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Seminars

The school was honored to have Baltimore Blast Soccer captain and goalie William Vanzela visit for a conversation with the students today. Mr. Vanzela shared stories of his life growing up in Brazil and the sacrifices made in order to develop his talent and career to support his family. One of the most valuable lessons he taught was about the importance of living a meaningful life, caring for your family and using your gifts to benefit others. Mr. Vanzela started playing professional soccer at the age of 16 in Brazil and went on to move to Italy where he spent 7 years on the Italian national team. He then came to Baltimore where he has been playing with the Baltimore Blast winning several national championships and MVP awards. Jayla wrote, " He inspires me to want to continue to work, even when life is pushing me down, I would always want a job just to get money but now that I talked to him, I want a job to better help myself. I want a job that can help me succeed and become the person I truly want to be." We deeply appreciate Mr. Vanzela's generous sharing of his time and stories with us. we are also thankful to Mr. Don and Ms.Sande for connecting him with the school and attending the conversation. Among the many good works that Mr. Vanzela is involved is the "Show Your Soft Side" campaign started by Ms. Sande. Tyleiah expressed the impact this conversation had on her life in this way,...

Longtime TCS friend and neighbor, storied photojournalist Jim Burger came in for the second time this year. This time Jim focused on honing the students photography skills discussing such topics as lighting, lenses, backgrounds and angles. At one point students engaged in some hands on work with each taking photographs and then sharing and critiquing the work. The seminar had an immediate goal of continuing to develop the photographic content of TCS Student News. With Jim's advice, students were able to devise new strategies for capturing the many people and events that take place around the school with an eye to more careful composition in the photography. Thanks for sharing your talent and skills Jim! ...

A survivor of the 1958 Our Lady of Angels school fire spoke with the students today about this horrible event. Mike Gallo was in his elementary school class on the 2nd floor of the school when the fire broke out. His teacher told the students to gather around her and pray as they hoped to be rescued. Instead, Mike ran down steps that were already ablaze to escape the burning school. His classmates and the teacher were later found among the rubble still grouped together but overtaken by the fire and smoke. Mr. Gallo grew up in the poor and working class Chicago community not far from Our Lady of Angels. The day of the fire he ran to the safety of his home and find his parents. They later went back to the scene to witness the continuing event and the sadness and confusion that followed as classmates were carried out while others were rushed in all forms of transportation to seek medical care. Though Mike survived, he has relived that day and those that followed throughout his life. His memories of the fire and the many funerals remain vivid even these many years later. This harrowing story was both a lesson about the fragility of life and about how you can survive tragedy and go on to build a meaningful life. Mr. Gallo shared his later young life as a street youth who got into more than his share of trouble up through his eventually getting back on track....

We were honored to host Don Hutchinson, President and CEO of the Maryland Zoo as part of our “Conversation With…” series.  Mr. Hutchinson shared stories about his political career starting as the youngest member of the committee that rewrote the Maryland State Constitution back in 1967 through serving in the state House of Delegates and Senate and then serving two terms as Baltimore County Executive. In addition, he served as President and CEO of SunTrust Bank and as President of the Greater Baltimore Committee. In that role, he was instrumental in building Ravens Stadium.  Mr. Hutchinson wove pearls of wisdom throughout his presentation of lessons learned including  the importance of respecting yourself and having empathy for others. He reinforced the idea that our vision and actions have a primary role in creating our own destiny. Several of the students had their minds changed about zoos as Mr. Hutchinson talked about the ethics of zoos, their care for the animals and the role that zoos have in protecting species from extinction. The time passed by quickly and the students are looking forward to having Mr. Hutchinson back again and hopefully also seeing him in a visit to the Maryland Zoo.  Thank you Mr. Hutchinson! ...

“If you do something you don’t love just for the money you will be miserable… you can always make money, you’re not going to get a minute back”. Rafael Alvarez, Baltimore-based writer and mentor of student Manuel, shared these words in today’s Conversation With. Rafael was a writer for the Baltimore Sun for 24 years before becoming a writer and producer for television. He sold his first article when he was nineteen. His introduction into television writing was working as a staff writer for the classic Baltimore drama The Wire. He has also written 11 books, non fiction as well as short story collections. Rafael has history with TCS as well because he wrote an article about the young school in the 1980’s for the Sun. Rafael told the students his background and how he got into writing as a child. The Beatles inspired him to be an artist because of how their music made him feel. He was a first generation college student in a family of factory workers. Rafael explained that his parents knew he was smart, and wanted him to choose a practical profession like being a lawyer. When he decided he wanted to be a writer, though, his parents were supportive and told him to make sure to work very hard at it.  Rafael asked each of the students to ask him one question and promised he would answer honestly. He suggested the students pretend they are a reporter and think of something they would want to know. He asked the students to...

Most people only get the opportunity to view comets from afar as they blaze past the earth’s orbit. Today, the students had the opportunity to view these celestial bundles of ice and dirt up close with a simulated comet activity in Space Lab. Using soil and dry ice, the students formed small objects that simulate the materials and appearance of comets. When heat is applied, the mini-comets grow tails like those that appear when real comets get close to stars.  The students continue their study of the moon this semester in Space Lab. While discussing the different space objects that affect the moon’s surface, one of the students questioned the difference between asteroids, meteors, and comets. Ms. Elaine Lewis, a former NASA-Goddard educator who has been leading Space Lab at TCS since last year, decided to show the students first-hand with this comet lab. With this hands-on knowledge, the students are more informed and equipped for this semester’s space lab project. The students are designing a habitat for living on the moon. In building this habitat, they must take into account the various factors that make the moon inhospitable. They are learning how radiation from the sun and objects like meteors constantly bombard the surface of the moon. The students must design a habitat that protects from these elements, because there is nothing on the moon or in the moon’s atmosphere that protects from these elements naturally. Thank you Ms. Elaine for providing the informative and fun comet activity! ...

The assignment of the day: create a cover the The New Yorker magazine. If this seems like a tall order, don’t worry; professional illustrator Alex Fine led the students in this seminar about the conceptual process of creating an editorial cartoon. Alex Fine’s work can be seen in Newsweek, the Washington Post, and many more publications. Alex also teaches at the Baltimore Academy of Illustration.  Alex explained that editorial cartoons are “basically socio-political commentary”. Unlike political cartoons, editorial cartoons don’t use words and rely on the content of the illustration to convey a message. Simple ideas are better, Alex said, to communicate an idea that can be understood quickly simply by looking at the image. Although the cartoons can be about any subject, Alex advised the students that in his own work, he makes sure to keep the subjects based on facts and truth. Additionally he says cartoonists should always “punch up”, that is, never go after someone who doesn’t have a position of power- and don’t be afraid to criticise those in power no matter what part of the political spectrum they occupy.  With Alex’s one-on-one coaching, the students worked on cartoons with subjects ranging from climate change to body image to tobacco addiction. This workshop was an excellent lesson in turning concepts into visual communication. Special thanks to Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts for arranging this seminar and thanks to Scholastic, who sponsored today’s seminar to promote the new Political Editorial category of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Alex offered to continue...

Sometimes speaking up for what is right is scary, even to your own family. Author Laura Sibson’s debut novel The Art of Breaking Things deals with just this - speaking up about assault to protect those who are vulnerable. Laura visited today for a Conversation With with the students, who have been reading the novel for the past several weeks. Laura has an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and published The Art of Breaking Things this summer.  The novel’s main character, Skye, has been using partying as a way to deal with trauma from long ago.The book follows Skye processing her trauma in a way that feels very real, and ultimately shows the reader that there are better ways to heal from trauma than turning to substances, and that speaking up for what’s right is the most important thing, even if it has consequences. The students responded very positively to the novel and the discussion, despite the difficult subject matter. Senior Olivia told Laura that The Art of Breaking things is her favorite book that she’s read at TCS! “After reading the book, the talk gave me more insight in the book, and it raised a lot more questions. She said a lot of things that will stick with me, like how people will turn to unhealthy behaviors when they don’t know how to cope,” Olivia said. Sophomore Joshua responded that he enjoyed the discussion because “she gave a good perspective on the book. I like how she related it to events in her own...

This Friday’s Conversation With featured Fleesie Hubbard, a professional in the public health field. Fleesie holds an undergraduate degree from Morgan State University and a Master of Science from University of Baltimore. Although she now lives and works in California, Fleesie has been a part of the TCS community her whole life, having been born in Remington. Fleesie is part of an organization called Maryland ENT Abroad that organizes a “medical mission trip” to different countries in need of support for head and neck surgeries. Ear, nose, and throat doctors/surgeons, also known as ENTs, anesthesiologists, and nurses sign up to attend the trips. The group chooses countries that are deficient in iodine. Iodine deficiencies can cause goiters, growths that cause difficulties eating and swallowing as well as low self esteem and sometimes ostracization. In addition to goiter surgeries, the team does cancer related surgeries and hundreds of physicals and ear exams.  Fleesie’s job during the mission trips is to coordinate the sometimes complex aspects of traveling and practicing medicine abroad. A lot of planning goes into the trips, from arranging who will attend, to getting equipment through Customs, to finding a hospital to operate in. Fleesie emphasized that when contacting hospitals to work with, she makes it clear that they want to work with the hospital staff and learn from them too; the service is a reciprocal relationship. Fleesie says working in these countries makes her appreciate her circumstances. “It puts your reality into perspective and makes me appreciate my life.” Thank you Fleesie for taking the...

This morning we kicked off the first session of our Young Playwrights seminar series, sponsored by Baltimore Center Stage. The Young Playwrights Festival is a yearly event hosted by Center Stage in which hundreds of students grades K-12 write and submit a 10-minute play for review. Finalists whose plays are chosen get to revise their plays with a playwright mentor, and the plays are performed professionally. This year, the theme that the student plays must include is “Seize the Day”. The plays must also incorporate a ball, a wall, and a fall. These criteria may be incorporated literally or metaphorically into the story/props.  As participants in the Young Playwrights seminar, TCS students will be reading their scripts out loud at the end of the seminar series in addition to submitting their work to the competition. To prepare the TCS students to read and submit their original plays, our instructor Parker Matthews will lead 9 seminar sessions focusing on creative writing, self expression, and storytelling. Using a combination of acting exercises and lectures/brainstorming activities, Mr. Parker will teach the students about the elements of a good play to help them get started writing their own. Mr. Parker, originally from Oregon, is a teacher, actor, storyteller, and mime. His training is very physically engaged and he will be incorporating many physical activities into the seminar classes.  The class today started with a gesture game to learn names. The students went around a circle saying their name in combination with a gesture, and the rest of the students would copy...