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Girls in the Middle | February 2020

Lynne Macziewski, Head of Middle School
Another successful Winterim is in the books!
“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” This opening encapsulates all of our feelings about Winterim Week 2020. While it can be easy to focus on the “worst of times” (e.g. the bus blew a tire, the fuel pump went out, I lost my money, our luggage was delayed for hours, there was a deluge of rain every single day), I hope that the “best of times” by far outweighs all of the mishaps and more.  
Our sixth graders stretched their minds and honed creative problem-solving skills through the creation of tessellations at a local pottery studio. They engaged with our local community partners by volunteering at various Chattanooga service organizations such as Ronald McDonald House, where they deep cleaned the playroom (hopefully they can use that skill at home, too!) and made brunch for the families staying there. They focused on mind, body, and spirit with a visit to Greenway Farms, where they practiced mindfulness and relaxation through yoga, hiked the beautiful trails and forest, collected herbs from the medicinal garden, and used those farm-grown ingredients to make tea and lip balm. The week culminated with a visit to the Creative Discovery Museum and reflecting on the cultural similarities and differences between the lives of our sixth-grade girls and students of a similar age in Kenya. And, of course, lots of playful laughter, healthy competition, and team-building activities ensued during bowling, laser tag, and fun at the aquatic center throughout the week! 

Seventh-graders traveled to Nashville and explored the Nashville Adventure Science Museum for hands-on experiences leading into their Earth Science studies. They visited historical sites including the State Capitol and dove into Tennessee’s and the South’s history of music. A highlight of this trip is always an evening concert at the Grand Ole Opry, where this year our girls heard performances by Darius Rucker and Luke Combs—along with a shoutout to GPS!  During a visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame, students put their poetry skills from English to the test and experienced songwriting firsthand. They worked closely with published songwriters to compose original lyrics to a selection of melodies. Our girls took the storytelling aspect to heart, evidenced by the song below. The first verse and chorus are a perfect snapshot of their current experiences and the importance of the GPS Sisterhood in their lives. As they tell us below, building these relationships, and having good friends to turn to, is a crucial part in helping us to overcome the bad days.  

Verse 1:
You had a bad day and your bus broke down
You got a bad grade and your smile turned to a frown
But there in the rain was your best friend
Turnin’ the storm into a rainbow that had no end


Chorus:
When life is hard, when life’s not fair
You can count on your girls to be there
They will always help you make it through
A shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold
She’ll give you her sweater when you’re feeling cold
Yeah, sisters—oh, sisters are always there for you


As a part of their Winterim experience, eighth-grade girls embarked on a Civil Rights tour through Atlanta and Birmingham, visiting the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, where they were able to learn more about not only the Civil rights’ struggles in the South, but also those in the rest of the country and around the world that continue today. They participated in a powerful lunch-counter experience, where they heard and felt what it might have been like during a sit-in and viewed the personal papers of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., including his handwritten notes and an early draft of “I Have a Dream.”

During a visit to the 16th Street Baptist Church and Kelly Ingram Park, our girls heard the moving stories from the morning of the bombing from those who participated in the Birmingham children’s march as well as learned more about the community and national aftermath from these events. Together, we were able to dissect and breakdown each of these events, their roles in the greater Civil Rights Movement, and discuss the importance of civil and human rights then and now, especially the importance of being an upstander. These impactful conversations challenged each of us to consider our ideas and beliefs, understand the importance of learning from the lived experiences of others, and contemplate our role in the greater good. 

I am always deeply grateful to have the opportunity to take part in each of these experiences with our girls. While each Winterim experience is grounded in the pillars of academic and interdisciplinary work applicable to each grade-level curriculum, each also continues to be one of the most impactful experiences our girls have the opportunity to take part in as students at GPS. They engage our minds, our hearts, our souls while continuing to grow our love of learning, strengthening the bonds of our sisterhood, and hopefully reminding us of “the best of times.”
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