PATCHAT

PatChat is your inside view of GA from students' perspective

Thursday, October 25, 2012

GA Lower School presents "Newsroom: Episode 1"

Check out the first episode of "Newsroom"! With the help of Andrew Dolan, 3rd grade Assistant Teacher, we cannot wait to see what unfolds in Episode #2!


GA Newsroom Ep. 1 10/22/12
GA Newsroom Ep. 1 10/22/12
 
About this video
"Check out what is happening in Germantown Academy's Lower School this month!"


https://vimeo.com/51772889

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

GAWC: We Hear What You Are Saying


As shy freshman walks into the room.

“Welcome to the Writing Center,” I said with a smile. “Are you here for a conference?”

“Yes,” he replied, blushing.

“Alright buddy,” I swiveled in my chair, gesturing towards one of the two tables in the back of the room. “Take a seat and I’ll be with you in a sec.”

This is the real-life exchange between me, a Writing Center advisor, and a recent “client”. Actually, any student who walks into the Writing Center is met with a smile and a warm greeting, guaranteed.

The GA Writing Center is truly one of a kind. Few high schools in the nation have a completely student-staffed Writing Center where students, aka clients, can sign up to meet with specially trained “Writing Center Advisors” who help their respective clients brainstorm, improve their writing, and proofread papers. Writing Center Advisors are available not just for English-related work, but also History and now Science!

At the end of the day, the GA Writing Center (or GAWC) is another way GA strives to help its students excel in a very unique way.

-Brett

Thursday, October 18, 2012

It's all about trust and honor

Today, the other honor council members, our head of Upper School, and I met over lunch with new upper school students and informed them about the honor code at GA. They learned that the honor code is the code of conduct in the upper school that each upper school student accepts and agrees to follow. Examples of following the honor code are not cheating, stealing, vandalizing, plagiarizing, or lying. This meeting really helped new students understand how our GA community really strives to be trustworthy and honorable in every action we do, and knowing this makes me so proud and, for lack of a stronger word, honored, to be a student at GA! 

-Angela

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Can't quite grasp this "Senior" thing


Sometimes I’m so caught up in the whirl of school work, college applications, managing clubs and sports that I often forget to take time and enjoy the fact that I’m a senior (even though it’s still a like a dream to me). It’s hard to think how much I must have changed from when I was an underclassman to an upperclassman. It’s even weirder for me when old friends, who graduated when I was an underclassman, comment on how much I’ve grown up, because in the end I still feel the same. Yeah, I might have gotten a bit older, maybe wiser, maybe a bit more thoughtful (might being the keyword here) but in the end I believe that I’m still the same person.  I still pull the push door in the arts center, I still mix up my left from my right and I still remember the first couple of lines from The Odyssey (I read this my Freshman year). Maybe when reality hits me and I acknowledge the fact that I am a senior, maybe then I’ll understand what everyone is talking about.

Back to college apps,

Amy

Thursday, October 11, 2012

A Taste of Art


Last Thursday before Columbus Day weekend, Upper Schooler's had the opportunity to come and see the Honors art work created by their peers. It allowed people to take a deeper look into the minds of their fellow sophomores and to experience their art alongside them. When the art show was over, a group of students went down to the studios. The art teachers generously donated their night to the students who were interested in creating art. We had a chance to do as we pleased, participating in anything from sculpting to drawing to digital media. The atmosphere was just as tasteful as the art. Listening to mellow music in the background with no hiatus between laughs as you allow yourself to be emerged in art...this was a new experience for me. And I can say that it was truly beautiful. 

- Lauren W.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Reflections on Traditions: Past, Present, and Future





To a lot of students across the country, senior year is all about the college process. No one escapes the tedious task of completing the Common App and numerous supplemental essays. Despite this daunting process, everybody looks forward to their senior year at Germantown Academy. Ever since Kindergarten, I’ve enjoyed watching the many senior traditions, ranging from leading the GA-PC Day pep rally to carrying out a crafty senior prank. Last Friday, the seniors ran a successful Crayola themed back-to-school dance (pictured above). Everyone came to the dance dressed up in a color that mimicked a Crayola crayon! With all of the senior traditions on the horizon, it’s our turn to write the next chapter in GA history and leave our mark on the school. Here’s to a great 2012-13 school year!

- Michael H.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back!

The 2012-2013 school year is underway! PatChat will return Tuesday, October 9th! Stay tuned for this year's adventures :)