WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4th, 2026
<please scroll down for English version>
On Wednesday, we will once again slightly deviate from the MCPS delayed-start decision and begin the school day at the regular time with first period at 8:10 am.
School buses will be running on their regular routes. However, there will still be ice and snow on some walkways and around bus stop areas in the morning. Please make sure students are dressed warmly for the cold weather. Road conditions on main streets are generally good, but we do expect some bus delays. Therefore, if possible, we ask that you wait with your child in the car near the bus stop until the bus arrives, so that your child stays warm.
For families who drive their children to school, as well as for older students who drive themselves, we kindly ask that you drive especially slowly on Chateau Drive and allow school buses ample space to make turns. Snow-narrowed streets can make maneuvering more difficult for large buses, and a bit of extra space helps them turn safely. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.
We wish our twelfth-graders the best of luck in the Abitur exams. They are well prepared and they will do very well!
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Am Mittwoch weichen wir leicht von der MCPS-Entscheidung zum verspäteten Unterrichtsbeginn ab und starten den Schultag regulär mit der ersten Stunde um 8:10 Uhr.
Die Schulbusse fahren ihre regulären Routen. Es wird am Morgen noch Eis und Schnee auf manchen Gehwegen sowie im Bereich der Bushaltestellen geben. Bitte achten Sie darauf, dass die Schüler:innen dem kalten Wetter entsprechend warm gekleidet sind. Die Straßenverhältnisse auf den Hauptstraßen sind insgesamt gut, dennoch müssen wir mit einzelnen Busverspätungen rechnen. Daher bitten wir Sie, wenn möglich, mit Ihrem Kind in der Nähe der Bushaltestelle im Auto zu warten, bis der Bus ankommt, damit es warm bleibt.
Für Familien, die ihre Kinder mit dem Auto zur Schule bringen, sowie für ältere Schüler:innen, die selbst fahren, bitten wir Sie, auf der Chateau Drive besonders langsam zu fahren und den Schulbussen ausreichend Platz zum Abbiegen zu lassen. Durch Schnee verengte Straßen können das Rangieren eines Busses erschweren, und etwas zusätzlicher Raum hilft den Bussen, sicher zu manövrieren. Vielen Dank für Ihre Geduld und Kooperation.
Wir wünschen unseren Zwölftklässlern viel Glück bei den Abiturprüfungen! Sie sind gut vorbereitet und werden das gut schaffen!
by Beate Mahious
Now more than ever it is important to encourage our youth to dream, but more importantly to provide them with the skills and tools to turn those dreams into reality. This is part of creating the future. At the GISW, we endeavor to incubate young minds through high quality training and experience and therefore, we created the AIR-SPACE Initiative. This effort is a framework through which programs can be conducted that inspire and train students for the future.
Under the AIR-SPACE Initiative, we are launching two new programs:
AIREngine-BUILD:
This program seeks to provide students with theoretical and hands-on experience to learn the fundamentals of flight and aircraft engine mechanics. The AIREngine-Build program has the potential to improve local exposure to STEM education through utilizing the wealth of aeronautical knowledge inherent in the local aviation community. AIREngine-Build will be composed of three integrated activities: airplane engine refurbishment, lectures, and aviation community activities.
Aircraft engine refurbishment will involve the repair of a 4-cyclinder piston aircraft engine which was acquired via cost sharing between a GISW and a charitable donation from the Lampkin-Srebric family.. The objective is to restore this airplane engine..Build sessions will involve initial supervision of engine systems restoration and construction by pilots with mechanical experience and certified Aircraft Maintenance Technicians (AMT).
GISW-NEARspace:
This program is a collaboration between the University of Maryland’s NEARSPACE program (https://md.spacegrant.org/mdsgc-programs/balloon-payload-program/) and GISW. This program is an exciting opportunity for students to participate in the emerging field of near and low Earth orbit science. Our students will build a custom payload with instruments that can take images and measure properties of the atmosphere as the payload ascends to an altitude of 100,000 ft via a weather balloon. Students will build their own payload in the Fall of 2017 and launch in Spring of 2018. This initial effort will be the basis for building knowledge capacity at GISW to pursue more ambitious projects that include the potential to launch pico-satellites from rockets mounted on high altitude balloons. Small satellite platforms are an emerging technology for the utilization of space. The largest cost to deploy a satellite is getting it to low Earth orbit. The use of balloons cuts the cost substantially. A program of this type will provide a broad range of training spanning, space science, engineering and information science/technology.
> Student report about the "Science for Experts" course at GISW
Please address any comments and questions directly to one of the members of the GISW STEM/MINT Incubator Work Group:
Ms. Nicole Bankert
Ms. Steffi Colopy
Ms. Anja Ellenrieder
Ms. Doris Fricke
Ms.Susanne Kneiske
Dr. Guido Müller
Mr. Phillip Thiemeyer
Mr. Volker Torst
Prof. Dr. Derrick Lampkin (Vorstandsmitglied)