Good News to Share!
Dear TGS Families:
Thank you to all of you who attended last night’s Family Association meeting. The information that was shared by Michelle Borleske about the many amazing schools to which our senior class has been accepted was a particular highlight! I want to take this opportunity to thank our families and the FA, led this year by Darlene Twiss, Anne Jie and Emeka Onuoha, for all the support and appreciation they have shown to our faculty and staff during this difficult year. We’re very grateful for our community!
As we draw to a close of our first full week on campus this year, I am happy to share with you a number of very positive pieces of news.
NEW SCHOLARSHIP
It is with great excitement and gratitude that we formally announce a new scholarship for students at The Gregory School! The Apollo Scholarship will serve students of Mexican- American families and will focus primarily on the younger grade levels, with the goal of retaining students through to graduation. More information is included in this week’s newsletter.
NEW LEADERSHIP ROLES
I’m pleased to announce that several colleagues have agreed to serve TGS in new and different roles for the 2021-22 school year. We are extremely fortunate that their unique sets of skills, experience and talent will contribute to the continued growth and tradition of excellence in our school community. In alphabetical order, the colleagues with their new titles and job descriptions are as follows:
Michelle Borleske - Dean of US Student Affairs and Director of College Counseling. Michelle will continue to serve the rising senior class through their college application and acceptance process, but will assume additional responsibilities pertaining to all student issues in the Upper School. Working with grade level deans, the 5-12 school counselor, the school registrar, as well as colleagues in the Middle School, Michelle’s extensive background as a licensed K-12 school counselor and former Assistant Dean of Students and Coordinator of Academic Support Services will enhance our overall programming for students and the partnerships we nourish with our families. Rest assured that our younger students will continue to receive exceptional college counseling services, and more information will be forthcoming with those details.
Jennifer DeBenedetti – Dean of MS Students. Jennifer will step away from her 5th grade teaching responsibilities, but will continue to teach MS science electives in engineering and robotics and coach the MS robotics team while assuming this new leadership role. Jennifer has extensive teaching and teacher leadership experience that will be significant to her supporting all MS students and their families. She will work closely with Michelle Borleske and our school counselor, Ashley Hazan, to ensure a consistent and comprehensive approach to student wellness and behavior intervention, as needed.
Allycyn Jacobs – Dean of Faculty and Academic Programming. Allycyn will step away from her 6th grade teaching assignment to focus full-time on her new leadership role. As Dean of Faculty and Academic Programming, Allycyn will take her exemplary teaching and teacher leader experience (over 25 years of teaching various grade levels and content areas), as well as her knowledge and expertise as a Nationally Board Certified Teacher, to fully support the continued growth and professional development of our faculty. Additionally, she will work with colleagues and academic content teacher leaders to continually improve our curricular scope and sequence in all areas, the integration of the 6 Cs, and alignment of Friday Explorations with the school’s mission and vision of providing an exemplary liberal arts education through a personalized approach for each child.
We are currently working with colleagues to determine other teacher leadership roles for specific grade levels, curriculum projects, and working committees. Updates regarding those decisions will be announced shortly.
In the meantime, please join me in congratulating and thanking these colleagues for their continued commitment to our school and the important work we undertake each and every day. I’m excited about the year ahead!
FRIDAY EXPLORATIONS
Today was our first Friday Exploration day of the year! The excitement was palpable. From the formation of an all-grades jazz band, to biology dissections and engineering projects, the day was filled with great energy and inquisitive, open minds. Our faculty worked tirelessly to make the day happen and I am most grateful for their dedication and commitment.
Very best wishes to all of you for a good weekend ahead,
Julie A. Sherrill, Ph.D.
Head of School
"The Gregory School is a place that is transforming learning and transforming students' lives. Gregory students lead institutions; they found movements; they invent technology; they run cities. Students leave TGS with a sense of agency; they believe they can change the world for the better and it is our aim to ensure we give them the knowledge, skills, experiences and confidence to do so."