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Contact Us: (410) 467-4920

 

December 2013

Our Annual Open House is taking place on Thursday, December 19th from 5:30 to 8:30.  Everyone is invited to just stop in or stay for the evening.  Let us know if you can make it.  Hope to see you there....

[caption id="attachment_1682" align="alignleft" width="300"] AIAC 2013[/caption] Students and volunteers from the school were the guests of Tom & Jacque Iacoboni at the Annual Associated Italian-American Charities dinner tonight.  For nearly 10 years the AIAC through Tom Iacoboni has made a donation to the school.  This group was formed by Italian immigrants and their children at the conclusion of World War II to help provide relief for the displaced, hungry and homeless, especially children.  It has grown over the years to be an organization that raises money from its members and through fundraisers to support dozens of organizations of all nationalities most of whom are in the Baltimore area. We had a terrific dinner the Little Italy Lodge of the Sons of Italy followed by presentation of the awards.  Not only is their support appreciated, but we appreciate their example of giving back....

The 1st Community Pot Luck Dinner of the new school year will be held on Sunday, November 17th at 5:30.  It has a Thanksgiving theme and is being co-ordinated by students Claivonda Taylor and Samantha Bell.  Everyone is invited to come and bring a favorite dish to share.  Contact Claivonda at the school 410-467-4920 to let us know you're coming.  Hope to see you there!...

Back by popular demand, our Holiday Evergreen Sale will be held again this year.  What people like best about these items is their freshness.  They are special ordered and shipped from the forests of Washington State and they smell great and they live well past the holiday season.  We will carry a selection or wreaths, sprays, centerpieces and mini trees.  You can even have items shipped directly to family or friends as gifts.  The order blanks are available now, but the deadline for turning in orders is Monday, November 11th. Items will arrive for distribution the week of December 12th. If you would like a brochure for a personal order or would like to help promote this sale, contact Dave Bayer at the school or email him directly at DaveBayer@tcs-camp.com....

We were fortunate to have David, son of Rena Smith, come in to share his artistic talents with the students today.  David is a frequent visitor to the school and when he stopped in earlier in the week to share some are he had created with fall leaves, everyone was impressed.  David agreed to teach the students how to make their own and even brought in some incredibly beautiful and unique leaves to share with the class. Everyone had a great time and took home their own creations to share with their families.  Thanks, David and Rena!...

The 5th annual Hauntingdon Avenue Celebration was a great opportunity to bring folks together in the neighborhood.  Local musicians including our block's own Ricky and Lennon LaRicci played and there was a fire throwing group form Johns Hopkins. Current students all attended bringing friends and family and were joined by alumni, volunteers, and supporters.  Our thanks to GRIA for sponsoring the event and all of the volunteers who worked so hard to pull it off.  Special thanks to the students for decorating and to Dave Bayer and Peggy Lashbrook for staffing the free hot chocolate stand.  Everyone's already looking forward to next year....

The Community School lost a dear friend today.  Dianne Lockner was in the 1st class of the school when we started back in 1982 in the basement of the Guardian Angel Church.  Dianne was active in the Community Survival Center even before becoming a student and went on one of our more notable cross country trips that included being part of a civil rights protest in Tchula Mississippi and visiting Elvis Presley's grave at Graceland (at Dianne's insistence).  Our hearts go out to her two devoted children, Christine and Erik, and her loving companion Will....

[caption id="attachment_1596" align="alignleft" width="240"] DNA Extraction[/caption] The 1st science lab of the year was held today at the school.  These weekly labs are conducted by a group of volunteer students at Johns Hopkins University who formed a group several years ago called JHU-CSI, Community School initiative.  Today our students were amazed when they did a DNA extraction from a banana.  Each lab includes a lecture presentation, handout worksheet, and a hands on demonstration.  Special thanks to all the members of JHU-CSI...

On Monday, we welcomed a new student, Mary Lechner to the school. We had a surprise visit from City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke on Monday who stopped by to see how the new High School is going this year. That evening, Tom and two of the students went to meet John Starling and see the School of the Way following a presentation about the school from alumni Zack Austin. . On Tuesday, Peggy Lashbrook made a delicious lunch of BLT sandwiches and a salad.  We were very fortunate to have Francine Krumholz bring in an Italian feast on  Wednesday.  Francine is active with the Baltimore Women's Giving Circle and was the leader of the group that visited the school in the spring.  She spoke with the students about her own career journey and her work advocating on behalf of children in the foster care system. Francine also explained about the work of the Baltimore Women's Giving Circle, who this year funded APEX, our new computerized curriculum. Dave Bayer, Aduke Hubbard, and Eddie Gavin, representing the Board of Trustees met on Wednesday night. with Gary Bozel and Megan Lindenmeyer from Gary Bozel & Associates to review the financial audit report for the year.  Everyone was really glad to see trustee Jeanette Norris who stopped in after the meeting to reaffirm her commitment to the school.  It was wonderful to see alumni Desmond Carter when he visited the school on Thursday.  Desmond is going to get some advice through our College Support Program. On Thursday night Lisa Gavin and Ryan Gavin upgraded our computer...