Water Main Break / Wasserrohrbruch
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2025
Our school has experienced water damage due to a water main break in the neighborhood. Preschool, SEL, and grades 5–12 are operating as usual.
IMPORTANT: The elementary school building is currently being restored to a usable condition; therefore, we are unfortunately unable to offer regular classes or supervision for grades 1–4.
Please keep your children in grades 1 to 4 at home on Friday, December 5.
The Newbees canceled the Newbees Breakfast.
We are closely monitoring the MCPS decision for Friday in case they announce a delayed start due to the weather.
Thank you for your understanding and support.
...
Aufgrund eines Wasserrohrbruchs in der Nachbarschaft ist es zu einem Wasserschaden an unserer Schule gekommen ist. Der Kidnergarten, SES sowie die Klassen 5–12 haben regulären Unterricht.
WICHTIG: Das Grundschulgebäude wird derzeit in einen nutzbaren Zustand gebracht, daher können wir für die Klassen 1–4 leider keinen regulären Unterricht und auch keine Betreuung anbieten.
Bitte behalten Sie Ihre Kinder der Klassen 1 bis 4 am Freitag, den 5. Dezember zu Hause.
Die NewBees haben das Newbees-Frühstück abgesagt.
Wir behalten die Entscheidung von MCPS für Freitag im Blick, falls aufgrund des Wetters ein verspäteter Schulbeginn angekündigt wird.
Vielen Dank für Ihr Verständnis und Ihre Unterstützung.
STEM: A Matter of the Heart
Eine Herzenssache
Since the beginning of the second semester, the 8th graders at GISW have been studying the topic "Heart and Blood Circulation". After learning a lot about the human heart, it was time to take a look at real hearts. These were of course not from humans, but from pigs and cows. We were very excited. First, our biology teacher, Mrs. Bankert, explained to us what we would have to pay attention to when dissecting hearts. After building small teams, each group received a heart.
In the first lesson, the hearts were examined, measured and analyzed from the outside. Than we threaded thin glass rods through the blood vessels and tried to identify the individual components of the heart.
The second lesson focused on the inside of the heart. We cut the hearts in half with a scalpel. It may sound a bit grim but it is the only way to get a close look at the inside of the heart. It was very exciting to see the different parts and areas of the heart such as the aorta and veins (blood vessels). We were amazed at the thickness of the actual heart muscle. After identifying all parts, we labeled them with small flags and marked the path of blood flow with colored threads, using red thread for oxygen-rich blood and blue for oxygen-poor blood.
A week later we took another close look at the animal hearts and each team evaluated their work and discussed what could be improved next time. Then we had to throw away the hearts (What else could we do with almost twenty labeled hearts?).
In conclusion, we found that it was a really fun, interesting and very hands-on project. We learned a lot and felt like real biologists!
Louis R. and Emil F. (8th grade)
