The Greenhouse School

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Greenhouse School Students Bring International Gold to Region
Art is no poor stepchild in the curriculum at The Greenhouse School, and it shows. The Pentel Awards came last week and GHS wound up getting six of them, including two Special Gold Awards—the school’s best haul in years. For those who don’t know, art supply company Pentel has a juried international children’s art exhibit for which GHS students have competed for several years. Pentel receives over 200,000 entries worldwide. Only four Special Gold Awards are distributed in all of the US. This year, no fewer than two Special Golds were taken by young artists at GHS: Seven-year-old Max Gieg and eight year old Funmi Olatilu.

Two students won silver medals: Sixth grader Marcus McKenzie and fourth grader Adorie Troche. Two also won bronze awards: preschooler Jonah Harrison and first grader Jordan Olatilu.
“I can’t believe we took half of the whole country’s Special Golds for our tiny little school. We’re very proud of all the kids,” says Director Dan Welch. “And of course of Ms. Julia as well. She’s a bit too modest, but they couldn’t do it without her prodding.” Ms. Julia, aka Assistand Director Julia Nambalirwa-Lugudde, does indeed seem a bit too modest. “It’s the kids’ work, she insists. It’s just a matter of making them follow through and do the best they can. A lot of people don’t realize what they can do until they’re pushed.”
School founder Patricia Jennings-Welch is also thrilled. Art was always important to the small school, but watching the program blossom in recent years has been fun for the recently-turned-80 year old Founder. “We’ve done Pentel for years, but this is incredible!” she gushes, adding that excellence in art is completely in line with her founding vision.

“I don’t know why some parents and teachers are so afraid to push kids,” she says. “Do you think DaVinci or Picasso or Georgia O’Keefe produced the work they did by just doing what they felt like until it all just happened? Art, like academics, is work, and the more success kids have at it, the more they succeed in other areas.”

Greenhouse School 2008 Pentel Winners: Marcus McKenzie 6th
grade, flanked by, from right, Jordan Olatilu, 1st grade, Adorie Troche,
4th grade, Max Gieg, 1st grade, Jonah Harrison, PreK, and Funmi

the greenhouse school is a year-round private alternative school in Salem, Massachusetts, for kids from infancy through grade eight, the greenhouse school is committed to true, lasting, comprehensive reform in education. However, also central to the idea of reform for us is the notion of access.
Open every day and year round, we strive to serve the broadest possible base from several nearby communities, providing an environment diverse in language, culture, class, race and learning style.
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What do you get when you cross a World Series Championship with The Witch City at Halloween? Red Sox fans worldwide are finding all sorts of ways to celebrate their team’s World Series victory, and The Greenhouse School is breaking new ground.
This pumpkin was carved by Jennifer Flis, lifelong pumpkin carver and die hard Sox fan, and more recently, a teacher at The Greenhouse School in Salem. Ms. Jen just joined the staff at GHS, where she has been teaching students the art of pumpkin carving, among other things. The pumpkin is on display in the school lobby.