GPS District Digest (v5, i14)
Stories, news, and updates from Greenwich Public Schools
With spring just days old, the folks in the GPS District Digest newsroom are now trying to figure out how to move their operations down the rightfield line at Havemeyer Field to watch our Cardinals boys' varsity baseball team live in action. We will need to start stocking up on the peanuts and Cracker Jack.
Pulling America's pastime for just a minute, issue No. 14 of the Digest goes around the horn, with lots of ducks on the pond just waiting to come home. We bring the chin music, hit the cutoff man, putting you in the hot corner for all good things GPS. (See what we did there?)
Enjoy Issue No. 14 and thank you for your support.
GPS District Digest
Recent customer donations from Greenwich and Riverside ACME stores and Old Greenwich Kings store to help eradicate childhood hunger by keeping food banks stocked and supporting meal distribution programs at schools totaled $8,375. Greenwich Public Schools received 335 $25 gift cards from ACME Markets & Kings Food Markets Foundation's Nourishing Neighbors Program and GENYouth, a school based national nonprofit.
Earlier this week, GPS's superintendent of Schools, Dr. Toni Jones, presented those gift cards to Neighbor to Neighbor's Executive Director, K. Brent Hill, at the Havemeyer Building on Greenwich Avenue to be used in their Summer Supplement Program.
NTN’s Summer Supplement Program is a 10-week program that serves more than 300 families with school-aged children during the summer months when school meals are not available.
If you are a loyal GPS District Digest reader, and I know that you are, you are probably asking yourself, "Self? What's up with the Hamilton Avenue School Division I team competing at the Odyssey of the Mind State Finals this year? Will they advance to the World Finals like they did last year? If they do, wouldn't it be three straight years now?"
Great questions! And "yes" to all about the above.
The Division I team of students in grades 3-5, coached by 2015 Distinguished Teacher award winner Mrs. Cathy Byrne, placed first in their division in Long Term Problem, Spontaneous, and Style. The team received the Jill Riggins Award for their teamwork and creativity in their solution to the Spontaneous problem. They received high scores for their Long Term solution for which they had to write and produce a play based on a classic novel. Team members include Mia Blake, Paloma Camoes, Emma Grijalba, Luka Jai Puac, Dhanvi Madishetti, and Victor Molleturo.
Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Odyssey of the Mind is a learning experience which helps students develop skills that will last a lifetime. Students have learned to cooperate and respect the ideas of others and to evaluate ideas and make decisions on their own.
The Division I team will be raising funds to reach their goal of $10,000 to send the students and their coach to the World Finals at Iowa State University in Ames from May 20-24. They are organizing fundraisers at the school and in the local community. You can help by going to their GoFundMe page.
The Primary team of students in grades K-2 also did a wonderful job presenting their solution to The Night Life, which they built a forest and introduced the various creatures that inhabit the night. The team, coached by parents, Ruth Camoes and Melissa Grijalba, included Noah Berluti, Noah Blake, Lukasz Cardenas, Devin Clermont, Bodhi Puac, and Jackson Rossitter.
The Greenwich Girl Scouts and the League of Women Voters Greenwich invite you, especially Girl Scouts grades PreK-12, to “Women in Government Workshop” on Sunday, April 7 from 2:00-4:00 PM at Greenwich Town Hall to learn about local, state and national government and what small steps/roles youth can take to make an impact in their community.
This annual drop-in event is free of charge and open to the public. Ten stations in an expo-style format will be led by members of the Board of Education, BET, RTM and more. Read their flyer for more information and to RSVP.
Sources tell the GPS District Digest that there will be cookies for sale!
The Central Middle School Math Counts Team earned a third place finish recently in the Connecticut State Competition of MATHCOUNTS at the University of Hartford.
The competition is comprised of four rounds: Sprint, Target, Team, and Countdown Round. Altogether the rounds are designed to take about three hours to complete.
The CMS team of Rocky Ha, Carter Henske, Sohan Javeri, and Gus Schuhmacher were led by their coach, Mrs. Elana Brookman.
MATHCOUNTS is a non-profit organization that strives to engage middle school students of all ability and interest levels in fun, challenging math programs to expand their academic and professional opportunities. MATHCOUNTS provides free, high-quality resources to educators and enriching, extracurricular opportunities to students to lay a foundation for future success.
The Old Greenwich School Theater Arts program will be performing The Lion King Junior later this school year.
In preparation for the performance, cast members were recently invited to participate in a 90-minute music and movement theater workshop with the Disney Broadway Teaching Artists. The students learned choreography and vocals for one of the scenes in the Lion King and then had the opportunity to see it performed at a matinee later that day at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway just as they learned it hours earlier.
As fourth grader Tanner Izzo said, “This was the greatest field trip I have ever been on!”
Essay contests? Who loves to report on essay contest winners more than the GPS District Digest? As a loyal reader, you already know the answer.
Recently, GHS sophomore Riona McKersie was named the winner of the GHS Social Studies 2024 Black History Month Essay Contest. In celebration of Black History Month, students were tasked to nominate a Black individual - dead or alive - who they believed should be included in the curriculum for American History and has been overlooked. Then, write a 500-word letter to the Board of Education explaining why.
Riona choose Alvin Ailey, a professional dancer during the 20th century, because "students would be learning about a man who overcame racial obstacles and legitimized Black dancers, dances, and choreography in modern and classical dance."
She also added: "He was a Founding Parent of American modern dance, and understanding who he was is essential to learning about dance, music and choreography. He’s the Jackie Robinson, Beethoven or Rosa Parks of dance."
You can read Riona's essay for yourself. We are convinced!
Congratulations to Greenwich High School students Emily Duarte, Nancy Kessler, and Danielle Kim and Eastern Middle School student Anna Dolgov for recently taking home the Bronze medal at the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships in Neuchatel, Switzerland as members of the Skyliners synchronized skating team.
Head to the International Skating Union website for full results.
The Adult and Continuing Education Department is looking for talented people with great hobbies to teach during the Fall of 2024. They are open to new ideas and creative classes. Instructors do not need a degree. If you are interested in teaching a class, please contact Braulio Santiago, Coordinator of Adult and Continuing Education at braulio_santiago@greenwich.k12.ct.us.
Buckle up science fans! GPS' Mr. Science, Andrew Bramante, has supplied the GPS District Digest with updates from the Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair, a yearly, statewide science and engineering fair open to all 7th-12th grade students residing, or enrolled, in Connecticut schools and Fishers Island.
He presents an impressive list from GPS' middle and high school participants. If you would like to learn more about the students' projects and awards, you are invited to view their posters and priceless three minute videos, for those that submitted one, where they describe their project, using the Virtual Project portal on the CSEF website. You will need the project numbers or you can search by the student’s last name. Once you have located the student's work, click on the eyeball on the far left of the page to see a listing of the available materials.
We love sharing good news with our 2,139 closest friends on the GPS X (Twitter) account, @GPSDistrict. Can we get to 3k by the end of the school year?
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At the Digest, we love to show you some of our favorite posts from around the GPS social media world, including from some new accounts on Instagram.
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