Though we are dedicated to staying small, we have big goals and big opportunities. We offer a wide range of extracurricular activities to keep up with the tremendous enthusiasm of our community members.
Students at GWCS have the opportunity to connect their world through internships, school trips, community service, sports and clubs.
coyote Robotics
Through annual participation in multiple FIRST Tech Challenge student competitions, students build and program robots for that year's game challenge. Students learn to apply their math and science skills in a hands-on manner and learn to work together as a team. Leadership and communications skills along with hands-on building and tinkering and team competition make this both a fun course and a valuable one. Our teams travel locally and internationally, competing and succeeding at the highest level.
R.E.A.L. Term SPRING CO-OPS
Realistic Education and Authentic Learning is a hallmark of a GWCS education, this nine-week program (every Friday during the fourth quarter) allows GWCS high school juniors and seniors to actively participate in the world of work. Internships, job shadows, and volunteer positions are individually matched with our students according to their talents, interests, and skills. (read more)
Gay Straight Alliance (GSA)
The GSA, or Gay-Straight Alliance, meets Thursdays during lunch to discuss LGBT+ issues. The GSA was created to inform any students who identify as LGBT+ or any students that wanted to support those students that the GW Community School environment is safe for them. The GSA discusses issues specific to the LGBT+ community such as representation, civil rights, and culture. In 2016-2017, the GSA held two major fundraisers: a bake sale for the Human Rights Campaign and a car wash for the Wanda Alston Foundation, both open for participation to students not members of the GSA and both offering service hours. These two events raised over $350 dollars.
STUDENT LEADERSHIP CLUB
Student Leadership is exactly what it sounds like. A club of people committed to bettering our school and community through planning and executing events that reflect our values and interests. The SLC plans, organizes and implements a long list of events and opportunities for our community. Some favorite events include Camping Trip, Coffee House, Movie Nights, School Dances, Holiday Events, Lost and Found Auction, and Video Game Competitions. Please check the school calendar for dates and times of upcoming events.
Theatre/IMPROV
In the Theater Program at GWCS students not only develop their performance skills, they also gain confidence, learn to work as a team, and really take on an appreciation of the value of hard work. It's an all-around experience, offering opportunities for acting, directing, set design, costuming, and the technical work of the lighting, sound and backstage crews which bring performances to life. We also practice and perform Improv part of the year. Improv is a form of live theatre in which the plot, characters and dialogue of a game, scene or story are made up in the moment.
Senior Beach Week
Senior Beach Week is something Coyotes look forward to for four long years. Each spring, after AP exams are over, after college acceptances have rolled in, and after such an intellectually challenging year, seniors and staff head for the Outer Banks to unwind, reflect, and solidify the bonds they have created.
Cardboard Regatta
Authentic. Autonomous. Ambitious. Each year Dr. Cox’s Honors Physics class culminates in students building a life-size boat out of cardboard. Students build the boat off-site on their own time and realize their level of success at Lake Accotink’s Annual Cardboard Boat Regatta. One student claims it was the best thing he ever did in school. This activity is what we all aim for at GWCS, one that is real, challenging and fun. Sometimes we win, sometimes we sink, but whatever the outcome, the experience is tops.
OBX (Out of the Box)
OBX, or Outside the Box learning is a series of adventures that celebrate collaborative teaching, experiential learning, and the richness of our local community. Each interactive Friday in the fourth quarter has been planned by groups of three GWCS faculty members and highlights interdisciplinary studies as well as the values that the school holds dear.
Class Trips
Class trips allow our students to bond and learn in a variety of settings. Our Student Leaders take freshman and sophomores camping, our juniors tour the battlefields of Gettysburg and our seniors participate in our college essay writing retreat at Lake Anna in the fall and beach week in the Outer Banks in the spring. Our fall trip to the Black Friars in Staunton, Virginia is open to all students and parents.
International Trips
At GWCS the world is our classroom. Our Coyotes have traveled to Canada, Costa Rica, England, France, Iceland, Italy, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, Italy and Panama. We take our sense of community with us wherever we go, enriching ourselves and the people that we meet. (Read about trips to Italy and Panama.)
