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Welcome to Cum Laude

Ten seniors from the Class of 2021 were honored with the highest academic accolade bestowed at GPS—induction in Cum Laude. Each student was presented by the faculty member of her choice, who is listed below her college.

2021 CUM LAUDE INDUCTEES

1 MORGAN AMELIA BROWN

The Ohio State University Dr. Ralph Covino

2 KATHERINE FRANCES DAY

The University of Alabama in Huntsville Mr. Keith Sanders

3 LILY DUPLOOY

Cornell University Mrs. Tracie Marlin Durham ’80

4 MOLLY ANN HATHORNE

Loyola University Chicago Mrs. Erin Davis Sizemore ’98

5 MIA GIBBS IANNIOS

George Washington University Mrs. Diane Walker

6 TALLEY ELIZABETH LYONS

Lehigh University Ms. Jenise Gordon

7 HUNTER ELIZABETH MCVAY

University of Georgia Mr. Chris Zeller

8 MARGARET JANE PARSLEY

University of Southern California Ms. Callie Hamilton

9 ASTHA SINHA

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Mr. Bryant Haynes

10 ANNMARIE LOUISE THRASH

University of Central Florida Ms. Jordan McCarter ’96

WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE VIRTUAL CEREMONY ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL AT YOUTUBE.COM/BRUISERTUBE.

MAYhem Trips

Our Middle School students waited all year for a chance to explore and bond as friends and classmates in the great outdoors, and boy, was it worth the wait! In May, our sixth-, seventh-, and eighthgraders enjoyed two days of fun and adventure off campus.

The Class of 2027 spent Wednesday on a farm in Rising Fawn, Georgia, learning about invasive species, making tea and lip balm, hiking, and dancing. On Thursday they went to Camp Skyline in Mentone, Alabama, for a day of swimming, ropes courses, and a color war!

The Class of 2026 spent Wednesday at the Tellus Museum, learning about plate tectonics, fossils, and solar energy. On Thursday they headed to Camp Vesper Point for a day of field games, a color war, and lake front swimming, canoeing, and stand-up paddleboarding.

The Class of 2025 went to Atlanta on Wednesday and visited the zoo and World of Coke. On Thursday they went to Camp Alpine in Mentone for a day of canoeing, stand-up paddleboarding, games, and ropes courses.

MAGGIE PARSLEY ’21 LAUREN THACKER ’22

Grace McCallie Scholarship Recipient

Duffy-Jarnagin Scholarship Recipient

EMMA & ANNA HENDERSON ’21

Following a rigorous and competitive college application process through Palo Alto-based nonprofit QuestBridge, Anna and Emma Henderson were awarded Match Scholarships, which cover the full cost of attendance, including tuition, room and board, books and supplies, and travel expenses for eight semesters. Anna matched with Rice University in Houston, Texas, and Emma matched with Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.

TENNESSEE SOUTHEAST REGIONAL CONTEST OF NATIONAL HISTORY DAY

25 GPS STUDENTS CAME HOME WITH EITHER A FIRST-, SECOND-, OR THIRD-PLACE MEDAL.

9 GPS PROJECTS WERE AWARDED PRIZES.

4 TEAMS WENT ON TO PLACE IN THE STATE COMPETITION, WHERE GPS STUDENTS AMASSED MORE PRIZES IN THE SENIOR DIVISION THAN ANY OTHER SCHOOL.

SWENext Competition

Three GPS teams participated in the Society of Women Engineers - Next Generation annual Test of Engineering Aptitude in Math and Science. This year’s theme was “Engineering Solutions During a Pandemic,” and students competed in three sections: multiple choice, essay, and a building competition. EVELYN LYTLE ’23, MCKAMEY BRATCHER ’23, and MORGAN SUMMERLIN ’23, took first place in the state in the ninth- and 10thgrade division.

AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY VOLUNTEER GIRLS STATE

Four juniors represented GPS at the American Legion Auxiliary Volunteer Girls State, a weeklong, nonpartisan program centered on citizenship, teamwork, and fostering a love of God and country. Rising seniors across the state elect city, county, and state officials, engage in party politics, debate legislation, and collaborate in various activities. During this year’s virtual event, JULIA COMBS ’22 was honored with the Best Citizen Award and was an essay winner, ELLIE FIVAS ’22 was elected City Mayor and State Senator, CHLOE NEWMAN ’22 was elected City Councilwoman and State Senator, and LAUREN THACKER ’22 was elected City Judge and Supreme Court Justice and also received a Best Citizen Award.

ASTHA SINHA ’21 received recognition for her dance and academic achievements from the National Honor Society for Dance Arts. As a member of Terpsichord, our modern dance troupe, Astha was praised for her artistic merit, academics, and leadership. Her award also mentioned the dedication of her dance teacher, Laurel Moore Zahrobsky ’90.

EighthGrade Celebration

It’s official—the Class of 2025 is ready for Upper School! On a bright Monday evening, friends and family looked on as the members of the eighth-grade class received certificates to signify the successful completion of their Middle School coursework. The ceremony included student speeches as well as remarks from Head of Middle School Lynne Macziewski, who encouraged students to hold tightly to relationships they have formed but to also branch out and form new ones in the coming years, and a charge from Dean of the EighthGrade Class Jordan McCarter ’96.

Mock Trial Wins State Championship

Following an impressive season fielding five teams—the most in school history—GPS secured the first Mock Trial State Championship for the school when GPS 1 defeated second-place finisher Montgomery Bell Academy. GPS 2 took third to round out the winner’s circle. Juniors LAUREN THACKER (GPS 1) and ELLIE FIVAS (GPS 2) were voted MVPs. In May, GPS 1 went on to compete at the national level for the first time.

GPS STUDENTS SHOW KNOWLEDGE OF WORLD LANGUAGES*

NATIONAL SPANISH EXAM,

sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish & Porteguese: » 40 students earned honors and awards » 2 gold medalists » 6 silver medalists » 6 bronze medalists

FRENCH CONTEST/LE GRAND

CONCOURS, sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French » 21 students earned honors and awards » 1 silver medalist » 3 bronze medalists

*Results from the National Latin Exam were not yet available at press date.

Chattanooga Regional Science and Engineering Fair

GPS honors chemistry students participated in the Chattanooga Regional Science and Engineering Fair at UTC. For the second year in a row, GPS won the participation award for the most entries in the senior division as well as the achievement award for the most awards earned. Individual honors were presented to 19 sophomores across 11 categories.

ALYCE COAKLEY ’22 was awarded the ACE Scholarship for her mobile COVID-19 testing center. She received a $4,000 college scholarship to pursue a career in architecture, engineering, or construction.

ALYCE COAKLEY ’22

Middle School May Celebrations

Sixth- and seventh-grade families visited campus the last Friday of school to experience what their daughters had been up to all year! The sixth-grade event included an art display, musical performance, global cultures exhibit, and dance performance, and the seventh-grade event, which also showcased art, music, and dance, included a STEM demonstration and creative writing student readings.

Cat-Rat

Just before the school year officially kicked off, incoming sixth-graders identified their senior sisters through their matching headbands at the CatRat reveal. The endearing Cat-Rat tradition serves as a great way for seasoned veterans to show new students the ropes. Additional Cat-Rat events throughout the year included a parade, cookie party, breakfast, and more.

GPS alumnae often report lifelong friendships that started with their

Cat-Rat pairings.

ALEX BRUMLEY ’26 was chosen as the Youth Winner of Hamilton County’s 2020 Governor’s Volunteer Star Awards for her work with the Chattanooga Community Kitchen. She was honored alongside winners from other Tennessee counties at the virtual award program in February.

Photo by Julie Hailey Clark ’81

For her Tucker River Fellows project, MARY KATE JOHNSON ’22 designed and welded a sculpture under the mentorship of Julie Hailey Clark ’81. The GPS-raised sturgeon Freckles was the inspiration for the piece and, upon completion, Mary Kate made the decision to donate it to the school for future generations to see and enjoy. It was installed on Bowman Terrace, overlooking the river that sparked the idea.

Junior Ring Day

A little rain could never stop this beloved tradition! Dressed as leprechauns (fitting, as it was St. Patrick’s Day!), the junior members of the Class Leadership Council surprised their classmates with a scavenger hunt around the school, followed by an afternoon cruise on the historic Southern Belle. Joy emanated as the girls began to turn each others’ rings—all working toward the illustrious 122 spins!

TEACHER RECOGNITIONS

DR. BRANDON NOEL, science teacher, was accepted into The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga NSF Research Experiences for Teachers Program: Engineering and Data Analytics in Smart Cities. Together with the university’s research mentors, he will participate in authentic research experiences and receive year-long opportunities for professional development, project-based learning module development, activities to support students’ readiness for college and employment, and teacher-to-teacher exchanges of knowledge and experiences. DR. RALPH COVINO, history, social sciences, and Latin teacher, received the 2021 Tom and Stella Mullane Geography Teacher of the Year Award at the virtual Tennessee Council for the Social Studies annual conference. The Mullane award is bestowed for excellence in geographic education in grades seven through 12. Dr. Covino received a plaque and a cash award from the Tennessee Geographic Alliance. ERIN SEGROVES, world languages teacher and ASSIST Scholars Representative, was selected as the Best of Tennessee for 2019 for her presentation at the annual Tennessee Foreign Language Teaching Association conference. Segroves was chosen to present her session, “So I Bought a Class Set of Novels. Now What?: Designing a Cultural Unit Around a CI Novel,” again at the Southern Conference on Language Teaching event March 2021 in Atlanta. REED DILLARD, history and social sciences teacher was awarded the Patricia Bering Educator of the Year award (Senior Division) by the Tennessee Historical Society for his work in integrating National History Day into the curriculum.

LAUREN LAWRENCE SWANSON ’09,

DEI Student Support and Community Engagement Coordinator, received her second consecutive nomination for the Black Excellence Awards in the Best Teacher category. She was also accepted into the Diverse Leaders Network of Tennessee, which will fully fund her master’s degree in educational leadership. She begins her program with Austin Peay State University this fall.