GPS District Digest

Stories, news and updates from Greenwich Public Schools

Greenwich Alliance for Education's Turkey Trot draws crowd

The Greenwich Alliance for Education's Annual Turkey Trot drew a large crowd of community members ready to race for a great cause. Proceeds from the Turkey Trot will directly benefit Greenwich Public Schools through grant funding and more. Every year, the school with the most participation at the Turkey Trot wins a $500 reward to spend on additional physical education equipment. This year's winner: Julian Curtiss School!

Congratulations to all of our runners, volunteers and cheerleaders for a great event!

Greenwich High School students & staff provide meals for local families

Last Monday, ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, students and faculty at Greenwich High School prepared and delivered nearly 94 meal baskets to local families. They collected almost 5,000 items and any excess food was donated to the Neighbor-to-Neighbor food pantry. Using funds raised through the 'Penny War's competition, fresh items were purchased and delivered by Aux Delices and Shoprite. Folsom House won the Food Drive collection competition and Bella House won the Penny Wars fundraiser.

Lucky GHS students Gabby Mendoza and Kennedy King, along with our House Assistant Deans, pied Bella House‘s own Mr. Charles as a token of gratitude for winning the House competitions.

Kindness Crew at Parkway School

On Tuesday, November 19, Parkway School 4th and 5th-grade students presented an original play called "The Kindness Crew" to the Parkway School community. Production for the Parkway play started in June 2019 when Parkway’s then 3rd and 4th-grade classes met with Music Teacher, Mrs. Tricia Garten, and songwriters Scott and Beth Bierko, to create four original songs to be used in this year’s performance. Each class worked together to brainstorm, organize, write, and revise lyrics supporting their theme of kindness. Scott and Beth helped the students discover that music is a form of communication, and that different musical styles, timbres, and keys can change emotions. In September, students began rehearsing these songs in Chorus.

Next, a team of Parkway teachers listened to the songs and created skits that highlight situations where Parkway students can help each other let their kindness shine. The skits explored and touched on ideas such as good manners, showing empathy, and being an upstander. When presented with these ideas the students named the show “The Kindness Crew.” It was truly a collaborative team effort, with students singing in the chorus, customizing lines and characters during rehearsal time, and designing and creating the backdrop and props for the stage.

All of this was made possible through the amazing support of several Parkway teachers, parent volunteers, and generous funding from their PTA.

WMS 8th graders host event to honor Steven Sudell

Eighth grade student at Western Middle School demonstrated our District Norm, "Care For Self and Others," while organizing a Kindness Campaign in honor of their beloved alumnus Steven Sudell who lost his battle to cancer one year ago.

They hosted the "Steven Sudell Color Run" to raise money for the Circle of Care, a Connecticut-based pediatric cancer organization which supports families of children diagnosed with cancer. Their goal was to give back to the organization that had given Steven and his family support during their toughest days. The students raised over $3,000 which enabled them to donate to the Circle of Care and to provide two Steven Sudell Kindness scholarships to Greenwich High School seniors who have demonstrated kindness and compassion throughout their school years.

North Mianus School students score points for a great cause

Last week, North Mianus School hosted their annual 'Turkey Fowl Shoot' and culminated their donation collection for Neighbor-to-Neighbor. The 'Turkey Fowl Shoot' invited 4th and 5th grade basketball players to shoot baskets against each other. The winner received a fresh turkey to donate to Neighbor-to-Neighbor. The school community also collected almost 5,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables, surpassing their goal of 4,500 pounds of food donations. Since students reached their goal, each class selected a student to dump a bucket of ice water on Physical Education teachers Scott Moroney and Pat Prisinzano. Neighbor-to-Neighbor provides Thanksgiving meals and ongoing support of groceries and necessities to local families in our community.

Physical Education Award banner unveiled at ISD

The State of Connecticut's Department of Education has recognized Greenwich Public Schools as a highly performing physically active school system (PASS). As a PASS recipient, the District was invited to apply for the 2019 Red Ribbon PASS Program Award, submitting the International School at Dundee as a representative for our District to demonstrate our commitment to physical education and additional programming to allow students to be active throughout the day.

At a staff meeting yesterday, ISD was presented the 2019 Red Ribbon PASS Award banner, celebrating this accomplishment and acknowledging the strong community of staff, administration and parents that made this award recognition possible.

ISD Staff celebration the 2019 Red Ribbon PASS Award during a recent staff meeting

New Lebanon School Save the Date for Official Dedication Ceremony

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Projects Update

New Lebanon School Building Committee: Official Dedication Ceremony

On Saturday, December 7, the new New Lebanon School will host their Dedication Ceremony, exactly two years after breaking ground on the construction of the new state-of-the-art building. Join the school and local community, members of the Board of Education, First Selectman Fred Camillo, State Representative Steve Meskers and more for a great ceremony celebrating the new school and the incredible community that continues to support it.

Cardinal Stadium "Project Big Red" Committee

Cardinal Stadium "Project Big Red" is the new committee formed by the Board of Education to finalize a recommendation to be presented to the Board of Education for Cardinal Stadium. There are three committee meetings scheduled in December to move quickly for a recommended design. Community input will be welcome once the committee gets a rendering ready. Stay tuned!