Glen Urquhart School

"Research consistently shows that outdoor learning benefits students emotionally and academically. Throughout my years at GUS, I have witnessed this firsthand. Students forge connections between outdoor learning and their experiences, finding peace and calm as they sketch our GUS stream. Collecting pollinator data and comparing it to past records fosters inquiry into broader issues like pesticides and climate change." Science Teacher Emilie Cushing shares why she hopes that shining a light on outdoor learning, while not a new concept for GUS, will allow us to expand upon the rich learning experiences our campus offers all students.

"Project based learning builds something within a student, beyond the graded product. That something is connection. Earlier this year, I reached out to Dawn Southworth, our art teacher of 30 years, to propose a collaboration. The idea was to have students generate a visual representation of a scene from the spooky story they were writing in English Language Arts." Hear more about the Spooky Story Share project from Upper School English Teacher Kate Doyon '01!

This summer, Pre-K Teacher Polly Pfau P'33 traveled to Norway, where she explored the Scandinavian philosophy of friluftsliv, and their outdoor schools. Her trip was made possible by The Tadler Grant, which provides opportunities for GUS teachers to explore and bring first-hand experiences and knowledge back to the classroom. Read more about her trip and what she is bringing back to the GUS Pre-K classroom!

Glen Urquhart School has a long history of partnering with families to make a GUS education accessible. For the last five years, we have been working to deliver on and improve upon that commitment by?reimagining our entire admission process to make it more equitable, transparent, and accessible. Additionally, at GUS, our child-centric approach puts students at the center of their learning, and we are proud to reflect that same philosophy in our admission process with an approach that is individualized to each family. This school year, we are proud to further expand access to our school by offering rolling admission to students in first through eighth grade.

"How I love the Tartan as a metaphor for GUS! The idea of individual threads coming together to create something special certainly rings true here on campus - and in this newsletter! This issue features some amazing GUS stories that are both new and exciting while also authentically and classically GUS." Read more from Head of School Gretchen Forsyth in her October Message, and catch up on what's going on at GUS in our first Tartan newsletter of the year!

Proud to share that two members of the GUS community are presenting today as part of the Association of Independent Schools in New England's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Conference. Assistant Head of School for Curriculum + Program and Director of Upper School, Brad Belin, will host a panel discussion: "Bridge to Belonging: Nurturing Transracial Adoptees in School Communities," aimed at helping educators understand how to best support TRA students and families. GUS Trustee Michael Buensuceso presents "Caring in Crisis: Supporting Students Amidst Global Conflict," which aims to help educators learn to better support students during challenging times and strategies for holding space in our schools. Don't miss out if you're in attendance!

Upper School English Teacher Kate Doyon '01 shares her “Independent School Story” in the fall issue of NAIS’s Independent School Magazine! From her time at GUS as a student to teaching middle schooler students today, she shares her inspiration for becoming a teacher and why returning to GUS to teach has felt like a breath of fresh air.

Join us next week!

We are looking to hire a part-time Business Office Assistant to support our finance, advancement, and marketing/communications teams. Please pass along to anyone you know who may be interested!

"Every new school year is an opportunity for students to recreate themselves - to bring forward what they’ve learned and what they value and let go of the things that didn’t work or weighed them down. Each year, students embark on new adventures, try new sports, and push themselves to know more than they did before. They get to try out new roles like “I am a dancer” or “I am a scientist,” while discovering new things about themselves. Here at GUS, they don’t need to be afraid about the times they fall down, don’t get the right answer, or wish they had done something differently. There is always the opportunity to try again, and it is in that freedom to give their full effort without fear that the most powerful learning takes place. No doubt, this new year will be a year of possibilities for our students." Read more from Gretchen Forsyth, in our September Message from the Head of School: