In Focus @ GWA

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

• Meet & Greet with Mr. Marshall: Tonight, 6 - 8 p.m.
• Deadline to buy a yearbook: Jan. 27 (details below)
• Swim, Equestrian, Wrestling Pictures: Jan. 31
• Spring Sports Photos: Feb. 15 & 22
• Winter Break: Feb. 17 - 20

Please help us welcome our future Head of School, John Marshall, to the GWA family! Everyone is invited to join us for a Meet and Greet reception on Thursday, Jan. 26 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Commons. This is a drop-in event, and an RSVP is not required.

By Jared Wilson

AP U.S. Government and Politics class had a guest speaker on Wednesday—Sr. Judge of the Alcovy Judicial Circuit John Ott. Recently retired, Judge Ott spoke to students about the criminal justice system, giving them an insider’s point of view on how the system works. He discussed the philosophy of criminal prosecutions, how convicted criminals are sentenced, and shared stories of his time on the bench and as a district attorney.

Students in Ms. Benfield’s Honors Biology class were “put to the test” during their recent lab to understand how enzymes speed up our body’s chemical reactions but can be influenced by physical conditions like cold. They simulated this concept of enzyme kinetics by acting as “Toothpickase,” an enzyme capable of breaking a toothpick in half, one at a time. Working in small groups, cheering on their Toothpickase representative, students competed for fastest enzyme in the class. In a final part of the lab, students attempted to defy nature by soaking their hands in ice water then struggling to break the toothpicks just as quickly. Ms. Benfield commented, "Most students predictively functioned more slowly, citing their numbed and aching hands."

By Denise Schnieders

Third graders thought like engineers and worked cooperatively through the engineer and design process to create the tallest tower using 100 marshmallows and 100 toothpicks. This challenge was a great way to reinforce their knowledge of geometric shapes and develop a deeper understanding of three-dimensional shapes. Students were able to discover which shapes work best to create tall towers and used that information, along with a discussion of common shapes used in architecture, to think about how they would redesign their structures.

Twenty-four GWA middle school and varsity swimmers will compete at the GIAA State Championship among almost 600 swimmers from 41 independent schools from across the state. GWA will have 15 varsity and nine middle school swimmers who have qualified, and several are seeded in the top ten in their events, including the following relay teams:

· Varsity Girls 200 Freestyle Relay (Bella Weimer, McKenna Rutledge, Morgan Davis, and Sarah Digby)

· Varsity Boys 200 Medley AND 200 Freestyle Relays (Timothy Pham, Baylor Lingner, Anthony Pham, Jake Stout)

· Middle School Girls 200 Freestyle Relay (Emily Chmielewski, Maya Langston, Bethany Pham, Maci Gray)

Senior and stand-out baseball player, Colt Ratliff, qualified in three individual events and GWA will have one of only a handful of fifth graders at the meet. Bethany Pham has qualified in three individual events and is already seeded in the top heat (top 10 swimmers) in the 50-yard Backstroke!

Congratulations to the following nine amazing upper school students who were selected by the University of Georgia for this year's UGA January Honor Band music festival known as, "Janfest."

Ren Grimsley- French Horn

Blakeney Sewell - French Horn

Ella Smith - French Horn

Wendy Menard - French Horn

Philip Mashburn - Euphonium

Michael Mealor - Tuba

Iyanah Marshall - Trumpet

Kade Franklin - Trombone

Nicole Volk - Clarinet

Seven of these students made one of the top honor bands and Philip Mashburn was the very top chair euphonium player of the entire event.

There were over 950 students that participated in Janfest this year from all over the Southeast. Each director has an opportunity to nominate students from their school. They have a required solo to record and send in to be judged and rated for overall chair placement as well as band assignments.

Great job and go GWA Band Dawgs!

Pictured above: Janfest participants, joined by GWA alums who are currently at UGA, Brooks Dokes, Alex Aull, Alex Carrillo and Barb Hammons.

Prospective parents for rising Pre-K3 through 11th-grade students are invited to join us for Open House on Sunday, Feb. 5 beginning at 2 p.m. Registration is required; the registration form may be found at gwa.com. We will begin with a general presentation followed by campus tours. We can’t wait to share all that George Walton Academy has to offer!

In anticipation of Grandparents' Day festivities, there is an online shop to pre-order grandparents' t-shirts. The shop opens today, January 26, and closes February 16. Click HERE to purchase.

The deadline to reserve a yearbook is January 27. Not sure if you paid for a yearbook? Here is a LINK of ALL yearbook purchases. Please check it to make sure you have reserved a 2023 yearbook for your student! Go to Jostens.com to purchase your yearbook now!

Equestrian, Swim, Wrestling SPORTS Photo Day is Tuesday – January 31! Pick up preorder forms in the front office or get them from your coach.

By Amber Thomason

This week in advisory, our groups were given a challenge to complete as many kinds acts as they could within the hour. Mrs. White's group in middle school and Mrs. Johnson's group in upper school were the winners of the challenge and will receive donuts during next week's advisory. The real challenge was to celebrate kindness and experience how it feels when we do something nice to others. With all the smiles and laughter that was seen in the halls, I think we accomplished that task. It is important to remember that acts of kindness can be done every single day, but it is also fun to celebrate too!

Dawgs 360 is excited to help with this year’s Monroe Rotary Club’s Daddy Daughter Dance. The event will be held February 11 on our campus, and it is open to the public. Tickets are on sale now in the Dawgs 360 office (cash or check accepted).

Today's In Focus is proudly sponsored Silverleaf Management Group (silverleafmanagement.com). Interested in advertising through our Corporate Partnership program? Contact Mike Elmankabady melmankabady@gwa.com or call 678-635-3812.