GHS HEADMASTER and PTA News

GHS HEADMASTER and PTA NEWS
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Setting the standard for excellence in public education
(203) 625-8000
www.greenwichschools.org/ghs
UPDATES FROM GHS HEADMASTER
UPDATE FROM THE GHS PTA
Panel for Parents: Coping with Tragedy –
Wednesday September 3 - 7:00PM
Message from the Co-Presidents
GHS will be hosting in our Media Center a panel for
parents on Coping with Tragedy. Our panel of mental
health professionals will offer suggestions on how to
help teenagers deal with the recent boating tragedy.
Thursday Morning Schedule
Attached to this email is a Thursday morning schedule
that we will run this year. It affects roughly every
other Thursday. The schedule allows us to hold
Freshman Mentoring sessions, meet with sophomores
in counselor groups and in assemblies, and provide
additional options for juniors and seniors. Days
designated for Freshman Mentoring (noted by M in
the schedule) will have the first academic block of the
day begin at 8:00. Days designated as Homeroom
(noted as H in the schedule) will have the first
academic block of the day begin at 7:45. Dismissal
and lunch are at the usual times.
Open Campus Policy
GHS continues to support our Open Campus Policy.
What is different this year are some of the procedures
we have put in place to enforce the policy. First, the
policy is a privilege reserved for seniors. A senior who
has an open may leave the GHS campus. Freshmen,
sophomores, and juniors do not have this privilege.
Seniors are now required to provide parent permission
in order to take part in the Open Campus Policy.
Furthermore, seniors must sign out when leaving the
campus and sign back in upon their return. There are a
few additional points of clarification:
 All students have permission to leave the
building (not the campus) between classes,
during lunch, or when they have an open.
 Any sophomore or junior with an open block at
the beginning of the day may come to school
for his/her first class (i.e., stay off campus
during the open).
 Any sophomore or junior with an open at the
end of the day may leave campus during that
open.
Dear GHS Families,
Welcome back! This is the first of our monthly
Headmaster/GHS PTA Parent Links.
If you haven’t joined the GHS PTA yet this year, we
invite you to do so now. You have two ways to
join. First, you can click HERE to download and
print the membership form. If you choose this
option, please return the form and payment to
the Main Office. Second, you can register and pay
for your GHS PTA membership online! Click HERE
for this option. The incentive items available with
membership, which includes the 2014-2015 GHS
Student Directory, will be available at Open House.
Parent volunteer power is essential to the PTA and
GHS. There are many ways to become a part of the
GHS community, from clerical work to helping with
events and Student Activities. Click HERE, to
review the volunteer jobs and HERE to sign up for
one or more online. There is something for
everyone! If you’d like to ask questions about a
volunteer position, please email the GHS PTA at
[email protected].
Please join us this Thursday, September 4th at
11:00 am at the Bruce Museum for our annual
GHS PTA Volunteer Fair, followed by a General
PTA Meeting at 12:00 pm. Come to peruse
volunteer opportunities, then hear Dr. Chris
Winters, GHS Headmaster, and Dr. Bill McKersie,
Superintendent of Greenwich Public Schools, speak
about the upcoming school year. Refreshments and
a light lunch will be served.
On Monday, October 6th at 7:00 pm in the GHS
Auditorium, the GHS Guidance Department and
the PTA will host four admissions professionals
from Elon University, Gettysburg College, Boston
College, and Dartmouth University who will share
information, insights and advice about the college
admissions process. There will be an opportunity
for questions and answers after the speaker
presentation. This is an ideal way for 10th, 11th and
12th grade parents and students to learn more
about the college admissions process in the
informal and relaxed setting of the GHS
Auditorium.
Headmaster Forums
Headmaster Forums are relatively small gatherings
(20-40 parents) with the GHS Headmaster. To topics
for discussion are largely determined by the parents in
attendance. Because of the parking situation at GHS,
all Headmaster Forums will be held in the evening
starting at 7:00 in the Media Center. All parents are
welcome. Below are the dates:
Tuesday October 14 – Open discussion
Monday November 10 – Joining the meeting is Dr.
Lorraine Termini, Dean of Student Life
Monday February 23 - Joining the meeting is Ms.
Judith Nedell, Director of Guidance
Monday April 20 - Joining the meeting is Kathy
Steiner, Health Teacher
Monday May 11: Open discussion
GHS Open House


9th & 12th Grade Open House - September 23rd.
10th & 11th Grade Open House - October 1st.
Open House provides parents with the opportunity to
meet each of your child’s teachers. After a brief
welcome in the Student Center, parents follow their
child’s schedule for all blocks. Parking is always
difficult for these nights. Please consider using our
shuttle services from the three middle schools:
Eastern, Central, and Western. We will send more
information as we approach the dates.
From the Wellness Education & Physical
Education Department:
During the planned Freshman Mentoring &
Sophomore Homeroom programs, the Wellness &
Physical Education Staff will open the Fitness Center,
and the Yoga/ Dance Studio to juniors and seniors
who want to work out, or who want to take a yoga/
stretch class. The designated Thursday mornings are:
9/4, 9/18, 10/2, 10/16, 10/30, 11/20, 12/4, 12/18, 1/8
& 1/22 from 7:25 - 8:00.
All are welcome. GHS ID and proper workout attire
are required.
Thank you for your support!
Lisa Graffeo and Cricket Dyment
and the GHS PTA Executive Board
GHS PTA Shopping Fundraiser
The Greenwich High School PTA will be holding
special back-to-school shopping opportunities for
all GHS families! On Thursday, September 4th,
from 1:00 to 5:00 pm, the Vineyard Vines
Greenwich store will give GHS families a 10%
discount on all purchases. On Friday and
Saturday, September 5th and 6th, from 12:00 to
5:00 pm, the J. Crew Greenwich store will extend
GHS Families 15% off on their purchases. You
only have to present a copy of this Parent Link or
mention "GHS" when you check out to receive the
discounts. In addition a portion of all sales will
be contributed to the GHS PTA. To view the
official shopping invitations, click HERE. Please
come enjoy the shopping, the discounts and help
support your PTA!
GHS PTA Membership
If you have joined the PTA, membership incentives,
including the Student Directory, will be available
for pick up on both Open House Nights (Tuesday,
September 23rd for grades 9 & 12 and Wednesday,
October 1st for grades 10 & 11). Look for us at the
tables in the middle of the Student Center. If you
have not joined yet, you may do so on one of those
evenings or online by clicking HERE. Please
contact our Membership Committee
([email protected]) with any questions.
Student Employment Service
The PTA sponsored and operated Student
Employment Service (SES) at ghs-ses.org is a
registered work force of over 4,500 Greenwich
resident students and graduates between the ages
of 14 and 25 who work in the tri-state area. SES
lists all one-time, part-time and full time paid
opportunities. Need a tutor, babysitter, eldercare,
home help, tech assistance, sales help, office help or
camp counselors? We can help match you with the
perfect candidate. SES can also be contacted at
[email protected] or 203-625-8008. Please list
with SES as we are always in need of jobs!
From Outreach SADD Club:
September is National Recovery Month. If you know
someone who is in recovery, please give him/ her a
hug. If you know someone who needs help to get into
recovery, please check out the website: ncadd.org.
"Recovery Month spreads the positive message that
behavioral health is essential to overall health,
prevention works, treatment is effective, and people
can and do recover." National Council on Alcoholism
and Drug Dependence, Inc.
The GHS Media Center is open daily from 6:45 a.m.
to 3:45 p.m. Media Specialists Alexandra Stevens,
Laura Jean Waters, Marie Shimchick, and Susan
Morris are available to assist students with accessing
appropriate research resources and technology tools
for projects and papers, selecting materials for
independent reading, logging into and using school
systems (Gmail, Schoology, Aspen, etc.), fixing
technology issues, and more. Online research
databases and other information about the Media
Center can be accessed by going
to www.greenwichschools.org/ghs > Media Center
and you can follow the GHS Media Center on Twitter
@GHS_MediaCenter.
From 7:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., ninth graders will need a
pass from their Learning Center teacher to visit the
Media Center; all other students can use the Media
Center during their open blocks. We have a number of
parents who volunteer in the Media Center each school
year - if you are interested in helping out, please
contact [email protected].
SES also needs parent volunteers. The time
commitment is from 11:30 to 2:00 pm every other
week. It is a very rewarding volunteer position and
a great place to sharpen your business skills.
Anyone interested? Please contact David Rafferty
at [email protected].
Save the Date for College Night
The GHS annual College Night is Thursday,
October 16th at 7:00 pm. Last year,
representatives from approximately 250 colleges
attended this event which is geared towards our
10th, 11th and 12th grade parents and students. The
purpose of this event is to help out with the college
research and selection process. Please stay tuned
for more information closer to the date of the
event!
Special Education Committee
Please join us for the SES Committee’s first GHS
SES Parent Forum on October 21st at 8:30 am in
the GHS Media Center. Forums include important
topics and presentations not to be missed, plus a
great way to connect with other parents. Future
2014-15 SES Parent Forums will be held in the
GHS Media Center at 8:30 am on the following days:
January 13th, March 10th and May 5th.
Please feel free to email Audra Frumin
([email protected]) or Lauren Yoon
([email protected]) with any questions, comments
or concerns!
Looking Ahead
Mark your calendars with these important dates:
Community Connections
 PTA Volunteer Fair & PTA Meeting –
September 4th at 11:00 am and 12:00 pm at the
Part of our continuum of services for students here at
Bruce Museum.
Greenwich High School is our Community
 Teacher Meetings – Early Release Connections transition program. Community
September 17th.
Connections serves our students in special education
 BOE Meeting – September 18th at 7:00 pm at
who require additional school years to meet their
Western Middle School.
transition goals. A large part of this program centers
 Comedy Tonight – September 19th at 7:30 pm.
around work experiences for students where they learn
 9th & 12th Grade Open House - September
valuable skills in a real life work setting. To provide
23rd.
this support, the program works with community
 Rosh Hashanah – Schools Closed – September
based businesses to develop jobs based on a student’s
25th.
interests and skills. Special education teachers and job
 10th & 11th Grade Open House - October 1st.
coaches work with students at each site to facilitate
 PTA/Guidance College Panel – October 6th at
progress on employment goals and keep detailed data
7:00 pm.
on skills demonstrated.

In an effort to continue the expansion of this support,
we are reaching out to our GHS families to solicit
additional job sites. If you or someone you know
owns a business in Greenwich, we would love to
speak to you about our program and how you could
benefit from volunteering. If you are interested in
supporting this program, please contact Candy
Montero at [email protected] or
203-625-7459.












Hispanic Parent Meeting – October 7th at 7:00
pm.
GHS Shakespeare Play – October 10th, 11th,
23rd, 24th and 25th.
Columbus Day – Schools Closed - October
13th.
Homecoming Week – October 14th to 18th.
Headmaster Forum – October 14th at 7:00 pm.
College Night - October 16th at 7:00 pm.
GHS Homecoming - October 18th.
Special Education Forum – October 21st at
8:30 am in the Media Center.
Teacher Meetings – Early Release - October
22nd.
GHS Fall Choral Concert – October 22nd at 7:30
pm.
BOE Meeting – October 23rd at 7:00 pm at
Central Middle School.
9th & 12th Grade Parent Meetings – October
28th at 7:00 pm.
GHS Fall Orchestra Concert – October 29th at
7:30 pm.