The Grammar School
Wednesday Notice

May 23, 2012

FROM THE DESK OF THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
Solar Project - May 24, 2012
Solar Project Update

The entire school ventured up to our high meadow behind the upper school building five weeks ago to see the site and some plans for the new solar array. The faculty is planning an all school science theme for the next school year that will focus on the sun and how important it is to all of us. The upper school science curriculum will contain a unit on solar power and a class will help monitor our electric usage during the school year. There will be a read out meter installed in the upper school building. There will also be a demonstration solar panel on the lower portion of campus for all of us to view, and to remind us of our increased sustainability as it relates to a tremendous reduction of our carbon footprint. All of our electrical needs at this time will be met by the power generated from the solar panels.

Thirty six posts have been driven into the ground and the main rails have been installed. This week the main underground wires are being buried from the array down to the base of the access road to where the meter will be placed.The remainder of this week will be used to finish building the frames and attaching the solar panels.

We invite you to walk carefully up the newly created road along side the Upper School building to check on the construction. When the installation is complete, we will bring all of the students back to the site. The school will do a series of press releases to the local media, and we also will invite TGS alum and current Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin and other legislators to a ribbon cutting ceremony this spring or next fall.

This project was the brain child of last year's student council and carried forth by this year's council, our administrative staff, and trustees. Congratulations to one and all.
K-6 Spring Concert
K-6 Spring Concert Thursday May 24 at 6:30pm 
Students should arrive by 6:10 for warmups
  • K-1-2 meet in Kindergarten room 
  • 3-4 in 4th grade room  
  • 5-6 in 5th grade room  
Please  -  No advertisements on clothing.

Strolling of the Heifers Parade Updates
Strolling of the Heifers Parade "Marching Orders"
Please bring your kids to march in the parade on Saturday, June 2! All are welcome as we march up Main Street to support the local agricultural community and represent our wonderful school.

 
The Grammar School group will convene no later than 9:30am at staging area 4 in the Church Street parking lot on Elm Street - Elm Street is the "ramp" that connects Flat Street and Canal Street. We will have T-shirts for all student marchers, a new school banner, and items to give out along the route. The parade ends at the Retreat lawn, where there is lots to do including eat crepes and drink espresso at the Grammar School booth. We are looking for parents to help with crepe making and marketing after the parade. Please contact Michael if you can help.

If you plan on marching, let Michael Hornsby know, just so we have a rough idea of whom to expect - last minute planners are welcome too!
 
2nd and 5th Grades Present Romeo and Juliet
Artwork by Abby B. in 5th Grade

 

Second and Fifth grades will present Romeo and Juliet on: June 6 at All School Meeting at 2pm and June 7 at 6:30pm.  

 

Admission to all performances is free. Mark your calendars - we'd love to see you!

CHECK OUT SUMMER CAMP ON THE TGS WEBSITE! DOWNLOAD YOUR FORMS AND SIGN UP TODAY!!!!
SAVE THE DATES! TGS SUMMER CAMP WILL RUN JULY 9 THROUGH 27, with three week long programs taught by local artists and outdoor enthusiasts.

Course descriptions and signup forms are on the website.

TGS Annual Survey
Dear Grammar School Parents,

Each year the Evaluation Committee of The Grammar School Board of Trustees conducts a survey. As trustees it is our job to "hold the school, its mission, and its future in trust." To this end we work closely with the Head of School, Steve Lorenz, in ensuring that we are delivering on what our Mission Statement promises.  This annual survey is an important tool in helping us assess our success in doing so.

Feedback from past surveys have resulted in many improvements at TGS including:

  •  A full time Art teacher
  • Spanish option for the upper school
  • New website with teacher pages
  • Hiring of upper school social skills counselor
  • Reconfiguration of the 6th,7th, and 8th grade program into a middle school model
  • More frequent and varied communications to parents via all school emails
  • More a consistent PSD time for middle school students.
  • And more

This year's survey is short and should take about 15 minutes to complete. Please complete a separate survey for each student by June 4. In addition parents may fill out separate surveys if they wish. Including your name is optional, but encouraged, in order to allow the Head of School to directly address certain issues. Your responses are confidential and names will only be seen by Steve Lorenz and committee chair Ray Hutchins.

It is important that everyone completes a survey. As an incentive Steve has offered to throw an ice cream party for the class of one lucky winner (time and date to be chosen by winner and classroom teacher), who will be selected in a random drawing of everyone who completes a survey by June 4.

Please follow the link below to the Survey Monkey site where you will be guided through this simple process.  If you need help or would like a paper version of the survey please contact Tammy White in the front office.

Thank you,
Evaluation Committee
Hannah Hornsby, Tammy White, Eve McDermott, Steve Lorenz, & Ray Hutchins

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HTQHDYK 
Parent Circle Group
The Parent Circle discussion and support group for parents of all grades will meet this Friday, May 25 at 8:45am in the Library until approx. 10:15am (when a class comes in). We will continue to discuss Social Media and our children, as well as discuss what other relevant topics people would like to see covered at these meetings. Parents who missed Karen's presentation should not hesitate to come.

The next and last meeting for this academic year will be on Tuesday, June 5 at 8:45am. We will  discuss media literacy and the way people are unrealistically portrayed  in the media. This parent circle will coincide with a screening of the film Miss Representation, which will be screened at TGS the evening of June 4 from 6-8pm. The Parent Circle gathering will be interesting whether you have seen the film or not. Questions?  Contact Juliet Cuming at [email protected].
Film Screening 6-8pm Monday, June 4 at TGS
Miss Representation - Monday, June 4 in TGS Auditorium 6-8pm (90 minutes; TV-14 DL)

This powerful documentary film explores how the media's misrepresentations of women have led to the under representation of women in positions of power and influence, and are significant factors in troubling cultural trends. The film features stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, entertainers, activists, and academics, including Condoleeza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Rachel Maddow, Margaret Cho, Rosario Dawson and Gloria Steinem. The film, by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and aired on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. There is sensitive material in the film; it is not recommended for people under the age of 14.  The film received a rating of TV-14 DL.

The film will be followed by a facilitated discussion.  Limited childcare available; please contact Melanie Kent at [email protected]
TGS Alumnae Win NMH Prizes
Congratulations to TGS alums Hannah Green and Roo Weed!  


At the NMH prize assembly held in the Memorial Chapel on Monday, May 21, 2012, Roo Weed, TGS '10, was the recipient of The Henry R. Hunting Literary Prize for talent and effort in writing and Hannah Green, TGS '10, was the recipient of the Annie Walline Outreach Prize for Contribution to School Life. Congratulations Roo and Hannah!
Spring Dinner Auction - Thank You!
A huge and heartfelt thank you to everyone involved with this year's Dinner Auction!! Special thanks go to: Nancy Brooks and Alyson Opsahl for their tireless energy in facilitating the multitude of pieces to the auction puzzle; to our sponsors, g.hausen and Pearl's Potsfield Relish; to our Class Parents for the wonderful orchestration of class projects and class event assignments (the appetizers and desserts were tremendous); to David Warner for an outstanding job as our auctioneer; to our generous parents who donated an abundance of our auction items, for both the Silent and Live Auctions; to our faculty and staff for volunteering at the event; and to our Board of Trustees for their support and attendance. The event was great fun and, although the totals are still being tallied, holds definite financial promise. I will report the final numbers to you next week. In the interim, congratulations to our community for all your efforts!!
 
Many thanks,  
Pauline

PUTNEY FOOD SHELF

PUTNEY FOOD SHELF: The second graders are heading our collection for the month of May. In particular, pastas, sauce, and peanut butter are needed. Thank you!  

TGS T-shirts and Sweatshirts

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Order your TGS dragon or school logo apparel this week for the summer! Order forms are available on the school Parents Page.  Please email Mary if you have any questions. 

Wednesday Notice problems?
If you are not receiving your Wednesday Notice by email, please let Mary know.

Thank you,
Mary
COMMUNITY NEWS
Pedal Putney Community Ride Series Back by popular demand! Join families, friends and neighbors for these scenic, mostly-dirt rides leaving from the Putney Tavern Green at 10am. This spring and summer there are four scheduled rides: May 27th, June 23rd, July 29th, and August 26th. The Putney General Store and the Putney Coop have generously offered apres ride refreshments!

Several mapped rides of varying length and difficulty - 2.5 to 19 miles - will be available to choose from.  Hybrid, cyclocross and mountain bikes are best suited for the terrain. This is a FREE series with FREE bike rentals available for anyone needing a bike. Bike rentals must be reserved in advance. Email Diny or call the shop, 802-387-5718, with questions.

Please note: These are unsupported show-n-go rides.  No leaders, no sweep. Segments of these rides might be remote so please prepare accordingly.

Looking for a house-sitter, dog or cat-sitter, or someone to look after your ponies? Someone to mow your lawn?  Wilder Fichter (TGS 04) is available between May 23 and July 1, and then, again, from August 3- August 29. Both before and after his summer math class (a distributive requirement that needs to be fulfilled) Wilder is available to help you move furniture, put up a fence or stack firewood. Please call 802-387-4444.


Save the Date! Sandglass Theater's International Puppets in the Green Mountains Festival Sept. 22-30, 2012 - Sandglass Theater is hosting its 8th International Puppets in the Green Mountains Festival this coming September. Performers/puppeteers are coming from Quebec, Turkey, Finland, Spain, Poland, Japan and Israel. Deaf Puppet Theater Hitomi of Japan will perform "Grandpa's Music Box" for the deaf and hearing at school matinees at the Bellows Falls Opera House. Using a variety of electrical appliances, from washing machines and black and white TVs to cell phones and computer games, Grandpa's Music Box is a highly visual performance about the relationship between family and society. We hope you will be able to include our school shows in your budgets. As in previous years, we will offer tickets to students at a very reduced price of $5 per ticket - so bring busloads!

Hi TGS students and families! My name is Emma Straus, I graduated from TGS in 2008, and am searching for somebody to lease my horse while I'm at college. He is a black quarter-horse, somewhere around 17 years old, and is named Tucker. He is very sweet and affectionate. Since he was injured during his competitive jumping career many years ago, he is best suited for light riding-a few days a week is plenty. I'm looking for an intermediate rider who would like to have a horse to ride lightly on trail rides and sometimes in a ring. He currently lives in Putney at my good friend's house and I'm sure he could stay there if those arrangements are needed/wanted.nIf you are interested, please give me a call Home: 387-4387, Cell: 646-761-6925 
 

Share your fresh air with a child who gets very little!  There are hundreds of New York inner city children waiting for an invitation to experience a week or two of our summers in New England. Open your hearts and homes one of these kids and receive an enriching experience for you and your family in return. Through the generosity of families and individuals from Virginia to Canada, the Fresh Air Friendly Town Program has given almost 2 million children the joys of clean air and summer fun since its founding in 1877. Please call Tom and Linda Kosiba for more information-(802)722-4315.   

 

Next Stage Events
Pulitzer Prize winner Tim Weiner presents his brand new book "Enemies: A History of the FBI" this Saturday night at Next Stage @ 7:30PM. Tim was just on Jon Stewart, and aside from being an award winning journalist is also known as a spellbinding presenter. He is a Putney School alum to boot, so please come out and be part of this great event. More details at www.nextstagearts.org.


Come dance to the funky, soul grooves of Christine Ohlman, The Beehive Queen, at Next Stage, Putney this Sunday @ 8PM! Christine has shared stages with Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Levon Helm and dozens of other legends. Her day gig for 20 years has been singing in the famed Saturday Night Live house band! So come on down and boogie this Sunday!! Details: www.nextstagearts.org

For Sale: Vintage Gretsch Drum Set, Silver Sparkle 20" Bass Drum, 12" Tom, 16" Floor Tom, plus Ludwig 1970 14" Acrolite Snare & Stand, Sonor Bass Drum pedal included, $700. Also, 11" Gon Bops Conga & Stand, $160. Call Johnny Yuma at 869-1822 or email [email protected]
CELEBRATING OUR 52nd YEAR!
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May 24
Thursday
K-6th Spring Concert

6:30pm - students should arrive at 6:10


May 28
Monday
Memorial Day 
NO SCHOOL 

June 15
Friday
Noon Dismissal
GRADUATION
4:30 Reception
5:00 Ceremony

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