After School
Greenwich Academy offers two after-school enrichment programs for girls in Lower School: Serendipity and Friday Afters. Additionally, LS students with older LS sisters may take part in Sisters, while girls with MS/US sisters and those who ride the bus may register for Study Hall. Finally, Homework Hall is open to Middle Schoolers who cannot be picked up at 3:30 PM. Please find more information as well as how to register for all these programs below.
Friday Afters (LS)
Friday Afters, sponsored by GAPA, is a supervised after-school program run on select Fridays throughout the school year. Participating PC/CC girls stay at King campus (lunch is included) and Group I-IV girls have lunch in the Dining Commons followed by one of the many fun and educational extracurricular Friday Afters offerings. The program for PC/CC runs from dismissal until 1:30 PM. The program for Groups I-IV runs from dismissal until 2:50 PM. Friday Afters offerings change mid-year. Costs for the program are charged to your school billing account. Details of the class offerings are sent home prior to the sessions and are posted here.
Please note: If a class is over-enrolled, there will be a lottery. To be included in a lottery, you must register anytime during the official registration period.
Questions? Contact GAPA Friday Afters Co-Chairs.
Session II
SCHEDULE & PRICING
MHK campus classes: $260*
Main campus classes: $520
If you have questions about financial assistance to participate, please reach out to Kate Collins, Director of Enrollment & Financial Aid.
Meeting times:
- February 2, 9, 23
- March 1
- April 5, 12, 19
- May 3, 10 (makeup date)
Pickup:
MHK: 1:30 PM
Main campus: 2:50 PM
PC & CC
Food Explorers
Join Food Explorers for some delicious fun! In this special program, you will be making a super tasty recipe all while learning new kitchen skills and trying new foods and flavors. All recipes are nut-free but may contain gluten, dairy and/or eggs. Children will create the recipes together as a group and have their own individual portions. Limit: 12 girls
Instructor: Food Explorers
Kindness Crafters
Let’s get crafty! PC & CC girls will explore a wide range of arts-focused activities, including beading canvas art, pottery, soap making, and more to bring their imagination to life. Each class will use the craft as a basis to discuss themes of kindness, confidence, and self-expression. Limit: 15 girls
Instructor: Sparklicious
Imagine Storytelling
Back from Session I! Welcome to Storytelling 101! Your student will hone her public speaking skills and get ready to engage any audience with confidence, beginning with improvisation games, foundational debate exercises, acting lessons, and storytelling activities. The class culminates in a final performance of an original script, which will be edited by a professional cinematographer and made into our very own movie! Limit: 16 girls
Instructor: Bloom Performing Arts
Hip-Hop Dance
GROUPS I-IV
- Chess Club (Groups I-IV)
- Food Explorers (Groups I & II)
- Hands On Pottery (Groups I-IV)
- Hip-Hop Dance (Groups I & II)
- iImagine Acting (Groups I-III)
- Me & My Doll (Groups I-III)
- Engineering Adventures (Groups III & IV)
- Waverly Girl Class (Groups III & IV)
Chess Club (Groups I-IV)
Welcome to the Chess Max Academy chess club, where our chess expert coach, Marfa, will teach you how to set up traps to win pieces in a chess game and show you all the ways to checkmate your opponents! You’ll learn how to start your game so your pieces begin to attack from the very first moves. Limit: 18 girls
Instructor: Chess Max Academy
Food Explorers (Groups I & II)
Join Food Explorers for some delicious fun! In this special program, you will be making a super tasty recipe all while learning new kitchen skills and trying new foods and flavors. All recipes are nut free but may contain gluten, dairy and/or eggs. Children will create the recipes together as a group and have their own individual portions. Limit: 12 girls
Instructor: Food Explorers
Hands On Pottery (Groups I-IV)
Darien’s premier pottery studio will be coming to YOU! The girls will paint with glazes on various bisque items to make beautiful hand-crafted pieces of art. Students will use various techniques, including sponge painting, pointillism, masking paper, and much more, to create a number of fun, beautiful, and useful projects! Limit: 22 girls
Instructor: Hands on Pottery
Hip-Hop Dance (Groups I & II)
Join Creativities Studio for a Taylor Swift–themed hip-hop movement class! Class will begin with a warm up, skill building & technique, Taylor-themed dance choreography, and a cool down. Throughout the semester, dancers will learn multiple Taylor Swift dances, while acquiring hip-hop skills and technique. Limit: 10 girls
Instructor: Creativities Studio
iImagine Acting (Groups I-III)
Lights, camera, action! In Bloom Performing Arts’ most popular class, students will experience the joy, wonder, and magic of storytelling through performance. This introductory acting course includes lessons in monologues, creative writing, improvisation, and acting for film and theatre. Each semester, students will perform a Bloom Performing Arts original play based on a popular fairy tale. Students will get the opportunity to be both actors and directors, by filming their final performance. The film will then be edited by a professional film editor and made into a movie! Limit: 16 girls
Instructor: Bloom Performing Arts
Me & My Doll (Groups I-III)
Join Sew Happy for more Me & My Doll sewing! This time, the theme is “Slumber Party” and the projects will include a sleeping bag, PJ top and pants, slippers and a chocolate chip cookie for an 18” doll or stuffed animal. Learn how to thread a needle, tie a knot, sew a button and various stitching methods including, Lock Stitch, Straight Stitch and Whip Stitch. Limit 10 girls
Instructor: Sew Happy
Engineering Adventures (Groups III & IV)
Waverly Girl Class (Groups III & IV)
The Friday Afters favorite is back! Inspire. Educate. Illuminate. In this special offering for Group III and IV girls only, the girls will be whisked away on “Waverly Tours,” exploring different cultures each week, reinforce wholesome values through mentorship while participating in exclusive DIY projects that allows them to explore, create, and learn about that culture. Limit 20 girls
Instructor: Waverly Project
Serendipity (LS)
The Serendipity Program is available Mon-Thu to LS girls in Groups I-IV. The hourlong classes are mainly taught by GA teachers, with some outside instruction. There are three trimesters and options change each session. Courses range in cost and are charged to your school billing account. Serendipity instructors dismiss girls at 4:15 PM at the LS entrance. There is one pickup line for all groups. Prior to each session, information on Serendipity offerings and dates will be sent home, as well as posted here.
Questions? Contact LS librarian Leesa Singleton.
Serendipity
Spring 2024
All classes are one hour 3:15-4:15 PM. Please pick up your daughter(s) promptly. Since the bus leaves at 3:45 PM, parents of bus-riders must arrange for alternate transportation on Serendipity days. The Spring session runs Mon Mar 25-Wed May 22.
INFO
- All charges will be billed to your school billing account.
- If there are classes for which there are more registrations than we have places, we hold a lottery to decide which children may attend. If your child is placed on the waitlist for a class, she will have priority the next time the class is offered.
- Your daughter may register for more than one class. Please be sure that the class is offered to her grade level.
- We reserve the right to modify classes or change faculty assignments when necessary. Classes with insufficient enrollment will be canceled.
- There are no Serendipity classes on half days or holidays.
- If your daughter drops out of a Serendipity class after the first week and her spot cannot be filled, you will be charged for the entire session.
LATER GATORS
MON
First class: Mon Mar 25
- Paint with Poetry - Groups I-IV
- Sculptey-licious- Groups II-IV
- Sweet & Savory - Groups III & IV
- Teddy Bear Time - Groups I-IV
Paint with Poetry - Groups I-IV
Sculptey-licious- Groups II-IV
Use your hands to mold beautiful miniature creations! Use soft, colorful polymer clay to create mini food, unique jewelry, fantastic creatures, and much more. It’s a great opportunity to exercise your fine motor skills, expand your creativity, and have fun at the same time.
Teacher: Ms. Ayrolo
Fee: $230
Sweet & Savory - Groups III & IV
Do you love tasty treats? Well, come to the kitchen to whip some up! Each week we'll make a new recipe, either savory or sweet, but all delicious. You’ll have some to taste and some to take, plus a recipe to keep so you can make more for your family!
**Recipes will be nut-free but may contain dairy, eggs, gluten, and other allergens.
Teacher: Mrs. Pei
Fee: $230
Teddy Bear Time - Groups I-IV
TUE
First class: Tue Mar 26
- Brushes & Beyond - Groups I-IV
- Cartoon Corner - Groups II-IV
- Fractured Fairy Tales: Reader’s Theater Fun - Groups II-IV
- Sew Happy: Narwhals, Narwhals! - Groups I-IV
Brushes & Beyond - Groups I-IV
Cartoon Corner - Groups II-IV
Fractured Fairy Tales: Reader’s Theater Fun - Groups II-IV
Welcome to Fractured Fairy Tales, an enchanting journey where young storytellers will explore the magical world of fractured fairy tales! In this imaginative course, students will embark on a creative adventure, reimagining classic fairy tales with unexpected twists, turns, and modern flair. We will be putting together a show, playing theater games, and making our own programs. The best part about reader’s theater is that the students won’t have the stress of memorizing lines, but will still have fun and learn a lot about reading fluency, all culminating in a mini performance at the end of the program.
Teacher: Mrs. Diedrich
Fee: $230
Sew Happy: Narwhals, Narwhals! - Groups I-IV
Join Sew Happy for more hand-sewing fun! Narwhals, Narwhals is a brand new program and kids will enjoy making a bookmark, decorative bunting with a musical narwhal theme, a narwhal pillow, and friendship bracelets. Our hand-painted designs are printed on recycled materials in the USA and the fun colors and whimsical characters appeal to kids of all ages.
Teacher: Sew Happy
Fee: $230
WED
First class: Wed Mar 27
- Capture This! A Beginner’s Guide to Photography - Groups III & IV
- Crafty Hands - Groups I-IV
- Sew Happy: Mini Fashion - Groups II-IV
Capture This! A Beginner’s Guide to Photography - Groups III & IV
Crafty Hands - Groups I-IV
Sew Happy: Mini Fashion - Groups II-IV
This class includes fashion drawing, fashion challenges, draping, and hand sewing for 18-inch mannequins. Students will learn how to thread a needle, tie a knot, lock stitch straight stitch and whip stitch. Sewn projects include a high-low skirt, halter-neck top, and cross-body bag.
Teacher: Sew Happy
Fee: $230
THU
First class: Thu Mar 28
- Doodle Darlings - Groups I-IV
- Intro to Robotics: Adventures in Engineering - Groups II-IV
- On Stage! - Groups I-IV
Doodle Darlings - Groups I-IV
Welcome to Doodle Darlings where you can do all the creative doodles, drawings, paintings, and more with Ms. Rallis. This class encourages kids to be creative and original as they are given new mediums to work with each week. In addition, the class will have a theme each week which the girls can interpret freely, promoting their artistic expression.
Teacher: Ms. Rallis
Fee: $200
Intro to Robotics: Adventures in Engineering - Groups II-IV
Design and build with VEX GO to make your ideas come to life! Through various activities and challenges, students will ideate, iterate, design, build, and test their creations to learn more about the design process and the mechanisms and mechanics that make things work the way they do. Additionally, students will program their creations to complete a variety of simple tasks. No previous robotics experience is required.
Teacher: Mr. Rendell
Fee: $200
On Stage! - Groups I-IV
Come explore the world of the theater with us. We will work on all of the different aspects of performing a Broadway show, including scenes, theater games, and songs. At the end of the session the girls will perform for friends and family in Young Auditorium.
Fee: $150
Teacher: Ms. Kelley-Young & Mr. Young
Registration for Spring 2024: Fri Feb 23-Fri Mar 1
Registration
Study Hall (LS)
Study Hall is a supervised study time for:
- Group I-IV girls waiting for a bus or to be picked up by a MS or US sister.
- Exceptions: families who have a pickup time that conflicts with another area school. Please email LS head Jon Ross-Wiley for approval.
Rules
-
Snack is not provided. If one is needed, your daughter must bring a nut-free snack from home.
- No signup necessary; students tell their teacher in the morning.
- Students must check out before leaving.
Meeting Times
- Mon-Thu throughout the school year
- Dismissal to 3:45 PM. Bus-riders will be brought to the US Circle to meet the bus.
Questions?
Contact Colleen Schneider in the LS office.
Homework Hall (MS)
Eligibility
Homework Hall is a supervised study hall held after school for Middle School students who cannot be picked up by 3:30 PM. Students are expected to be picked up promptly after school or under the supervision of a faculty member after 3:45 PM. Students may not wait in the MS or US building unattended at any time.
Meeting Times
Homework Hall meets Mon-Thu 3:35-5:00 PM. There is no Homework Hall on Fridays.
Guidelines & Procedures
Students who are not picked up by 3:45 PM are required to check into HW Hall in the MS collaborative learning center. Parents or guardians may call the supervisor to request their child meet them outside at a pickup location (LS entrance or US circle). There is no need to sign up in advance.
The supervisor can be reached during HW Hall hours at 203.485.4058.
Fee
There is no fee for students waiting to board a 4:00 PM bus. All other students who attend HW Hall will be charged $15 per session. Anyone with questions about financial assistance should contact Kate Collins, Director of Enrollment & Financial Aid.
Questions?
Contact Sarah Barringer in the MS Office; she can also be reached by phone at 203.625.8905.