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Contact Us: (410) 467-4920

 

May 2014

[caption id="attachment_758" align="alignleft" width="300"] TCS Banner Photo[/caption] The final Sponsor Meeting of the year will take place on Wednesday,May 28th at 7:00.  Report Cards will be given out,  plans for the new term will be discussed, and sponsors will participate in an evaluation of the 2013/2014 term.  Looking forward to seeing everyone there....

The Community School is deeply appreciative for the students from Johns Hopkins University who have been helping us this year. We will really miss tutors Alex Polyak and Noah Saganski who will both be graduating next week and have each been with TCS for the last 3 years. We want to wish tutor Hemen Muleta well as she studies abroad and will return to us for her 3rd year next January.  Thanks also to tutor Sarah Krasnik for her help this semester. Sarah will be assisting us this summer before also studying abroad. Special thanks go to all of the terrific volunteers from JHU-Community School Initiative.  Thank you Bryan Brensinger, Quenton Bubb, Gaby Frid, Lydia Hellwig, Deanna Loh, Andrew Mao, Becca Obniski, Simon Pan, Kathryn Rees, and Joseph Sloan. This group will be entering its 6th year at TCS in September under the new leadership of co-presidents Quenton Bubb and Kathryn Rees.  We are also grateful to the JHU Center for Social Concern under the new leadership this past year of Rollin Johnson Jr. and with the kind support of Gia Grier McGinnis and Carolyn Mack. You all have added a depth and quality to the program at The Community School and are held in high regard by our students and community....

Thanks to our friends at The Johns Hopkins University - Community School Initiative (JHU-CSI), the students had the opportunity to tour one of the labs in the new wing of the Mudd Building. Dr. Carolyn Fitch generously shared her time explaining the use of the equipment, lab procedures, and experiments that take place in the lab.  The students also had a chance to see some of the high tech equipment in action and they were particularly amazed at the use of liquid nitrogen to freeze protein pellets that had been isolated in the main lab.  It was an amazing experience to tour with the enthusiastic Dr. Fitch and we are thankful for the opportunity. Special thanks to CSI members Deanna Loh for setting up this experience and to Rebecca Obniski and Joseph Sloan for touring with us.  We look forward to another year of weekly labs with JHU-CSI....

Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke brought Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake by the school today so the mayor could become familiar with our work.  There were students, alumni, volunteers, staff, and college support program participants present for the occasion. In addition to learning about the school, there was a discussion about the need to extend support for students who are going to the county to attend community college and are forced to pay higher rates. The students had an opportunity to speak about what the school means to them and Mary Pat spoke about why TCS is important to Baltimore. Tom Culotta gave the history of the organization and explained our mission and program. It is our hope that this is the beginning of a dialogue that will benefit young people, the community and the school for many years to come....

The seedlings from the greenhouse are being transplanted to containers for outside growing.  Peas, yellow squash, bush beans, zucchini and cucumbers are growing fast.  The tomatoes and peppers will be going in next. We'll be selling herb and vegetable seedlings and plants at the Sidewalk Sale on Sunday, June 1st. If anyone would like to join the Greenhouse Project, let us know.  A pledge of as little as 20 minutes one day a week to water plants will put you on the team!...

With just weeks left in this school term, members of the Board of Trustees shared lunch and conversation with the students today after observing the class in action.  Trustees Dave Bayer, Eddie Gavin, Barbara Foltz and Aduke Hubbard were keenly interested in the student's views on their school experience. Eddie explained how 4 generations of his family have been involved in the school and how important the school has been in his life since first being involved when he was a young teenager.  He stressed the broad support that exists for the students and the school that is much larger than the students can see. The students shared their dreams and experience of this past year and how much they have grown and accomplished since coming to the school in September.  The Board expressed their pride in the students and saluted them for their efforts this year....

There was a terrific turnout for the Girl Rising movie showing at the school today.  This stirring film explored the lives of nine girls around the globe from Afghanistan to Peru striving to overcome the obstacles to bettering their lives. Girl Rising illuminates issues such as sexual assault and child marriage, denial of education for girls, human trafficking and slavery, and poverty. The students from The Community School raised issues that are faced by girls in our own community as well.  There was a good representation of girls and boys, women and men in the room and many poignant observations were raised in the discussion that followed. It was announced that the school will initiate a series of movies with discussion next year that will focus on the issues faced around the globe and in our own communities.  Thank you to everyone that attended and supported this film.  For more information about Girl Rising Click here.  ...

[caption id="attachment_1700" align="alignleft" width="300"] Girl Rising[/caption] There will be a showing of the acclaimed documentary film Girl Rising at the school on Sunday, May 4th at 2:30. The film highlights the issues of girls' education from around the world in a creative, captivating way.  This issue is very important to our young women who are students at the school and they invite you to watch the film and join in a discussion afterwards. The film showing is free but you must have a ticket because of limited seating.  There will be snacks for sale and we will be taking donations to support girl's education projects.  Contact the school for more information. To find out more about Girl Rising, Click Here....

The students attended a performance of the percussion dance troupe, Step Afrika! today.  It was amazing!  This dance style, that developed through African-American fraternities and sororities, had everyone moving.  The troupe also explained how a form of this dance was used  among South African miners as a way of communicating when language between them was a barrier. We found out that one of our students, Claivonda Taylor, was in a step group and now she is being encouraged to start a group in our own school. The performance was sponsored by Arts on Stage and took place at Goucher College. To learn more about StepAfrika!, Click this link. To learn more about Arts on Stage, Click here....