GPS District Digest (v7, i13)
Stories, news, and updates from Greenwich Public Schools
What happens on March 20 at 10:46 AM?
The vernal equinox, of course! The precise moment when the sun's rays shine directly on the Earth's equator as the sun crosses from south to north. But here in the newsroom of the GPS District Digest, we like to call it "spring."
Raise your hand if you are tired of snow. I know all of the town's meteorologists are - they have been busy reaching out.
Anywho...let's get to the good stuff. No weather alerts, no social media silliness, no soapboxes. Just all good things GPS. That's also known as student achievement, staff recognition and the stuff of running a school district which is the envy of all other school district's in the region.
We also wanted to let you know that Jennette L. gets us. She is unbelievable. The goods.
Enjoy Issue No. 13 and thank you for your support.
GPS District Digest
Superintendent Dr. Toni Jones recently revealed the March honorees for “Difference Makers 2.0.”
Difference Maker award recipients are staff members who have made an overwhelming impact on the lives of others inside and outside of our classrooms. This year, we will be honoring one from each school and one from each district department that are considered “unsung heroes.”
The Greenwich Public Schools “Difference Maker 2.0” award is presented monthly to full andr part-time employees who, through their unique commitment and humanitarian spirit, have made exceptional and lasting contributions to the GPS community through one life-changing event, extraordinary long-lasting efforts, or making a difference in the lives of others every single day. Honorees are officially nominated by principals and district senior leadership.
Head to the district's website for a full history of this amazing employee recognition program.
It took us 12 episodes, but we finally got to interview a school social worker. Ms. Stefanie Powers from Western Middle School represents the profession well in one of the last few episodes of "Get To Know Your Educator."
Ms. Powers is a collaborator, supporting our students and learning from those that led her at a young age. We think you will love hearing from her as much as we enjoyed talking to her.
You can hear it in the street.
The Greenwich High School Music Department, in partnership with the GHS Band Boosters, is proud to present the 39th Annual Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival on Saturday, March 21 at the Greenwich High School’s Performing Arts Center.
Tickets and additional event information - including the full schedule and access to the Facebook livestream - are available online. Attendees may purchase tickets or make a donation in advance.
Just weeks ahead of Jazz Appreciation Month in April (often called “JAM”), this cherished community tradition of nearly four decades returns with a full-day celebration of jazz featuring outstanding student ensembles, distinguished guest clinicians, and world-class performers in an immersive musical experience open to the public.
This year’s festival will spotlight acclaimed local artist Joyce DiCamillo’s Trio, joined by special guest artists John Mastroianni (saxophone), Tony Kadleck (trumpet), and Mariel Bildsten (trombone). Together, they promise an inspiring showcase of artistry, improvisation, and the enduring spirit of jazz.
The day will unfold with a dynamic schedule of performances, educational masterclasses, and featured concerts. Visiting jazz bands from across Connecticut, New York, and Quebec, Canada will take the stage throughout the morning and afternoon, sharing their passion, talent, and dedication to this uniquely American art form.
Complete festival details - including tickets, merchandise, the full event schedule, Facebook-Livestream access, and Business Sponsorship opportunities - are available on the 39th Annual Essential Ellington Facebook events page.
For more information, be sure to read the full press release on the district's website.
YWCA Greenwich recently announced the 2026 Honorees for its 8th Annual Women Who Inspire Awards. Included in their announcement, Greenwich High School seniors Ambika Jha and Riona McKersie were named the 2026 Next Generation Women Who Inspire Award honorees.
The Women Who Inspire Award was established to recognize and celebrate outstanding women in our community who have excelled in philanthropic, professional, and volunteer pursuits. The awards were presented yesterday at the Greenwich Country Club.
“Raising up the accomplishments of women and young women in our community is central to our mission," said YWCA Greenwich President and CEO Mary Lee Kiernan. "We are thrilled to honor this talented group of women representing a variety of sectors and endeavors. Every year we have an outstanding group of honorees, and this year’s group is equally outstanding and inspirational.”
YWCA Greenwich has a storied history of honoring extraordinary women within the community, including the BRAVA Awards, established in 1977 to recognize professional women, the Spirit of Greenwich Awards which started in 1994 to honor volunteers, and the Women Who Inspire Awards which began in 2019 to recognize all women and the fluidity in today’s work/life balance.
Science, technology, engineering, art, and math were on full display during an unforgettable STEAM Night at North Mianus School recently. This incredible event was thoughtfully organized and run by a wonderful group of dedicated parents and teacher volunteers whose creativity, time, and enthusiasm made the evening such a success. Their hard work transformed the school into a vibrant hub of discovery and innovation.
Students and families explored a wide variety of hands-on activities and engaging STEAM challenges designed to spark curiosity and inspire problem-solving. From building and experimenting to designing and creating, children had the opportunity to think critically, collaborate with friends, and put their learning into action in exciting new ways. Laughter, teamwork, and “aha!” moments could be seen and heard throughout the building.
One of the highlights of the evening was the immersive planetarium experience, where students were transported beyond the classroom and into the wonders of the night sky. The sense of awe and excitement perfectly captured the spirit of the event—encouraging exploration, imagination, and a love of learning.
STEAM Night at North Mianus was truly a fantastic celebration of creativity, innovation, and community. It was inspiring to see so many families come together to support hands-on learning and to celebrate the power of science, technology, engineering, art, and math in shaping bright futures.
Game on!
The middle school boys and girls basketball championships tipped off in the gym at Greenwich High School last month featuring an exciting showdown between the Central Middle School Cougars and the Western Middle School Wildcats.
Thanks to the generosity of the Greenwich HS athletic department, the event truly felt like a community celebration. The gym was packed with cheering fans from both middle schools, alongside GHS students, parents, and families.
The Western MS girls battled to a thrilling 32-29 victory, while the Central MS boys powered their way to a 48-40 championship win.
These high-energy games gave students an exciting glimpse into the future as the three middle schools eventually unite as GHS Cardinals.
Last month, students at Hamilton Avenue School participated in the 2026 Math-A-Thon as a way to demonstrate Caring for Self and Others. Since 2011, Ham Ave students have raised more than $70,000 to help kids in the fight against childhood cancer just by solving math problems with the St. Jude Math-A-Thon.
The St. Jude Math-A-Thon is a fun and educational way to teach students how to make a difference in the lives of others. Math participants learn important lessons about helping others by raising awareness and support for children battling cancer and other life-threatening diseases at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The Math-A-Thon also gives students an opportunity to care for themselves by giving them a fun way to practice their math skills.
Way to go Victor M. who raised $450. His hard work will cover various essential medical and support needs for patients and their families. It contributes to the comprehensive care and support services offered, which include covering medical care, as well as housing and food costs for families during treatment.
You can support the students of Hamilton Avenue and St. Jude’s by going to Hamilton Avenue School St. Jude’s Math-A-Thon donation page and making a contribution. Every dollar raised helps ensure that families never receive a bill for treatment, travel, housing or food so they can focus on helping their child live. St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Eighteen Greenwich High School students on the Science Team traveled to the University of Connecticut in Storrs to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy's Science Bowl Regional Competition. The tournament challenges students across a wide range of disciplines - biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, energy, and mathematics - in a fast-paced quiz bowl format unlike any other academic competition.
The varsity team of Xiwen Gong, Martin Lipp, Rex Lu, Jiajun Luo, and Axel Persson were outstanding by sweeping all five round-robins and powered through the double elimination bracket with only one loss, earning the 2026 Connecticut Science Bowl Regional championship.
Their hard work, dedication, and talent have earned the Greenwich HS champions an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. at the end of April, where they will go on to compete against top science teams from across the nation.
Congratulations to all of the students who represented Greenwich HS with excellence: Ashwin Aurora, Jason Bai, Aidan Chan, Joyce Gong, Devan Krishnan, Jamie Leader, Martin Lipp, Sean Lipp, Rex Lu, Richard Lu, Jiajun Luo, Axel Persson, Diya Subramanian, Sara Tirana, Jasper Wies, Louis Zackson, Xirui Zheng, and Catherine Zhong.
Greenwich High School students taking the "Shapers of the World" course recently collaborated with the Flinn Gallery at the Greenwich Library, drawing inspiration from Dan Hurlin’s "Motel," that was on view in the exhibition, "Performative Stories."
The "Shapers of the World" is an interdisciplinary humanities course at Greenwich High School where students explore how individual experiences have significantly impacted society. The course examines connections among various disciplines such as literature, art, music, philosophy, history, and science in the context of human civilization.
Inspired by "Motel," students closely analyzed the scene’s visual and emotional details to imagine the inner life of its solitary puppet figure. Noticing the crumpled drafts, tense posture, and the subdued, timeworn atmosphere of the motel room, they considered who the letter was meant for, and why it had to be perfect. Stepping into the role of puppeteer, they composed the final handwritten letter, capturing the urgency, vulnerability, and emotional weight suggested in the scene.
Students read these “outgoing letters” at the artist talk that took place at the gallery, alongside artists Dan Hurlin and Janie Geiser and curators Leslee Asc and Kate Sheridan Chung.
Scholastic Writing Awards winners from Greenwich High School? We got 'em?
Clara Cahill (9th grade): Silver Key for Poetry ("A Neon Devil")
Kate Crowe (9th grade): Honorable Mention for Speculative Fiction ("Locker One Hundred Twelve")
Ogden Hammond (9th grade): Honorable Mention for Speculative Fiction ("The Kepler Detective")
Claire Pinheiro (9th grade): Silver Key for Short Story ("Fantasy")
Hailey Stahl (9th grade): Silver Key for Short Story ("Almost Hannah")
Yachi Chen (10th grade): Gold Key for Flash Fiction ("Windows")
Alexa Loera (12th grade): Silver Key for Poetry ("Thoughts While Swimming Towards a Buoy")
High School
Go squash!
For the first time ever, the Greenwich High School squash A team won the FairWest Championship this season by beating New York's Rye High School, 7-0, in matches.
Greenwich Squash is a 100% parent-driven organization. They are not a varsity sport at Greenwich High School. All Greenwich Squash activities are run and managed by volunteers.
Middle School
Greenwich middle school student-athletes of Greenwich Squash captured the combined program’s first Middle School National Championship last month at the 2026 U.S. Middle School Team Squash Championships played at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia, PA. More than 90 schools and programs and 500 players participated in this year’s event.
The Greenwich Squash team battled throughout the tournament to win the Division II championship, outlasting 15 other teams to bring home their trophies. The team is composed of Aiden Anderson Rahimtula, David Anderson Rahimtula, Arjun Ankalkoti, and Keegan Hart from Eastern Middle School, and Ryan Chass and Brett Lin from Western Middle School.
Overall, the Greenwich Squash Middle School program combines more than 50 children from all three Greenwich Middle Schools and six Greenwich elementary schools.
Student recognition continues to flood the newsroom of the GPS District Digest, especially when it comes to our seniors at Greenwich High School.
Congratulations to the nine Greenwich HS seniors who were named Finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program. This month, the National Merit Committee began notifying scholarship winners with public announcements in April, May, June, and July.
The finalists are: Catherine Broderick, Maia Coplit, Miller Fishback, Ambika Jha, Ruth Mund, Hadrian Nobay, Davin Shin, Marley Wies, and Annabelle Wu.
The National Merit Scholarship Program is an annual academic competition for recognition and college undergraduate scholarships based on their Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) scores.
The candidates for 2026 for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was recently announced and it included a dozen Greenwich High School seniors.
The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by executive order of the President, to recognize and honor some of our nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors. In 1979, the program was extended to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, creative and performing arts. In 2015, the program was again extended to recognize students who demonstrate ability and accomplishment in career and technical education fields. Each year, up to 161 students are named as Presidential Scholars, one of the nation's highest honors for high school students.
Congratulations to Maia Coplit, Miller Fishback, Mariam Hussain, Martin Lipp, Jiajun Luo, Hadrian Nobay, Abigail Otterstedt, Sonia Patel, Ainsley Sahrbeck, Ian Shum, Annabelle Wu, and Parker Young.
We heard from our friends at North Mianus School recently who told us about a visit from Congressman Jim Himes. He spoke about the amazing program, "Valentines for Vets," and why it is so important to show love and appreciation to our veterans.
He also fielded thoughtful questions from student representatives and he explained how Congress works in clear, student-friendly language. The students were especially excited when he showed them his official voting card and explained how it is used.
We were told that it was a meaningful and engaging experience for everyone involved.
Do you know a teacher, social worker, school counselor, instructional coach, or specialist that deserves consideration for the 2026 Distinguished Teacher Awards? You should have started the process weeks ago. The main emphasis in identifying a distinguished teacher is the quality of work with students. To learn more about the criteria and eligibility requirements, read the Nomination Instruction Packet online.
