Understanding the Language of Gow

Every community has its own vocabulary, and Gow is no different. Here is a quick guide to the words and phrases every Govian knows.

The Gow Method

Our language class, built on the work of Dr. Samuel T. Orton. Students learn prefixes, suffixes, and roots. Through steady practice, they learn to break down unfamiliar words, sound them out with confidence, and understand what they mean, all at once.

EFC (Executive Function Coaching)

For students who find planning, organizing, and getting started difficult. Students usually meet one-on-one with a coach once a week for 45 to 60 minutes. Goals depend on the student, from organizing a backpack to planning a long-term project. Coaches don't do the work for students. They prepare students to do it themselves.

Advisor

Your child's advocate at Gow. Each student has an advisor who helps with academic and social challenges and keeps them on track. When parents have questions about grades or progress, the advisor is the first call. Advisors know their advisees well, and families often find that conversation a real relief.

Tutorial

A 30-minute period at the end of each class day, Monday through Friday, modeled on college office hours. Students use it to get extra help from a teacher, start the evening's homework, or catch up on missed work. Students who don't need a teacher work in Orton Hall. Used well, tutorial lightens the load before evening study hall.

Study Hall

Most students have a daytime study hall in their schedule. Every student also attends an evening study hall, Sunday through Friday, to keep up with assignments and reading. Each night, teachers are on hand to help in specific subjects.

Dress Codes

Gow has three dress codes for different times of day and year:

• Academic dress, worn for classes Monday through Friday, built around the Gow blazer.
• Dinner dress, worn each night for dinner and study hall and for Saturday classes, with a collared shirt and dress pants or a skirt.
• Country club casual, a name students coined, for warm days at the start and end of the year. It allows shorts with dinner dress.

Honor Scroll

Recognition for students who show consistent effort in their studies, dorm life, athletics, and conduct. Teachers, study hall proctors, coaches, and dorm parents vote each marking period. Honor Scroll students may study in their dorm in the evening, use the library, or other spaces during daytime study halls and sleep in on Saturdays.

Dorm Parent

The adults who live in the dorms and look after students day to day. They make sure students are up in the morning, keep their rooms tidy, and treat each other well. Students often grow close to their dorm parents and their families.