GPS District Digest (v4, i7)
Stories, news, and updates from Greenwich Public Schools
A Cold Shoulder We Would Never Give
The pumpkins have been smashed, the turkeys have been gobbled, and winter is officially only 20 days away. Holidays and seasons come and go, but the GPS District Digest will always be there for you.
Almost 14,000 of you read, or re-read, Issue No. 6 because of all the good happenings around Greenwich Public Schools. Everyone at the Digest is truly humbled by the great feedback we receive from you.
Our students are truly inspiring, our staff is dedicated, and our families are committed. GPS continues to be envy of so many in our region.
This issue is packed with so much goodness, it is oozing at the seams. There's slime, swimming, science, alliterations, and so much more.
Enjoy Issue No. 7 and thanks for reading! Tell a friend.
GPS District Digest
He Slimed Me 👻
North Mianus School students donated over 4,200 pounds of food to GPS' community partner, Neighbor to Neighbor, and for surpassing their goal, they were treated to an assembly where homemade slime was poured by randomly chosen students over the heads of Principal Kathleen Ramirez, Assistant Principal Abigail Anders, and physical education teachers Mr. Pat Prisinzano and Mr. Dan Taylor this week. There was no sign of Bill Murray or the Ghostbusters.
Teachers made the slime from scratch in a trash can, mixing green food dye, gelatin, pistachio pudding, and soap after an unfortunate porch pirate incident.
The students used Neighbor to Neighbor’s online platform to give “in kind” donations, picking out fresh fruit or eggs to buy virtually.
Swim Team
Last month, Greenwich High School's girls swim team brought home the Runner-Up Championship Trophy at the Class LL State Swim Championship at the Cornerstone Aquatics Center in West Hartford. Fifteen swimmers and four divers scored for the Cardinals to secure a second-place finish to Ridgefield.
The team's biggest victory came during the first race of the evening with a top finish by senior Daisy Decker, freshman Melissa Geiger, and juniors Anabelle Guarnera and Sydney Jee in the 200 Medley Relay with a time 1:49.16, pacing the team from Ludlow. All four student-athletes earned All-State Honors in the event.
Additional top performers included:
- Sydney Jee (Jr.) - 2nd place, 200 IM / 3rd place, 100 Breaststroke (All-State in both events)
- Daisy Decker (Sr.) - 5th place, 500 Freestyle
- Melissa Geiger (Fr.) - 5th place, 100 Butterfly
- Ava Vranos (Jr.) - 5th place, Diving
- Wesley Wales (Fr.) - 6th place, 50 Freestyle
Complete results can be found on the CIAC website.
Rainbow Connection 🐸
Have you ever wondered why there are so many songs about rainbows and what's on the other side? Neither do we, but we know somebody has because that catchy song sung by the most famous amphibian comes to mind every time we see a rainbow in the Digest newsroom.
Returning from Thanksgiving Recess, a few of our staff members spotted the meteorological phenomenon over a few of our buildings and shared it with the GPS Twitterverse. Whether it was an omen for good times to come or just a reflection, refraction, and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky, we sure think they are super cool.
Enjoy the social media posts with great photos.
Good Eats
What is a GPS District Digest without us reaching our to Mr. Nanarello in our wonderful food services department?
He tells us that the December menu is now posted and it features the ever-popular "Breakfast for Lunch" Monday, Taco Tuesday, Pasta Wednesday and Pizza Friday, all leading up to Holiday Recess in the last week. And as always that are lots of options available, including sandwiches, strawberry yogurt parfaits with crunchy cereal topping, fresh local grown apples, celery sticks, and more!
We love it when Mr. Nanarello gives us an inside look at what is happening in our schools. This issue, we get a glimpse of the smiling faces at North Mianus School on a chilly afternoon, with Ms. Jaycox serving grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup and Ms. Henley at the register.
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!
Making a Difference
To help those less fortunate in our community, the GHS Roots & Shoots and Neighbor to Neighbor Clubs provided Thanksgiving meals to over 100 families in Greenwich community and raised more than $5,000 by hosting the 12th annual Thanksgiving Food Drive in November.
Food donations were accepted in collection bins located outside each House office, and students were encouraged to give healthy foods that are low-sodium, and high in protein.
Results of the Food Collection
1st: Folsom (434)
2nd: Sheldon (417)
3rd: Cantor (434)
4th: Clark (256)
5th: Bella (232)
Results of the Penny Wars Fundraiser
1st: Clark - $60.39
2nd: Bella - $58.09
3rd: Folsom - $37.99
4th: Sheldon -$6.87
5th: Cantor - $3.63
My School Bucks Fundraiser
1st: Folsom - $2,910
2nd: Sheldon - $710
3rd: Clark - $350
4th: Bella - $275
5th: Cantor - $40
Total Raised for Penny Wars & MySchoolBucks: $5,550.59
It Was a Twitter Takeover
Seriously, how excited were you following New Lebanon School's takeover of the District's Twitter account last week? You all were so excited that the Twitter account saw more interaction than any day in recent memory.
To kick off the Thanksgiving Recess, families got an inside look at the many distinguished guests participating in "Read the Day Away," as students and staff alike showed their love of reading. Every student sat back, and enjoyed prose from Town of Greenwich officials, administrators, teachers, and student buddies.
In case you want to relive the excitement, head to the school's website for a full review of all 30 postings. Here is just a sampling of what you enjoyed.
Havemeyer Staff Donates 170+ Food Items to Neighbor to Neighbor
Around the GPS Twittersphere 📱
Are you one of the 1,915 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, like we had last week, with some of your favorite people. And we love to show you some of our favorite posts around the GPS Twittersphere.
The Fourth Estate
There are so many good things happening at GPS that our friends in the local media have shared them with you. Did you miss any of them? Luckily, we are there to help you out.
To Our Readers...
- If you have a great story or photograph to share from our schools inside the District, let us know the details.
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- There is a connection to all of the first paragraph headlines this year. Some of our readers got it. Did you?
- Apparently, at least three of you are reading the very end of this newsletter. 👌 We are impressed. Sometimes, you have to wait until the end to see the credit cookie. 🍪 The rest of the 13k folks that looked at the last newsletter left before the end.
Email: communications@greenwich.k12.ct.us
Location: 290 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich, CT, USA
Phone: (203) 625-7415