This week’s edition of TCS Student News was researched, produced, written, and anchored by students Marcus McKeever and Kirsten Bayer. It includes news from around the world as well as our own community and the school. We hope you enjoy the broadcast and are informed by it as well.
“Another Remington Boy Makes Good” could have been the headline for today’s seminar with Ken Bancroft. His presentation was part of our ongoing series entitled “Conversation with…” that brings in people from a variety of fields and backgrounds to share their stories with the students.
Ken grew up at 2725 Huntingdon Avenue, down the street from the school. This was also the site of Ted & Fred’s, the store that his family operated. Ken married his wife Paulette Wilgis Bancroft whose family also lived in Remington. He shared the lessons of his life from life in the neighborhood to being drafted in the military through a series of jobs and a career in hospital finance and management that culminated as the President of St. Agnes Hospital.
Ken can be seen frequently around the school and has been involved with The Community School for more than a decade in a variety of capacities. He is an active student sponsor and is the co-coordinator of our Teacher’s Pledge Campaign.
Student Spencer Bayne said, “I really enjoyed how he didn’t believe in himself, but at the end of his career he went really far and affected a lot of people’s lives.” Ken inspired pride as Caleb Rohe commented, “I love these kinds of stories too, where a hometown boy makes it big.” Olivia Yates summed up the feelings of all the students when she stated, “I definitely learned a lot of life lessons. I am really thankful that he came.”
We welcomed the Community School Initiative – CSI back as they held their first science lab of 2017 today at the school. This lab is part of a semester long biodiversity project that the students will maintain, observe, and use for experiments for the rest of the term. CSI is a student group formed by Johns Hopkins University students nearly 10 years ago to enhance science education at The Community School. It is supported through the JHU Center for Social Concern. They conduct labs for both the Physical Science class and the Biology class each week.
“Bryan is living proof that anyone can accomplish great things if you put your mind and skills to it.” These sentiments from student Donald Lacy convey some of the inspiration gained from Bryan Ward today. Bryan has Usher’s syndrome that caused him to be born deaf and to progressively lose much of his sight. Despite this, he has earned his master’s degree in Human Resources. Bryan shared his experiences growing up and managing life while overcoming the limitations of his condition. He advised the students on picking a college and the importance of balancing campus social and academic life.
The students were fascinated and thankful for the thoughtful interpreting by Kathleen Riley who also made the trip down from Delaware at the invitation of Peggy Lashbrook. Kathi and Peggy have worked with deaf-blind students for their entire careers
“His story was really powerful and he let nothing get in his way,” exclaimed student Jordan Leon. The value of Bryan’s counsel and insights as well as his determination left a strong impression on the students. Daj’a White commented, “I know if he can get a college degree, I can do it also. He also showed me that deaf and people who can hear are just alike.” We appreciate Bryan’s time and ability to expand the awareness and possibilities of our students.
This week’s edition of TCS Student News was researched, produced, written, and anchored by students Donald Lacy and Olivia Yates. It includes news from around the world as well as our own community and the school. We hope you enjoy the broadcast and are informed by it as well.
This week’s edition of TCS Student News was researched, produced, written, and anchored by students Sadie Greenwood and Destiny Gorman. It includes news from around the world as well as our own community and the school. We hope you enjoy the broadcast and are informed by it as well.