GPS District Digest (v4, i17)

As a loyal reader of the GPS District Digest, your lunch plans every other Thursday are accounted for. And now, for tonight, you have predinner plans.

Come by Central Middle School from 4:30-5:30 PM to help celebrate our 2023 Distinguished Teachers Award winners. New Lebanon’s Erin John, Western MS’ Gaspare Lipari, Central MS’ Aaron Lofaro, Greenwich HS’ Joan O’Day, New Lebanon’s Carol Pugliano-Martin, and Central MS’ Maria Woodward will be honored at a very special presentation. Headlining the ceremony is the GHS Jazz Ensemble. If you have not seen them perform, you are in for a treat. This amazing Greenwich Public Schools tradition dates back to 1985.

This issue of the Digest is packed with so much goodness. Learn more about our Community Service Awards winners, rock star scientist Ambika Grover, the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra, and so much more. And Winston? Where he be?

Enjoy issue No. 17. Tell a friend!

GPS District Digest

Do not tell us you missed the 2023 Community Service Awards last week. If you did, you missed something special. But because you are a loyal reader of the Digest, we have you covered.

Head to our YouTube channel, or simply click on the video below to watch, or rewatch, all that we have been telling you. These students are inspirational and true role models to their peers.

Since 1986, students have been selected annually from each elementary school to accept the award on behalf of the entire school for service activities and projects that they have participated in throughout the year. Community Service Awards are presented to middle school students, representing each of GPS’ three middle schools and five high school students, representing each GHS house. An additional high school student is also selected to receive the Fleishman Service Award. Dr. Ernest Fleishman, former Greenwich Superintendent of Schools, presented this award to senior Stephanie Chang for her significant contributions to her school and community.

Back in issue No. 11 of the GPS District Digest, we wrote about a handful of amazing GHS students who were selected as candidates for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. We are so pleased to hear that senior Ambika Grover was selected as one of the 628 semifinalists to advance to the final round of the competition.

The Commission on U.S. Presidents Scholars will review applications of the semifinalists, and the final selection of the high school seniors who will be named 2023 U.S. Presidential Scholars will be announced by U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona in mid-May.

Every loyal reader of the Digest is familiar with Ambika - we have written about her multiple times this school year. From the 2023 Regeneron Science Talent Search to being selected by the National Speech & Debate Association to compete on the USA Debate team, what can't she do?

Greenwich Symphony Orchestra's amazing season ended late last month with a performance for more than 1,700 GPS fourth and fifth graders. The Young People's Concert, called "Catch a Rising Star," at GHS' Performing Arts Center was conducted by Stuart Malina with solos featuring Meagan Lee, Elizabeth Jones, and Yuqing Li.

GSO’s Young People’s Concerts have been recognized with the Connecticut Alliance for Arts Education Award for Outstanding Community Arts Program. The program is funded by GSO with major contributions from the Board of Education, PTAs, Women’s Club of Greenwich, and several friends, foundations, and local corporations.

Western Middle School teacher, Ms. Elisabeth Catanzaro, has been selected as one of 100 exceptional teachers across the nation to attend Disney Imagination Campus during Teacher Appreciation Week in May. She was selected based on problem-solving skills, student impact, innovation, creativity, and optimism.

Disney Imagination Campus offers educational experiences for visiting student groups at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida as well as at Disneyland Resort in California. The collection of interactive workshops, performances, and special events involve a variety of subjects, including performing arts, science, technology, arts, humanities, leadership, and innovation. These programs are specially created to harness beloved Disney franchises, Disney Imagineering, and Disney Live Entertainment in ways that inspire the next generation of creative thinkers.

To be one of the 100 teachers selected, an essay had to be submitted to Disney Creative Campus. Potential candidates had to demonstrate how they bring wonder, creativity, and imagination to life through their teaching and describe ways in which it has inspired students in new ways.

All second grade students are visiting the Greenwich Audubon Center during the month of May to learn about freshwater ecosystems, aquatic plants and animals, and river erosion in our town.

This experience is possible thanks to the Greenwich Alliance for Education, which graciously funded K-8 Science Coordinator Tara Fogel's grant request titled, "Science Beyond The Bounds of the Classroom." This grant capitalizes on Greenwich community partnerships to share in the science education of our first and second grade students.

Hamilton Avenue School and Old Greenwich School second graders recently trekked through the rainy weather down to Georgie's Pond at the Audubon Center and they got a chance to hang out with some local bullfrogs.

Each school will have its own day at the center and a follow-up visit when Audubon staff members come to our elementary schools to talk about land and water animals in our students' own neighborhoods.

Next month, all first grade students will head to the Bruce Museum for their science experience where they will learn about backyard animals and adaptations for survival.

The Bruce Museum, Greenwich Audubon, and Greenwich Alliance for Education are wonderful partners for this incredible experience.

Food Services Director Mr. Dave Nanarello takes us to Old Greenwich School this issue to get an inside look at Lead Cook Ms. April McMurray and Food Service Worker Ms. Marie Chiapetta preparing fresh fruits and vegetables for OG students earlier this week. Lunch featured pasta marinara with cheesy bread, Boar's Head Italian combo sandwiches on fresh rolls delivered from the bakery, garden salad, and unlimited fresh cut fruits and vegetables such as cucumbers, celery sticks, and red bell peppers.

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. He also reminds us that universal free lunch has returned through the end of the school year. Reach out anytime!

Parkway School's third grade students celebrated Colonial Days earlier this month to cap off their study of colonial life.

The festivities kicked off with a wonderful assembly in which students presented, in period dress, different aspects of colonial life including food, education, games, pastimes, and clothing. This assembly for parents was followed by learning activities throughout the week that included making corn husk dolls, writing by candlelight with a quill pen, doing needlepoint, and baking some tasty treats.

Sources at Parkway told the Digest recently that third grade teachers Ms. Michelle O'Brien and Mrs. Gabrielle Duncan should be thanked for their amazing efforts to make Colonial Days such a grand success.

Can't get enough Colonial Days in your day? Make sure to read Parkway's newsletter dedicated to this fantastic event.

Recently, Mr. Sam Mihara, a second-generation Japanese American man who at age 9 was forced to move with his family to one of the 10 prison camps in the country that together housed over 120,000 west coast residents of Japanese ancestry during World War II, was a guest speaker at an assembly for GHS sophomores.

Mr. Mihara was incarcerated with his family at a desolate prison camp in Wyoming for three years. Today, he is a national speaker who discusses mass imprisonment and shares his wartime experience with audiences at schools, colleges, libraries, museums, law schools, law firms, and many other organizations nationwide.

In his presentation, he discussed why only Japanese Americans were imprisoned, his experiences at prison camp, how he was released from camp, and the lessons he learned from the ordeal.

The Greenwich Alliance for Education alerted us about amazing week-long immersive experiences in a broad range of innovative disciplines using virtual and augmented reality at their annual Virtual and Augmented Reality STEAM Camp this summer.

Sessions are taught by 2023 Distinguished Teacher Award winner Mr. Gaspare Lipari who has extensive experience with XR (AR & VR) technologies and strong relationships in the XR Education industry. Students in grades 6-12 are eligible. For more information, head to their webpage.

In issue No. 16 of the GPS District Digest, we implored Western MS teacher Ms. Lauren Stabile to send us a postcard from her upcoming research trip to Yellowstone National Park as a result of receiving a Fund For Teachers Fellowship Grant Award. But wait, there is more!

The Digest has learned North Street School fourth grade teacher Mrs. Shannon Beckley has also received a Fund For Teacher 2023 Fellowship. We have been told that she will be traveling with fellow FFT recipient and husband Dr. Jeffrey Beckley, Jr. from Norwalk's Jefferson Marine Science Elementary School, to French Polynesia.

While there, they will explore the rich marine biodiversity, ecological conservation efforts, and cultural dependency on the ocean in the region. They will visit Tahiti, Moorea, and Bora Bora. They plan to work with other marine biologists that are currently there, scuba dive, go humpback whale watching, speak to scientists at the Gump Research Station run by the University of California, Berkeley, and much more.

We are told that Mrs. Beckley hopes to return with new knowledge that she can apply in the area of marine science for her students. The Digest hopes she sends us a postcard, too.

Recently, GHS held its annual Safe Driving Day. The event was organized by Ms. Kathy Steiner, a teacher in the school‘s Health and Safety Education department who advises the Outreach Club. Many community partners actively participated in the day's events, including the Greenwich Police and Fire Departments and Greenwich Emergency Medical Service.

"If we have impacted just one person's life to drive more safely and carefully," Ms. Steiner said, "then it is worth all of our time planning and collaborating to make Safe Driving Day a reality."

We encourage you to watch the video produced by the GHS TV Productions Department that gives a detailed description of the day's events. We will warn you that there is a simulation of a car accident scene at the end of this video that is very realistic, but rest assured, no one was harmed.

Our friends at the Flower Petals Adaptive Dance Company are hosting a screening of a new documentary, "Spellers," on Thursday, May 18 at 7:00 PM at the Greenwich Arts Council as a fundraiser for their dance school. They tell us that the money raised goes towards studio costs such as rent, costumes, and professional staff.

Inspired by the book, "Underestimated," the new full-length documentary, "Spellers," challenges conventional wisdom regarding a group relegated to society’s margins: non-speakers with autism, who most experts believe are cognitively disabled.

Flower Petals Adaptive Dance Company's mission is to provide a safe space for all actions, reactions, and feelings. They offer support to build and share in a community of dancers, parents, and volunteers. Each Sunday, the dance company welcomes about 20 GHS students through its doors who volunteer to teach special needs kids to dance.

Did you hear the amazing news? Our Twitter account, @GPSDistrict, recently surpassed 2k loyal followers. Are you one of them? If not, you should be, but only if you are one of our families, students, staff, or community members that want to see all of the good things happening around the District.

On social media, we will keep our community informed of breaking news and all good things GPS. We love to show you some of our favorite posts from around the GPS Twittersphere. Do you have a favorite social media account? Let us know!

• Want to play, Where's Winston? It is fun and it is easy. It is a game sweeping the region. Find a photograph of the bestest American foxhound whose ancestors were closely associated with Revolutionary heroes and the rolling estates of old Virginia. He is somewhere, maybe where he should not be, in this newsletter!
• Have you figured out that the first headline of each issue of the Digest this year contains a body part? Really, go back and check.
• If you have a great story or photograph to share from our schools inside the District, alert the good folks in the GPS District Digest newsroom. We want to know!
• Want your own subscription? It's easy to sign up.
• Did you miss an issue? Go to our archive to catch up.
• Karen and Linda? The grooviest.
  
• Is this the first time you read the newsletter until the very end?