the new Walton County YMCA was great news for the local community and for the GWA Swim Dawgs as they look forward to holding future practices and meets at the $15 million facility. As co-chair of the “Building a Healthy Walton” Campaign Leadership Council, GWA’s Head of School Gary Hobbs thanked the many volunteers, leaders, and members of the local community for their support of the project.

Swim coaches Doretta Power and Roger Lamadrid were also on hand for the celebration. “This facility is going to be an incredible asset for Walton County and for our growing swim program,” said Coach Power. “We now have 34 swimmers and our current practice facility only has two lanes which has been very challenging. The new Y’s competition pool will feature eight lanes and will be a game changer! We are very grateful to all those who supported the vision for this wonderful facility which will not only benefit the swim programs for schools in our area but will also be a great resource for all children and adults in our local community.”

Please mark your calendars for the new date for the Champions Dinner: Sunday, December 11. Since there are so many activities scheduled for next weekend, the decision has been made to move the event to a date that won’t conflict with athletic playoffs or a UGA home football game! Click HERE to grab your tickets now!

The Iron Dawg Award is a monthly award that is awarded to one or more students. The students chosen must exemplify specific qualities in their Athletic Performance class. Each student chosen will be eligible for the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) All America Award at the end of the school year. All candidates are selected by the GWA Athletic Performance instructors and confirmed by their athletic team’s head coach.

Five Point Criteria:

• Leadership Ability
• Above Average Work Ethic
• Perfect Attendance
• Winning Attitude
• Above Average Ability to Follow Instructions

Mrs. Carver's third-grade art students are studying gesture drawing. Students learned gesture drawings show movement, and the drawings are quick (Mrs. Carver used a timer set to 20 seconds!). After making the quick gesture drawings of one another, students will use foil to create sculptures based on their drawings. Each foil gesture will then be displayed on a base created by the student.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month! On October 19, our Honor Code Capstone members are asking our students and staff to wear orange to celebrate Unity Day. Students will be allowed to wear an orange t-shirt with dress code approved pants to support bullying prevention. Let's come together to support kindness and community at GWA! For more information, visit https://www.pacer.org/bullying/

The GWA Interact Club volunteered with our Covington Rotary Club Sponsor last Sunday for the 29th Cars of the Past Car Show. The show was on the Covington Square and consisted of over 100 cars. Our students had a great time helping with registration, getting the show set up and helping the Rotary members with a variety of other tasks. One of our members, Sarah Kate Bailey, stated that she "loved getting to see the old cars and talking to the owners of the cars while checking them in for the show." Interact Club is a service club that is sponsored by the local Rotary Clubs for students to serve the community while learning leadership skills.

It’s not too late to participate in our exciting Dawgs Unleashed events! Whether you want to run, walk, swing a racquet or club – join us for this epic series of events and support our Dawgs 360 mission to improve the student experience at GWA for all students! Spots are available in the tennis and golf tournaments (but space is limited for golf). The guaranteed t-shirt deadline has passed, but shirts will be reserved in the order that late registrations are received, and we still have good quantities on hand. Click HERE for details and registration.

Dawgs 360 is looking for never-ending smiles and encouraging cheers! Can you help us cheer on the Dawgs Unleashed runners and support our tournament golf teams? Contact Elizabeth McDonel at emcdonel@gwa.com to join the fun! Go Bulldogs!

Today's In Focus is proudly sponsored by Technical Survey Services. Interested in advertising through our Corporate Partnership program? Contact Mike Elmankabady melmankabady@gwa.com or call 678-635-3812.