It is only a few months into the school year, and several fights have already affected Greenwich High School students. While this problem seems to be multiplying, it may be the case that this issue is not as extensive as some believe. Mr. Mayo shared his thoughts on the issue. Firstly, Mr. Mayo clarified that the "fights" should instead be classified as assaults, explaining how out of the three recent conflicts that have occurred this fall, only one of which was a fight. Mr. Mayo also explained that a major problem is the recording of the fights, saying “The fights and/or assaults were played over and over again, so it looked like we were having a fight every day,” demonstrating how social media helps make this issue seem more extreme than it truly is. 

Mr. Mayo stated the biggest concern of GHS is student safety and most importantly, he “doesn’t want anybody to feel afraid when coming to school.” Programs have been enacted at GHS to help create this desired safer community. For example, at the Names Day program, an anti-bullying assembly that freshmen attended on November 22, students are reminded to be an ally and to inform trusted teachers and adults of any threat they may be aware of. Similarly, the Anonymous Alerts system is a website created for students to anonymously report any bullying or safety concerns to ensure staff are notified which would then allow them to prevent conflicts before they happen. Mr. Mayo expressed that reporting concerns of possible conflicts is the best way to keep GHS safe because doing so could allow the staff to mediate it and prevent the issue from happening altogether. On a final note, Mr. Mayo reiterated the importance of students finding a teacher or staff member in school they can trust and talk to. Having a trusted adult at school can help guide students away from fighting and conflict, as staff is then able to intervene. Building a trusting relationship with a teacher is something every GHS student should know is available and should consider, so these issues can become a thing of our past.

More than a month after Daylight Savings Time ended, students at GHS are still affected by the time change. Many have lost sleep as they have struggled to adjust to the time change, and the fact that the sun sets earlier seems to have negatively affected students’ mental health. As one sophomore said, “It made me extremely depressed. I come home from school, and within an hour, it’s dark. It makes me feel unproductive and in a constant state of sadness.” 

On the other hand, another anonymous student sees some benefits to the time change, stating, “I get more sleep time. As a person who doesn’t sleep, I now get more sleep time, so that’s good.” However, they also said, “I hate how it becomes dark. We can’t do school projects outside of school anymore, because we need daylight.”

As we grapple with the modern repercussions of a century-old decision, it is important to note the history of Daylight Savings itself. Changing the time originally began in the United States during World War I, in an effort to conserve power and fuel, the belief being that pushing clocks further an hour would preserve electricity, as night would fall at a later hour. However, many feel that this is no longer necessary, labeling the practice as outdated. As someone said to me,  “It’s ridiculous. You turn the lights on during the night, so if anything you’re wasting more energy than if it was dark in the morning for an hour. You’re spending the same amount of electricity anyway, if not more.” Some countries, such as Mexico, have gotten rid of the time changes altogether, deciding to stick to Standard Time (the time that the U.S. has just switched back to) instead, with more and more nations around the world adopting this practice. 

Ultimately, regardless of one’s stance on the topic, one thing is clear: high school students are greatly affected by time changes, as is reflected by the GHS student body. 

GHS Student Government kicked off the 2023-2024 school year with the Freshman Class officer election, adding new voices to GHS’s student body representatives. Ben Varghese, Freshman Class President, and Madeline Jones, Freshman Class Vice President, have now joined the other members of Student Government, led by Caleb Kaalund, Student Body President. 

Each year, Student Government sets goals and initiatives to try and make GHS a better place. Last year, some of Student Government’s goals were to address the midterm and final policy, and to try and make A+ grades equal to an A in the GPA scale, as many other schools have. The reasoning behind this would be to create a less stressful and competitive environment for the student body. However, this change, if implemented, would be far in the future, as it would entail significant changes to the current grading system. 

This year, however, one of their main goals is improving students' experience during lunch. Right now, when buying lunch, students have to enter their pin and show their digital ID. Student Body President, Caleb Kaalund, said that he wants to make it easier for students to buy lunch by implementing scanners to the cafeteria. In the library, when students check out a book, they just have to show their ID, which is then scanned by the staff member at the circulation desk. Student Government wants to replicate this process for buying lunch so that it is easier and more accessible to students. 

Another important goal for Student Government this year is to increase the communication between students and the administration. Kaalund said that Student Government wants to expand the use of Minga so that it could be a “communication platform not only an ID platform.” Minga is a way that students can get notified of events and other important things that are occurring at GHS; students have been using Minga since the beginning of the year as a replacement for physical IDs. 

Student Government is also working on a way for the student body to share their feedback and ideas. Kaalund shared that he wants to have a survey system that students can fill out with their feedback for Student Government. There are also two Representatives for each Advisor Base, who can also be contacted with concerns and or ideas. Representatives can then share student ideas during meetings. If students have specific ideas, they can reach out to a member of Student Government (such as their Advisor Base Representatives, Student Body President, Caleb Kaalund, or Student Body Vice President, Omar Galal) who will then direct them to the leader of the sub-committee that is related to the topic of concern. 

When Kaalund was asked what he would want the Student Body to know about Student Government, he said that it is a “cool and laid back environment” where he and his fellow representatives are able to “lead effectively” and create changes that students want to see. Kaalund wanted to remind students that if they have input or an idea to improve GHS, reaching out to an official or Representative is the best way to take action and move their idea forward.

Starting Oct. 30 and ending Nov. 17, Greenwich High School’s Roots and Shoots Club hosted its annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. Roots and Shoots focuses on making the world a better place for people, animals, and the environment. For 13 years and counting, Roots and Shoots’ Thanksgiving food drive has striven to raise money and food to donate to the less fortunate families in Greenwich. 

The club partnered with Neighbor to Neighbor, “a community organization that provides access to food, clothing, and basic living essentials to families in need,” as the Roots and Shoots club advisor, Ms. Jessica Somma, said. The Neighbor to Neighbor Club, run by Ms. Alyssa Stack, often helps assist Roots and Shoots in collecting, counting, sorting, and packing the foods donated by students. Roots and Shoots also partnered with the Greenwich Department of Human Services, a part of the Greenwich local government, to provide Thanksgiving meals to over 100 local families. 

The Roots and Shoots club has been a vital support for less fortunate families as well as being a positive way for students to give back to their community during a time of thanks and appreciation. Over 100 students volunteered at least once during the food drive to help collect, count, sort, and pack food and decorate boxes. Teachers also participated in helping during the drive, taking their classes down during class time and helping decorate boxes that the food is collected in. A wide variety of foods were donated to the food drive by GHS families and students. Low-sodium, high-protein, and healthier foods were highly encouraged, as well as Thanksgiving cuisine, including mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and gravy. Roots and Shoots also accepted monetary donations, which were used to purchase Shoprite gift cards. Roots and Shoots raised money through the Dollar Bill Wars, run as the Penny Wars in the past. The Dollar Bill Wars acted as a “fun way to raise money for the Shoprite gift cards,” Somma stated. To explain, single dollar bills donated added to the number of points a House had, and other bills such as $5’s or $10’s would subtract points from the House’s total. In total, the GHS community raised over $300 and over 2,000 items of food. The club and food drive helped ensure that “everyone, regardless of need, has a hearty Thanksgiving meal to ring in the holiday season.”

Greenwich Connecticut, known for its affluence, is a place that embodies the “posh lifestyle,” housing a plethora of designer stores and high-end restaurants. However, contrary to the stereotypes, one will find that Greenwich has a motley of people and cultures. This diversity helps to produce an abundance of art and creativity. 

One of the most notable art establishments in this town is The Bruce Museum, located off Greenwich Avenue in a small, tranquil nook amidst the bustling central roads. Having recently undergone significant reconstruction and upgrading, The Bruce boasts a modern architectural structure with a clean, sleek, and aesthetically-pleasing design. Peyton Gray, a member of The Bruce’s marketing and communications team, shares that the renovations have “[tripled] the gallery space” which “greatly expands the variety of exhibitions” the Bruce can display.  However, it's not only the building that deserves recognition, but the diverse culture of art found in the museum that instills a strong sense of hometown pride within Greenwich residents. 

Despite The Bruce being an incredible haven for artists and art-enthusiasts, even one who is new  to art can admire the beauty and creativity of the works in this museum. Upon entrance, visitors are enchanted by the “Gabriel Dawe: Plexus no. 43,” a breathtakingly intricate installation that is intended to replicate the color spectrum. Gray remarks that one of the popular pieces in science is Penguins: Past and Present, which details the “fascinating history of this remarkable bird.” According to Gray, when The Bruce reopened in April 2023, the exhibition featuring Lois Dodd: Natural Order, got the attention of the press, and articles were written complimenting The Bruce’s efforts to “finally [shine] a light on her extraordinary body of work.” 

Ms. Gray also shares that The Bruce caters to a multitude of people through numerous adult and youth education programs which annually attract about 60,000 people from the broader Fairfield County Area. The museum also comes equipped with a Bruce Mobile that helps to transport the magic of the museum to other locations within the community. One program highlighted on The Bruce website is the “Lifetime of Looking” program, which aids adults with memory loss in examining and interpreting art. 

Although The Bruce is a remarkable landmark in our town, in the greater highschool community, there is minimal conversation about the benefits the museum offers in terms of intellectual development  and visual stimulation. Gray mentions that in a technological age, many teens find themselves often “glued to [their] phones and computers,” and although technology can offer an abundance of resources such as widespread accessibility to art and music, “there's nothing like seeing works of art up close, seeing how really big or small they are, noticing the three dimensional brush strokes on the paper and experiencing the artists vision live and in person.”. The Bruce provides numerous teen-centered programs including youth intern positions and the Junior Docent Team, which aims to gather a “group of dynamic teen peers” in order to “regularly engage with art and science, interact with field experts, and plan events for teens” as Gray says. Museums can be an interactive way to spark creativity for artists and seeing as our town offers this amazing resource, (discounted for students), why put it to waste? Gray shares that another significant student opportunity is the iCreate regional juried high school expedition, where student artists have the ability to submit their artwork. This exhibition “serves as an outlet for emerging artists” and “celebrat[es] the young minds of artists in our community”. One especially notable thing about the iCreate exhibition, is that it is run and organized with the high-school senior interns at the Bruce, who coordinate with schools across the tri-state area, drawing in hundreds of talented and commendable work that is further judged and then selected to be displayed at the Bruce in the new Works on Paper Gallery. 

Overall, being a part of a community of artists and immersing yourself within creativity is something that is not only soul-soothing, but it's also a way to discover a hidden world within a place that may exteriorly elude artistic diversity.

On Nov. 22, NAMES Day was held in the Performing Arts Center for all freshmen. It was a day of open and honest discussion amongst the Class of 2027, with opportunities for every member to share their candid reflections about bullying and bias in both open-mic and small group settings. NAMES Day is sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and has the goal of inspiring bystanders to become allies against prejudice and harassment. GHS administrators have made NAMES Day a priority, seeing as they have kept it alive as a two-decade long tradition and that GHS is the only school in Connecticut that has the distinction of hosting the program for this long. 

NAMES Day wasn’t always as widely recognized at GHS as it is now; the first few years of this event didn’t prove to be very successful. According to Carol Sutton, a former coordinator of the NAMES Day, “it was a tough sell.” It was hard to get students to participate and to get teachers to volunteer. However, as it started to become an annual event, more students and faculty became interested in the program. 

Unfortunately, not many current GHS students find that NAMES Day is worth their while or take it seriously. 

“During my breakout, the freshmen only talked when we gave them candy but the conversation went fine. It seemed throughout the entire day, without any of last year’s provocateurs, that nobody had a strong reaction in either direction: making fun of victims wasn’t a trend but nobody seemed to change their minds and become ‘allies,’” says a student facilitator who wishes to be unnamed. 

Sophomore Henry Freyer echoes similar sentiments. “While the behavior of the students was good, I did notice there weren’t many of them and it seemed to me like a lot of students skipped the event.” 

Other students believe NAMES Day served as a powerful tool for reflection among the freshmen. 

“It was a great experience working with the freshmen, and I think it was a great way to get them talking and thinking about how their words can really affect others,” says junior Ally Bauer, who was a facilitator in the event. 

In a recent OP-ED for the CT POST, Lily Olsen, a member of the GHS Class of 2011 recalls how profound her NAMES Day experience was. During the open-mic portion of the event, she came out to her grade, saying that she was a lesbian. She got overwhelmingly positive feedback after that and “200 hugs later from kids [she] didn’t know.” The day allowed her to be more open about her sexuality and gain confidence. 

Even though there are many beneficial aspects to the day, perhaps the greatest backlash comes from parents and organizations in town. 

In a March 2023 tweet, the Greenwich Republican Town Committee posted that the ADL had become a “far left organization” with “regressive ideals” and recommended parents opt their children out of the Names Day program. 

This is especially devastating in a year where the Town of Greenwich paid a $5 million settlement to settle a lawsuit filed by the the Palosz family after the tragic suicide of GHS sophomore Bart Palosz, who took his own life in 2013 after being bullied all throughout elementary and middle school. 

NAMES Day should be a reminder of the harsh reality of bullying and should not be dismissed as it has been in recent years. Often, events like bullying feel far removed from students’ everyday lives, causing them to take the assemblies less seriously. 

Hopefully, students and families will recognize the importance of such an event and treasure it for years to come.

From the Boy Scouts to “Baby Day” the life of Alexandra Clark Spann paints a portrait of early 20th-century Greenwich youth culture. Born in 1903 to two long-time residents of the Glenville area, Spann attended Greenwich schools before going on to study dentistry at Columbia University. Throughout two 1974 interviews with Penny Bott-Haughwout and Gertrude Reinheart, Spann recalled her childhood memories and reminisced over the changes that Greenwich underwent throughout her longtime residence. 

As a young child, Spann was decidedly a tomboy. Her father, John A. Clarke, had hoped for a boy and so when Spann was born, he decided to raise her as such. Instead of wearing traditionally feminine baby clothes, Spann dressed in rompers and her brother’s cast-off knickerbockers. Over time, she grew fond of these outfits and much to her great-aunt’s dismay refused to wear anything girlish. She recalls, “My grandmother’s sister was shocked [by my rompers and knickerbockers], so she bought material and made me a complete outfit in white, which I wore once and hated.” 

Into her early childhood, Spann continued to showcase tomboyish traits, joining Troop 9 of the newly-formed Boy Scouts of America alongside her brother. Although she was a part of the Scouts, because she was young, Spann was often subject to the grunt work required to keep the troop running. She affectionately described herself as being a “willing slave,” who “could go along [with the other Scouts] if [she] would build a fire, clean the fish, cook them, serve them, and wash the dishes.” 

Even so, Spann attributes many of her fondest childhood memories to her time at the Scouts. It was there that she engaged in many invigorating outdoor activities and even had the opportunity to meet Ernest T. Seton, a founding pioneer of the Scouts, after whom Greenwich’s Camp Seton is named. Participating in the Scouts was also a great family bonding activity. Both Spann’s mother and father were avidly involved in the Scouts with her mother acting as the first troop committee woman in the country and her father possessing a silver beaver signed by President Theodore Roosevelt. 

Throughout her childhood, Spann attended the Greenwich Public Schools. She attended Havemeyer School for elementary, which at the time was one of nine Greenwich school districts. Classes were small and consisted of fewer than twenty students, with younger students attending school in the morning and older students staying until the late afternoon. Students who received permission from their parents were also able to attend school at night, taking a special star-studying class. 

At the time, there was no transportation to school and almost all students walked. Spann recalls, “Two friends of mine used to walk across North Street from Taconic Road to high school every day, every year, for four years.” The journey across North Street and Taconic Road to the high school was a ten-mile round trip meaning that students spent a good portion of their day just getting to and from school. However, during Spann’s high school years, one student in her class had an air-cooled Franklin car that he drove every day to school. She recalled that he was quite the envy of those who walked. 

By high school, Spann had adopted a more feminine style of dress yet still held her unique style. She described her favorite outfit as, “black jersey, pleated skirt, a black top buttoned down the front, long sleeves. ” Although Spann stuck with this signature outfit for all four years of high school, she embellished it by experimenting with different kinds of cuffs and collars, “I changed it by changing the cuffs and collars. I had some in green and white plaid, some in checks, some plain white, some colored. [And I always wore them] with cufflinks.” While Spann was in high school, skirts were always worn below the knee aside from “Baby Day” in the spring of senior year. 

“Baby Day” was a Greenwich High School tradition in which seniors dressed as babies. Spann recalled that “the boys wore knickers and long stockings, and the girls wore short skirts and baby bonnets.” Spann’s senior class was the last to participate in this tradition as it was banned after girls in Spann’s class wore socks without stockings, something that was considered “indecent” for school attire at the time. 

In terms of academics, Spann recalled her high school years favorably. She was especially fond of Greenwich High School principal Harry C. Folsom, who was referred to by the students as “Pop Folsom” due to his kind nature. One of Spann’s most prominent high school memories was being called into Folsom’s office, trembling with fear after committing an infraction of the school rules. Instead of reprimanding her, Folsom was sympathetic and expressed, “It hurts me more than it does you because it reflects on our school’s reputation.” To this, Spann promised not to commit any more infractions and didn’t for the remainder of her time at the high school. 

At the high school, Spann took subjects such as arithmetic, drawing, and English. Spann preferred drawing so much to arithmetic that at one point she was called into Folsom’s office regarding her tendency to doodle during lessons where he exclaimed “Alexandra, you’re wasting your time, the teacher’s time, and the paper and pencils.” Following this, Spann decided to put more focus into art and took many drawing electives. Much like students today, Spann preferred electives to compulsory subjects because you got to choose what you wanted to take. 

Although the Greenwich of Spann’s childhood is vastly different from the Greenwich of the present day, the town’s vibrant youth culture remains eminent. Students of today exhibit the same vigor and enthusiasm as students of the past and many continue to enjoy activities such as participating in the Scouts and dressing up for school spirit days.
 

Transcripts of the interviews with Alexandra Clark Spann may be read at Greenwich Library and are available for purchase at the Oral History Project office. The OHP is sponsored by Friends of Greenwich Library. Visit the website at glohistory.org.
 

By permission of and in cooperation with the Greenwich Library Oral History Project.

Today, the square-like brick building near Greenwich Ave is the Board of Education, but many years ago, it was known as Greenwich High School. The goal of this  $150,000 gift from Industrialist and Entrepreneur Henry Osborne Havemeyer was to provide an education for every child free of cost, and for almost two centuries, Greenwich High School has provided exceptional public education and fostered the minds of many notable people. This new project was the talk of the town in 1891, as many journals documented what happened every step of the way. Thanks to the Greenwich Historical Society, many articles on student life and construction have been preserved digitally for the public to witness the entire process of the making of the GHS we know today. 

The project to build Greenwich High School started in 1891, but the building didn’t open its doors until 1898. Of course, some complications happened during the project. On December 7th of 1892, It was brought to Mr. Havemeyer’s attention that some townspeople intimidated an architect to pay them $500 apiece. In return, they would give him an award for the plan. Upon hearing this, Mr. Havemeyer immediately fired the architect and told the authorities he would hire an architect to review the project. On December 7th, the N.Y. press stated that it was “shameful that anyone should try to make money in an underhanded way out of a public benefaction like this.”

Greenwich High School was supposed to be 10 acres, “centrally located, and costing the sum of $45,000” according to a 1983 article in the Greenwich Time. The Board of Education of that time was in “great agitation” for they thought they couldn’t afford such prices. To relieve the cost, they decided to create a two-story building instead of a one-story building. Mr. EC Benedict, a nearby neighbor, was upset because it would obstruct the view of the Sound. So, he decided to talk to Mr. Havemeyer about the problem, but Havemeyer replied that it was too late to change the structure of the building. Then, Benedict went to the architect, and between several conferences between him and Mr. Havemeyer, the copper roof was replaced with a flat roof. But, Mr. Benedict had to do certain things in return. First, he had to pay $2,000 for the flat roof and $16,000 for a separate gymnasium. Although the Board of Education was split when it came to the changing of the construction plan, they finally gave in and destroyed all the progress they made with the building. As a result, some journalists were unhappy with this change in the construction plan. In the Port Chester Journal, they believed that no one has the private right to the “undisputed sweep of the Sound”. As a result, the school should have the “beautiful structure rise it [original plan] intended”. 

Despite all the issues that arose from the project, the school was a success. In a 1902 Greenwich Time article, it was reported that the school had 15 seniors, 12 juniors, 17 sophomores, and 51 freshmen. There was a new new equipment for Chemistry and Physics classes, and the students read the books provided by Mr. Havemeyer. The school was described to be clean, with varnished wood, and a floor stained with “no-dust-o”. The principal, Mr. Winnie, was proud of the year, since the students and the teachers had a good relationship. He even expressed a funny incident when a boy was brought to his office for refusing to read when the teacher told him to. When the principal asked why he didn’t comply, the boy responded: “Oh, it’s in the family.”  The boy then remarked that he was told to find another family because of his hatred for reading “could not possibly be borne in the Greenwich School”. It is because of the persistence of a group of people that Greenwich High School still today provides a strong education for students free of charge.  Despite the obstacles people faced with constructing the building, Greenwich High was still successful a couple years after the construction.

` College application season for GHS seniors is in full swing, with Early Action and Early Decision applications already due Nov. 1, and Regular Decision deadlines are fast approaching. Applying to colleges is complicated; its many different rounds and types of applications make it a nerve-wracking, tumultuous process. After interviewing several underclassmen attending Greenwich High School, I found that the most confusion and anxiety stemmed from worries about the applications themselves, as well as figuring out whether a college is a good fit. 

Procrastination is an issue for nearly everyone—it's much easier to push something off rather than deal with it immediately or even preemptively, especially if it’s a project so big you don’t even know where to start. With pressure to go to a top-ranking college, students feel the application process is stressful, leading many to wish they had started their applications sooner, so they ​​didn't have to work on them until the last minute. Greenwich High School senior Kyra Dybas wished she had started filling out her applications and writing her essays over the summer going into her senior year, noting that she "...envied people who had everything done by mid-September." 

College applications shouldn't be the only thing that you start early. Touring colleges plays a significant role in gauging whether a school would be right for you. Several Greenwich High School seniors and alumni have recommended starting college searches during junior year, allotting time to assess the offered courses and tour campuses. 

Mei McGuinness, a freshman attending Colgate University and a Greenwich High School Alumna, shared that touring colleges helped give her insight to a major factor that should be considered when deciding on colleges to apply to: campus life. "It’s cliche but it genuinely just feels right when you're there," said McGuinness, "which is why it’s so important to tour all of the schools you’re interested in because you could love a school but once you’re there in person, you could also realize that you don’t see yourself at a certain school when you’re there." McGuinness explained that in her personal experience, visiting colleges that she may not have been the most interested in, was vital to her search. "Colgate was the last school I toured in late October of my senior year…and I did not want to go. I had never heard of Colgate and thought I was wasting my time, but once I was on campus I knew it was the right place."  

Another important aspect of college tours to consider is the tour guide. The tour guides of college tours are typically students attending the college, so they’re somewhat obligated to promote the school, but you can get additional information that will help you better understand what the school is like as long as you ask questions specific to your own interests. "The tour guide also makes/breaks your experience" said McGuinness, "so don’t be afraid to ask questions or even go back for another tour if your guide wasn’t great." Additionally, McGuinness advised that high school students sign up for tours that take place on a weekday rather than a weekend or holiday so that you can see what the college campus is truly like while school is in session.

There are so many unknowns pertaining to how colleges choose which students to accept at colleges. Ivy Leagues and other top schools receive thousands of qualified applicants each year, yet only a small fraction are chosen among the best of the best. While we can certainly improve our chances, we cannot control nor guarantee whether we get into a certain college, so make sure to focus on what you can control: your determination, actions, and work ethic.