The Monthly Newsletter for Gill St. Bernard’s School
News
October 2014
October 2014
The Monthly Newsletter for Gill St. Bernard’s School
Inside 2 Homecoming/Family Day 3 Parents’ Association
Kick-Off Breakfast GSB Classic
4 Host Families Introduced
to GSB
Apple Orchard Now on Campus 5 Introducing New Board
of Trustees Member Michael Fritzlo P ’19, ’21 Convocation
6 Stokes State Forest 7 Town Meeting Fosters
Community of Critical Thinkers Cyberbullying Seminar
8 College Spotlight: Kendall Dunn ’14
9 Athletics: Varsity Sports Round-Up
11 Dates to Remember
From the Headmaster The month of October brings changes in the weather and the pace of the academic year reaches full stride. It is a time of both challenges and opportunities for everyone, with a number of events that testify to the strength of our academics program, promote community and even provide some fun. Stone Soup Day is a longstanding tradition in our school and dates back to 1982, when a group of Lower School teachers took their inspiration from the story of the same name to raise awareness of the issue of hunger in our area. Sadly, this remains a problem even now, and GSB continues to work with local food banks, soup kitchens and other agencies to help address this real need. The end of the month brings Halloween and it is a favorite holiday for many of our students who dress up in a number of different (often quite creative) costumes. The various divisional parades are highly entertaining. While I do not have one as of yet, we shall see if the “invisible man” finally makes his appearance! For all of our students, academic coursework has moved to the forefront. In particular, the Class of 2015 is extremely busy with AP courses, SATs/ACTs and college applications. It can be a stressful time, to be sure. However, we have an outstanding college guidance team and our placement list reflects the achievements of our recent graduates. Crucial to the process though, is identifying the right list of schools. As the parent of two very different children, it was essential that they were realistic about the
Gill St. Bernard’s School • St. Bernard’s Road • Gladstone, NJ 07934
Headmaster Sid Rowell.
schools they applied to, and that there were several on each one’s lists that they would have been happy to attend depending on the outcomes. All of our students are college bound, and the feedback we receive from our graduates indicates that they are well-prepared for the academic expectations of college. Because this is a major “takeaway” for our families and is featured prominently in our mission, it continues to be something we focus on. New initiatives such as the current review of our pre-k through grade 12 curriculum and comparing it with the Common Core Standards is but one more way we ensure that the academic program is a major strength of the school. I look forward to updating you on this in the coming months. Warm regards,
Sid Rowell
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