By Julie Faryniarz
There are exciting things happening at the Greenwich Alliance for Education this summer for Greenwich students. Take a look!
Virtual and Augmented Reality S.T.E.A.M Camp
Attention all Greenwich middle and high school students – this summer you have a chance to participate in our first ever Unbound Innovations Virtual and Augmented Reality S.T.E.A.M Camp. Greenwich Public Schools veteran teacher and XR-Enthusiast Gaspare Lipari will provide week-long immersive experiences that introduce a broad range of innovative disciplines within virtual and augmented reality. Participants will practice, play, design and build their own experiences.
The weekly sessions begin July 5 and end August 5. All sessions are located at Western Middle School, and campers may register for multiple weeks or participate in any single week. Campers will be divided into two age groups:
· Rising 6th-8th Graders: Morning Session 8:30am – 11:30am
· Rising 9th-12th Graders: Afternoon Session 12:30pm – 3:30pm
Register at https://greenwichalliance.org/vrar-summer-camp/
College Essay Workshop for the Class of 2023
Greenwich High School Guidance is offering a College Essay Workshop to rising seniors. Students have the choice of working at GHS in person with a faculty member, or working virtually through Google Meet. Students are asked to select their preference.
This year’s workshop will focus on the personal essay of the Common Application and, if time allows for each student, supplemental essays.
WORKSHOP DATES
Monday through Thursday August 15 – 18 from 4pm-6pm
AND
Monday through Thursday August 22 – 25 from 4pm-6pm
The fee for the 8 sessions is $400. This fee is reduced for students who have a free/reduced lunch approval, or for students in the GHS AVID program. Please ask your school counselor or AVID teacher for this code.
Registration is on a first-come first-served basis and will close when we reach our maximum capacity of 50 students. Click here for the registration page
Both of these summer opportunities are fundraisers for the Alliance and will help support our programs.
As we close out the 2021-2022 school year, I want to publicly thank a few Alliance friends and volunteers who have helped us get the work done. Nancy Kail, Greenwich Alliance Founder, returned to work with us the last two years to develop the AVID SUCCESS initiative. This initiative adds extensions to the AVID program to further meet the needs of students, alumni, families, and educators with a variety of programs including Good Money Habits, Jobs & Professional Tools, Mentoring, Scholarships and so much more. Nancy’s dedication to AVID SUCCESS has made it our largest budget item. She has put processes in place to make it easy for the Alliance to continue to grow it in the years to come.
Judith Nedell, GHS Guidance Program Coordinator, Grades 6-12 and AVID District Director, is retiring from the Greenwich Public Schools and we are very grateful for all she has done for the district and the Greenwich Alliance for Education. I have had the pleasure of working with Judy for many years in her guidance role and as the AVID District Coordinator. Judy was instrumental with all parts of our AVID SUCCESS rollout and helped by sharing information with AVID educators and with collecting data to make the program possible. Thank you Nancy and Judy for everything!
Two people are always working behind the scenes to make sure our website is up to date and operational, our newsletter is formatted and distributed, thank you letters to donors are printed and mailed, Trivia Challenge and Turkey Trot registrations are recorded, auction items are accounted for, and that our database is updated – former board members and now advisory council members, Molly Fergusson and Jane Hentemann. Molly and Jane’s attention to detail, their professionalism, friendship, and true dedication to the Alliance’s mission are a real gift to our organization.
Madelyn Joliffe rolls up her sleeves and gets the job done – whether it be the Turkey Trot or the Trivia Challenge Auction. Thank you, Betsy Wells and Leila Horn (Turkey Trot co-chairs) and all of the wonderful friends you gathered together to make both of these Alliance fundraisers so successful.
I also need to thank all of the board members, advisory council and Reaching Out Grants Committee members for sharing ideas and giving their time. And finally, Greenwich Public School educators, we thank you for being there for the students and helping them learn, grow and be empathetic members of our community.
Julie Faryniarz, Executive Director of the Greenwich Alliance for Education. Mother of 3 children who graduated from the Greenwich Public Schools, married 32 years to husband, Danny
YWCA Women who Inspire Honoree
Former PTAC President and long time community volunteer
