Groton Community School alumni frequently stop by to visit. After all, GCS has a positive impact on children and families, and good things stick. When an alum is a child who attended GCS the very first year in our current building, 1984 to be exact, that is very special. That alumna is Michelle Ruby.
Michelle Ruby was four-years-old and a Yellow Roomer with Head Teacher Lindy Hanninen and Teacher Jennie Fitzkee. In November of that year the Groton Herald newspaper photographed our newly constructed school. Michelle is the child pictured to the far right. Jennie is beside her, leaning over.
Michelle and Jennie have been beside each other ever since. Michelle became an Assistant Camp Counselor with Jennie at Groton Community School’s summer camp, Camp Kaleidoscope. Together they conjured the phrase, “Mighty, Mighty” for their campers. That phrase stuck, and to this day the older campers proudly belt out their mighty, mighty chant, be it as a Mustang, Cheetah, Stingray, or Dragon. One camper who bonded with Michelle (a mighty, mighty Mustang) became the GCS recipient of the Groton Community School Scholarship in Memory of Taylor Benjamin Young in 2013. Michelle made a difference!
Here are Michelle and Jennie, randomly wearing the same clothing at Camp Kaleidoscope in 1999. Two peas in a pod? Great minds think alike!
Today, Michelle has returned to her school roots. She is an amazing Science Teacher at Lawrence Academy, and recently she visited the Aqua Room to do science experiments and read aloud with the children. She taught them about winter habitats for animals. We learned how animals keep warm in the snow. Her skills at teaching and science had children enthusiastically engaged.
Children just love Michelle, and they are so eager to learn with her. That is the highest compliment for a teacher. Thank you, Michelle, for all you have done for Groton Community School!
Jennie Fitzkee, Aqua Room Head Teacher