Dear Parents, Alumni and Alumni Parents,
I write to you with bittersweet news. Dave Sylvestro, our Director of Psychological Services, and a member of the Eagle Hill faculty for over 40 years, has shared his decision to retire at the end of this school year. Dave has been an inspiration to our entire school community - students, teachers, administrators, parents and alumni throughout his career. He has touched the lives of thousands of young people and their families during his illustrious career at Eagle Hill. During his years here, Dave has been able to reach our students, even at the most difficult times, and to bring a smile to the faces of so many over the years.
In recognition of his outstanding service to Eagle Hill, we will be establishing an Alumni Fund in Dave’s name. The Dave Sylvestro Fund will support events and activities that will keep our graduates connected to Eagle Hill and one another. Dave has been dedicated to keeping in touch with our alumni over the years and so many of them come to Eagle Hill to see him, allowing us to find out how their lives are unfolding over time. This is so important to our entire school, as it helps us know how our program has impacted them over the years. It also brings an important source of information and inspiration to our present students.
Dave wanted to share some of his reflections on his years at Eagle Hill and these appear below. We wish Dave well in his retirement. And the good news is that we still have half of the school year to have him here at Eagle Hill!
Warmly,
Marjorie E. Castro
Dear Eagle Hill Family -
When Mark and Rayma Griffin retired in 2009, they looked back over their 40 Eagle Hill years - bracketed by Woodstock and the first man on the moon in 1969 and by President Obama’s inauguration in 2009. When I decided that I would be retiring from Eagle Hill at the end of this year, I noted that MY 43 year career at Eagle Hill is bracketed by President Nixon’s resignation in 1974 and the retirement of Red Sox great David Ortiz
I think I like Mark and Raym’s career parentheses better.
All parenthetical envy aside, I know that we all have a uniquely rich store of memories and friendships from our working – and playing - with the kids, families and colleagues at Eagle Hill. In an era when holding ten jobs by the age of forty is typical, I was lucky enough to have fallen into the perfect job three weeks after graduating from college… and then just kind of forgot to leave. How grateful am I, 43 years later, to be able to connect with EH students from my four decades here in the span of one year: Jonathan Wallace, one of our very first stalwart students in 1975 and long-time small business owner and now a realtor in Guilford, CT; Matt Roach who babysat for our infant son Tucker (now 36) in 1980 and is now a successful lawyer; Saskia Moes from the early 1990’s who has been crafting fine jewelry, running a retail store and being a mom to her adorable six-year old Beatrice and is now applying to grad school to become a School Psychologist, of all things; and Kyle Kim-E from the 2000’s who started and manages a non-profit Wells for Wellbeing and also KhamaiWare that help provide fresh water and jobs to people in rural Cambodia. And this list just barely scratches the surface of “kids” I’ve been fortunate enough to maintain contact with over the years.
Our alumni keep in touch with us old timers NOT because of us. They stay in touch because they see us as integral parts of an institution that has provided them an opportunity to change the way they view themselves as learners, as friends and even as positive contributors to society. The number of alumni who want to give back to our community – via engaging with current students, attending our Dads’ groups and Parent Support groups, becoming Board members – serves as a testament to the enduring value of attending Eagle Hill.
Ok, fine – maybe my career parentheses aren’t all that great. But I am eternally grateful for all the experiences I’ve had in between them!
Warm Regards,
Dave
Eagle Hill School-Greenwich is proud to announce that it has been formally selected as a 2016-2017 NASET (National Association of Special Education Teachers) School of Excellence. The honor "is bestowed upon only a few select qualified licensed private special education schools throughout the United States" – and just two schools in the State of Connecticut were honored this year.
Selection as a NASET School of Excellence is the highest level of recognition a private special education school can achieve through this professional association, and is only presented to those schools that have met a rigorous set of professional criteria, and demonstrated truly exceptional dedication, commitment and achievement in the field of special education.
To learn more about NASET, click here to visit their website.
Do traditional measurements of intelligence have any value? How do grit and engagement fit into the mix? At Eagle Hill's final presentation in its Speaker Series, University of Pennsylvania researcher and cognitive psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman shared the latest findings in intelligence research and discussed how his experience as a student in a special ed classroom informed his life's work.
Bestselling author Dan Gutman spent the day with EHS students.
Dario Schwoerer and his family founded the TOPtoTOP Global Climate Expedition and have traveled the world by boat for 16 years!
As part of the Eagle Hill Speaker Series, presented by the Black Brogan Foundation, Dr. Daniel Amen's presentation was a resounding success.
Eagle Hill School's inaugural Speaker Series was officially launched on Thursday, November 3, with a presentation from Risk Lavoie entitled "Motivation Breakthrough: Secrets to Turning On the Tuned-Out Child."
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