Highlights from August & September!
GALA is celebrating our 7th week of school this week!  Here are a few highlights since we opened on August 3:

• GALA has completed our first Unit of Inquiry: How We Organize Ourselves - a part of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP).  Our next IB PYP Unit of Inquiry is: Who We Are
• Every Friday, GALA holds a whole school assembly.  During these assemblies, we celebrate students who have been working especially hard on being leaders of our school-wide essential agreements: (1) Be Respectful, (2) Be a Responsible Learner, and (3) Be Safe and Aware, as well as our IB PYP Learner Profile for the month of August: Caring. September Learner Profile is Communicator. Here are pictures of our superstar students!

• GALA is celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month, recognized September 15 through October 15. Students at GALA are learning about Hispanic history, culture, and leadership.
• GALA is excited to partner with Rust Belt Riders!  RBR is a worker-owned organic waste removal service available to schools in Northeast Ohio. The mission of RBR is to create wealth from waste through the conversion of waste food into value added products.                                                                                                                            Students at GALA are learning about the importance and benefits of composting, and have the opportunity to compost their fruit and vegetable waste every day during breakfast and lunch!  Thank you Rust Belt Riders for this very valuable service and learning opportunity for our young students!
• We have completed our school-wide technology implementation plan!  All classrooms at GALA have been equipped with computer learning stations, projectors and interactive white board systems, document cameras, and audio listening stations.  GALA students are not only being immersed in Spanish or Mandarin 70% of the school day, but also a technology integrated learning environment 100% of the school day that will prepare them for the 21st century!
• Family Night Open House was a huge success on September 1. We had more 30 families participate!
• The GALA Parent & Family Association (PFA) is up and running.  The PFA held meetings at 4:30 p.m. on August 23 and September 20. The next PFA meeting will be held at 4:30 p.m. on October 25. All GALA families are invited to participate.

I am excited about the school because it offers my children a chance to be a part of something never offered before in the Cleveland-area. I also love the fact that GALA is very diverse with students and faculty with many mixed backgrounds.

Tell us about yourself
I am a hard-working and loyal person who thinks only of my children and their needs. I am a single mom of three, yet it does not feel so alone with my two ladies around. I have worked as a manager in the food service industry for over 12 years. We are originally from Cleveland Heights and Euclid, Ohio, but now we live in Cleveland in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood. We hope one day to move near this school!

What is your favorite thing to do and/or favorite place to go in Cleveland?
My favorite place to go by myself and with the children is Euclid Creek Reservation. Its very beautiful, safe, and the park rangers actually come out and talk and walk with people.

Share your favorite quote/proverb. 
My favorite quote is something a former supervisor said to me as a pep talk when I wanted to throw in the towel from a nerve racking day. She said, "Okay, so you crashed and burned. Now pick yourself up and rise and fly."  I live by this now.
  I am excited to share my excitement about language learning and being able to give young people an opportunity to learn about other cultures. I also look forward to learning more and growing professionally alongside the students at GALA.

Tell us about yourself
I was born in Cleveland, but spent the early years of my childhood in the small town of Bloomfield, New Mexico, where I first became interested in the Spanish language. I received a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Communication from Hiram College and participated in the Ohio Core Teacher Education Program at the University of Akron. I also have a Master’s Degree in Spanish from Cleveland State University, where I focused my studies in Latin American literature and the expression of Afro-Latino identity. Prior to becoming a teacher, I was a deputy clerk for the 13 years at a local municipal court and I also worked in the area performance and quality improvement at OhioGuidestone. 

What do you like to do when you are not working?
Family is very important to me and I really enjoy spending time with my husband (who is also a teacher) and our two sons. One of my favorite parts of family time involves food. We love to eat at new restaurants in and around Cleveland and try different types of food. I am also very active in my church ministry and serve there as the Cultural Education & Community Liaison and a member of the executive board.

Share your favorite quote/proverb. 
Do all the good you can.
By all the means you can.
In all the ways you can.
In all the places you can.
At all the times you can.
To all the people you can.
As long as you ever can.
~John Wesley
  Do you have K/1 student you would like to enroll at GALA? To learn more about GALA, tour the school, and meet members of GALA's staff, call (216) 315-7942 or email info@gala-prek8.org.