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January 15, 2016 Newsletter
Greenwood School 9920 Regency Square Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32225
www.greenwoodjax.org T: (904) 726-5000
Senior advisors Mrs. Barbara Murray and Ms. Diane Krug took different
paths to get to Greenwood School.
Ms. Krug began teaching at Greenwood in August 2000. Ms. Krug
was hardwired to be a science teacher. As a small child when her
parents bought her a wading pool, she created an ecosystem out of
it!! She always had a passion for animals and has had several pets
over the years--dogs, cats, gerbils, guinea pigs, turtles, frogs, mice,
rabbits, horses, snakes and birds! She received her bachelor’s
degree in Zoology at Warren Wilson College and has worked in zoos
and a wildlife preserve in the Congo. At one point, she decided to
work with two legged mammals and put her observational skills,
natural curiosity and unique skill sets to use at Greenwood School
where she teaches Anatomy and Physiology, Environmental Science
and Biology. Ms. Krug’s passion for the environment has resulted in
leading students to blaze a trail in the school’s wetlands and at the
Jacksonville Zoo; they have also created a monarch butterfly
waystation. She and her students have presented information at the
FCIS convention and at the Jacksonville Landing. Ms. Krug serves as
Upcoming Events
Jan. 13th 2nd Quarter
Awards Assembly 2:30 p.m.
Jan. 18th Holiday-No
school for students and staff
Jan. 27th Open House
Feb. 26th Chili Cook-off
Ms. C. Hall, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Krug
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referent for the science department and advisor for the Zoology
club. In the spare time that she has, Ms. Krug enjoys kayaking, hiking
and reading.
Mrs. Murray, who began teaching at Greenwood in August 2003, was
similarly hardwired to teach English. As a high school student on the
pep squad, she refused to open her mouth during a cheer that was
grammatically incorrect. She received both her Bachelor’s Degree
in English Education and her Master’s Degree in Humanities from
Kean University with honors. She began her education career
teaching in college and has taught Freshman Composition, Creative
Writing, Journalism, and Literature in colleges in New Jersey, upstate
New York and Connecticut. During her time at Greenwood she has
taught English to grades nine through twelve, World Literature,
American Literature, British Literature and Creative Writing. She enjoys
teaching interactive grammar and style lessons and sharing her
enthusiasm for literature; in fact, she has been accused of having
“Shakespeare-itis!” Mrs. Murray serves as English department referent;
in the past she was advisor to the prom committee and conducted a
book club. When not grading papers, Mrs. Murray enjoys spending
time with her family, reading, watching old movies, listening to classic
rock and Broadway show tunes, and doing word puzzles.
When Mrs. Murray and Ms. Krug first began teaching together,
neither had any idea that they would discover a long-lost cousin at
the school. A few months after Mrs. Murray started at Greenwood,
her mother recognized the name Krug and was convinced there was
a family connection. It turns out that Mrs. Murray’s and Ms. Krug’s
grandmothers were first cousins raised as sisters in the same house--in
Kingston, New York! Students say they see the family resemblance
when both teachers ask their students to add more details on essays,
begin singing the same old songs, and wear holiday earrings and
socks.
In addition to their teaching duties, the two cousins have shared the
fun of being senior advisors for the past five years which
includes working with seniors on givebacks to the school and
community, hosting fun events such as Grad Bash and a senior lunch,
guiding seniors away from the perils of senioritis and towards the
promising road of a new life starting with graduation.
Cindy Hall was born and raised in Ohio and began teaching 40 years
ago. She has enjoyed a diverse experience in education; her first
certification was in Art K-12, but she began her career by teaching
mildly, severely, and profoundly handicapped children. At the same
time, Mrs. Hall served with the county children’s home as a
houseparent for teen boys, which led to a period of mentoring
troubled teens as a court-appointed houseparent.
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As her family grew (many of you may be familiar with her daughters,
Corinne and Kim), Mrs. Hall moved to Florida and taught at a
Christian school in Ponte Vedra for 7 years and then DePaul (a K-8
school for learning difficulties here in Jacksonville), where she taught
for 11 years. Her expertise in educational leadership continued to
expand beyond the boundaries of a traditional classroom, from
serving as a Girl Scout troop leader for 18 years, First Aid and CPR
instructor, and American Red Cross Lifeguard and Canoe Instructor
for Gateway Girl Scout Council. During that time, she was also able
to enjoy many camping experiences and travel opportunities, which
included a trip to the Girl Scout World Center Cabana in
Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Mrs. Hall is a highly credentialed educator whose expertise includes
curricular/program certifications in Lindamood Bell: LIPs and
Visualizing and Verbalizing, Davis Dyslexia, Saxon Mathematics
Curriculum, Step Up to Writing, in addition to Florida Education
certifications in Elementary Education K-6, Middle Grades Integrated
5-9, Special Education K-12, and Art Education K-12. In her 8 years
here at Greenwood School, our students have been privileged to
learn from her in an equally diverse range of courses, which have
included both middle and high school Literature, middle school math
(through Algebra 1A), and high school enrichment classes such as
Florida History and Holocaust. For the last couple of years, Mrs. Hall
has been able to concentrate on middle school and high school art,
and through her methods of introducing Greenwood students to
various art media, researching, and implementing projects that allow
their success, she has helped many highly talented students discover
a love of art.
In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Mrs. Hall actively
challenges students to develop critical and strategic thinking skills by
sponsoring and leading the Greenwood Chess Team, which has
placed consistently among the top teams and very proudly
demonstrates good sportsmanship over the past 7 years under her
leadership. Additionally, she guides the development of Greenwood
students by sponsoring the National Junior Honor Society. This
national organization allows Greenwood students to be honored for
their academic accomplishments while learning about leadership
and community responsibility through service; NJHS members serve
together at Clara White Mission, Feeding NE Florida, and Sulzbacher
Center, and are very proud to serve and be leaders at school.
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Congratulations on an outstanding second quarter!
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High School Criminology Class
Mrs. Gilliard’s first semester Criminology classes toured Fire Station 30.
TaxSlayer Bowl January 2, 2016 High school students who earned honor roll first quarter were invited
to attend the annual Tax Slayer Bowl. Thank you, Mr. Stein!
Money Matters
Financial literacy is an
important and necessary
skill for high school
students. Students in our
school are being taught
how to manage their
finances through Dave
Ramsey’s Foundations in
Personal Finance
Curriculum, generously
sponsored by Fifth Third
Bank. The curriculum
teaches teens how to
avoid debt, save
intentionally, and spend
wisely. Since 2010, the
bank has educated more
than 600,000 students on its
way to educating one
million students by spring
2017. Through Fifth Third’s
sponsorship, we are able to
give students the tools they
need to succeed
financially in life.
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Mrs. Connell’s Corner
"Happy New Year! I hope each of you enjoyed the holiday season.
Congratulations to our students who earned academic honors for
the second quarter. Please join us in acknowledging their
achievements on Wednesday, January 13th at 2:30 p.m. in the
Greenwood gym.
Attention Greenwood Families
ON LINE PAYMENTS NOW AVAILABLE!!!
You can now make your tuition payments, your Annual Fund
donations and "Buy a Brick" on the Greenwood website.
Go to http://greenwoodjax.org and click on Pay Tuition. The tuition
payment button is located at the top of the Home page, just click
on the button and it will take you to a secure payment screen.
The Annual Fund page and the "Buy a Brick" pages can be found
under the "Support us" tab on the Home page.
We hope you enjoy this new convenience we have added for
payments, if you have any questions please feel free to call.
From Mrs. Kruchko
Reminder for all seniors:
The Yearbook Staff needs your photos for the senior pages. We
would like five photos at all ages.
We also need a personal quote. This can be an original quote
from you or an inspirational quote from someone else.
From ADDitude Magazine Online
Routine Matters: 11 Rules for ADHD-Friendly Schedules A reliable daily routine -- at school and at home -- is essential to
your child's success. 11 tips for establishing a schedule that works
for your family.
http://www.additudemag.com/slideshow/37/slide-1.html
Mrs. Connell,
Head of School
NHS and NJHS are
collecting socks for the
homeless of Jacksonville
Imagine, clean, dry,
warm feet
Please bring in 1 pair of
socks or many pairs of
socks.
We will be distributing
the socks through
Autumn’s Harvest,
adding the socks to
their care bags for the
homeless.
Please bring the socks
to the art room.
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PTO NEWSFLASH
Happy New Year and Welcome Back!
Your PTO will be very busy this semester and we still NEED YOU!
We appreciate all of your donations of food and treats for our Monthly
Staff Breakfasts and the occasional lunch. You have been so very
generous and we have received MANY words of Thanks and Appreciation
from the Teachers and Staff! Keep up the Great Work!
Our Lunch Distribution Volunteers are Exceptional! We have this down to
a science and it is so much fun for the Volunteers and the Students.
We could still use more help in our Concession Stand, beginning
immediately. This is a wonderful opportunity to see the Students in a fun
and casual setting -- we've got some extremely smart and funny kids! I
always leave the Concession Stand smiling and glad that I could be
there! To work in the Concession Stand, we need you to be fingerprinted
and a "cleared" volunteer, as you will be handling cash. It is a very simple
process, drop in to the Office and pick up your form and information.
Did you know that you can donate gently used uniforms back to the PTO
for resale at a huge discount to other families? Spring cleaning is a thing, I
guess, though I am not a fan :-) But, our children grow quickly, so bring
what you don't need to the office anytime.
Don't be shy! Even if you've never attended a meeting, we want to meet
you and answer any questions you might have. Our PTO Parents are a
great source of information for all of the Parents and Care Givers of
Greenwood Students. Here is a list of key dates and contacts -- you can
email any of us anytime, and I invite you to call me on my cell phone
anytime (before 10 pm!) And, please note that like the Teachers, you
should log in to your Greenwood Email Account to send an email to our
Greenwood addresses. Please call or text me at the number below if you
are unable to send emails.
Respectfully and with Gratitude,
Karen Butler, PTO President
904.382.3367 [email protected]
IMPORTANT CONTACTS - Ask us anything!
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR - Mary
Barfield, [email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT - Katie Steadman, [email protected]
SECRETARY - Kelly Fulkerson, [email protected]
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TREASURER - Deborah Coster, [email protected]
MEMBERSHIP CHAIR - Wendy Painter, [email protected]
PTO MEETING SCHEDULE: In an effort to accommodate more of our
families, we have scheduled alternating meeting times for the rest of the
school year. It pays to be an "insider!" Learn school news first and have
your voice heard! Join Us!
February 9, 2:00pm
March 8, 8:30am - Note Morning Meeting
April 12, 2:00pm - Special Program!
May 10, 2:00pm - Elections for Next Year
MARK YOUR CALENDAR! Events for the rest of the year as we know them
today.
Staff Breakfasts (1st Monday each month)
February 1, March 7, April 4 (May 3 - Staff Appreciation Lunch)
1/27/2016 Open House/Potential Student Tours
2/24/2016 Welcome Wednesday
2/26/2016 Chili Cook Off & Craft Fair
3/9/2016 Welcome Wednesday
3/18/2016 Field Day!! Volunteers Needed!!
March TBD Box Tops Bake Sale
March/April Begin planning for Fall PTO Membership Drive, Volunteers
Needed
4/8/2016 Mrs. Connell's Retirement Reception
4/13/2016 Welcome Wednesday
4/16/2016 Prom
4/29/2016 Fine Arts Showcase
5/3/16 Staff Appreciation Day (Snacks vs. Breakfast)
Mid-May TBD Senior Breakfast
5/25/2016 Awards Ceremony
5/26/2016 Graduation
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To shop at AmazonSmile simply go to smile.amazon.com from the web
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Which products on AmazonSmile are eligible for charitable donations?
Tens of millions of products on AmazonSmile are eligible for donations. You will
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Yes, you use the same account on Amazon.com and AmazonSmile. Your
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How do I select a charitable organization to support when shopping on
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How much of my purchase does Amazon donate?
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Bookmark
smile.amazon.com
Greenwood School
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