As we are now deep in fall and preparing for GrandFriends’ Day and Bread Day in the near future, the year seems to be flying by! It’s been a whirlwind first few months of school, as we return to a relative “normal” year. While so much is the same, we find ourselves in a moment of reflection, more closely examining not only who we are but who we want to be.

We are a school that values community. The value of coming together has definitely been felt in Parents Association Coffees after Friday morning meetings and on the sunny days of the Winaukee trip during the opening of school. Partner activities have returned and our students have loved the opportunity to come together, strengthening the ties between the upper and lower school. The success of the GUS Fund, which can be seen in the Report of Giving that follows, is another sign that the GUS community continues to buoy us up and keep us going in so many important ways. 

We also continue to value experiential learning as the heart of the GUS academic program. From our first graders’ trip to the Butterfly Place and the 8th graders’ trip to NYC, the awe that comes from discovery continues cements and supports the learning that comes from the classroom in the most meaningful ways. The experience of the child continues to be essential at GUS.

With the return to the heart of the GUS program, we also look for ways to bring the GUS values forward in important ways. How excited we are by the efforts of the GUS community to care for the environment. While an appreciation for nature has always been central to the the GUS experience, Alex Levin, faculty member and GUS alum, along with his colleagues, is working to make important and meaningful change at GUS.

Your days too must be busy so we hope this Tartan allows you a minute to slow down and connect with us. With so much happening in the world around us, we continue to be committed to all that has made GUS so very GUS. We so appreciate every member of the GUS community, near and far.

Trust and go forward,

Gretchen Forsyth
Head of School