The Girls’ Middle School 2019 Annual Report be b rav e, b e b o l d , b e g m s A Letter from the Head of School The Girls’ Middle School eflecting on the past year and all we have accomplished, I stand in deep admiration of this extraordinary community. Through the educates girls at a crucial generosity, trust, and energy of each of you, we can celebrate a R record-breaking year together. time in life. We create an Throughout these pages, you will see how we ◗ Raised a record-breaking $1,519,031 in continually strive to broaden our perspective. major gifts, and proceeds from the Annual I am delighted to introduce you to the young Scholarship Breakfast, to benefit the inclusive environment where women serving as our first alums on the GMS Bennett Scholars Program. Board of Trustees. You will also hear how our ◗ Supported a record 24% of our student Art Department invites students to take risks, body with financial assistance, including develop a growth mindset, and build resilience academic growth is nourished. 27 Bennett Scholars, to ensure that a through the industrial arts. progressive and empowering GMS educa- The commitment, passion, and generosity of tion is available to every family. A GMS girl discovers her this community is truly awe-inspiring. Year after year, this community comes together Together we: for the powerful purpose of educating young strengths and expresses her ◗ Raised a record-breaking $2.3 million for women in an inclusive and nurturing environ- the school and celebrated another year of ment. Thank you for sharing with us your time, 100% philanthropic participation by our talents, and gifts that enable us to continue to voice while respecting the board, staff, and current families. innovate, imagine, plan, and dream. ◗ Raised $736,583 through The GMS Fund, With deep gratitude, and other gifts to provide the critical contributions of others. operational support that enriches the Jennifer Ayer, HEAD OF SCHOOL experience of every GMS student every day. In metal casting class one year, a student said Empowering Girls Through Industrial Arts with a smile, “I can’t believe you’re letting us do this. You know, we’re just kids?” Nori responded: “Just a kid? You’re not just a kid. You’re a GMS girl.” core component of GMS’s founding vision was the idea that through progressive educational opportunities, our girls “learn to be safe, handy, and hardy.” In their pre- sentation at the 2019 National Coalition of Girls’ Schools (NCGS) Conference in Los Angeles, the GMS Arts and Media team, Torrey Delaplane, Renee Fadiman, and Nori Takada, described how the industrial arts empower stu- dents well beyond the studio. AtA GMS, students are invited to take physical and Metalworking | Taking Ownership emotional risks, discover new ideas, and see how One of the benefits of teaching metalworking is mistakes are opportunities for creative growth. OWN YOUR SPACE. TRY IT. that most students have never tried it before, which The curriculum emphasizes process over product. means most students have not convinced them- Instead of ending a course with a grade, assess- selves that they are not good at it yet. Here again, TRY IT AGAIN. PLAY. ment comes in the form of a conversation, where they work with powerful and scary tools, such as students learn to value critique and their own per- an acetylene torch and molten pewter. sonal reflection. OBSERVE. BREAK BARRIERS. Metalwork naturally forces students to take owner- Woodworking | Building Confidence ship of and follow a process. Attaining a brilliant shine on metal requires thoughtfully working Students produce public service announcements through the sanding process in a specific order — about a topic they care about. They develop facili- When a girl enters the GMS Woodshop for the first skip any steps and it will not shine. So, students ty with cameras, tripods, microphones and editing time she is told: “this is your place.” Students learn to slow down, take a deep breath, and relax into software. They learn respect for various perspec- need to feel comfortable and confident in order the work. tives. In the process, students build the confidence for them to be empowered to explore and play. they need to be bold and they learn that what they The woodshop gives students the thrilling Video Production | Inspiring Courage have to say is valuable. experience of transforming a powerful In video production, we ask students to put their We give girls a safe space to take risks, explore, and dangerous machine that was ideas, passions, and art into a form that can be fail, and try again. And they learn the lessons of once scary into a tool that they can seen by a global audience. That requires vulnera- power and resilience that will last a lifetime. safely control. bility and a different kind of courage. Woodworking is not just about the Thank you, Torrey, Renee, and Nori! s The best way to become a literate consumer of ng piri functionality of a finished project. ri t media is to learn how it is constructed. After ex- e Deep learning comes from the natu- e amining the ways in which media can manipulate n ral struggle of the design and build o and influence as well as communicate and inspire, i process. This iterative process re- p students decide how they want to use media for quires patience, resilience, and ex- r positive change. u ploring new ways to problem solve. o the j ut our bo ne a y ’s t I sp tlight We sat down with the first three alum members of the GMS Board of Trustees and discussed how their perspective of GMS has changed — and stayed the same — as students, alums, and now trustees. I had barely started college and had Do you have any advice for other ALUM TRUSTEE schools followed. At GMS, it’s about the very little experience in education, GMS-ers? KEELY HAVERSTOCK journey. Learning to learn, learning to fundraising, finance, and real estate. Remember that your education — and GMS Class of 2006 work together, communication skills — What I did know was that the GMS your experience — is yours and yours YEARS SERVED ON BOARD it all becomes ingrained in you. board could use more diversity and no 2018-present only. At GMS, this sort of indepen- What do you find most interesting GMS alum had ever been a trustee. I dence is fostered and encouraged, but DEGREES about GMS board life? ALUM TRUSTEE wanted to give back to the school, so at other institutions, it can be easy to Olin College of Engineering ‘14, Is there anything that happened at Board meetings are fascinating. I love GMS that inspired or led you to where I wrote a letter to the trustees asking lose yourself. Even if something you major in Engineering DANIELA GONZALEZ having the opportunity to see how the you are now? them to consider having an alum join want to do has never been done be- CURRENT EMPLOYMENT GMS Class of 2011 sausage is made. It’s eye opening to the board. GMS in turn, welcomed me Software engineer at Upwork, a Definitely. Taking computer science at YEARS SERVED ON BOARD fore, you can make it happen if you set with open arms. My time on the board company that provides a marketplace learn about what goes behind every 2017-present your mind to it. GMS set me on the path to becoming a for freelance engineers decision. Hearing the passion that the hasn’t always been easy — there is a software engineer. Before GMS, I liked DEGREES When I started college, I knew I wanted board members have for this school Stanford University ’19, steep learning curve and I have much playing on the computer but it didn’t to study both computer science and community is incredibly motivating. joint major in Computer Science and to work on before I’ll be able to contrib- occur to me that computer science was English, which is an unusual combi- We see you and your fellow alum board It’s this great opportunity to learn from English, minor in Spanish ute as fully as I’d like — but it has been trustees as pioneers. In what ways do something a person could do. And then nation. I also wanted to study abroad people who are talented and intelligent. CURRENT EMPLOYMENT a rewarding experience. I can think of you see yourself and GMS forging new at GMS I loved it. I was working on a and pursue a minor in Spanish. People I’m hoping to contribute as much as I Software Engineer at Facebook in no better way to have such an active paths? project with a classmate and I remem- told me this was impossible. I was can to this school that means so much their New York office role in the school’s future. ber that every 10 minutes I would turn to confident that it wasn’t, so I figured it I went to Olin College of Engineering, to me. her and say, “This is so fun!” As a trustee, we want you to dream out. I had to be my own advisor. It was where I was one of 85 students in their big for GMS. Where do you see GMS Share your thoughts on GMS’s Oh, and I still surf! I go to the beach We see you and your fellow alum board my responsibility to assure myself that ninth graduating class. It is a tiny, in six years? diversity and inclusion.