GPS District Digest (v7, i07)
Stories, news, and updates from Greenwich Public Schools
November Holiday Checklist
✅ Election Day
✅ Veterans Day
✅ Thanksgiving
✅ National Calzone Day
The month of many holidays is complete and onto December with no...
We are just kidding ya'. You know we like to have fun here at the GPS District Digest. No one appreciates the Holiday Recess to end the calendar year more than here in the newsroom.
With great celebrations, comes great stories. The seventh issue of Connecticut's favorite school newsletter has many to share.
Enjoy Issue No. 7 and thank you for your support.
GPS District Digest
Superintendent Dr. Toni Jones recently revealed the December 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, the district 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 or 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.
Recent customer donations from Greenwich and Riverside ACME stores and Old Greenwich Kings store to help eradicate childhood hunger by keeping food banks stocked and supporting meal distribution programs at schools totaled $2,700. Greenwich Public Schools received 108 $25 gift cards through a partnership with Gift Card Bank and the generosity of ACME, Kings, and Safeway's Nourishing Neighbors campaign.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Toni Jones presented those gift cards to Executive Director K. Brent Hill recently at Neighbor to Neighbor on Putnam Avenue.
From this generous program, GPS and NTN have received more than $14,000 in gift cards since 2024.
The only food pantry in Greenwich, Neighbor to Neighbor’s mission is to strengthen the Greenwich community by providing access to nutritious food, clothing, and other essentials in an atmosphere of kindness and respect.
Ms. Salomon is a first grade teacher at Julian Curtiss School. She recently sat down with the GPS District Digest. We got to know this educator and now it is your turn.
This is the sixth episode in our new video feature and if you enjoyed the previous five, we think you are really going to like this one. Ms. Salomon tells us about her path to education and how her family influenced that direction.
You and me run the same course.
This fall, GPS' community partners at the Greenwich Botanical Center hosted 574 fourth grade students to connect art and science during their "Art in Nature" assured experience field trips.
Students created their own watercolors overlooking the pond, they used color pencils to capture the intricate details of a self-selected natural item around a fern forest, and then they learned about art gallery etiquette as they visited the current installation at the GBC’s gallery.
The students were able to connect how both observation and experimentation are a part the sciences and the arts.
This year, the GBC received a grant from the Springer Foundation, which covered all student costs for the trip.
Prior to the Thanksgiving Recess last month, the good folks at Eastern Middle School hosted an "ESL Friendsgiving Potluck" for a fun-filled event of kindness, collaboration, and spirit of community.
Sources close to EMS tell the Digest that one of the highlights of the day was the "Tree of Thanks," where students wrote down what they were thankful for on tags that were hung on the branches. Without any prompting, every student mentioned their teachers and their school.
The GHS Theater Arts program brought a dozen members of their Improv Troupe to Cos Cob Library last month to lead a workshop for younger students. Set up by the library, the fast-moving workshop gave the students a fun and highly engaging exposure to improvisation.
The Improv Troupe had recently performed its second improv show earlier last month in the BlackBox Theater. In addition to growing as comedic performers, a half dozen new scenes were incorporated into the performance, showcasing the students’ talent and adaptability. Their creativity and enthusiasm as well as their teamwork and team joy delighted the audience.
Improvisation teaches spontaneous and creative thinking, keen audience awareness, an intrinsic understanding of dramatic structure, and a profound understanding of teamwork and strategy. It is enormous fun for both the performers and the audiences, even if you might realize it can be unnerving to go on stage without a script.
Improvisation, like all of Theater Arts at Greenwich HS, is taught in an environment which is continuously supportive and engaging, stimulating creativity and group connection. Improvisation training is one of the main pillars of the Theater Arts program, along with classical theatrical training and Shakespeare, performances of works of great literary merit, a workshop class producing a musical with as many as six different casts, a writing class cultivating the creation and performance of student written works for the stage, and finally a Broadway caliber musical in the spring.
The next production will be Mean Girls, on December 12 and 13 with performances at 4:00 PM and 7:30 PM each day in the GHS Black Box Theater. Order tickets now!
Last month, Greenwich HS’ senior class brought a professional basketball team, the Harlem Wizards, to the school's gym for an incredible night of basketball tricks, hoops, and alley-oops.
A capacity crowd cheered on both teams.
The Greenwich High School Music Department will present its second annual Candlelight Concert on Wednesday, December 17, and Thursday, December 18 at 7:30 PM in GHS' Performing Arts Center. This beloved holiday celebration showcases the exceptional talent of GHS student musicians in an enchanting evening of seasonal music.
The two-night concert series features performances by the school's bands, choirs, and orchestras, offering an enchanting program of classical holiday favorites and contemporary arrangements, including beloved holiday favorites like "Somewhere in My Memory" from Home Alone, the majestic "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah, and the timeless classic "Silent Night."
The intimate candlelight setting creates a warm, festive atmosphere that has quickly become a cherished community celebration. Building on the success of last year's inaugural event, which drew capacity crowds both nights, the Music Department has enhanced this year's production with new arrangements and expanded student participation. And, in another time-honored tradition, GHS Chorus alumni will be invited to the stage for the singing of Handel’s Messiah.
Tickets are required to attend the concert. Free tickets will be available to the public beginning Monday, December 8, through the QR code below or online. Due to anticipated high demand, community attendees are encouraged to reserve tickets promptly.
There was no photo shoot. No quotes in the newspaper. No television lights glaring in their eyes. It was all business for Greenwich High School social studies teacher, Ms. Jess Somma, and her army of students from the Roots & Shoots Club, and other volunteers.
While you were thinking about your Thanksgiving turkey, football, and an early release, this crew was packing up and delivering meals to 100 families in Greenwich that needed a little extra assistance this year. Each of the 2,366 items were donated through the GHS Roots & Shoots Thanksgiving Food Drive.
Here we go: pasta/rice, oatmeal/cereal, chicken broth/stock/soup/chili, protein: beans/lentils/tuna/chicken, canned veggies, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes/yams, tomato sauce, canned pumpkin, canned fruit, snack food, dessert (cake/brownie/bread mix), and baby food.
Yes, Jane would be proud.
There ain't no party like a Havemeyer party. We do it different.
November Difference Maker 2.0 honoree, Martha Ramkellawan, along with Monalisa Adams and Erika Peters of the food service department, recently treated the Central Office staff with a beautiful spread before the Thanksgiving Recess.
If you have not had Marty D'Andrea's desserts, you just don't know.
Tell me Michael, how could more than 4,220 people be wrong?
That is how many close friends we have reading what we post on social media. It can be a great tool to share information when done responsibly. Here at GPS, we use social media to give you a behind the scenes look at what is happening in our buildings, celebrate staff and student achievement, and to break news.
Are you active on other social media platforms? Should the district join you? Let us know!
IG: greenwichalliance
IG: greenwichalliance
FB: Greenwich Free Press
FB: Greenwich Free Press
FB: Greenwich Free Press
FB: Greenwich Free Press
