The Buzz
School Community Newsletter
Issue #48
Saturday, June 5, 2021
New Honor Society Members Inducted
and
Gilbert Garden Dedication
On June 1, new members of The Gilbert School's National Honor Society were inducted in a ceremony at the new Gilbert Garden. After the induction ceremony, the Honor Society students dedicated the Gilbert Garden to Principal Sojka and Superintendent Serio.
New Members of The Gilbert School's National Honor Society
Miranda Brennan

Tia Mongitore

Connor Marchand

Gavin Langston

Ajla Gutic

Caitlin Tucker

Devin Fedorowicz

Iandra Cabral

Elizabeth Daigle

Jebediah Leach

Kelsey Vetter
Illiana Martinez

Mary Sullivan

Makayla Dileo

Emma Schibi

Kaitlyn Crowley

Jazira Lapointe

Laila Blair

Angela Bardino

Hayley Kolosky

Thomas Reeves
Principal Sojka and Superintendent Serio
at the dedication ceremony for the Gilbert Garden
Gilbert Students Win Winchester’s 250th Anniversary Logo Contest
Gilbert students Chloe Anglace and Illiana Martinez,
winners of the town of Winchester's 250th Anniversary Logo Contest
This year is the 250th anniversary of the founding of Winchester, Connecticut. The town held a contest for local students to create a logo celebrating the town’s 250th anniversary. The winners of the contest were Gilbert students Chloe Anglace and Illiana Martinez. The two marched in the town’s annual Memorial Day parade on Monday, May 31.
"Snoopy" The Musical, This Weekend!
SNOOPY! THE MUSICAL The Peanuts gang is gathering in The Gilbert School auditorium for four limited seating shows THIS weekend! Tickets are $30 for 2 tickets pre-sale or $35 for 2 tickets at the door (cash or checks only for tickets at the door). They can be purchased at the following link: https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/53929
Remaining Schedule for Semester
June 4-6  "Snoopy" the Musical, Gilbert Auditorium

June 9     8th grade Promotion

June 9 Yearbook dedication lunch and ceremony (staff and seniors only), Noon 

June 10   Senior Night 5 - 9 pm

June 10 High School yearbook pickup in Mrs. Wood’s room (307) 

June 11   Graduation 5 pm 

**More detailed information regarding these events will be given soon.
8th Grade Promotion 
June 9, 2021, at 10:30 am

Please park in the student parking lot.

Due to the restrictions of Covid, each student may only have two people attend the ceremony. Tickets for the event were mailed home. Please bring the tickets with you to the ceremony. Areas will be assigned for visitors and we encourage you to bring chairs to sit on during the ceremony. Once you exit your vehicle we ask that you wear a mask at all times. The ceremony will last approximately 1 hour. Families may take students home after the ceremony.

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Hurley at 860-379-8521 or hurleym@gilbertschool.org
Attention Parents
The American Recovery Plan is providing funds to the State of Connecticut for education that is passed on to the school districts. There are several components to the plan including recover of students skills through academic intervention, acceleration and renewal, social and emotional health for staff and students, technology training, community engagement and building infrastructure for health and safety, We must begin by gaining feedback on reopening plans for next school year. At this time we are unsure about social distancing or mask wearing requirements. It is our anticipation to have all students back in person at The Gilbert School with no hybrid or remote learning option except on snow days. We will back to five days a week and will continue a block schedule. The plan from this year is on our website. The plan once written will lead to the application to fund our educational programs for the aforementioned areas. We will be sending out a survey to get community input on our plan.
Health Office: Important Information for Parents
6th Grade and 9th Grade Physicals

Students entering 7th and 10th grade MUST have completed a state mandated physical with their primary care physician and have filed a blue State of CT physical form with the nurse’s office. Students may be excluded from school from the start of the 2021 school year until this requirement is met. Please contact physician’s offices early to get an appointment if you have not completed this requirement.


Sports Physicals for Fall Sports

The safety and well being of all of our athletes is a top priority to The Gilbert School. Prior to trying out for any sport, a current physical must be on file in the nurse’s office. Unfortunately, we do not accept notes from physicians instead of the completed physical form, so please ask your physician to complete the entire form. Parents must complete the first page. Athletic physicals are considered current for one year. To prevent the need to stop an athlete from participating once he/she is on a team due to a lapse in their athletic physical, we strongly encourage parents to arrange for physicals to be performed during the summer months. Physical forms can be mailed into the school at any time during the summer or dropped off in the main office.

Medications

If you anticipate your child may need medication in the fall of 2021, please have your physician complete the authorization for administration of medication form and return it to the nurse’s office at the beginning of the school year.  

Should you have any issues over the summer that you would like the nurse to be aware of, please email at gilbertk@gilbertschool.org. Wishing you a happy and healthy summer!!
Covid Information
Quarantine Changes

In the event of quarantine due to COVID, we are changing the quarantine timelines. Effective May 17, we will be providing the option of a 7-day quarantine, provided we receive a negative COVID PCR test that is performed on Day 5.
Vaccination Information

As of May 12, anyone 12 and older can get vaccinated in Connecticut

Schedule Your COVID-19 Vaccine

The state offers residents and workers several options for scheduling their COVID-19 vaccine appointment.

Option 1: Search for a Vaccine Site
Enter your address or zip code to view all the locations nearest you. You can also search for a specific provider to view associated locations.

Click on this link:

Option 2: Schedule by Phone
Prefer to schedule by phone? Select sites offer appointment scheduling via phone. Due to high volume, hold times may vary.
Please note that some vaccine sites allow phone scheduling through a direct clinic phone number. Search by location to view additional sites and scheduling options.

Vaccine Appointment Assist Line
877-918-2224
Available 8:00am to 8:00pm EST, 7 days a week


Alumnus of the Week
Edward Marolda
Class of 1963
What did you do after you graduated?:
“I went to Pennsylvania Military College in Chester, Pennsylvania, just south of Philadelphia. It's now known as Widener University. I was a cadet for four years, and I took ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps). Upon commissioning in 1967 I was a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. I also graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in History. I went on to Georgetown University in Washington D.C. I was working on my Master's Degree, but Uncle Sam called me up and said that we need you in the Vietnam War. I spent a year of training to go to the war, and in December of 1969, I went to Vietnam.

I was assigned to a transportation unit that delivered food, ammunition, and supplies to the forward firebases all over the Saigon area. I came back in December 1970. The Army said 'Go home and we'll call you if we need you.' They never called back. I did two years of active duty in total.

I started to look for work and finished my Master's Degree in May 1971. I als wanted to be a historian and I went to each of the services, but no one was hiring except for the Navy. The fact that I had served in Vietnam and that they were starting a project on the Navy and the Vietnam War, I got the job at the Naval History Center in Washington D.C. [now called the Naval History and Heritage Command]. I stayed at the center for 37 years. 

I learned as much as I could about Naval history. I had a very rewarding and successful time there. I started in the mailroom, but when I retired in September 2008 I was the Acting Director of Naval History. In that capacity, I was responsible for the 12 Naval museums around the country. I was also responsible for the archives and curatorial programs. 

After that, I worked on contracts for the command for several years. I am still doing work on Naval history. I have a book coming out this month: Admirals Under Fire: The U.S. Navy and the Vietnam War (Peace and Conflict).” 

Why did you decide to get into a career in the military?:
“I grew up with my father and my two uncles. All three of them were World War II veterans. My father was in the National Guard and he was sent out with the 122nd Connecticut National Guard Regiment to the South Pacific at the beginning of the war.

My uncle Theodore, who is going to be 98 years old this weekend, was in the Marine Corps and served in the Guadalcanal, and my uncle Victor was in the U.S. Navy. My family had all of the services covered.

I grew up listening to their stories of the war and all of their friends were also veterans. I was just immersed in all these World War II stories and I was fascinated by them.

It's a tragic side of human history, but it's a fascinating side as well. You can't take your eyes a sometimes.

When I was in grade school and even in high school, I was als into war movies and documentaries.”

What do you remember from your time at Gilbert?:
“We had a class of 100 so I knew everyone from that class. I played on the football team for three years and I got my varsity letter in the second year. Coach Fortuna was a coach I admired, along with Coach Daniels. I took in a lot of the annual festivities too including the annual Laurel Parade. My father Ed and my Uncle Ted ran the Winsted Furniture Company.”

Do you have any family members that went to Gilbert?:
“All of them! My father, uncle, and I can name 30 more relatives in my family that all went to Gilbert.”

What lessons from Gilbert did you carry with you into the real world?:
“I learned from Gilbert the value of education. I admired my history and geography teachers. All of the teachers invested in my educational development. There were a lot of great people at Gilbert. The educational program was strict in many ways.”

What advice would you give to current students?:
“My advice would be this: the whole world is open to you if you are willing to work hard and apply yourself. Try to learn as much as you can while you have the opportunity. Nothing is holding you back except for your drive. If you don't have that drive, then you won't be as happy as you can be. If you have a dream, just go for it and don't hold back. Put your all into it and care for the people around you and listen to their advice, because if they are older and have been around they will give you good advice.”
Teacher of the Week
Jeffrey Even
English teacher at Gilbert since 2018

Educational Background:
Graduated from Granby Memorial High School in 2009. Earned a Bachelor’s Degree in English from the University of Connecticut in 2013. Earned a Master’s Degree in Curriculum Instruction from University of Connecticut in 2017.

What made you want to get into a career in education?:

I always liked working in a classroom setting. I feel like I thrived in the educational world and it made sense for me to explore that career path. I had a lot of teachers that I saw as role models and I wanted to emulate them, and I didn’t want to have a boring desk job. I wanted to b do something creative and interactive.

What do you think of Gilbert?:

It’s great! But when I tell people about where I work, some of them have not heard of it. 
Gilbert to me is like a hidden gem. The people here are really nice, and I really like the staff here because they are really smart and caring people. They know a lot of the students, even if I haven’t had them in my class. It's a great community.

How would you describe Gilbert to a stranger?:

A small school where everyone knows each other. It’s a unique school with a lot of great students and a lot of great teachers.
Dinner in Great Barrington
By Debra LaRoche Walls, Dean of Admissions
Ben Nguyen, Cristina Rutherford, Andrew Park
Around 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 29th, Residential Coordinators, Cristina and David Rutherford gathered all five of the international students and headed to Great Barrington, MA. Their fifty-minute destination was to share an evening dinner together at the Bizen Gourmet Restaurant of Japanese cuisine. All agreed it was worth the trip.
 Ben Nguyen, David Rutherford, Andrew Park
Each of the students, Ben Nguyen, Alan Quan, Andrew Park, Bruce Zheng, and Frank Guan enjoyed the specialty of the restaurant including; sushi, tempura, eel rice and teriyaki duck. Even though the weather was on the chiller side for the Memorial holiday weekend, the boys enjoyed the sights along the way heading to their restaurant destination. After they finished their Japanese cuisine the students left room for dessert and headed to the Soco Creamery for ice cream cones. 
Frank Guan, Cristina Rutherford, Bruze Zheng
As the school year winds down and the international students are packing to head home for the summer, a final dinner celebration of Chinese cuisine, hot pot, will be prepared and enjoyed on Wednesday, June 9th at the residential hall. All of the international students have had amazing academic years, each on the Honors or High Honors lists for each of the semesters. The International Program is very proud of each of the student’s achievements both on campus and the online students in China. We look forward to their return to campus after the summer break. Happy summer vacation to all of our international students! 
Coach's Corner

By Buckley Morgan, Athletic Director
We have started with final exams at Gilbert. All our spring sports programs are completed with competitions except for one individual on our Track & Field team. Ryan VanDyke took third place in the 300 meter at the CIAC Class S Outdoor Track Championship on Thursday, 3 June. He is now qualified to compete in the CIAC Open to be held on Wednesday, June 9th. We wish him the best of luck and a great run time. 

This has been an amazing year with many new experiences for all of us. We managed to get through the school year with competitions in every sport except football and wrestling. Considering the way the year began, I am very happy that we accomplished as much as we have. Football is already ramping up for this fall. They have been doing strength training and will enter into the summer months working heavily on conditioning. Girls Soccer is also planning conditioning through the summer. They will be ready for fall when it gets here.

The Middle School completed a successful softball and baseball season this spring under the guidance of their Athletic Director, Mr. Charles Harbach. Mr. Harbach has been the Middle School Athletic Director since before middle school came to Gilbert. He started in the 2006-2007 school year at Pearson and has also been a Coach for many of those years.

After fifteen loyal years, Coach Harbach has decided that he will make this his last year as the Middle School AD and Coach. His presence will definitely be missed by our athletes and fellow coaches and I am very appreciative of all the support he has provided me over this last year. If you see him in the halls or about town, please thank him for all the time, dedication and energy he has given to our students as their Coach and AD over the many years. Gratefully, he will still be here at Gilbert as the ever faithful 7th grade Social Studies teacher. Thank you Charley Harbach!
Google Classroom Cheat Sheet
Food Service June
Attention Gilbert Alumni
We Want to Stay in Contact With You!

The Gilbert School
200 WIlliams Avenue
Winsted, CT 06098
860-379-8521