GCDS WELCOMES STUDENT FROM UKRAINE

Greenwich Country Day School welcomed Marta Zholnerchyk, a student from Ukraine, to the Upper School in early May. Marta, an 11th grader, and her mother, Anna, are refugees who fled the devastating war in Ukraine earlier this year. Their resettlement to Greenwich was organized by Jewish Family Services, and GCDS Center for Public Good Director Jen Donnalley helped bring them to GCDS.

“Everyone has been so kind and welcoming,” said Mrs. Zholnerchyk. “We are very grateful to the angels in our lives. They have helped us out of a very difficult situation.”

On May 5, the Upper School held an International Night of Poetry and Music. Just days after arriving at GCDS, Marta was comfortable enough among her peers to perform a Ukrainian poem about peace. Marta, who is fluent in English and German, aspires to become a doctor one day.

Rachel Kornfeld, CEO of Jewish Family Services, sent this message to Ms. Donnalley, “Please share with GCDS my immense respect and gratitude for the unmatched compassion and care shown to Marta in her first week of school at GCDS.”

Mrs. Zholnerchyk said she misses her family back home including her husband, father, and her dogs. “We are just taking everything step by step and moment by moment.”

Parents Association Speaker Series ADAM ALTER

Discusses Irresistibility of Technology

On April 14, the GCDS Parents Association hosted Adam Alter, Professor of Marketing at New York University Stern School of Business, for a talk about how the digital world influences our judgment and decision-making. His presentation, “The Rise of Irresistible Tech—Why We Can’t Escape Our Screens,” addressed the surprising effects of cues in the environment on human behavior. Mr. Alter, who is also affiliated with the NYU Psychology Department, showed how technology companies use “big data” and psychological methods, such as stopping cues (think of Netflix automatically moving through episodes of shows) and scheduled feedback and rewards, to keep users tied to electronic devices. His suggestions to resist tech’s irresistibility were decidedly non-tech: physical space from devices and spending time outdoors in nature.

Mr. Alter is the New York Times bestselling author of two books: Irresistible (March 2017), which considers why so many people today are addicted to so many behaviors, from incessant smartphone and internet use to video game playing and online shopping, and Drunk Tank Pink (2013), which investigates how hidden forces in the world around us shape our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.