Preschoolers dance and sing to a French song
 

COMMUNITY SERVICE - The fifth graders are collecting food for the Putney Food Shelf for the month of November. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED GENEROSITY. Also, a box is always outside Tammy's office for donated items. Linda

  
FROM STEVE LORENZ

The Grammar School Board of Trustees met at TGS for their monthly board meeting on Tuesday, October 26th at 6 p.m.

Kate Aldrich from Pieciak and Company presented the results of their annual audit of TGS's finances and record keeping.  Their thorough inspection showed, once again, that our Business Office does a great job of ensuring that The Grammar School's financial matters are dealt with in a professional and secure manner.

William Chambers presented a review of our Summer Camp structure and performance, including suggestions and ideas for improvements.

The Medieval Faire was a record breaking success and the Ken Burns event kicked off our 50th Anniversary celebrations with a great turnout and publicity for TGS.

Head of School and Administrative Reports were given.  Among these there was discussion of:

ADA grant writing
Review of the TGS Master Plan Project and areas for improvement
This year's Annual Fund goal set at $100,000

The Board of Trustees scheduled their annual retreat for January 12th, 2011 with a focus on continued board member education.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:29 p.m.

The next meeting of the Board of Trustees will be at TGS on Tuesday, November 23rd at 6 p.m. Agenda items will include:  1st Quarter Budget Update, TGS Parent Survey Follow-Up, and Committee Reporting.

For more information visit the Trustees Page, also linked from the Parent Resources Page on The Grammar School website.

Opus 21-Final Entry List - Congratulations to the following eight students who have successfully completed their entries to the fall online music composition contest sponsored by the Vermont Midi Project. Six TGS compositions were submitted by:  Jamie Lumley, Russell Boswell, Tyler Silbey, Isaac Freitas-Eagan, and two sets of partners, Ethan Foster & Robin McOwen and Roselle Lovell-Smith & William Parkman.

Roselle, William, Isaac & Russell, 4 of the 8 Opus 21 entrants from TGS

The winners will be announced this Monday, November 15th. Those pieces selected will be performed by an outstanding group of professional musicians at the free Opus 21 Concert, Monday, December 6, 2010 in the Elley-Long Music Center at St. Michael's College, Colchester, VT. Charlie will drive a bus if there is enough interest. For online info: visit www.vtmidi.org

Congratulations to the 5-6 grade soccer team!

The players wrapped up their season with a third place finish at the annual Greenwood Tournament last weekend. The team was undefeated in regular season matches, and finished second (out of 14 teams from Vermont and New Hampshire) in the Putney Recreation League Tournament in October. Super goalie Riley McIntosh allowed only a handful of goals all season, and Katy Brennan was awarded the Best Offensive Player trophy at the Putney Tournament. Well done, TGS!

Winter Sports Program at TGS

Dear Parents,

PLEASE READ THIS LETTER BEFORE COMPLETING THE GRAFTON AND OKEMO SKI FORMS. Our hope is that this letter will inform new and seasoned TGS parents about The Grammar School's history of participation in skiing as a winter sport and present a description of the alpine and cross-country ski programs that we offer on Tuesdays for six weeks following the winter holiday break.

       A Brief History           

A guided walk through the woods near the original Grammar School campus on Aiken Road in Putney will take you to a decidedly precipitous drop of some ten meters down an embankment. If your imagination removes the tangle of trees and forest detritus, and adds instead a blanket of snow, you'll be seeing the site of a ski jump that challenged and enthralled TGS students in the 1960s. Our ski history is deeply rooted in a community rich with stories of skiing, ski competition, and exploration. As a school with 50 years of participation in skiing as a winter sport, TGS can boast of three Olympic ski team members, numerous Jr. National and U.S. National Ski Team members, and countless families and individuals who have fallen in love with snow.

Beginning January 4, TGS students will participate in a six week cross-country or alpine ski program. Tuesday morning classes will be scheduled as usual. After second period classes, some students will depart for the Grafton Ponds Cross Country Center in Grafton, VT, while others will travel to Okemo Mountain's Jackson Gore in Ludlow, VT.

Cross-Country at Grafton

The Nordic program at Grafton is quite simple. It is the program best suited for first time skiers and students whose parents' work schedules do not allow them to assist with a ski program. Because cross-country skiing simulates walking, we encourage families of younger students to consider introducing their kids to skiing through this program. It is fun, healthy, economical, and a great way to enjoy winter. It is designed to accommodate skiers at all levels of ability, even BKSL racers. It also has the advantage of not encroaching on previously scheduled after school activities like music lessons, art programs, and winter sports teams.

Following an early lunch, skiers and numerous TGS faculty will head to Grafton on a Grammar School bus. Skiers break into small skill-based groups and a one-hour lesson is taught by our talented staff, followed by supervised free ski time. The bus will return students to TGS in time for hot chocolate and the PM bus route.

Used equipment is available at our ski/skate sale on Friday, December 3, at 3:15 pm. Also, some rentals are available through the school - contact Deb Gray. Remember that all K-8 students need X-C equipment for winter PSD.

Alpine at Okemo's Jackson Gore

The alpine program is a bit more involved, as it requires parents to serve as adult chaperones to ensure the safety of our students on the mountain. The success of the alpine program is contingent on parent volunteers working in collaboration with Okemo's first rate ski school program and our TGS faculty volunteers, Kathy, Laurie, and Charlie. Chaperone responsibilities will be to transport students to and from the mountain, assist with supervision during and after the group lesson, and provide supervision for students who do not have a parent in the program. All TGS students need to have an adult chaperone responsible for them at the mountain, and that incredibly kind parent's name needs to be on your child's Okemo form. In short, if you are not chaperoning your own child, you need to ask another parent to do so. Most homeroom teachers know which families are going to Okemo.

Students attend morning classes and then head to the mountain at 10:30, allowing ample time for winter driving conditions and lunch before a one-hour group lesson at 12:30. Following Okemo's instruction, students must ski with parent chaperones until 3:00. At 3:00, TGS oversight of the program is officially over. However, students and their parent chaperones are welcome to ski until the lifts close at 4:00.  

Our youngest participants tend to have the greatest needs on the mountain. With this in mind, we ask that parents of Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd graders personally supervise their children. If parent supervision is not possible, we ask that our youngest students participate in the Nordic program where supervision, instruction, and transportation are provided by TGS. Beginning snowboarding lessons will not be offered to K-2nd grade participants.

TGS requires students in the program to participate in the group lesson. We expect all participants to conduct themselves in accordance with our school policies. Most importantly, we expect students to be safe, to ski in control, and to ski with adult chaperones. We ask that students ski in groups of at least three. Helmets are required.

Okemo will send a representative to TGS to fit rental gear before our first lesson and this should help diminish chaos on day one. Participants interested in purchasing equiment may find incredible deals on used equipment in the basement of Burrows in Brattleboro and at our ski/skate sale December 3rd.

We will create groups for the first lesson based on last year's classes, information that you provide on the Okemo forms, and our knowledge of each student's ability. These are preliminary groups that the instructors will modify for the next lesson. Our goal is to get everyone on the slopes and skiing right away.

TGS is committed to providing this ski experience to students who express interest. If the cost of the program presents an unreasonable burden, please contact Steve Lorenz. We will try to help.

 Have a great time,

The Grammar School Winter Sports Program 2011 

Tuesday ski dates are Jan. 4, 11, 18, 25, and Feb. 1, 8

(Links for extra forms will be on the Parent Resources and Sports pages of the TGS website, and in Tammy's office.)

Instructions:

• Read all materials on Okemo and Grafton.
• Choose a program.
• Fill out the appropriate forms (Okemo-2 sides, Grafton-2 sides). 
•  Return to Tammy with your check by Tuesday, November 30. After that date you will be placed in the Grafton program unless alternative arrangements have been made with Deb. 
•  If the program presents a financial hardship, please contact Steve.

 OKEMO 

• Okemo ambassoadors are Charlie and Kathy (contact Kathy with questions).
• If you are renting equipment at Okemo, please ask Deb for a rental form.
• A parent must accompany every K-2 skier.
• Parents are responsible for finding chaperones for their children in 3-8.
• All parents are responsible for organizing transportation and letting Kathy know who is driving their children to and from Okemo.  If there is a change from week to week, Kathy must be informed prior to the day.
• There is a mandatory meeting for all Okemo chaperones on December (TBA).

GRAFTON

• Grafton ambassadors are Linda and Mary (contact Mary with questions).
• TGS provides bus transportation and teacher chaperones at Grafton Ponds Outdoor Center.
• Parents are welcome to chaperone at Grafton for $24.00 for the season or $4.00 per day (see form).
• Rental equipment at Grafton is available for $4.00 a session. Please check with Mary if you need to rent skis, boots, or poles on a specific day.

All forms need to be in Tammy's office by Tuesday, November 30th

Please remember that all TGS students need their own cross country ski equipment to ski at school during PSD.

Limited XC rentals available from TGS - see Deb Gray

Ski/Skate Sale

Our annual ski/skate sale will be Friday, December 3rd at 3:15 in the theatre. This is a fundraiser for the Putney Bill Koch Ski League program, and also an opportunity for you to pass on your outgrown equipment and retain a percentage of the sale to purchase other equipment. We suggest a donation to the BKSL program of 20-50% of the items sold. Please use this month to go through your winter equipment and decide what you would like to recycle. More information will follow.

Deb Gray, 387-5364 ext. 107

Mary Heller Osgood, 387-5364 ext. 106

Bill Koch Ski League

Hello and welcome to the Putney Ski Club BKYSL 2010-2011 season!

Some preliminary dates to put on your calendar:

Friday, December 3 is the annual ski/skate and Putney Ski Club benefit at The Grammar School.  Please drop off any equipment you want to sell with Deb Gray at TGS no later than Thursday, December 2. Please mark the equipment clearly with your name, a price, along with the ratio (50/50, 60/40, etc.) of what portion of the proceeds you want to go to yourself, and what portion to the Putney Ski Club. Depending on demand, we may also continue the sale to the morning of Saturday, December 4.

Thursday, December 9 is uniform and rental equipment pickup day. This is when you get your team jackets and ski suits. To get outfitted with those, and/or if you want to rent skis, boots, poles, or all of the above, please come to TGS between 4:30 and 6 PM.

We'll be offering pre-season training for 5thgrade and up (or by permission) at The Grammar School after school on the following dates: Thursday Nov 11; Thursday Nov 18; Tuesday Nov 23; Thursday Dec 2; and Thursday December 9. After that we'll evaluate. If we're lucky we may have snow! All participants should wear running shoes and bring appropriately-sized Nordic ski poles.

Please join us on the snow at 3:30 on Wednesday, December 15 for our organizational meeting/informal ski/opening celebration at Grafton Ponds!

Mother Nature permitting, regular on-snow practices will commence at The Grammar School on Wednesday, January 5, and will take place Wednesdays from 3:15 to 4:45 until the season ends with the BKL Festival at the end of February. Practices will also be offered on Thursdays at 3:30 at Grafton Ponds, on Mondays at 3:30 at Vermont Academy, and (possibly) on Tuesdays at the Brattleboro Outing Club. Check the website for updates.

If you haven't done so already, please visit AND BOOKMARK the website [https://sites.google.com/site/putneyskiclub/home] for race and event dates, additional details, and weekly updates.

TGS will again host the local BKSL club at school for recreational skiers. This child based cross-country program for 6-14 year olds is an opportunity for students to learn and improve skiing skills while playing games, touring our trails, and skimming across our neighbors' fields. We need parent volunteers to help with this program. More information on the BKSL program will be in an upcoming Wednesday Notice.

Tim Weed