The Courtyard: An Upper Division Newsletter

This will be our last Courtyard newsletter of the academic year and I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight our amazing students and faculty. We know this has been a challenging time and yet we are now so close to the end of a major moment it would be unfortunate not to reflect on the successes that have occurred. The resilience shown by everyone at Garden has been remarkable and it gives us so much hope for not only the immediate future, but for the many days further down the road. Thank you all.

I would also like to offer congratulations to our outgoing senior class, who celebrated their prom last night at Terrace on the Park. It was a fantastic venue that afforded endless dancing, wonderful food and plenty of opportunity to make final memories before graduation day. We have been honored to teach and learn from the Class of 2021 and want to wish them tremendous success in the next chapters of their journey. They are highly capable, accomplished, and confident. They have also spent the last fifteen months enduring an end to their high school experience no one could have envisioned. Yet, despite the challenges, they stayed positive, bonded closely together, and assisted each other both inside the classroom and out. We are grateful to have had such a gritty bunch who refused to let the pandemic dampen their Garden days. They are indeed ready for whatever comes next.

As you prepare for the summer, please know we will be excited to see you back on campus in September. There will be changes when you return (see the Summer Facelift section near the bottom of this newsletter for details!) that should inspire and delight, so keep that in the back of your mind as you enjoy your much deserved time off . . . may it be safe, restful and happy.

Until next time,
Brad Battaglia
Upper Division Head

As this year has been so incredibly unique and indeed challenging, we wanted to take the opportunity to ask teachers for their highlights of the year. Below are their responses.

Nancy Massand – 7th & 8th Grade Dean, English
“One highlight I really enjoyed this year was exploring the capabilities of Google Slides with my students in grades 7, 8 & 9. We learned how aesthetics can enhance a presentation to inform, entertain and innovate, and that writing text is not the only way to tell a story. Animated illustrations are often a story in themselves, any many of the students took this to levels that surprised and delighted me.”

Greig Roselli – English Department Chair
“Two people told me today, ‘You are always so positive.’ The first was a colleague — and they always encourage me to be myself. The second was a student .... she came to me after class and was said, ‘Thank you for always being positive.’ And I said, ‘Well. I can embrace my sadness. But it's important to not get distracted by the negative.’ I mean — I'm not oblivious to the Rainbow of emotions. But I like to infuse joy in my teaching, especially with adolescents. It is the way I connect, and it's the glue that keeps a classroom together. That and reading, writing, and arithmetic.”

Agustin Melara – World Languages Department Chair
“Twenty-one years of teaching experience at Garden could not have prepared me for this atypical and most challenging school year. I am left, however, with the positivism generated daily by my French IV/AP course. It is only appropriate that, under such unusual circumstances, we succeeded in exploring the absurdity of life as presented by Albert Camus in, L’étranger.’’

John Hale – Technology & Robotics Coordinator, Science
“There are so many to choose from but one of the highlights from this year is Rocket Boys. The students work so hard and it is always a pleasure to see the younger student's eyes light up as the 8th graders get a chance to be mentors to them.”

Michelle Ferreira – Physical Education, Student Council Advisor
“My biggest highlight is being able to see the students come to class and teaching them in person. Second would be our very new Garden School Fitness test. It created a ton of competitiveness in the upper division. Last, being able to have some sort of normalcy by playing sports in class like volleyball. It was great to see and it gave us an opportunity to work with students more, so that they can hone their skills.”

Richard Kruczek – History Department Co-Chair, Daniel Webster Society Advisor
“My highlight was watching Sophia M., Claire O. and Juliet A. turn into the finest 3-person team in the 11-year history of the Daniel Webster Society, our middle school debate team. They not only won their division and led Garden to an overall tournament victory, but they made it to the Quarterfinals of the year-end Championship Tournament, where they came in 8th out of 62 teams over a 2-day tournament. They were simply magnificent and represented Garden with grace and honor at every turn, for which I say THANK YOU.”

Flance Dervishi – Physical Education, Athletic Director
The 3 highlights for me this year are:

1. Successfully teaching and playing almost all sports in PE class with our masks and social distancing.
2. Playing tennis matches against The Birch Wathen Lenox School this spring.
3. Successfully putting on numerous bake sales, fundraisers, the Halloween dance, and Spirit Week.

Sarah O’Sullivan – History Department Co-Chair, Model UN Advisor
“The novitiate year for the course Activism to Legislation was a great success with the senior class. A great moment was when students commented how much they enjoyed reading the text A Different Mirror and its interpretation of American History.

Amira Esposito – English
“I've been awed by all of my students-- 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade-- taking the giant curveball of this year and handling it with maturity and humor. The humor has been evident in student's daily minutes, many, many, many jokes in class, and through their positive attitude. Well done, students! I'm very proud to be your teacher.”

We spent time this week asking students about their favorite moments from this past school year and were thrilled to hear of the time they had. Despite so many challenges, our students were fabulous at every turn. Below are just a few of their responses.

Sebastian K – Rocket Boys, working together and helping the younger kids learn. Also, the last day of Spirit Week when we did relay races together outside.
Yuvraj C – The Leilani’s Dilemma Essay for Ms. Massand’s class this fall was fun.
Emely F – Rocket Boys was a major highlight. Helping the younger children was a lot of fun.
Eden K – Seeing My friends again after last spring online.
Halil A – When we had a snowball fight outside.
Aliyah H – I really enjoyed PE class. Being active was nice.
Liza S – Coming back to school this spring from remote learning was a major highlight.
Gloria K – When Liza came back to school! Also, AP US History. I love history.
Zhouran W – Getting to take a college class alongside my Garden courses. The senior dinner was special.
Miwa F – Being with my friends.
Josefina G – Doing well on my DBQ’s (document-based questions) for AP US History!
Mahi M – Every week we were able to create new memories.
Daniel S – Being able to get outside for classes and during free time.
Zoe M – Getting to be in school when most other schools weren’t open. I’d say Spirit Week, too.
Bella B – Getting to come back to in person. It’s been easier to focus since coming back. I like that.
Dina K – It’s been nice being back and see people face to face again.

This summer, the upper division is transforming with a major renovation project. Nine classrooms in the middle and upper grades will be gutted and when students return, we will have new floors, ceilings, sheet rock, paint, trim, a/c units, white boards, and furniture. In addition, the hallways will receive a facelift and be outfitted with brand new lockers and display space. The work, which begins as soon as students head out for summer, is the first phase of our multi-year campus revitalization project from the Road to 100 Strategic Plan, which paints a collective vision of collaborative spaces filled with sophisticated tools in a 21st century focused environment. Let’s Go Griffins!

Diversity, inclusion, and world culture are celebrated at Garden School. Being a Host Family is an enriching experience. Mr. Vogel and his family hosted the first international family in the 1990s and have hosted five international students. For the upcoming school year a middle school student will be returning to the Garden Community, and we are looking for placement with a Host family. This student is a violinist! If you are seeking a very personal experience, inquire about being a Host Family by contacting the Division Heads: Bill Vogel or Brad Battaglia.