![Building Community Layer By Layer]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1573840375/gdsorg/r50mgzpiu0aezdnnndpq/20191115_Jenga_1.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1573840375/gdsorg/r50mgzpiu0aezdnnndpq/20191115_Jenga_1.jpg","width":500}])
After reading these dispatches from Middle School, you might just adore our teachers and students even more.
These skills, as we have defined them, will foster in our students both the will and capacity to change the world in ways that each generation is called to do.
Build Networks
![Wau Bulan]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1572271520/gdsorg/em649zqiawniqdepgsix/20190307_Wau-Bulan_1_500x375.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1572271520/gdsorg/em649zqiawniqdepgsix/20190307_Wau-Bulan_1_500x375.jpg","width":500}])
An authentic cultural experience and an uplifting performance
![Ours was the Best]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1574198237/gdsorg/lscfpwqsmdz6y6iymaj2/20190301_Ours-was-the-Best_1_359x269.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1574198237/gdsorg/lscfpwqsmdz6y6iymaj2/20190301_Ours-was-the-Best_1_359x269.jpg","width":500}])
Minimester 2019 participants explain their incredible experiences.
Innovate & Create
![Landscape Surrealism]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1667404849/gdsorg/whrba29ctqx4rqlu0qxe/LandscapeSurrealism.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1667404849/gdsorg/whrba29ctqx4rqlu0qxe/LandscapeSurrealism.jpg","width":500}])
![A Teacher, A Baker, A Board-Game Maker]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1653514370/gdsorg/vrcoxkmk1oeuloodgapv/resized-IMG_85922.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1653514370/gdsorg/vrcoxkmk1oeuloodgapv/resized-IMG_85922.jpg","width":500}])
![Simply Amazing!]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1653513534/gdsorg/mwjtfh6x5ihv0tb0es2v/resized-IMG_1369.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1653513534/gdsorg/mwjtfh6x5ihv0tb0es2v/resized-IMG_1369.jpg","width":500}])
Take Risks
![David and Derek drive Toro onto field with GDS flag waving]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1664369323/gdsorg/apeebubvxqykgrtiezkr/IntheNameofJoy.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1664369323/gdsorg/apeebubvxqykgrtiezkr/IntheNameofJoy.jpg","width":500}])
![Four students smiling in front of a farm fence.]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1570644144/gdsorg/naagc1orvegrzyukxrlh/20190920_Ziplines_1_Cropped.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1570644144/gdsorg/naagc1orvegrzyukxrlh/20190920_Ziplines_1_Cropped.jpg","width":500}])
6th grade overnight trip to River Valley Ranch
Self-Advocate
![Making This Moment Matter]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1591889603/gdsorg/u6kwrzygahiypec5wj7j/thumbnailIMG_31292.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1591889603/gdsorg/u6kwrzygahiypec5wj7j/thumbnailIMG_31292.jpg","width":500}])
Student and alumni social justice leadership
![You Are Called to Action]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1591202861/gdsorg/rqmbts4xbju27sgavdhj/collage_1.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1591202861/gdsorg/rqmbts4xbju27sgavdhj/collage_1.jpg","width":500}])
![Advocacy Corps: Felipe’s Story]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1573240559/gdsorg/jppjhre0qh1djokoh1lc/20191108_Advocacy_Corps_FelipesStory_1_500x375.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1573240559/gdsorg/jppjhre0qh1djokoh1lc/20191108_Advocacy_Corps_FelipesStory_1_500x375.jpg","width":500}])
Middle School Community Engagement Reaches for the Heart of the Matter
Think Critically
![What Have You Bean Planting?]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1669048161/gdsorg/p2bmaldmnbge1iissvy8/BeanplantreadytogohomeThumbnail.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1669048161/gdsorg/p2bmaldmnbge1iissvy8/BeanplantreadytogohomeThumbnail.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1669048161/gdsorg/p2bmaldmnbge1iissvy8/BeanplantreadytogohomeThumbnail.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1669048161/gdsorg/p2bmaldmnbge1iissvy8/BeanplantreadytogohomeThumbnail.jpg","width":1000}])
In an interdisciplinary collaboration this month, 3rd graders built leaf-imprinted coiled clay planters during art and potted bean plants they’d germinated in science as part of their study of life in the universe.
![Lisa Rauschart named 2022 DC History Teacher of the Year]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1662146300/gdsorg/bxul1zmmwhyhknerlvnf/LisaRauschart2022DCHistoryTeacheroftheYear.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1662146300/gdsorg/bxul1zmmwhyhknerlvnf/LisaRauschart2022DCHistoryTeacheroftheYear.jpg","width":500}])
GDS High School history teacher Lisa Rauschart was named 2022 DC History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
![Continuing Conversations about Social Justice During Distance Learning]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1588182205/gdsorg/d10sohd0u2au0m6klmyz/ContinuingConversations_about_Social_Justice_During_Distance_Learning_1.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1588182205/gdsorg/d10sohd0u2au0m6klmyz/ContinuingConversations_about_Social_Justice_During_Distance_Learning_1.png","width":500}])
Communicate
![Benjamin Cooper Memorial Lecture 2022]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1669845120/gdsorg/ajcr4itkx2wbaplrly8j/bencooper.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1669845120/gdsorg/ajcr4itkx2wbaplrly8j/bencooper.jpg","width":500}])
![Caps For Sale]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1667085257/gdsorg/hgwkvvbgyeg7nive0etd/-Featuredimage1stgradewriters_workshop.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1667085257/gdsorg/hgwkvvbgyeg7nive0etd/-Featuredimage1stgradewriters_workshop.jpg","width":500}])
![Student speaking before classmates.]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1571144478/gdsorg/zhk81vj5z9hqwxebykg8/20190531_Bookends_1_Cropped.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1571144478/gdsorg/zhk81vj5z9hqwxebykg8/20190531_Bookends_1_Cropped.jpg","width":500}])
GDS Creative Writing presents an 8th Grade poetry reading and the 1st Grade Authors’ Brunch
Tackle Problems
![Euro Challenge Success]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1587477699/gdsorg/ijzkdkm6xxqa9cpbhiur/ScreenShot2020-04-20at103834PM.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1587477699/gdsorg/ijzkdkm6xxqa9cpbhiur/ScreenShot2020-04-20at103834PM.jpg","width":500}])
![Top-Level Bowling]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1583356747/gdsorg/qjye5opvnfg7a2lqnpx9/IMG_1414.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1583356747/gdsorg/qjye5opvnfg7a2lqnpx9/IMG_1414.jpg","width":500}])
GDS Quizbowl and History Bowl Teams Score Big
![Aidan '22 testifies before the DC Council Committee on Public Safety]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1578760588/gdsorg/wifl6ijzg9d46hdcl1vc/Aidan22testifiesbeforetheDCCouncilCommitteeonPublicSafety.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1578760588/gdsorg/wifl6ijzg9d46hdcl1vc/Aidan22testifiesbeforetheDCCouncilCommitteeonPublicSafety.jpg","width":500}])
Student Action Committee members take on the youth vaping crisis.
Learn Actively
![Forest Bathing and Stream Ecology]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1666222988/gdsorg/jo3z6lkglm35011vmjbd/StreamEcology-5.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1666222988/gdsorg/jo3z6lkglm35011vmjbd/StreamEcology-5.jpg","width":500}])
![Green Corps on Urban Gardening and Food Justice]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1649369804/gdsorg/w544ijs08fp2qdjcmmy5/collage5thgradee.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1649369804/gdsorg/w544ijs08fp2qdjcmmy5/collage5thgradee.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1649369804/gdsorg/w544ijs08fp2qdjcmmy5/collage5thgradee.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1649369804/gdsorg/w544ijs08fp2qdjcmmy5/collage5thgradee.jpg","width":1000}])
![It's Snow Wonder]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1642001426/gdsorg/xnyvqbccwme6yp0ahwzo/IMG_4417.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1642001426/gdsorg/xnyvqbccwme6yp0ahwzo/IMG_4417.jpg","width":500}])
It's snow wonder GDS is the place where students love to learn
Engage Ethically
![Immigration, Advocacy, and Food]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1650477420/gdsorg/ou76bcqxxwuvgehvkd4x/IMG_6964.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1650477420/gdsorg/ou76bcqxxwuvgehvkd4x/IMG_6964.jpg","width":500}])
![When Capitol Hill Came to GDS]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1646255023/gdsorg/cxc1dcyore1mczrgjg54/IMG_5656.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1646255023/gdsorg/cxc1dcyore1mczrgjg54/IMG_5656.jpg","width":500}])
![Curated Menu for Black Lives Matter at School’s Week of Action]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1643859379/gdsorg/so93dibcvdbsze0eeaxj/BLMatSchoolposter.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1643859379/gdsorg/so93dibcvdbsze0eeaxj/BLMatSchoolposter.jpg","width":500}])
Lead
![Mental Health Teach-In 2022]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1642006141/gdsorg/vpvupcneg05hen55aatp/IMG_44294.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1642006141/gdsorg/vpvupcneg05hen55aatp/IMG_44294.jpg","width":500}])
The GDS High School Student Mental Health Collaborative (SMHC) developed and launched GDS’s first Mental Health Teach-In Day in January 2022.
![Research in Environmental Science]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1620245467/gdsorg/dhq33x3gx5qwkvxnfrum/20210505_Research-in-Environmental-Science-4.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1620245467/gdsorg/dhq33x3gx5qwkvxnfrum/20210505_Research-in-Environmental-Science-4.jpg","width":500}])
High School students presented proposals for reducing the carbon footprint of our unified campus.
![One (Sustainable) GDS]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1614772944/gdsorg/zzneibwlvgivzuzglp5p/20210303_One-Sustainable-GDS.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1614772944/gdsorg/zzneibwlvgivzuzglp5p/20210303_One-Sustainable-GDS.jpg","width":500}])
Meet GDS’s Environmental Task Force