Beyond the Books

BEYOND

THE BOOKS

NEWS AND NOTEWORTHY EVENTS

Middle School Chess Team Triumphs at States

HE MIDDLE SCHOOL CHESS TEAM won the 2022 Connecticut K-12 Chess Championship in April. Run by the National Scholastic Chess Foundation & the Connecticut State Chess Association, the competition drew 34 schools to Robert Ludlow Middle School in Fairfield, Conn. The boys came out on top among Connecticut middle schools after a long day of play, with matches beginning at 9 a.m. and finishing at 6 p.m.

“They stayed upbeat; they stayed focused; they were gracious with other students,” said Sarah Pribyl, team coach and eighth grade English teacher. “They were model

TBrunswick students. I was proud to represent Brunswick with them.” The Middle School Chess Club was formed last fall, and already has about 20 members. The club meets on Tuesdays; all levels are welcome. Championship players were tri-captains Nicholas Stern ’26, Henry Graham ’26, and Miles Gillott ’26, along with Colin Dean ’28 and Becka Kvirikadze ’29. “The boys are dedicated chess players and they have been such positive contributors to the Middle School,” Pribyl said. “They inspire the younger boys to play. It fosters camaraderie and teamwork between the grades, and a productive competitive spirit.”

Championship-winning Middle School chess teammates gathered for a photo with the trophy and their coach, English teacher Sarah Pribyl.

’Wick Hosts GEMS During Station Upgrade

WHILE ITS STATION serving northwestern Greenwich undergoes a facilities upgrade, GEMS EMTs and two ambulances have been temporarily relocated to ’Wick’s Pre and Lower School campus.

“Brunswick was happy and eager to answer the GEMS need for temporary support,” Head of School Thomas W.

Philip said.

Ambulances are parked in two specially designated spaces outside the

Mehra Natatorium on Edwards Campus at 1252 King Street. The ambulances will answer calls by exiting onto King Street through the North Gate and returning through the South Gate.

Pre Schoolers received a special tour of the ambulances stationed on Edwards Campus, and took part in a Q&A with GEMS EMTs soon after their arrival to Brunswick.

Upper Schooler Earns Perfect Score

RYAN KULSAKDINUM ’23 earned a perfect score of five on the May 2021 AP Computer Science Principles Exam, becoming one of only 335 students — amounting to just 0.29% of 2021 AP Computer Science Principles Exam takers — from around the world to earn every point possible on this challenging, collegelevel examination.

“Ryan’s strength lies in his ability in precision-thinking, and strong logical skills in analyzing and unravelling complex algorithms,” said AP Computer Science teacher Poonam Gupta.

“With very little fanfare, he will steadily work through a problem, using a variety of conceptual strategies until he almost invariably arrives at the solution. Being such a creative independent thinker has clearly made Ryan an excellent problem-solver.

“It is these qualities that helped him produce a flawless result on the AP Computer Science Principles exam!”

Deep Dive into Earth’s Stories

In March, Upper School students in Oliver Bierman-Lytle’s Environmental Science and Sustainability visited New York City’s Arcadia Earth — an environmental storytelling platform of immersive experiences designed to inform, inspire, and activate our community to positively impact our planet.

Math Team Earns First-Place Finish in League

THE BRUNSWICK MATH team earned the top slot in this year’s Fairfield County Math League competition, its first such win since 2004. The victory comes after a six-match season among 30 public and private schools. The team placed a close second at the sixth and last match of the season on March 2, earning 84 points as compared to Greenwich High

School’s 87. The strong performance placed the team first in the league for the year, with Brunswick earning 404 points as compared to Greenwich

High School’s 389. Additionally, Andrew Tu ’24 placed second among sophomores in the county for the year, and William

Ewald ’23 placed fifth among juniors. Joining Tu and Ewald on

Brunswick’s A team for Match 6 were

Ajay Bagaria ’24, Thomas Ewald ’24,

Robert Ulmer ’24, and Seth Yoo ’22.

Horizons Salutes First Graduating Class

HORIZONS at Brunswick School celebrated its first graduating class in a ceremony held in August. Nine eighth-grade students with 66 years of cumulative experience in the program were recognized by their teachers and Marianne Ho Barnum, executive director of Horizons at Brunswick.

“Today is a day of celebration — a day to celebrate the efforts of nine young men and the commitment they’ve made to Horizons at Brunswick School,” Ho Barnum said.

“You have grown individually and collectively. You each have taken the opportunity to invest in yourselves academically and socially. We encourage you to continue to take opportunities that will provide you with new resources and open up new worlds.”

Horizons at Brunswick School, an academic and enrichment program serving low-income Greenwich public school boys, seeks to improve educational outcomes over nine years, in grades K through 8, by reducing the achievement gap.