GPS District Digest (v4, i06)

Sometimes, here at the GPS District Digest, it seems like we write about one holiday and then move on quickly to the next. Last week, the Veterans Day celebrations were aplenty throughout the District, and our coverage in this issue does not do it any justice. Every one of our 15 schools had amazing events filled with gratitude and appreciation. We hope you all were able to attend at least one.

As you read this issue, we recommend you dive into the latest "Turn Back the Clock." It really is a wonderful look into school of the past in Greenwich.

Because we are up to lucky issue No. 6, we decided to send the Digest to everyone in the District once again and remind you to subscribe to receive future issues. You just do not want to miss a single one!

Extra credit to those that find the Thomas Dolby reference and our nod to Alton Brown.

Enjoy Issue No. 6, happy Thanksgiving, and thanks for reading! Tell a friend.

GPS District Digest

Earlier this month, 23 Cardinals student-athletes were all smiles at Greenwich High School's first "Signing Day" of the year. For many sports, especially in Division I, National Signing Day has become a celebrated event for those student-athletes that expect to attend Division I and Division II colleges and universities next year.

Our proud student-athletes, representing 17 different schools, are:

(Seated l to r): Charles Schrohe, golf, Lehigh University; Avery Schauder, equestrian, Oklahoma State University; Aiden Bucaria, swimming, Boston College; Chase Wilson, water polo, Pepperdine University; Charles Kosinski, water polo, Santa Clara University; William Drinkall, rowing, University of Pennsylvania; Sam Wilson, rowing, University of Pennsylvania; Liam Flaherty, swimming, California Baptist University; Maya Jhamb, rowing, Columbia University; and Javiera Garcia, diving, Fordham University.

(Standing l to r): Lauren Koester, rowing, Stanford University; Kaitlyn Fay, track, Cornell University; Ellen Ann Sykes, sailing, Yale University; Maxwell Raabe, rowing, Yale University; Harry Waters, rowing, Yale University; Francie McKenzie, rowing, Princeton University; Elenna Seguin, rowing, Brown University; Nicole Urquiaga, rowing, Brown University; Daisy Decker, swimming, Lafayette College; Matthew Trimmer, lacrosse, Providence College; Ellen Norell, water polo, Brown University; Klara Mueffelmann, field hockey, Boston College; and Dylan Atkinson, tennis, University of Richmond.

This issue's "Turn Back the Clock" is an absolute fantastic treat for all of you local historians out there. Our new friend and GPS alumna, Caroleah Kotch, dug deep into her personal archives to share two amazing Glenville School artifacts with us, and then, she was kind enough to also share a few black and white photographs from her childhood in Greenwich.

Glenville was located at 449 Pemberwick Road, with students from kindergarten through eighth grade, when Caroleah (Class of 1955) attended school as a child. She sent us her yearbook from her eighth-grade year, the Glenville Newsette, along with the prior year's edition. It is packed with so much nostalgia, you will be hearing doo-wop from your imaginary transistor radio in no time.

While you are invited to peruse the entire 1954 and 1955 Glenville Newsettes, Caroleah wanted to point out some of the great advertisements found inside. She also tells us that 265 Glenville Road was one of her favorite spots, Molly's Candy Store, where her and her friends "spent their nickels and dimes and free time."

Today, Caroleah resides in North Carolina. After graduating Greenwich High School in 1959, where she was a member of the band, orchestra, string ensemble, and more, she went on to graduate college, become a member of the Peace Corps, and earned a Master of Social Work in Psychiatric Social Work.

We sure hope Caroleah stays in touch and shares more stories and artifacts.

Do you have something in your attic, basement, or garage that you would like to share with the Digest? Let us know and invite us walk down memory lane, just like Caroleah.

For the second straight year, Mr. John Lodato's science students participated in "Skype a Scientist." Skype a Scientist has a database of thousands of scientists and helps them connect with classrooms, families, libraries, scout troops, and more all over the globe. They give students the opportunity to get to know a real scientist and get the answers to their questions straight from the source.

"I like to have different scientists come in throughout the year," Mr. Lodato said. "For each unit, I like to try and have a different scientist from a different field Skype in. My goal is not only to reinforce what is going on in the class, but to also inspire students to try science research."

Earlier this month, Eastern Middle School students from his eighth grade advanced science class learned from astronomer Mark Popinchalk, who studies how we know the age of different stars based on its spin. This was perfect timing with the Grade 8 Forces and Collisions unit and "What is in the universe and how do we know?"

“My experience with Skype a Scientist was engaging and informative," eighth-grader Matthew Smiles said. "I very much enjoyed learning about the life of a star, the different star classes, and how scientists determine a star's age based on their spin.”

In the last issue of the Digest, we promised to show you GHS' farm to school display, introducing farmers from our area and serving local apple cider and apple cider donuts to the students. We did not lie! If that does not put you in an autumn frame of mind, nothing will.

Also...

We know that you are getting constant reminders about filling out your free and reduced price meal benefit forms, so why should the Digest be left out of the nudging? Let's keep it going.

School meals are available at no cost to all students at the moment, but the funding is expected to end in mid-December. In order for you to ease the transition back to our pre-COVID free and reduced price meal benefits once the current program ends, we recommend that you apply now. You only need to complete one copy for the whole family. Simply print and return the completed application and forms to your school's office. For more information, or if you have questions, including details on the cost of lunch and regular menus, visit the Food Services’ webpage, or contact your school’s administration.

Forms can be downloaded here:

• 2022-23 Application-Family
• 2022-23 Application-Spanish
• Addendum (MUST accompany application)
• Addendum - Spanish (MUST accompany application)

As always, Mr. Nanarello encourages families to use the Food Service Department as a resource in setting up lunch accounts, navigating menus and of course any allergy concerns. Feel free to reach out anytime!

Our very own Chief Officer of Special Education and Student Supports Dr. Stacey Heiligenthaler and District Psychologist Dr. Alina A. Boie traveled west earlier this month to present at the national 2022 CASE Annual Conference in Salt Lake City, UT. Both spoke about our culture of "Together We Can."

The Council of Administrators for Special Education (CASE) is a Division of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) whose members are dedicated to the enhancement of the worth, dignity, potential, and uniqueness of each individual in society.

We are all so proud of the amazing work Dr. Heiligenthaler and her entire staff have done in such a short period of time to its commitment to enhancing academic success for all students, access to programs, protocols, practices, and compliance across PK-12+.

Earlier this month, at the second Connecticut Debate Association tournament of the year, the host Greenwich High School varsity debate team of juniors Ziyi Yan and Amrutha Nandakumar finished in first place. Twenty-one schools sent 192 debaters to GHS, almost twice the number from October.

In the spirit of the recent elections, the topic was, "This house prefers open primaries." After a dominant 4-0 morning, they competed in the final round against Blind Brook HS, in front of a crowd of 200, and won in a convincing 3-0 decision.

"We hosted our first debate since March 2020," Coach Mr. Aaron Johnson said. "The students are so happy to be back in person, battling it out with students from all around the state."

Go Cardinals!

How many Veterans Day celebrations did you get to see last week? While we here in the Digest newsroom walked across the street to the World War I Memorial on Greenwich Avenue at Arch Street, all of our schools in the District honored those heroes that live among us.

New Lebanon school welcomed and honored many veterans, including: Mike Armstrong, Commander of the Byram Veterans Club, Richard Berlingo, U.S. Navy, Butch Bozzuto of Byram Veterans Club, Louis Cea of the U.S. Navy, Joseph Kantoriski of the U.S. Army, Patrick-Michael McDermott of the U.S. Navy, Edwin Rosales of the U.S. Army, and Roy Veniga of Queen Elizabeth’s Forces.

The folks at the International School at Dundee also shared photos with the Digest from their Veterans Day celebration.

Are you one of the 1,924 loyal followers of @GPSDistrict on Twitter?

On social media, we will keep our community informed of breaking news and all good things GPS. Sometimes, we will even have a Twitter Takeover with some of your favorite people. And we love to show you some of our favorite posts around the GPS Twittersphere.

• If you have a great story or photograph to share from our schools inside the District, let us know the details.
• Want your own subscription? It's easy to sign up.
• Did you miss an issue? Go to our archive to catch up.
• There is a connection to all of the first paragraph headlines this year. Do you get it? Any body?
• No one is reading the very end of this newsletter. 😟