Drumming, Dancing, Gardening in Store this Year for GHS Lower Campus

GHS kindergartners and first graders are all smiles on their first day of school on Tuesday, September 6.

From fairy homes to theater shows, Gifft Hill School’s lower campus students are looking forward to an array of exciting projects this school year.
Smiles were on all faces as GHS lower campus principal Beth Knight welcomed students in pre-kindergarten to fifth grade to the first day of classes on Tuesday, September 6.

“School is fantastic,” said Knight. “Our first day was probably one of the smoothest starts to a school year I’ve ever seen. I would give kudos to our wonderful staff.”

As part of the school’s dedication to reduce its impact on the environment, for the first time this year GHS is moving away from the use of paper and will distribute pen drives to students in fourth through 12 grades, explained Knight.

“The fourth, fifth and upper school classes will be receiving their pen drives and they’ll be able to do their work and then hand in the drive for the teacher to get their work,” said the principal. “The kids are excited about it.”

Several classes will also be working with GHS’ popular Education And Resiliency Through Horticulture program, Knight explained.

“The students worked with the EARTH program last year somewhat, but this year they are really developing it more intensely,” she said. “Fourth grade has a nice little area where their grow tables are and are looking forward to growing plants and vegetables.”

Younger students have already enjoyed a guest speaker who taught the students all about fairy homes, Knight added.

“Our kindergarten through third graders had a guest speaker last week and they learned all about how to build fairy houses, which have to be made out of all natural items” she said. “Their assignment this week is to collect shells and palm fronds and material to build their fairy houses and they are so excited about it.”

GHS has expanded its collaboration with St. John School of the Arts and will start its first Ethnic Drumming class with Eddie Bruce soon, according to the lower campus principal.

“At the lower campus we’re doing some things with music with St. John School of the Arts which we’ve never done before,” said Knight. “We have Eddie Bruce coming in to teach Ethnic Drumming and we’ll have music circle, Orf and Recorder for the younger students. We also have the Joyful Child yoga program for the youngest kids and the theater program Books Alive.”

GHS will also take part in the Dancing Classrooms Virgin Islands program this year as well as the wildly popular Broadway Comes to St. John program, which will begin in January, Knight explained.

“Everybody has something special to do this year,” she said. “We’re looking forward to another great year at GHS.”
Knight, who has been with the St. John private school for 20 years first as a kindergarten teacher and for the past 10 years as an administrator, also welcomed one special new teacher to the campus.

“We have some new staff one of whom is my new pre-kindergarten aid and technology teacher for the lower campus Mia Dixon,” said Knight. “She was in my kindergarten class and it’s great to have her back teaching.”