Dear Parents:

                Parent conferences at GCA are quite unique and we look forward to spending 30 minutes with you, twice a year, focused entirely on your son/daughter and working together to continue his/her progress.  Parents schedule a 30 minute appointment and spend those minutes with teachers.  In order to create time for these appointments, students attend school for a half day, two weeks of the year; once in September and once in April. 

                Even though the participation rate for Parent Conferences has been as high as 92%, we have cancelled the April sessions of parent conferences due to covid 19.  There is no doubt that the Spring Break has presented a degree of apprehension.  We are reassured in that the number of absences this week has not shown a significant change from other weeks.  This is evidence that we are all striving toward keeping the school open, yet, as we look toward parent conferences this month, we are taking a lesson from this week and have decided to avoid any potential anxiety presented by bringing in a large number of parents, family members and translators.  Likewise, we are concerned for those who would break their stay at home routines to take a taxi or travel to GCA with small children via public transportation.  In response to these concerns, we have cancelled the April Parent Conferences at GCA.  Instead, school will be in session from 7:45-2:45, Monday-Friday, April 20-24.  We will be administering the Iowa Assessments for students in grades 1-12 each day and continuing with regular classes but please note that in order to lighten the schedule, we will be closing school at 2:45 each day,  rather than 3:45.  Hopefully this will allow the students to get home earlier, relax a bit, and perhaps get to sleep earlier. 

                Also in response to covid 19, we will continue to not have swimming lessons, take field trips, or participate in sports competitions outside of our P.E. classes.  Grade 12 students are disappointed, yet accepting of the need to move their Graduation Trip to Kenting, until after the school year has finished, in June. 

                Another question has been the holiday on May 1.  Although May 1 is a national holiday, it seems that this is a holiday only for laborers and not for everyone.  Schools will be open on May 1.

                As always, we thank Amy and Jackie in the school office for their patience as they respond to phone calls.  Please call whenever you have a question, or communicate directly with the teachers through email.

Under God’s Grace,

Bonnie Chow

GCA