In Focus @ GWA

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

Our Lady Dawgs defeated Brookstone School last Friday in the GIAA Class AAAA State Basketball Championship game and became the first girls’ State Basketball champs in GWA history!

Congratulations to Coach Lori Hines, Coach Grace Martin and our amazing Lady Dawgs!

• Silent Auction is OPEN! See below for details
• Lucky Dawg Gala & Benefit Auction: March 11
  
• Lower School Spring Photos (optional): March 15
• Grandparents' Day: March 17 (early dismissal/NO aftercare)
• NO SCHOOL for all Middle School students: Friday, March 17
• Jr./Sr. Prom: March 17 (NO SCHOOL for grades 9-12)
• Book Fair: March 20 - 24
• MS Dance: March 24
• Spring Break: April 3 - 7

By Katherine Meeks

Honors U.S. History students researched individual Progressive Era reformers from various movements (women’s suffrage, labor reforms, urban reforms, civil rights, political reforms, etc.) and then presented their findings in the form of a “speed-dating” type activity. In the end, students wrote about which other reformer aligned most with their reformer’s beliefs and objectives and came away with a greater understanding of the vast and varied goals of what is termed the Progressive Movement.

by Olivia Strain

In math class this week, seventh graders are connecting math concepts learned this year to sights we will see next week on our class trip to Washington D.C. One of the places students visit in D.C. is the International Spy Museum, so they learned about the branch of math called "cryptography" which involves ways to encrypt data and messages. Each student received a spy identity for the day and worked with their team to decode messages that were encrypted using different math-related ciphers (such as the Caesar Cipher which involves shifting every letter of the alphabet forward or backward).

Members of the Walton County Chamber of Commerce and local community leaders visited our eighth-grade students during LINX to host Reality Check, a program designed to help students understand the importance of financial literacy. Through a simulation, students experienced real-life scenarios related to personal finances, education, jobs, and family as they see how the decisions they make impact various aspects of their lives. This interactive event helps students see the connection between education, career, and income and encourages them to make wise decisions now to set them on a path to financial success in the future. Thank you to our community leaders for providing this valuable experience!

Congratulations to our literary team on their outstanding performance during the region literary meet last week. We are pleased to have the following students who will be going to State on March 21st at Gordon State College in Barnesville, GA.

• Dustin Trinh for piano
• Jack Boyer for vocal solo
• Jack Boyer, Zelig Miller, Dustin Trinh, and Michael Mealor for quartet
• Jackson Harrison for argumentative essay

Please congratulate these students and let them know how proud we are to have them represent our school so well.

GWA junior Blakeney Sewell won the Intermediate 16+ All Around Champion title at the United States Twirling Open (1st place strut, 1st place 2-baton, 2nd place solo) in Myrtle Beach, SC. She placed first in open intermediate strut and 2-baton and placed 2nd in the pageant (1st place modeling, 1st place strut, 5th place solo). Congratulations, Blakeney!

Click HERE for details and to RSVP and HERE to send us favorite pictures with your loved ones.

Please note: The program begins at 9 a.m. in the Nicholson Center followed by visits to student classrooms. Students should follow regular arrival procedures and they will be dismissed with their special guests or parents at the conclusion of all activities. Carpool will run from 10:15-10:30 a.m. for all other students and there will be no aftercare.

Lower school photos are Wednesday, March 15! These photos are optional for lower school and students are allowed to wear spring attire. Photo order forms were sent home in bookbags last week. If you haven’t received a form, there are some extras in the front office.

GWA Students & Parents,

We are excited to host the GWA 2023 College Tour June 4-9 for rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors. The trip will be chaperoned by Jon Terrell, Laura Nabors, & Carolyn Phillips.

The cost will be $850 depending on our headcount. It will cover transportation, lodging, most meals, and entertainment.

We ask that a deposit of $400 per student should be submitted by March 24. If you need to make an alternate arrangement for payment, please call Laura Nabors at 678-635-3821 or lnabors@gwa.com.

Here is our tentative schedule:

Monday:

• University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Samford
• University of Alabama

Tuesday:

• Mississippi State
• University of Mississippi*
• Mississippi College*
• University of Southern Mississippi*
  • *We will visit 2 of these 3.

Wednesday

• Tulane University
• Louisiana State University

Thursday

• University of South Alabama
• University of West Florida

Friday

• Troy University
• Auburn University

Sunday Night in Birmingham, AL.
Monday Night in Starkville, MS.
Tuesday Night in New Orleans, LA.
Wednesday Night in TBD.
Thursday Night in Orange Beach (tentatively).

Thanks & Go Bulldogs,
Mr. Jon Terrell & Mrs. Laura Nabors

Following the Girls Basketball State Championship win, GWA Coach Lori Hines was named the GIAA AAAA State Coach of the Year. Sophomore Ashley Hill was named AAAA State Player of the Year, and junior Catherine Atkinson and sophomore Leila Mathis both earned AAAA All-State titles.

Congratulations to the Lady Dawgs on their outstanding accomplishments and on a season to remember!

Congrats to our boys varsity basketball players and their coaches, Matt Reynolds and Mike Elmankabady on an exciting season that led the team to a Region Championship and the Final Four.

Congratulations to senior Reese Gelsthorpe and junior Logan Blalock on being named GIAA AAAA All-State!

All rising third - sixth graders interested in playing football are encouraged to come to Don Williams Stadium on Friday, April 28 at 7 - 8 p.m. for a football clinic hosted by the varsity football team. In addition to the clinic, this will be your last chance to sign up for youth football in the fall. If interested, please click HERE to register. This event is FREE to attend.

REGISTRATION FOR YOUTH CHEER (CLICK HERE) AND FOOTBALL (CLICK HERE) IS NOW OPEN.

Congratulations to our youth wrestling team! This past Sunday they competed at the Georgia Kids State Championships in Perry, GA. Isaac Baldwin, Hudson Fretwell, Batch Ball, RJ Mayo and Cash Sorrow all competed and wrestled hard in their respective weight classes. Cash Sorrow was the 135 lb. 14U Novice State Runner-Up. Thanks to coaches Marc Simon and Anthony Fretwell for a successful season.

Playwright Brian Hampton visited Mrs. McDevitt's middle school Dramatic Performance class. They will be performing his play "Gossip" towards the end of this semester. Brian currently lives in New York, but has close ties with senior Lillie Barrientos, who offered the script to Mrs. McDevitt back in the fall, while she was looking for a One Act competition piece. Since Brian has written several plays, he was a wealth of knowledge for the class, offering incredible advice on the process of completing a script and making it ready for production.

Being a room parent is a time commitment that makes a big impact! We greatly appreciate the time our parents contributed to our GWA Annual Grandparents' Day celebration. This event brings memories of a lifetime for our students, parents, grandparents and extended family. Thank you to our room parents for making this lucky day a huge success!

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