MAY 2024 • ISSUE 4
GEM A NEWSLETTER FROM GILLISPIE’S LEARNING VILLAGE IN LA JOLLA
Class of 2024
MEASURING SUCCESS ALISON FLEMING, HEAD OF SCHOOL
IN THIS ISSUE
At year’s end, I always reflect and ask, how does Gillispie measure success? It’s exciting to see, for example, the number of books collected in the second-grade book drive or the many hydration kits assembled for unsheltered individuals. I marvel at the Junior Olympics medals given out to our young athletes and the prestigious writing award presented to one of our upper elementary students. I sigh with satisfaction (and relief) on a job well done as faculty and staff submit their year-long accreditation self-study. A troll designed by sixth graders now resides under a Gillispie ficus tree as a lasting testimony to our school’s love of reading and imagination. All these are tangible manifestations of a year well spent.
SPECIALTY SPOTLIGHT - P.E. NURTURING GOOD CITIZENS ON AND OFF THE FIELD p. 2
Yet, the smiles of our students also mark a successful year. I see happiness when fifth graders ace their lines in a Shakespeare performance; third graders cheer at dolphins and seals on the harbor cruise; kindergartners attempt to make their way across the monkey bars for the first time; and first graders show their monkey bar blisters from their many crossings. In the early childhood yard, I witness the excited whispering when a Monarch alights in the butterfly garden and hear the squeals of laughter as preschoolers’ fingers and toes squelch in the mud on rainy days. How do you measure a successful year? In all these ways, both tangible and intangible.
INNOVATION CORNER LEAVING A MARK ON OUR SCHOOL AND HEARTS p. 3-4 HAPPY HAPPENINGS IN PRESCHOOL FAMILIES BRING THE WORLD TO OUR CLASSROOMS p. 5 STUDENT NEWS GILLISPIE STUDENT WINS NATIONAL POETRY CONTEST P. 6 OUR COMMUNITY WE ARE GILLISPIE! p. 7