Here are some pictures from yesterday’s sneak preview.  We home you can join us tonight!

Fitness

Thank you to all of the community members that came out and shopped at the Greenwich Elementary School’s TREPS Marketplace on December 6th.  The marketplace was a success and many children sold out of their products.

Holyoke, MA, 12/8/19- Greenwich Central HS sophomore powerlifter, Alex Holmes, competed at the Revolution Powerlifting Syndicate’s Christmas in the Jungle meet and delivered an RPS New England record.

Holmes, 15, bench-pressed 115 lbs in the 148 lb weight class for 14 and 15 year-old girls, breaking the old record by 40 lbs. Her weight lifting coach, Pat Morris, noted: “ Powerlifting rules are different than regular, recreational lifting. Alex can bench 130 lbs. when just lowering and raising the bar, but powerlifting rules require that you lower the bar on the “bench” command and pause at the bottom of the lift until you are given the “press” command to lift the weight off of your chest. Alex trained for months and in this, her first powerlifting meet, she performed like a champion. She hit all of her goals for the meet.” Prior to the 115 lb. record lift, she successfully lifted 105 lbs and 110 lbs in her first two lifts.

Alex will now begin her indoor track and field season for GCS as a pole-vaulter and thrower.

GCS Powerlifter Alex Holmes with parents Beth and Chris Holmes

Greenwich, NY – Greenwich Central School located at 10 Gray Avenue in Greenwich, NY, is pleased to announce that it will be offering a tuition free Pre-K program to children who turned 4 years old by 12/1/19. This program is slated to begin on Tuesday, January 21st. Parents are strongly encouraged to apply for a spot in this program by contacting the primary office as soon as possible as there are only 40 openings.

The Pre-K program will be held in the Greenwich Primary school building and taught by a certified teacher. The program will offer a morning session that runs from 8:15am -10:45am and an afternoon session that takes place from 12pm – 2:30pm. There are only 20 slots available for each session and the openings are sure to fill quickly. The morning session provides free breakfast and the afternoon session offers a free snack. Both sessions will provide students free bussing each way if families choose this option. The program will be run by Greenwich Central School District’s Pre-K partner Healthy Kids Programs, one of the leading providers of Pre-K programming in New York state and will use the award winning Creative Curriculum®.

Greenwich Central School was awarded funding for the Pre-K program by New York State in a competitive grant process that saw 91 school districts statewide apply for the highly sought after funding. Research shows that students who attend a Pre-K program perform better academically throughout their time at school. “This funding supports one of the district’s goals of developing a Pre-K program, allowing our youngest population an opportunity to increase their kindergarten readiness level. Securing Pre-K funding has been a high priority for Greenwich Central School District,” said Mark Fish, Superintendent.

Now is the time to register for this Pre-Kindergarten program. Openings are limited to 40.

To register, parents and caretakers need to reach out to the primary office at (518) 692-9542 ext. 6100.

Pre K Flyer (2)

Photos from the 2019 Section 2 Boys Soccer Banquet held Sunday, December 8th at the Holiday Inn in Saratoga. Shown are Tommy Abate (Gr. 12, First Team), AJ Rymph (Gr. 12, First Team), Tom Haberland (Gr. 11, Second Team), and Charlie Gartner (Gr. 11, First Team). Charlie Gartner also had the distinction of being nomination for Section 2 player-of-the-year.

As the New Year approaches, the Washington County Dairy Princess Team encourages
you to welcome the holiday season with a cup of creamy hot chocolate in hand and a slice of
delicious cheesecake on the table. Dive in and enjoy some healthy dairy treats, confident that
they are providing your family with nine essential nutrients during this busy time. Be sure to
enjoy the little things with friends and family. Have a Happy Holiday and spend some quality
time with your family. The Washington County Dairy Princess program is made possible
through the support of the American Dairy Association Northeast, the local planning and
management organization funded by dairy farmers checkoff dollars.
Also feel free to try one of our Holiday favorites:

Chocolate Cheesecake
Ingredients:
1 cup crushed chocolate wafer crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, 3 tablespoons butter, melted
FILLING: 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream
cheese, softened, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 large eggs, lightly beaten, 1
teaspoon vanilla extract, strawberries and white chocolate shavings, optional
Directions: 1.In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs and sugar; stir in butter. Press onto the
bottom of a greased 9-in. springform pan; set aside. In a microwave, melt chocolate chips; stir
until smooth. Set aside.
2.In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low
just until combined. Stir in vanilla and melted chocolate just until blended. Pour filling over
crust.
3.Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10
minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate
overnight.
4.Garnish slices with strawberries and chocolate shavings if desired. Refrigerate leftovers.

Pictured above is Alternate Princess Haley Spiezio playing in the snow

Greenwich, NY, December 3, 2019

Jacy Good and her husband, Steve Johnson, recently presented to sophomores, juniors and seniors from Greenwich High School on the dangers of distracted driving. Jacy and Steve discussed their very personal experience with distracted driving. The following is an excerpt from the Hang Up and Drive web site that highlights Jacy and Steve’s story.

We met the day in August 2004 that we both moved into a dorm as freshman at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. After 3½ fantastic years together we approached our May 2008 graduation day ready for “real life” to begin. Steve was set to enter the banking world while Jacy had landed a dream job through AmeriCorps to be a team leader for Habitat For Humanity. We had plans for our careers as well as our lives together, but just hours after receiving our diplomas we were thrust into a world of terror, uncertainty, and overwhelming sadness.

About halfway back to her childhood home in Lancaster, PA the car carrying Jacy and her parents was struck head-on by a tractor trailer as both entered an intersection with green lights. The truck had swerved to try to avoid a man coming from the intersecting road who attempted to turn left through a red light. That man was talking on his phone at the time.

Jacy’s parents never left the scene but an astounding series of fortunate events and unequalled medical care kept Jacy alive in the crumpled car, the ambulance ride, and through 8 ½ hours of surgery. She was given just a 10% chance of survival as she lay comatose and nearly unrecognizable in intensive care that first night. Steve spent 12 hours a day by her side through four months of hospitalization. Jacy’s laundry list of injuries have managed to heal through time (and a healthy dose of titanium rods, plates, and screws) but due to a traumatic brain injury she is unable to use her left arm or lower leg and has minor lingering cognitive issues.

Less than a year after that life-altering tragedy Jacy began to campaign for a cell phone ban in her native Pennsylvania. This unexpectedly triggered an avalanche of interview requests and public appearances and since April 2010 Jacy has been on The Oprah Winfrey Show, a guest of Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon at the United Nations, a “Hero Among Us” in People Magazine, a speaker at Maria Shriver’s Women’s Conference, on NPR’s Car Talk, and been featured in dozens of articles, television news pieces, and press conferences nationwide. You may also have seen her on TLC’s Say Yes To The Dress and in January 2015 Jacy was profiled on CNN’s The Human Factor. A PSA through AT&T’s ‘It Can Wait’ campaign went viral, with over 300 million views across social media.

It was early in this amazing journey that we realized our story could impact and potentially save lives and since 2011 we have spoken at over 1,000 events across the world to well over 300,000 people, encouraging the public to make safer choices, companies to develop and enforce cell phone policies, and legislators to put in place the necessary laws to protect the public.

Jacy and Steve were brought to Greenwich as part of the Hang Up and Drive program (the presentation was paid for through a grant). This is the second time that Jacy has spoken in Greenwich (the first time was in 2014).

Jacy Good tells her story.

Greenwich students listen to Jacy and Steve share their message about the dangers of distracted driving.

Steve Johnson

Boys Basketball preview

A big shout-out to our Operation Santa volunteer shoppers. It would not be possible without you! It truly does take a village.

Today Mrs. Lewis’s class participated in a Mystery Skype. Students connected with Greenwich alumnus and world traveler, Rebecca Fedler over Skype and asked her questions to try and determine where in the world she is currently located. Students asked a variety of great questions such as: Are you north or south of the Equator? What are some Christmas traditions where you are? Are there farms there and if so, what kind? How far away from Greenwich, NY are you? Mrs. Lewis’s class successfully determined that Rebecca was in Melbourne, Australia in 15 questions! GCS also had a surprise for Rebecca, her niece Ayva, from Mrs. Alkes class was hidden in with our audience and revealed herself with her question…Do you have family in Greenwich and do you miss them? What an awesome moment for both of them and what a fun time for all of us!

The Greenwich 6th grade class honored our beloved custodian, Patty on her last day at GCS. They collected money and purchased a framed tree print. Each student in the middle grade building added their fingerprint to form the leaves to the tree. The students were delighted to present Patty with this special gift, but Patty seemed even more delighted to receive it.

Thank you  for everything Patty!!! Enjoy your retirement.

Girls basketball season preview

What Is Mental Health?

Santa is coming to Greenwich!! The Annual Greenwich Breakfast with Santa event will be held on Saturday, December 7th, 2019 from 7:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. at the Greenwich Elks Club on Route 40 in Greenwich.

As always Santa is due to arrive by fire engine courtesy of the Greenwich Fire Department at approximately 8:00 a.m. The cost is $6.00 for adults and $4.00 for children under 10 – tickets are available at the door. The breakfast is a family style pancake breakfast cooked by the Greenwich Elks Club.

Children will have the opportunity to get their picture taken with Santa, make holiday crafts, create Christmas cards, and write Christmas Lists to Santa. The FFA, FBLA and local vendors will also have Holiday decorations, GCS Clothing and other craft items for sale. The Pooh’s Corner Preschool will also be on hand to spread some cheer as they sing some Christmas carols.

The event is sponsored by the Greenwich Women’s Service Club in association with the Greenwich Central School District’s FFA, FBLA and National Honor Society Clubs. The proceeds from the event will go towards Operation Santa and local Community projects.

Brynne Wright selected to the Times Union high school all-stars: Girls’ cross

country

A huge shout out to our amazing buildings and grounds crew who worked so hard clearing the snow to get us up and running!

2nd graders learn about giving and community with a presentation from Comfort Food of Washington County

Greenwich Free Library

The Giving Edition

Many thanks to Devin Bulger and Haley Grimes from the Comfort Food Community who came to talk to our second graders about this wonderful community resource.  Our second graders donated 100 pounds of food to the food pantry!

Class C North football all-stars announced;

Witches’ Albrecht divisional player of year

The Greenwich Central School District has two anticipated openings:

Part Time School Monitor (cafeteria) – 2 hours per day.

Full Time Cleaner (2nd Shift)

For further information, contact Denise Smith (518) 629-9542 ext. 6800

WSWHE BOCES hosted the 2019 Student Leadership Conference at The Great Escape Lodge in Lake George, New York on Thursday, November 14, 2019. Greenwich Central School was able to send  a student representative from each grade (7 – 12th) to participate in this fun, inspiring and meaningful event. Greenwich was among  twelve other schools to take part in “You Paint the Way!”There were ice breakers, creative competitions, team building and lunch included. However, the absolute highlight was the guest speaker. His name is Ben Glenn, and while he shared his story and discussed leadership, he also demonstrated his amazing artistic abilities via his chalk drawings. It was something so unique and creative that it will undoubtedly stay with each attending student for a very long time. Anyone who is interested in his craft should go to his website and /or YouTube videos and it will be clear how far this directionless young person with special needs has come and why could be so motivational.

The Greenwich students included: Nadia Chincola, Ryan Cross, Kylie Lundberg, Max Maguire, Sarah Scmitt and Brian Wells. Each student thought the day was fun—but they also took away a message that was fortified by a magical visual. The combination was very powerful.

Greenwich, NY, Fall, 2019 —   After a homecoming win for the Greenwich football team, athletes refueled with locally sourced chocolate milk provided by the Washington County Dairy Princess Program and served by Washington County Dairy Princess, Erin Armitage. Chocolate milk is the ultimate recovery drink, repairing and building muscles after a tough workout.

Athletes know that one eight ounce bottle of chocolate milk contains eight grams of protein, ideal for recovering after strenuous activity. Chocolate milk also replenishes essential nutrients that were lost through sweat during exercise.

Athletes performing in high endurance sports reap the most benefits from this healthy alternative to sports drinks. The carbohydrates found in milk result in higher performance levels for athletes in their next activity.

Erin stated, “After your next workout or game, refuel with chocolate milk!” The Washington County Dairy Princess program is made possible through the support of the American Dairy Association Northeast, the local planning and management organization funded by dairy farmer check-off dollars.

December issue

5 tips for a healthy Thanksgiving!