School News
While ninety years have passed since Tennessee became the “Perfect 36” assuring the addition of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, GPS students celebrated the passage of that amendment and its impact on their lives during an assembly on Friday, Aug. 7.
Seniors Teddie Chastain and Eller Mallchok opened assembly with a look at the path toward women’s achievement of citizenship and its accompanying right to vote. They shared the story of McMinn County’s Harry Burn, the youngest member of the Tennessee General Assembly, and his difficult decision to cast the deciding vote in favor of the 19th amendment - - because his MOTHER told him to “do the right thing.”
During activity periods, the Key Club leaders offered students a chance to affirm their belief in the equality of women by signing a facsimile of the amendment. The following is an excerpt from the Blue Shoe Nashville Travel Guide. (Legislators opposed to the amendment wore a red rose; those in favor, a yellow rose.)
“With wilted collars and frayed nerves, the legislators squared off for the third roll call. A blatant red rose on his breast, Harry Burn--the youngest member of the legislature--suddenly broke the deadlock. Despite his red rose, he voted in favor of the bill and the house erupted into pandemonium. With his "yea," Burn had delivered universal suffrage to all American women. The outraged opponents to the bill began chasing Representative Burn around the room. In order to escape the angry mob, Burn climbed out one of the third-floor windows of the Capitol. Making his way along a ledge, he was able to save himself by hiding in the Capitol attic.”
After winning the state championship in tennis last spring, members of the team had all summer to anticipate the “reward” that was promised.
Head Coach Sue Bartlett kept her promise and left Saturday, Aug. 28 with six members of the team to enjoy New York City and attend a few matches at the U.S. Open. The first full day was busy with seeing the sights of the city and enjoying a theatre performance.
On Monday they were on their way to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, located in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in the New York City borough of Queens. “We will see Melanie Oudin, Kim Clistjers, and Andy Roddick on Monday, among many others,” said Bartlett.
Missing two days of school and yet still learning, at least about tennis, are Hannah Morrow, Bronte Goodhue, Emma McCallie, Aliza Williams, Mary Claire Spann, and Lauren Schlabach.
Three new faculty and staff members have joined the GPS family and are eagerly adjusting to the hustle and bustle of the GPS school year.
Jo Brotton is the Administrative Assistant in the office of Upper School Principal and Assistant Head Jessica Good. A native Chattanoogan, she worked for the past 17 years as Advertising Coordinator and Office Manager/Central Processor for Prudential RealtyCenter’s corporate office. She has a daughter, Hannah, who is in the 6th grade at GPS.
Kyle Widmer Morris, GPS Class of 1998, is teaching Spanish and is an assistant coach for the GPS track team. She received her bachelor’s in Spanish and philosophy from the University of Richmond. Her teaching experiences have taken her from the Darrow School in upstate New York to an elementary first grade classroom in Mexico. She is married to Kurt Morris and is excited to be back at her alma mater.
Leland Strang teaches 7th grade American Studies in the Middle School and is an assistant for the GPS soccer team. A varsity soccer player at Baylor, Leland received her undergraduate degree in U.S. History from Sewanee: The University of the South. She was a youth soccer coach in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where she worked in banking.
Helping to keep the Upper School running efficiently, enthusiastically teaching new and returning students, and assisting in the athletic program, these three new faces are making a smooth adjustment to the 2010-11 school year.
Board games were the clever theme for the Cat-Rat parade on Friday, Aug. 20, as sixth graders got into the spirit when the seniors dressed them up as parts of the games played in childhood and still today. Dice, playing pieces, and the actual board from games like Clue, Life, Candyland, Scrabble, Twister, Monopoly, Operation, Mouse Trap, and Hungry, Hungry Hippos lined up on the front lawn before parading through the gym. When characters from Candyland threw out Skittles and LifeSavers, roars of approval rang out from 7th through 11th graders, parents and faculty. Click here to see a gallery of photos from Cat-Rat.
The annual parade on Friday followed an afternoon and evening of crafts and fun for the new sixth grade class and their senior friends. Among the activities were decorating quilt squares for the quilt to be auctioned off at the annual VISIONS event, creating Cat-Rat banners, and playing on inflatable slides.
Lunch on the Defoor Patio wrapped up the Cat-Rat event. Other students left campus for class retreats, including a hike on Stringer’s Ridge, a ride on the Riverboat, and team-building experiences at other sites around North Chattanooga.
With the student body dancing in their theatre seats to “We’re All in This Together” from High School Musical III, GPS welcomed the Class of 2017 at the traditional Opening Day Assembly on Wednesday, Aug. 18. The music, applause, and noise, designed to help ease (?) the new sixth graders into GPS, also served to welcome the 35 new 7th-12th graders who, according to Headmaster Randy Tucker, will be “adopted quickly” by their classmates.
Tucker described the years a girl spends at GPS as a circle that develops each girl into the scholar, athlete, artist, and servant that she can become. GPS, he said, is about “raising girls into women who understand that they can accomplish anything.” The senior class of 2011, he added, is beginning the process of a long goodbye that will soon open new doors.
“Our girls appreciate what they have and the faculty that are here to guide them,” he said before advising the students not to “waste time or opportunity.”
After Tucker reminded the students that GPS supports the girls’ “evolving relationship with a loving God,” be they Baha’i, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, or Christian, faculty member Jane Henegar gave a prayer written by Sarah Kate Neall ’06. The assembly closed with the singing of the Alma Mater.
Who knew that sunglasses were available in such variety? On Tuesday, Aug. 17, as seniors and sixth graders paired off as Cats and Rats for the beginning of another school year, they found their match by way of sunglasses rimmed with colorful pom poms, glitter, and attached jigsaw puzzle pieces; sunglasses shaped like guitars, cupcakes, and starbursts; and sunglasses with mice ears, feathers, and flowers. Each senior had cleverly decorated a pair of sunglasses with matching designs, one for the “rat” to recognize in the hunt for her special senior friend.
The pre-school event is traditionally the time when sixth grade rats and senior cats meet, have lunch in the dining hall, and get to know one another. At the lunch, the sixth graders popped balloons for the numbers which determined the dates when the seniors will give their chapel talks. Rats of the Honor Council president, Student Council president, and president of the Senior Class didn’t have to pop balloons; those three seniors will give their talks in the first two weeks of school.
Among the senior leaders who worked to make the entrance into sixth grade a smooth transition for their Rats were Shelby DeWeese, class president; Danielle Chirumbole, vice president; Ryn Fager, secretary; and Archer Brock, treasurer.
Two different camps were held the second week of August, one for seniors starting the college admissions process, and one for mostly Middle School students who share an interest in music.
College Application Boot Camp was a new offering from the College Admissions office, and over 50% of seniors showed up for the five-hour program geared to allay concerns and provide a less stressful start to the year. After a brief review of Naviance, the software program used to request transcripts and arrange scholarship 
recommendations, among other tasks, the attendees got some valuable advice on creating a résumé. Jennifer Ellis, a talent acquisition consultant in the Human Resources department of Blue Cross Blue Shield, described the résumé as “the first chance to show how great you are and what a good match you are for the college.” Also a chance to show communication skills, the résumé, according to Ellis, begins with a file of important information about oneself, with dates, references, a list of awards and honors, volunteer work, summer internships, and travel experiences.
After viewing the documentary “In 500 Words or Less,” the seniors received tips on interviewing from Lisa Burns, Associate Dean of Admission at Sewanee. Burns distinguished between evaluative and informational interviews and reminded students to “be prepared to talk about your high school experiences” and to have some questions of their own to ask. “Do some research about the college,” she said.
The program ended with a session on essay writing led by John Lambert, English Department Head at McCallie School. Among his tips were to tell “small moments well captured,” stay away from the “I saved the world” angle, and consider showing “an awareness of the world beyond your home, school, and community.”
The week-long Music Week of Fun, now in its 3rd year, involved 45 GPS and McCallie students in classes for woodwind, string, and percussion instruments. Eleven professional musicians offered instruction in three daily classes of rhythm, specialized instruments, and group ensemble.
Twenty beginning instrumental students received instruction on the flute, clarinet, trumpet, percussion, violin and cello. Advanced students participated in string and wind ensembles and began preparations for the concert with BARRAGE on Oct. 12.
Most of the instructors play in the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra. Sarah Pearson, GPS wind and percussion director; and Mary Baxter, GPS Orchestra Director, were also on staff. The camp culminated in a concert on Friday for family and friends.
Junior point guard Chadarryl Clay doesn’t go a day without a basketball in her hands, and that hard work has led to recognition on a national scale.
Her talents were on display this summer at the AAU girls’ national tournament in Orlando, Florida, where she starred for the 15-under Georgia Elite. Witnessing the national semifinal was ESPN.com’s Kelvin Powell, who wrote about Chadarryl as one of the top performers in his “HoopGurlz” online story.
According to Powell, the semifinal was “one of the most enjoyable” at the AAU tournament, “mainly because of the exploits of Clay, a 5-7 point guard” from Girls Preparatory School. “Her vision is what separates her from most point guards in the class,” he writes. “We will go out on a limb and call her the most unique distributor of the basketball class of 2012.”
She is, says Powell, “One of those rare players that make everyone better and always plays under control.” Chadarryl, who was a first-team Best of Preps choice by the local newspaper, averaged 17.2 points, 5.4 assists, and 3.1 steals last year.
Meeting President Barack Obama and representing Tennessee at a mock Senate session were two highlights for rising senior Nisha Boyington, who traveled to Washington in July to attend the 63rd American Legion Auxiliary Girls Nation.
Nisha was one of five GPS students chosen for the American Legion Auxiliary’s 64th annual Girls State session held at MTSU in June. While there for the leadership and citizenship training program, she was elected one of the two “senators” to represent her state much the same way Sen. Lamar Alexander and Sen. Bob Corker do.
While in D.C., Nisha co-authored a bill on pesticide limits and was appointed Secretary of Education (a position once held by Sen. Alexander). She says that her experiences at Girls State and Girls Nation have given her a deeper understanding of government and strengthened her interest in international affairs.
As the founder of Chattanooga’s Global Youth Leadership, Nisha hopes to share her passion for solving real-world problems around the world with like-minded sophomores through seniors in a nine-month program beginning this fall.
GPS students were actively engaged in trying to find a way to save a beautiful fish indigenous to the Indonesia area from extinction this past year. A grant from the Toshiba America Foundation allowed Marine Science classes the exciting opportunity to participate in the unusual experiment.
Linda Dizer, Head of the Science Department, was awarded a grant to set up two 55 gallon and one 20 gallon (the nursery tank) salt water tanks so the class could see the effect of light intensity on the reproductive success of Pterapogon kauderni, otherwise known as Banggai Cardinalfish.
Overfishing to supply aquarium hobbyists and the degradation of their natural habitat are bringing the Banggai close to being declared endangered. The Banggai is a mouthbrooder, and the male carries the eggs in his mouth for about 23 days as they mature. If a reasonable system to raise the Banggai commercially can be achieved, this fish may be saved.
Vernier probes were used to measure light intensity and spectral analysis to establish the difference in the two breeding tanks. Students spent hours setting up the conditions needed for successful breeding, observing and then journaling fish behavior in an attempt to distinguish the males from the females because they look almost alike. Check out the class’s Wikispace to see all they learned!
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