The Monthly Newsletter for Gill St. Bernard’s School
News
January-February 2014
January-February 2014
The Monthly Newsletter for Gill St. Bernard’s School
Inside 2 African Children's
Choir Concert 3 The Hour of Code
4 First Semester
Honor Roll 6 Winter Art Exhibition
7 Student Life Recap: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Sugar Maple Tree-Tapping Costa Rican Native Greets Spanish Students
8 College Spotlight: Jessica Kundla '13
9 Athletics: Varsity Sports Round-Up
13 Dates to Remember
From the Headmaster The 2014 edition of the Farmer’s Almanac, which reached newsstands last August, predicted that this winter would be “bitterly cold.” With all of the snow and sub-zero temperatures we have experienced throughout the past two months, I would say that the publication was right on target. Until recently, how many had never heard the term “polar vortex” let alone could offer up more than a vague definition of it? Although this time of year commonly sees a dip in morale at schools, I have not really witnessed that as of yet at GSB. Perhaps we are overly eager for the spring, given the difficult winter. Or, perhaps much of the current enthusiasm has been sustained by the many accomplishments of our students and special events. The 2013-14 first semester Headmaster’s and Honors Lists were recently finalized (See pages 4-5.) and I am very proud to share that more than 400 of our Middle and Upper School students have achieved these honors. To be named to the Headmaster’s List requires a student to earn an A or A+ in every class. The Honors List requires that all grades be a B- or better. Completing the semester with either one requires a great deal of hard work and focus by a student, and I am pleased to see that so many have achieved this result. Helping students achieve their goals—be they academic, athletic, artistic or service oriented—is important to us and these two lists are clear evidence that it is happening at Gill. Mid-year is also a time to comment on college outcomes. Approximately 40 percent of GSB seniors have decided where they will attend college next year, a result of their success in early admission rounds. I would like to thank our Upper School faculty as well as the college guidance team for their help in this process, and I look forward to sharing the complete list of college outcomes with the entire GSB community in April. In addition, our many recent athletic highlights include the crowning of Alex Benoit ’14 (800m) and Dana Klein ’14 as Somerset County champions. Klein established a 3200m record (11:15) at the Somerset County Indoor Track Championships and later set a new meet record in the 1600m (5:13) at the Skyland Conference Championships. Benoit and Klein also led the distance medley (12:52) and sprint medley (4:24)
Gill St. Bernard’s School • St. Bernard’s Road • Gladstone, NJ 07934
Headmaster Sid Rowell.
relay squads to first place finishes at the NJSIAA Non-Public B Relays. Meanwhile, the varsity boys’ basketball team is number one in the Delaware Division of the Skyland Conference and Taylor Rooks ’14 and Jasmine Sina ’14 recently clinched their 2,000th and 1,000th career points, respectively. Rooks, who has signed an official National Letter of Intent with Stanford University, was one of 13 female basketball players from the state nominated for the McDonald’s All American® Games as well. The “Blue Crew” is a regular presence at home contests and encourages all of our students to support their classmates. Finally, the GSB Players is rehearsing for several performances of the musical, Godspell, which opens on February 27. With each new production, the GSB Players continues to raise the bar for our performing arts program and I am confident that Godspell will be a special treat for the entire community. Reserve your tickets now! While the cold winter weather will likely continue throughout the coming weeks, I hope that the current level of enthusiasm will provide some momentum for us as we move into the spring semester. Go Knights! Warm regards,
Sid Rowell 1.