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About
Our Location Makes Us Special

Nestled at the corner of the James River and Forest Hill Park, GSES capitalizes on learning in the community.

Where Inspiration Meets Community

Our curriculum maximizes the use of our community and inspires our students to serve our neighbors and learn typical subjects in compelling and thought-provoking new ways.
Admissions
Call for a Tour
The best way to learn if GSES is the right place for your family is to visit. Please call the school at 804-231-1452 to arrange a personal tour.

Visits
Throughout the school year, GSES will provide opportunities for prospective families to visit for group tours and information sessions. Our open houses and visit days are the perfect opportunities for prospective students to get a taste of life in a GSES classroom.
Academics
Small Classes Allow for Big Experiences

Our small size provides big opportunities for learning. With a student to teacher ratio of 8:1, students receive the personalized attention to grow at their own pace and learn about subjects that matter to them in addition to the core academic subjects.

Innovative Learning
Our supportive environment allows students to take risks in their learning. Building a catapult that doesn't work teaches far more than a catapult that does. Feeling safe to try new things, while being carefully guided through challenging subjects, encourages our students to thrive.
Programs
We LOVE the Outdoors
Our outdoor education program takes advantage of our location near the James River and Forest Hill Park. Lessons often take students on adventures such as searching for local quarry stone in the neighborhood, measuring the velocity of student-built boats as they float down the James River, or collecting native pawpaws to use in cooking.
Community
Community Cleanup
Our families show up for GSES. Each August, our students and their families help clean the school grounds in preparation for the new school year. This is just one of the many ways we work together to create a united and close community.
Support
Supporting GSES
As GSES approaches its 50th year, families, alumni, and friends loyally provide support for the school's academic programs, as well as capital improvements to school facilities. Over the past few years, funds from generous donors have provided for library and Parish Hall renovations, as well as classroom enhancements and special programming.

In This Section

Ms. Bradlee’s 5th-grade Students Embark on a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE)

students creating project for watershed education experience

Ms. Bradlee’s 5th-grade Students Embark on a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE)

February 9, 2023

Our fifth-grade students have set sail on a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) with Science/Outdoor Education teacher Ms. Bradlee and Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay’s environmental educator/teach trainer, Meredeth Dash. This student-centered, 15-week learning journey will provide our fifth graders with ample opportunities to engage and explore the Reedy Creek/James River watershed. Topics include plants and animals of the Chesapeake Bay, topography, soil, water quality, stormwater, and pollution. The project supports GSES’s place-based education initiatives and will focus on investigations into local environmental issues that lead to informed action in our community. The project will culminate with a fifth-grade Watershed EXPO on Monday, May 22. Students will present their experiments, discoveries, and realistic solutions focusing on the Reedy Creek/James River/Chesapeake Bay watershed. The school community, including teachers, students, and parents, will be invited to this informative event. GSES is excited about the opportunity to collaborate with Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay (ACB) and plans to use this MWEE as a framework for other grade levels and teachers so that all students (K-8) can participate in a meaningful exploration of our local watershed in the years to come.