Blog

Second Orientation Meeting Complete!

We welcomed another half of the community Thursday night at our second orientation meeting for students, families, and sponsors! As in the last meeting, we discussed community expectations around behavior and communication and changes for the upcoming school year. Aidan, a rising Junior, said “I learned a lot about how the school is going to be different this year. It was very informative and important for the students to know what will be happening”.

It was a great opportunity for the new and continuing families to introduce themselves and learn about each other. School starts just next week and we are so excited to jump back in to another successful year!

First Orientation Held for ’19-’20 School Year!

The first orientation meeting for the new school year was a success! We are counting down the days to the start of school, and the excitement is building. Half of the community, both new and continuing families, gathered together last night. We had a great mix of students, parents, guardians, sponsors, and siblings. On the agenda were introductions, community and school guidelines, and changes for the 2019 Fall Semester. These meetings are a great time for our continuing families to get to know our new members; it’s wonderful to see the community in action as we welcome the newcomers. Thank you to everyone who came out and participated!

Meet Rebecca, New Part-Time Science Teacher

The school continues to expand and improve – and so does our TCS family! We are pleased to announce Rebecca Obniski as our new part-time science teacher. Rebecca first worked with TCS through the CSI science program as an graduate at Johns Hopkins University. Since then she has obtained her PhD in Biology from Johns Hopkins. This will be her first teaching position. 

Rebecca says the thing she is most excited about in teaching at TCS is transferring her experience working with science in the lab to students who haven’t had that exposure. “I am excited to be that intermediary between them and a new world,” she said. The science subject that is most fascinating to Rebecca is genetics, which was the focus of her PhD. She explained that genetics is interesting because it is like a “secret code” that directs so much about our bodies and provides so much variation in life. 

In addition to her love of science, Rebecca really fell in love with teaching when she led labs through CSI. “I love facilitating that “a-ha!” moment when someone figures out something,” she said. Rebecca believes that in teaching, the goal is for your students to internalize the subject and to know it so well that they can teach it to others. 

Aside from science and teaching, Rebecca is a musician- she can play both violin and organ. If she could change just one thing to make the world a better place, she would make all peer-reviewed journals free, to grant open access to information to all people. 

We give Rebecca our warmest welcome, and look forward to a great school year!

Tom Culotta Recognized at Neumann University Event

This weekend, our Head of School Tom Culotta was recognized by Neumann University for his work with The Community School. The event was attended by Neumann University faculty and staff, alumni, new students, and families and is intended to increase the University’s presence in Baltimore City. Mr. Tom, who obtained his bachelor’s from Neumann, gave a speech to express his gratitude to the University, and to talk about his work with The Community School. In his speech, Mr. Tom acknowledged that both TCS and Neumann are values-based organizations. “Neumann really lives their mission. I found this in all of my interactions with them”, Mr. Tom says of the University.  Mr. Tom was also presented with a special framed copy of his diploma by Neumann University President Chris Domes.

Baltimore First Community Partnership Grows CSI Program

Johns Hopkins University Center for Social Concern staff met with TCS today to discuss growing the future of our CSI science program. In attendance were Nairuti Shastry,  Community Partnership Specialist at the CSC, and Baltimore First Director of Community Partnerships Bentley Addison, a Johns Hopkins student. 

Baltimore First is a student-led group founded in 2017 within the Center for Social Concern. “Committed to equipping students with the skills needed to affect transformative social change, Baltimore First serves as a catalyst for students looking to expand their philosophy of service and understanding of Baltimore City” (CSC website). Their mission is to facilitate meaningful relationships between their volunteers and the programs they support.

As most of our community members know, The Community School has worked with the Center for Social Concern for over a decade on our CSI-Community School Initiative program. CSI enables Johns Hopkins undergraduate students to create science lab lesson plans and lead labs here at TCS. One goal of the project is long-term sustainability; the program has been building an inventory of both lesson plans and equipment that TCS can access if CSI ever dissolves. 

In the meeting today, TCS discussed with Baltimore First leaders Nairuti and Bentley ways TCS and Baltimore First can work closely together for the best experience possible for us and our CSI student volunteers. We are excited by this growing partnership with Baltimore First that will allow us to expand the capacity of the CSI program.