As you look through this issue of the GDS Magazine and read the articles, I hope that you will gain a deeper appreciation of the incredible diversity of students, experiences and lives that make up our community. We strive each day to make sure that our students are provided more opportunities to discover their own voices through our music, art, athletic and academic programs than any other school in the Triad. Please take a moment to read how GDS helped shape Whitney Forbis’s ’17 life from kindergarten through her senior year. Shelby Finch ’17 shares just one example from our senior class of how her senior project offered her a unique experience and opportunity to learn about animal medicine. When we speak of diversity and different cultures, there is no better example of the breadth of experiences that our students have had than Crystal Zhou ’17. Read her Cum Laude speech to learn about important moments in her life. Our students have opportunities to learn, not just on our campus, but across the world. This year they have been engaged in visiting and supporting communities in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and South Africa. They have also learned and performed in New York City, as you will see in Ruthie Tutterow’s article on the NYC Theater Trip, and in New Orleans where Randy Mintz writes about the Jazz Band experience and the CD they produced this year. Communities are built on common values and shared interests, and we regularly talk about these in these conversations with our students at GDS. Kelly Sipe and Melissa Lehman write about how we do this in the Lower School through our Character and Ethics program. Susan Ferguson, Marvella Taylor, Rose Marie Cook, and Marie McKay write about the excitement and interest that our Lower School Engineering program has generated in our students. It’s been another terrific year at GDS. Through the incredible support that we have received from our Parents’ Association, Board of Trustees, parents, and alumni we have been able to provide our students an educational and extra-curricular program unsurpassed in the area. Warm regards, Mark C. Hale Head of School Dear GDS Community: Our theme this year of working in harmony has guided our thoughts and actions. As I shared with the students and faculty when we began the year, “It’s important that we work together in harmony and that our individual voices also be strong and clear.” By continuing to develop as an inclusive community we have learned the importance of listening to one another, speaking from our hearts and finding places of mutual understanding. HEAD’S CORNER