Dear Visitor,

Welcome to gifford.org, The Gifford School's home on the web.

Gifford is an evolving school community committed to providing its students and faculty with an environment that encourages and nourishes individuality, diversity, and personal and professional growth.

Please take a moment to find out about recent news and highlights from the Gifford campus by clicking on the links to the right. For information about our program, services, and calendar of events, choose from the links above. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments.

A note from our Executive Director, Michael Bassichis

Not that long ago, our Middle School Assistant Principal suggested that we get stress balls for the students because many of them found them to be soothing and a good way to channel their energy. Being the businessman that I am, I ordered 1,000 of them in 6 different colors, imprinted with our mascot, the Gryphon, and the name of the school. I never dreamed that they would be as successful as they?ve been.

As many of you already know, part of our admissions process includes a trip to my office, where each visitor gets a present. Yes, every single visitor gets a Gifford pen, a Gifford keychain, and now, in addition, they get a Gifford stress ball. Well, the other day when Ann (our Director of Admissions) was taking a prospective student around, she brought the student and his family into my office. Ann introduced me to the family, and as I offered each of them some of Gifford?s finest propaganda, the child took the stress ball and said, "Oh, boy, this is what I need! My life is full of stress."

The point of this note is to acknowledge that we all have stress in some form or another. Some people feel stress over the troubled economy; others might feel stress about trying to learn something new or staying focused on a task; while others might feel stress about going into a new situation. The bottom line is that, from my perspective, I see the community of staff and students at The Gifford School doing a masterful job working together to confront their stressors and really make this campus a place where teaching and learning happens in ways that are lots of fun instead of stressful! I hope you can see that too!

—Michael Bassichis, Executive Director

Here Comes Summer!

What are your plans for this summer? Parents and kids need to start making plans while there is still time. Are you going to take part in Gifford's camp or academic work program? Is your plan to attend another camp? Visit family? Go camping? Get a job? Make a plan!