GPS District Digest (v4, i14)

Welcome to the 14th issue of the GPS District Digest. If you thought issue No. 13 was great, you are in for something special today. This might be the issue packed with the most goodness...ever.

The amount of student and staff achievements are absolutely amazing. We have Black History Month essay contest winners, incredible science accomplishments that would make Albert Einstein blush, music performances, art creations, yoga, documentaries, and more! Our social media presence has grown by leaps and bounds since the start of the school year and you will see why!

And finally, we ask you one question, and one question only: Where's Winston?

Enjoy issue No. 14 and thanks for reading!

GPS District Digest

In February, high school students were invited to participate in the annual GHS Social Studies Black History Month Essay Contest. The winners, announced earlier this month, were Rafael Galvan in first place and Riona McKersie as runner up.

The Civil Rights Movement is taught in history class as a time when Americans fought for equal protection under the law, social justice, and voting rights. These themes are important in expanding the understanding of our nation's history. Yet, throughout our nation, relatively few leaders of the Movement are highlighted for their work. The GHS Social Studies Department asked students to spotlight unsung heroes in our nation's quest for equality.

Rafael wrote about Jane Bolin, the first African American woman to both graduate from Yale Law School and serve as a judge in the United States. Riona wrote about 18th/19th century poet, Phillis Wheatley.

Their task was to write a 500-word letter to the Board of Education explaining why their nominee should be included in the GHS American History Curriculum. You are now invited to read these award-winning essays to find out more about these extraordinary individuals in American history.

Society for Science announced earlier this month that Greenwich High School senior Ambika Grover was included in the top 10 winners in this year’s Regeneron Science Talent Search, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors.

Ambika Grover, 17, received an $80,000 award for her sixth place finish by developing an injectable layered microbubble designed to target and break up blood clots and prevent them from reforming. She believes this can be used to restore the flow of oxygen-carrying blood to the brains of ischemic stroke victims.

Grover, along with fellow GHS senior and finalist, Angie Fogarty, participated in a week-long competition at which they underwent a rigorous judging process that went beyond their own research to encompass other scientific disciplines and compete for more than $1.8 million in awards. They had the opportunity to interact with leading scientists and share their research during a virtual “Public Day” event. Fogarty received $25,000 for being named one of 40 finalists in January.

The competition, now in its 82nd year, celebrated and rewarded young scientists nation-wide and It focused on a wide range of scientific topics. This year, those topics included everything from cancer research to climate change to the space race and more. More than $1.8 million was awarded to the finalists, who were evaluated based on their projects’ scientific rigor, their exceptional problem-solving abilities and their potential to become leaders in STEM.

Watch the Regeneron STS 2023 Awards Ceremony in its entirety, or skip to the 1:11:45 mark to see Amika receive her honor.

Earlier this month, Superintendent Dr. Toni Jones announced the appointment of Dr. Garfield Charles as program administrator for Greenwich High School’s Windrose program. Dr. Charles was named interim program administrator on August 17, 2022.

Dr. Charles will continue to serve as the chief administrator for Windrose, the specialized program enabling Greenwich students in grades 9-12 to reset their course toward graduation, prepare for college and career, and find purpose to learning. Windrose collaborates significantly with Greenwich High School as well as various community partners to facilitate individualized success for each student. Dr. Charles reports directly to Chief Officer of Special Education and Student Supports Dr. Stacey Heiligenthaler.

“Dr. Charles’ commitment and dedication to the students, staff, and families of the Windrose program is a true inspiration,” Dr. Heiligenthaler said. “After a thorough hiring process and reviewing the great work he and his staff have done since the beginning of the year, it was clear that Dr. Charles is the right person to lead this program today and into the future.”

Dr. Charles began his career at GPS in 2004 as a GHS English teacher. Since 2017, Dr. Charles served as the assistant dean of GHS’ Bella and Cantor Houses until his interim appointment at Windrose.

“I am deeply honored to be named the administrator of the Windrose program,” Dr. Charles said. “I look forward to continuing our work with our students, staff, parents, and the wider Greenwich community to promote positive and relevant experiences through a more personalized learning approach. Our goal is to assist our students to succeed in their academic, social, and emotional development to be better prepared for life after high school.”

Dr. Charles holds a diploma in Teaching from Corinth Teachers College, a bachelor’s in English from the University of the West Indies, master’s degree in English from the University of Massachusetts, and School Building Leadership from Mercy College, and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from Manhattanville College. He holds an Intermediate Administration and Supervision Certification (092).

Seventh-grader Sohan Javeri is headed to the "Theme Park Capital of the World" in May, but not to visit the world's most famous mouse.

The Central Middle schooler was one of the top four individuals from the 2023 Connecticut State MATHCOUNTS Competition, which was held earlier this month at the University of Hartford. All four mathletes will now represent Connecticut at the 2023 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition in Orlando, FL eight weeks from now.

The competition was organized by the Connecticut Society of Professional Engineers, a proud partner with the U.S. Department of Defense, that helped to promote the importance of STEM in academics by hosting the MATHCOUNTS Competitions for the last 39 years.

The Greenwich High School music department is hosting the 36th annual GHS Jazz Festival on Saturday, March 25 at the Performing Arts Center from 8:00 AM-7:30 PM, featuring over a dozen jazz bands from GHS and all around the region. Seven professional musicians will hold individual clinics on saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, guitar, drums, and bass at 1:00 PM, followed by a set of jazz standards at 2:00 PM. The full schedule of bands can be found online. Tickets are sold at the door: $5 for students and seniors, $10 for general admission.

Anyone that has been to the Havemeyer Building on Greenwich Avenue knows what a delight our front desk staff are. They are a ray of sunshine, ready and willing to help. If you came by now, you would see an amazing bouquet of flowers when you first walk in. But do not take a whiff, because they are made of paper!

Paper? It is truly an amazing piece of art and we have Julian Curtiss art teacher, Ms. Eileen Brehm to thank. The folks in the newsroom wanted to know more about these creations and here is what she exclusively told the Digest:

"These paper flowers have everything to do with my students. It is how it all began! I have been at JC for 10 years, but back in the fall of 2019, I was running an after care program (Principal McGuire had gotten a grant from the Greenwich Alliance). It was a 'start-up' program, so at the beginning, I really only had a lot of paper to use for activities with the children. I started teaching them to make paper flowers and we gave them to the teachers and staff to make them smile. It blossomed from there!

"I love the art of it, so I kept designing new flowers to teach them as well as made them for other school events. I have done dozens of lessons with students and we have gifted them to people around the JC community.

"Turning point: When lockdown happened in April 2020, the JC art teacher, Ms. LeAnn Hinkle, asked me if I would make 200 paper lilac flowers to be given to the CCI Mothers-in-Need for Mother's Day. Usually, children made flower pictures for them, but because we were all quarantined then, CCI could not get kids together to make flowers. So LeAnn asked if I would make them and donate them. My son and I made them all and CCI was very happy to continue giving flowers for Mother's Day. Now, I personally donate paper flowers to mothers in the Greenwich Community every year on Mother's Day. I like that tradition was started!"

"I love colors and I love making people smile with flowers. It all started with the students. We liked making teachers smile by making them a flower. I have continued doing many on my own. I actually consider them 'little paper sculptures' because they can take a long time to make. But ultimately, I like making art that makes people happy when they look at it. Also, my son Grayson is in the ninth grade at Greenwich High School and I have always made paper flowers for his teachers at JC and Central Middle School."

"At our Veteran’s Day assembly in November, students made 236 poppies, representing each student at Julian Curtiss. We handed these out to our visiting veterans who came to speak to the students and staff. It was a lovely ceremony and a great way to thank our veterans for their service."

To no one's surprise, the Digest checked in with the publication's best friend, Food Services Director Mr. Dave Nanarello. He tells us that New Lebanon School celebrated this week with the successful installation of a state-of-the-art commercial dishwashing system, in support of Waste Free Greenwich, providing stainless steel serving trays in the lunchroom.

In addition, the food service department is in the midst of "Taste the Rainbow" week, featuring tangerines and honey roasted carrots, fresh cut strawberries, green apple slices and broccoli with garlic, blueberries, and purple plums.

And 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!

Greenwich Together and Greenwich PTAC have planned Hope Day for Sunday, April 23 at Arch Street Teen Center from 1:00 PM-4:00 PM. This will be a community wellness day celebrating the blooming of yellow tulips around town.

Yellow tulips were planted as part of the national Yellow Tulip Project to smash the stigma around mental health. The event will be a combination of youth speakers, athletic coaches, musicians, activities, yoga & mindfulness, food, and resource tables. The event is free to the community.

Earlier this month, a team of Central Middle School seventh and eighth graders became the first group from GPS to participate in the Connecticut Middle School Regional Science Bowl at Computer Science and Engineering Middle School in East Hartford. Winners of regional competitions were then invited to the National Science Bowl, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The team was led by captain Ashwin Aurora, along with Jin Cha, Scarlett Hillman, Katie Lewis, Richard Lu, and Tyler Malkin.

In order to be prepared for the fast-paced question-and-answer format where they solve technical problems and answer questions on a range of science disciplines including biology, chemistry, earth and space sciences, physics, and math, the CMS team started meeting weekly after school in December and, in addition to practice sessions, studied and went through practice rounds on their own.

“I am honored to be a part of the team’s Science Bowl journey,” GHS teacher and science team coach Ms. Maria Buono said. “The excitement and energy as the team collaborated through the rounds were thrilling. They are such an incredibly smart and highly motivated group of students who are eager to continually improve.”

Although overall victory was not to be had, the team brilliantly won two morning rounds against teams from Hillcrest MS and Whisconier MS.

Earlier this month, a mindfulness and yoga parent/child retreat called, “Glowing and Growing Together,” sponsored by the Greenwich Alliance for Education, was held at North Street School. Families spent some quality time with their children, while engaging in fun activities.

Earlier this month, two groups of film makers in GHS’ National History Club finished in the top spots at the Fairfield Regional CT National History Day contest at Sacred Heart University in the “Senior Group Documentary” category. They will now advance to the statewide Connecticut History Day Competition at Central Connecticut State University in May.

First place winners were Avery Imp, Charles Andrew Miranda, Hanna Klingbeil Canale, Jane Stempien, and Nicole Orlofsky for their documentary, "Women's Fashion in World War II: A Frontier in Female Identity."

Second place winners were Bettina Gunnerson, Helen Puskar, and Zarah Hillman for their film, "Frontiers in Film: The Western Movie."

“I am so proud of the students in the National History Club,” GHS Social Studies teacher and club advisor Ms. Karen Boyea said. “Almost all of them are former or current students of mine, and it has been so gratifying to see them applying what they learned in AP U.S. History to this year's theme of ‘Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas.’

“The fact that these students interviewed scholars and did archival research in addition to their rigorous course load speaks to their passion for history.“

Watch these amazing works. You will be glad you did.

Are you one of the 1,992 loyal followers of @GPSDistrict on Twitter? 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. Who will be the 2,000th follower? Will it be you?

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 from around the GPS Twittersphere. Do you have a favorite social media account? Let us know!

• We have one question for you, and one question only: Where's Winston? It is the fun game sweeping the town. Find a photograph of the best-dressed American foxhound around. He is somewhere, maybe where he should not be, in this newsletter!
• 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. Some of our readers got it. Did you?
• Did you ever notice the image corresponding to the opening paragraph is of the very issue of the Digest you are reading right now? How did they do that??
• Karen and Linda? You guys are awesome.
• Thanks for reading until the very end!