Gator News – Your Trusted Source

🌱 LET’S GET GROWING! 🌿

Our Community Service Clubs are teaming up with the Garden Club to help make our school even more beautiful while giving our local ecosystem a boost! 🌎💚

We’ll be using native perennial plants to create new garden beds and bring more life to our school grounds. 🌸🦋

🌿 Want to get involved? We need YOU!
Students and parents can help with:
🌱 Marking and labeling native plants
🌼 Designing new garden beds
🪴 Planting and installing new plants
🌿 Weeding and pruning
🧹 Cleaning up litter and keeping our grounds looking great

🌻 Plant Nursery Trip: Tuesday, October 6

Interested in helping us grow? Come to our Interest Meeting! More details coming soon!

🤼‍♂️🤼‍♀️ HELP US BUILD THE MAT! 🐊

GSA’s boys’ and girls’ wrestling programs are working toward a new wrestling mat, and we need your support! There are several ways you can help:

🍩 September 25 & October 30 – Donut Sales

Stop by before school and grab a sweet treat while supporting GSA Wrestling!

🍗 September 30 – Raising Cane’s Fundraiser

⏰ 10:00 AM–11:00 PM

Mention the GSA fundraiser when ordering in person, or use code RCFUND96 when ordering online or through the app.

💙 Prefer to donate directly?
You can contribute to our wrestling mat campaign here:
https://omella.com/ajcrl

Every purchase, donation, and share brings our Gators one step closer to a new wrestling mat! Thank you for supporting our student-athletes and helping our wrestling programs grow. 🐊💪

We are Gators. We are Excellence in Motion.

Get ready to dress down and show your style! 👕✨ Mark your calendars for these upcoming dress-down days:

🎀 October 2 – Breast Cancer Awareness Dress Down Day
Wear pink or any color to show your support for Breast Cancer Awareness and help support HOSA! 💗🩷

👕 October 16
👕 November 20
👕 December 11
👕 January 15
👕 February 5
👕 March 5
👕 April 9

HOW SICK IS TOO SICK FOR SCHOOL?

Please keep your child home if your child has any of the following:

• fever (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or greater)
• vomiting
• diarrhea
• persistent cough
• body aches
• generally feeling unwell
• severe sore throat
• unknown rash

Students with a fever (temperature of 100.4+ degrees), vomiting or diarrhea in the past 24 hours should remain at home until they are symptom-free for 24 full hours without the use of medication to alleviate the symptoms.

The best way for us all to remain well is for those who are ill to remain at home, and by practicing frequent and thorough handwashing. We appreciate your partnership in doing all we can to keep our staff and students safe and healthy.

Does your student need to take or have available prescription medication at school, such as an inhaler, epipen, ADHD medication, diabetes medication or seizure medication?

Any prescription medications must have written parent authorization and physician orders. Please contact the school nurse at nursefyler@gsastl.org to obtain the required form.

Please note, per school guidelines students are not allowed to carry with them over-the-counter medications such as Tylenol or Ibuprofen. If a student needs medicine at school, they should see the school nurse.

All students new to GSA will have their hearing and vision screened on October 1st per state guidelines. All students in grades 9 and 11 will have their vision screened by Kids Vision for Life on October 28th. If your student does not pass their screenings, you will receive notification from the school nurse. If your student is in grade 10 or 12 and you would like their vision screened, please email the school nurse.

Screening OPT-OUT: If you do NOT want your child to have their hearing and vision screened, please email the school nurse at nursefyler@gsastl.org

A huge congratulations to Dominique on taking 1st place in the Girls JV Cross Country Race! 🎉

This was no easy course—it was one of the hottest, hilliest, and toughest courses of the season. And to make the accomplishment even more impressive, this was Dominique’s very first race! She powered through the challenging course and finished well ahead of the other JV girls.

What an incredible way to start her cross-country journey! Way to go, Dominique! 🏆👏

🎻 MUSIC TO CELEBRATE

We’re excited to celebrate four of our GSA musicians who auditioned for the highly competitive St. Louis Metro District 8 Honors High School Orchestra—and three of our talented students earned a spot! 🎉

Our students competed alongside musicians from SLPS, charter schools, parochial schools, and Fort Zumwalt, making this accomplishment even more exciting!

Please join us in congratulating:

🎻 Collin Heller – 1st Violin

🎻 Shixun Zhang – 2nd Violin

🎻 Afra Karatas – Cello

We are so proud of their hard work, dedication, and musical talent. Congratulations, Collin, Shixun, and Afra! 🎶👏

CYSP DINNER AND AWARDS CEREMONY

What a wonderful evening! Our CYSP Dinner & Awards Ceremony was a beautiful celebration filled with great food, meaningful connections, and well-deserved recognition. It was wonderful to see our students, families, and staff come together to celebrate the accomplishments and hard work of our students. 🏆💙

A special thank you to everyone who helped make the evening such a memorable success!

Frizz Fest is St. Louis’ largest annual natural beauty festival, celebrating natural hair, Black culture, self-love, confidence, and community!

Started in 2017 by Leslie and Valerie Hughes through Frizzy By Nature. This family-friendly festival takes over Tower Grove Park and brings together nearly 10,000 people for a day filled with celebration, connection, and good vibes!

The Hispanic Festival is an annual cultural celebration that highlights Hispanic heritage, music, dance, and food. Hispanic Festival Inc. is a volunteer-run nonprofit dedicated to connecting and uplifting the local Hispanic community.

Founded more than 29 years ago by Haniny Hillberg , the event started in 1996 as a small one-day gathering at Faust Park. It has since grown into one of the region's prominent cultural events.

DR. AYDIN'S CIM CLASS: INTERGRATE HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE

🤖 CIM Students Are Coding Their Way Forward!

Students in Dr. Aydin’s PLTW Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) class have begun coding their test beds after successfully completing the construction phase Through this hands-on project, students are learning how to integrate and work with both software and hardware, putting their engineering and programming skills into action.

🚗 What’s next?

Students will begin building an AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) that will be able to navigate its own path using line-tracking technology!

We’re excited to see where their creativity, coding, and engineering skills take them next!

Semih Aydin, Ph.D.
Gateway Science Academy – High School

Ms. Snow's chemistry class explored the exciting colorful life of electrons through a flame test lab. When an atom is heated its electrons absorb the energy and jump up to an excited state! These electrons eventually fall back down to their ground state and release energy in the form of visible light. Each element emits a distinct color. This is the phenomenon that causes all the beautiful colors in fireworks and helps scientists identify the composition of distant stars. In the lab, these colors can be seen by heating the elements over a flame, hence a flame test. Students tested six different compounds to identify their characteristic color then identified an unknown compound based on their observations.

Inside Out: Anatomy in Action with Ms. Neudorf! 🧬🔬

Students in Ms. Neudorf’s class kicked off the school year by getting hands-on with anatomy! During the week of August 31, students used rats as model organisms to practice identifying and applying anatomical directional terms. They put their knowledge to the test while examining the specimens and learning how scientists describe the location and relationship of different body structures.

This hands-on experience also marked the first dissection of the school year! 🐀🔬 And it’s only the beginning—students have many more exciting dissections and opportunities to explore anatomy waiting for them throughout the year!

At GSA, we are proud to call the YMCA our partners in expanding opportunities for students and families. The Y plays an essential role in strengthening our schools—from sponsoring underwater robotics programs in our elementary and middle schools to collaborating with us to secure the Mobile Y for the Gateway Region, which our students and families now enjoy through a variety of after-school activities.

Many of our students rely on the Y as a safe, welcoming place to go after school, and this partnership continues to open doors for incredible experiences. A GSA High School student represented both our school and our local YMCA at the International Leadership Conference in Colombia, showcasing the leadership potential within our district.

The YMCA also invests in our educators—providing professional development opportunities—and works alongside us to co-host family events that bring our community together.

By contributing to the YMCA’s annual fundraising campaign, you are investing directly in our students, our families, and the strength of our community. Every contribution, big or small, makes a meaningful difference.

Thank you for supporting a partnership that helps our students thrive. We are proud to call the YMCA our partners! You can donate easily at the following link-

Here

We’re proud to share that GSA now has a workout room on campus serving our student-athletes. This and many other athletic improvements are possible because of your continued support.

Thanks to your generosity, we have been able to purchase essential tools for our programs, including:

• Dr. Dish Basketball Shooting Machine

• Volleyball Spike Machine

• Additional weights and equipment for the weight room

• We were able to host clinics

• And more resources that directly support student-athlete development

Families can support GSA Athletics in multiple ways:

• Donate directly: https://omella.com/flrgc

• Shop the GSA Merch Store, including retired jerseys, with proceeds supporting the athletic department:
  https://omella.com/7gxza

Thank you for investing in our student-athletes and helping us continue to build a strong, sustainable athletic program.

We look forward to another great spring season as we continue building a culture of accountability, effort, and excellence—on and off the field.

Go Gators
GSA Athletics Department

Important Links

Athletics Website | Access/ Register on FinalForms | GSA FanStore | Download Sports Physical

Follow us on Social Media

GSA Athletics on Twitter | GSA Athletics on Instagram | GSA Gator Athletics on Facebook

🐊💙 Welcome to the GSA Athletics Merch Store!

We’re adding retired Gators jerseys to the shop—your chance to own a piece of GSA history. These authentic jerseys have been worn in competition and are now available for fans, alumni, and families to take home.

Every purchase supports new jerseys, warmups, and equipment for our current athletes, helping us keep GSA teams strong and game-ready.

🛒 Shop now or make a direct donation to back our Gators: GSA Merch Store

Looking for ways to connect, give back, and help shape the future of our community? Join one of our local neighborhood associations!

• Southwest Gardens Neighborhood Association – Build friendships and support neighborhood projects.

• Northampton Neighborhood Association – Share your voice and stay informed about community updates.

• The Hill Neighborhood Association – Celebrate culture and help plan fun neighborhood events.

• South Hampton Neighborhood Association – Work together to keep South Hampton vibrant and welcoming.

Whether you attend a meeting, volunteer at an event, or simply stay informed, your participation strengthens the GSA community and the neighborhoods we call home.

Matt Devoti: devotim@stlouis-mo.gov

Thora Pearson: pearsontho@stlouis-mo.gov