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MESSAGE FROM OUR HEAD OF SCHOOL | MEGAN D. COVER

This Summer

THE GPS CAMPUS was bustling with myriad camps and clinics while our facilities team tackled several projects, including Upper School renovations of humanities classrooms and a muchneeded new roof on the Tennis Center. If you haven’t seen the recent transformation of the Mills Complex lobby and The Bow, our school store, please see page 10 for the stunning photos. Our continued care of our buildings and grounds helps reflect the innovative teaching and learning happening inside them.

This coming school year promises to be another step forward in the GPS journey. I am proud to announce that the Board of Trustees unanimously approved our new strategic plan for 2023-28. Throughout this process, we remained forward-thinking and innovative, embracing our strengths in liberal arts education while seeking authentic opportunities for competencybased and experiential learning.

While staying true to our legacy of academic excellence, this plan will lift up our girls to think critically and learn joyfully with an expanded focus on essential lifelong skills such as agency, advocacy, creativity, problem-solving, collaboration, communication, resilience, and adaptability on a campus that reflects our commitment to the whole girl. Our intent is to empower each girl to ensure her success beyond GPS. The focus of our work will be Empowering Girls for a

Changing World: Investing in the Future of GPS. I am grateful for the talents, hard work, and efforts of all our Strategic Planning Committee members who helped to capture various perspectives of the GPS experience.

When we return to school to begin our 118th year of preparing girls for their bright futures, we will welcome the largest sixth-grade class in five years. I believe this renewed commitment to our school is a testament to the good work we are doing to create a culture of acceptance and belonging that lifts up each girl in mind, body, and spirit so she can find her place and discover her potential with confidence and joy for dynamic engagement within a rapidly changing world.

Also this fall, we will welcome our alumnae for Reunion Weekend, September 29 and 30. The Development Team and Reunion Committees have been hard at work planning activities and celebrations in coordination with events also happening at McCallie. We look forward to seeing these amazing women return to campus as we celebrate their notable contributions to the world.

As the mother of two newly minted GPS alumnae, I am always impressed when I meet with our former students to hear how our school not only prepared them for life beyond high school but also supported them as they made their way into the world. I hope you will continue to support our school in all we do.

Here’s to the girls and the women they become!

2023-24

Board of Trustees

Executive Committee Board Chair

Amy Arrowsmith

Vice-Chair

Ashley Rowland Davenport ’97 Secretary

Dori Thornton Waller '99

Treasurer/Finance Chair

Jimmy Scotchie

Ex Officio

Clay Watson

At-Large Member

Ashley Moore Palmer ’99

Trustees

Caroline Caulkins Bentley ’83

Glenn Breazeale Jr.

Jeff Burns

Elouise Busby, DPT

Blair Bennington Cannon ’93

Laurel H. Carney ’79, PhD

Allison Cowan Carroll ’89

Carolyn Chandler

Allen Coffman, MD

Aimee Owings Harvey ’93

Hamp Johnston Jr.

Jennifer Kline

Beth Steele Newbold ’84

Andrea Saul Nosbusch ’00

Mary P. Tanner, PhD

Stephen Thomas

Austin Watson

Karen Welborn

Megan D. Cover Head of School