The 2022-2023 school year was the year of inquiry! An important and essential GUS question guided our strategy and planning throughout the year - who am I? This theme for our first and seventh grade years became the cornerstone for a year of self-reflection and collaboration with faculty, students, parents, graduates, former parents, past faculty members, and board members alike. Through this process, we reconnected with our core values, reaffirmed our purpose, and even pushed ourselves further to examine - who do we want to be? 

So, Who is GUS?

GUS is all about community, and this school year was truly about the people. An amazing ice cream social event for our whole school, and a return to Camp Winaukee for the upper school truly started the year off right. With big hugs, lots of smiles, and plenty of fun, we were ready for a great year, one where every community event reminded us of what makes GUS so very special. From big events like the Halloween parade, Bread Day, Solstice, and the Nature Fair, to little things like the return of partners, upper school advisory, and the start of lower school lunch bunches, we thrived on being together.

GUS is joyful. Not just when we come together for big events, but in the everyday moments too – moments of quiet thought in a classroom or the library, winning moments on the fields, and brave moments on stage. We were happy at recess and during PE, but also on the nature trail having adventures, building Rome in a day, or as we made music or danced. We found joy in the work whether we were making maps, creating art, or figuring out a math problem. We used glitter and glue, mud and sticks, and paper and pencils. In every grade, on every inch of campus and beyond, we had fun.

GUS is about experiences. How happy we were that trips returned! The 8th grade led the way in the fall with New York, but we also had springtime trips to Maryland and DC for 8th grade andMystic for 4th grade. The 6th grade was off to the Farm, while 7th grade hiked and the 5th grade had a sunny trip to Chewonki. Couple these big trips with over 50 other day trips for our PK students all the way up and we were reminded that we love being together on campus and off. How special it is to visit new places and learn new things, especially among friends.

GUS is caring. We care for others and for the environment. We are about caring enough to stand up for what we believe in and always working to do better. We welcomed new water filling stations, our students headed to the Youth Empowerment and Sustainability Summit, and the bees are back! This year, Teachers did professional development with the Anti-Defamation League and DEI practitioner Melissa Lawler focusing on micro-aggressions and interventions. There was also  a community read and Affinity groups for families began-as we work to make GUS a more inclusive and welcoming place. The words respect, responsibility, and sustainability guided our practice and motivated our students not just to make GUS a better school, but to make the world a better place. 

As the 2022-2023 school year, our year of inquiry, draws to a close, who we are as a school is clearer than ever. We are a school that, through the joys of learning, inspires young people to be engaged and curious stewards of the world around them. Yes, This is GUS.