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Letter from the Principal
Spring 2009
Dear Parents:
Thank you for looking at our GCCS website. We
invite you to call and to visit us, to learn more about a school that provides a
caring environment for students from age 1 through 8th grade.
What makes GCCS unique? So many things…
- We maintain a student teacher ratio at the elementary
level of 16 to 1 and at the middle school level of 20 to 1. Preschool ratios
are based on Pinellas County License Board requirements, and vary by
classroom and age.
- We work to provide balance for students – with recess
and PE daily, water in classrooms, music, Spanish, art incorporated into
academics, and efforts made to make learning fun yet structured and
organized.
- We foster social and emotional development, including
self control, empathy, problem solving, cooperation, and responsible
decision making. We believe this fosters academic achievement.
- We stress character development, teaching students
about respect, responsibility, thankfulness, self-motivation, kindness, etc.
We use the Bible to teach about these, and then do service projects to help
the students to apply them into their lives.
- We help students understand that bullying is not
acceptable, and that serving as a bystander without reporting is wrong.
- We honor our country, and teach students to honor it.
- We teach leadership. K-8 students are responsible for
leading chapel each week, for leading the pledge over the intercom, etc.
- We guide students to find meaning and purpose in
life, using Biblical principles.
- We follow the Sunshine State Standards as the guide
for our curriculum accelerating them especially at the middle school level.
Many 8th grade graduates leave ready to attend an International
Baccalaureate if they so choose.
- We teach the academics, and do a great job with them!
Approximately 60-70% of our students are on the honor roll or principal’s
list every quarter, and our SAT scores are in the 70-80 percentile most
years.
- Our graduates attend International Baccalaureate
programs, other Christian schools, medical magnets, and local high schools.
One principal gets excited when a GCCS graduate applies to his school, and
has stated, “That’s where the smart kids come from!”
Even though GCCS has these wonderful
characteristics, there are some things we are not:
- Although we have PE daily, and offer intramurals
for 5th-8th grades
- Although we include art and music in our classes,
and offer music twice weekly, and we have a Christmas and a spring
musical each year, we are not a school of the arts.
- We are a school with loving and caring teachers
who work with students to develop their God-given abilities.
- We use technology in our classrooms and expect
our students to leave us with good basic skills in technology. We also
use RenWeb, a web based program that allows our parents to access their
child’s records at all times
GCCS is a caring environment that fosters the
growth and development of a well rounded student. The mission of GCCS is
to provide academic and Christian education using the best educational
practices including innovative and traditional methods in order to guide
students to grow and mature as Jesus did, “in wisdom and stature, in
favor with God and men.” (Luke 2:52 NIV) May God guide us to this end.
Sincerely,
Linda G. Smock
Principal/CEO
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