Ernie's Army Goes on the Offensive!

Brian Schlosser and Logan Leverage finishing the job!

On Saturday, September 17th, a group of students and parents, organized by the new Gunston Parents Association, came to school to help beautify our campus.  After two hours of pulling vinca, raking leaves, and trimming hedges, everyone felt a sense of accomplishment, and it was a beautiful day to be outside.  By the end of the event, the front of Middleton was vastly more attractive!


Of course, every hour volunteered by our students and parents not only makes our campus more beautiful and binds us together in fun and fellowship, but in this era of limited resources, it also allows us to direct our resources to the areas that we care most about: student programming and teacher development. 

Alex Kukorowski and Blaise Dickinson

Susan and Lizzie Katz

My daughter Bea working hard!

Community Letter: School Opening

As we begin the 2011-2012 school year, see my community letter that outlines the major initiatives for the year and introduces our new faculty: Community Letter

The Gunston School

On August 11th, Gunston was formally reincorporated as The Gunston School.  We are still in process of reworking our viewbooks, website, stationery, etc.  Why did we decide to change our school's name?  See my letter to our community: The Gunston School.

Nuestra Escuela Gunston

Last year I promised Senor Angarita that the winner of his Gunston promotional video in-class assignment would be posted on this blog.  Let me congratulate Tricia Athey, Jacqueline Gross, and Katherine Gross for their excellent work in capturing the essence of Gunston en espanol.

New Compost Bins



Mr. Darling digging the holes



Alden lifting boards



Last year Gunston was certified as a Maryland Green School, and in August, Andrew Sindermann (TGS '11) installed compost bins on campus as part of his Boy Scout Eagle Project.  With assistance from his parents, fellow troop members, Mr. Darling, and fellow Gunston graduate Alden Ruben (TGS '11), Andrew can proudly boast that his lasting legacy to Gunston is a site for decomposing food!  All joking aside, composting reduces waste, and by consequence, makes Gunston a better steward of the earth.  Well done, Andrew!



Andrew smiling as he builds the bins







Getting Ready to Launch!

It has been a busy summer at Gunston, especially with the success of our new Summer Programs.  Led by our own Amy Gross-Kehoe, we saw more than 200 students on campus for sports camps, technology camps, rowing camps, environmental camps, and more.  We are already looking forward to next summer.

The Library, in process of renovation

Thanks to the funds raised in honor of the Everdells at Stop the Auction, one of the other major initiatives this summer has been the renovation of the Duffey-Blackwood Library.  We began by "weeding" the collection of un- or under-utilized books and we reworked the furniture layout in order to make the library more student friendly.  Over the next few months, we will see improvements in signage, layout, information access, and general resources.  Students will also have around 24 different periodicals to peruse.  The effort to convert the library will be guided by our own Ms. Wheatley.  

The Junior-Senior Center, painted Gunston green!

Finally, the Junior-Senior Center is nearly ready to launch.  Two of our student leaders, Charlie Fichtner and Tricia Athey, have done a great job to create a floor plan and thanks to Ernie Darling, the walls have been painted Gunston green.  The only thing left to do is get the furniture inside, decorate the walls, and for our own Seniors to "earn the keys" in a newly created ceremony.  Both the library and the lounge will be great student spaces!

A spectacular commencement weekend

Aunt Mary grinned during commencement weekend as the school held our annual Green and White Awards ceremony, Graduation, and on Sunday, the Everdell Farewell.  With the high spirits of our community, the breathtaking weather, the hundreds of alumni and friends who returned to our campus, it was a weekend of good feelings.  By request, I have attached links to the three major addresses given during the weekend:

• Sarah Everdell's graduation remarks: click here
• Stella Lin's Samuel A. Middleton Award remarks: click here
• My Green and White Awards address: click here