School InformationGhana International School2nd Circular Road,Cantonments, Accra, Ghana

Website: www.gis.edu.ghEmail: pta@gis.edu.gh

PTA Executive MembersChairman Carl AmpahVice Chairman Giorgia M. Appiah Secretary Cynthia Mintah Assistant Secretary Ekua Appiah- MenkaTreasurer Amatu WumbeiAssistant Treasurer Andrew Takyi – AppiahPRO 1 Henry LampteyPRO 2 Zoe Takyi – AppiahBoard Representative Augusta Cameron Infant School Coordinator Yaa Nimo AddisonJunior School Representative Josephine Asomaning

Members-at-Large:Gifty Dabrah, Naa Enti, Sean Okoe Quist, William Hackman, Khadija Chothia, Fadi Dabbousi, Priscilla Gyasi, Indira Echeruo, Maame Amissah-Arthur, Jonathan Tawiah, Clemencia Tetteh, Nina Nazir, Rahma A. Dsane-Selby, Sebastian Ashong-Katai, Francis Kwaku Gyechie, Akua Owusu Nartey’ Brigitte Muderhwa, Jennifer Blankson

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PTA Sponsored walk - Saturday 6th October 2018

PTA AGM September 2018

PTA Events Calendar 2018

Contributors: Olivia Lecosson, Mrs. Naa Enti and Zoe Phillips Takyi - Appiah

Art work/design: Brandsols Limited

Message from the PTA ChairmanDear Parents and Teachers,

We have come to the end of another wonderful school year! The 2017/2018 PTA Executive team would like to thank all parents, teachers, school board, management and students for all the support in helping to make this year’s PTA activities and objectives a great success.

The current PTA Executives took office in November 2017 with a commitment to work together strategically for the greater good of all stakeholders and our children. We set out to ensure that the governance structures of PTA could be reviewed and made more relevant to current contexts. We did this by drafting Terms of Reference as a starting point for the review of the PTA Constitution. We were also able to align various job descriptions and roles of the PTA Executives including Members-at-Large.

One of our primary objectives this year was to engage more parents, teachers and school management in participating in PTA, and I am proud to say that outstanding progress was made. We were able to engage the Principal, VPs and AVPs on the need to have more teacher participation with a proposal to ensure that half of the Members-At-Large positions go to teachers nominated by school. On the part of parents, we reached out through the Class parents system and worked with the school to create a system that allows for mapping parents based on expertise so that both the school and PTA could benefit from technical expertise when needed. A letter is yet to be sent to parents to formally inform them with details of the creation of this resource pool, so that parents’ contribution will not only be helping to raise funds for activities and events but additionally mobilize and provide technical expertise.

Regarding projects, we have traditionally supported mental health projects and institutions by donating a percentage of proceeds from the Sponsored Walk and Bazaar to support charities and institutions that work in that area. The PTA has also supported school activities like the TIME Conference, Leadership programs, Accreditation process, volunteered to read to Infant School children and volunteered to chaperone students on field trips through Class parents. We have also provided support for Sports and Swim Meets/Competitions, Speech and Prize Giving Days, School Musicals, Non-Teaching Staff Appreciation and others. Our biggest focus this year has been the Primary School Field that needs to be re-done. Having worked closely with school and independent consultants, we see that there is a possibility to start the initial phase during the summer vacation of 2018. A team has been constituted to work on this in a very detailed manner. We encourage parents who would like to provide support in this area to contact Mrs. Ekua Appiah Menka via pta@gis.edu.gh.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank school and Board especially Dr. Ashun, her team and Mr. Kwakwa for their cooperation. Sincere thanks to Parents for the support provided during the school year. I especially thank the PTA team that I worked with. It would not have been possible without you; your effort and time are valued. We look forward to greater impact and success of the PTA in the 2018/19 Academic Year and hope that we can count on your support as always.

I wish you a good vacation.

Mr. Carl Ampah (PTA Chairman)

PTA PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES 2017 – 2018

The Ghana International School Parent-Teacher Association (GIS-PTA) is an organisation

committed to supporting the School as well as the Community at large. It seeks to serve the

educational and social needs of children in the School and surrounding communities through

fundraising programs, projects and service.

The PTA has always supported projects, competitions and prizes for different sections of the

school. Also, over the years, a portion of the funds raised by the PTA's Annual Sponsored Walk

and Bazaar activities have been donated to various charities and humanitarian organiza-

tions including Pantang Hospital, the Ghana Heart Foundation, Chance for Children, Little

Big Souls, Leukaemia Project Foundation, National Blood Service, the Special Mothers Project

and others. GIS aims to inculcate values of giving back to the community and a clear connec-

tion to children is part of the selection of charities to support.

DONATION TO AKROPONG SCHOOL OF THE BLIND

Always wanting to give back to the community, the GIS-PTA on Wednesday 7th February 2018, donated an amount of Ghs10,000 to the Akropong School of the Blind. The amount donated was a percentage of the proceeds obtained from last year’s Bazaar held in March 2017. Mr. Carl Ampah, the newly elected GIS PTA Chairman said, “We believe that this is one of the most important institutions providing critical care to a segment of the population that tends to be forgotten. Akropong School of the Blind has supported many visually challenged persons to make a living, and we are honoured to be one of the supports to those who are differently abled.”

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On Saturday 14th October 2017 Students, Teachers, Parents and Friends of Ghana International School (GIS), embarked on a health walk to raise awareness and support for mental health in Ghana.

This year’s 46th Sponsored Walk was organized by the P.T.A. There were over 800 participants. The route covered approximately 15 kilometres, starting from Abokobi through Berekuso and finishing at Ashesi University.

The traditional annual event which has been part of the school’s activities since 1972, is held to raise funds for school projects and to support mental health in memory of two GIS students, Jason Fung and Kerry Fung. This also forms part of our strategic goal to make an impact in various communities through service. It also provides every GIS student an opportunity to serve through in-school programmes.

Over the years, a portion of the funds raised by the PTA through the Sponsored Walk has been donated to psychiatric institutions in Ghana.

Proceeds from the last two walks were used to renovate Women’s Ward 7 of the Pantang Psychiatric Hospital, at a cost of GH¢114,000.

This year’s event was no different. It attracted over 800 enthusiastic participants who were eager to finish the entire 15 kilometers and break past records.

With security for the programme at an all time high, the much anticipated event started with participants setting off at 8: 00a.m. from Abokobi through to Berekuso.

1KM into the race, many participants jostled for positions, while others just took it easy enjoying themselves.

Everyone had the opportunity to relax and unwind at the Ashesi University where walkers were refreshed at the end of the walk.

We say a big thank you to everyone who participated and helped in diverse ways to make this event a success. Ayekoo and See you next year!

46th GIS PTA Sponsored Walk

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GIS PTA BAZAAR

The Annual PTA Bazaar took place on Saturday 17th February, 2018 at the GIS Primary School. There were lots of fun activities for the infant school, primary school and secondary school children and an enjoyable day for everyone! Prizes won an the annual raffle included airline tickets to New York, Dubai, Weekend stay at Royal Senchi Hotel, dinner vouchers for Monticello, Fiesta Residence, Labadi Beach Hotel and many others! This has been the most successful Bazaar to date and we would like to give a special mention to Mrs. Priscilla Gyasi, the Bazaar Coordinator and the Bazaar Organizational Commit-tee for a job well done!

As part of the PTA’s efforts to expand its community service projects, there was a blood donation exercise in support of the Leukemia Foundation and Ghana Blood Bank. A percentage of the funds raised from this year’s Bazaar will be donated to the “The Special Mothers Project (SMP)”. This is a registered advocacy and awareness creation programme on cerebral palsy. Cerebral Palsy is described as loss or impairment of motor function, Cerebral Palsy is actually caused by brain damage. The brain damage is caused by brain injury or abnormal development of the brain that occurs while a child’s brain is still developing — before birth, during birth, or immediately after birth.

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The PTA, as always, is committed to making the School safer through various projects and refurbishments. Having recently installed a PA system for the primary school cafeteria, the PTA has once again come in to support by providing much needed security blinds for the cafeteria. The blinds were needed to cut out the sun’s glare and to protect children against external exposure during security threats. In addition to the safety features, the blinds create a pleasant ambience, adding to an enjoyable dining experience. Parents are always encouraged to get involved by contributing decorative items to the school cafeterias. A team headed by the Primary School Nurse takes constructive comments and suggestions to enhance the experience for the children.

Cafeteria Upgrades

PTA NEWS

School Accreditation – A Parent's Perspective

GIS just passed it’s 10-year Accreditation and has been re-accredited by Council of International School “CIS” or another 10 years. Most parents hear about Accreditation just before the school is visited but for the school, that visit is the culmination of 5 years’ preparation.

In the last 3 years, I have been privileged to be part of this process. As a parent I soon cottoned onto the fact that this process was akin to having external auditors come in and oversee your work. The process reviews curriculum, teaching and learning, governance, financial management, health and safety, the school's guiding statements to name a few.

This Accreditation cycle started with the school doing a self-study against the standards in each area set by the accrediting body. They had to determine whether they were aligned, partially aligned or non-aligned to these international standards in every area of the school. Then they had to provide all sorts of evidence to support their rating.

Writing the self-study report was no easy feat. A countless number of hours were spent on it, evidence gathering, discussions, training workshops, writing and reviewing the documents. Yet there is no requirement for GIS to subject itself to this intense scrutiny! They chose to subject themselves to this as part of their philosophy of continuous improvement.

On their visit, the Endicott survey which the school community including parents had taken a couple of years ago plus the self-study report formed the basis of many of the discussions with the team. Indeed, at times if felt like the defence of one’s thesis! They also visited classrooms, sat in lessons chosen randomly, chatted to students,

spent time with some parents, teachers, support staff, the school management and the Board of Directors

To my surprise I found out that health and safety violations during a typical visit would be the one thing that would almost automatically put a school’s accreditation on hold. It is that vigorous, and as parents we should be grateful for this standard that puts our children’s security and wellbeing before everything else. The Accreditation visiting team observed our drop off and pick up procedures, access to the school and the school environment. During the visit they asked for random fire alarm drills and protocols for serious incident drills all in order to make sure GIS met International standards in evacuation procedures for our children. And, we passed!

GIS is not perfect but there is no such thing as a perfect school in my books! As I always tell my children -” Good is the enemy of Great’! When you believe you are good enough, you get complacent and miss out on being great. Our school clearly demonstrates their willingness to put themselves under a microscope and listen to what other education professionals from different parts of the world have to say. The Accreditors report will have recommendations on what we could do better as well as commendations on what we excel at.

Having been part of the process and seen the dedication and hard work the management and staff put into the things we simply take for granted, I can truly say there many things about our school to be proud of.

By: Mrs Naa Enti (Chair, Guiding Statement Committee)

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