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End of Year Ceremony 2019

Another year is successfully completed! The End of Year ceremony for the 37th class of The Community School commenced on the beautiful day of Sunday, June 9th. As the tree leaves surrounding the Glass Pavilion rocked in the wind, the community gathered to celebrate the hard work of the fourteen students who made it through the rigorous school year.

The ceremony opened with a short speech from Dave Bayer, chairman of the board of trustees. Following Dave, Mr. Tom described some of the highlights of the year, and gave thanks to each member of our staff. Next, Mr. Tom recognized the students and said a word about each student’s personality, achievements, and goals.

Our student speakers this year were sophomore Salma Ruiz-Cruz and Junior Sara Harris. After they spoke, our two graduating seniors Donald Lacy and Jordan Leon each gave a speech about their time at TCS, how they have grown, and what they plan to do next. Keep an eye out for the forthcoming videos of the speeches!

A lovely community gathering unfolded after the ceremony. Students, sponsors, alumni, and other community members enjoyed food and drink, conversation, and of course a lot of picture taking. Decorations and food were coordinated by the Board of Trustees, led by Dave Bayer. The program, per tradition, was coordinated by Mr. Tom with the help of the students. Special thanks to the Johns Hopkins Center for Social Concern for the use of the Glass Pavilion.

Click HERE to view the full gallery of photos from the 2019 End of Year Ceremony!

Making Waves at End of Year Party

The students were splashing into summer this Friday at the end of year pool party. After a year of determined work, the students were able to get some well-deserved relaxation and fun thanks to the hospitality of Tony and Kate Culotta. Tony, a member of the TCS advisory board, and his wife Kate welcomed both the students and alumni Dyrrell Moon and Vernon Laumann into their home for the party. Delicious food and perfect weather were on the menu for the day. The students learned to play bocce ball in addition to playing tennis and enjoying the pool. Thank you Tony and Kate for this great end of year sendoff!

Final Sponsor Meeting of the Year

Reflection and recognition – that is the purpose of the year’s final sponsor meeting. As the community gathered together Thursday night, we had an opportunity to do just that. At the start of the meeting, students, their families and sponsors had a chance to share their thoughts on the year.

A few of the community members expressed how amazing it is that a school like ours exists, and commended the hard work that goes into making TCS happen. Lisa Knickmeyer, graduate coordinator at Mother Seton Academy who sponsors two Community School students, commended the new dual enrollment program. Ms. Knickmeyer pointed out that giving our students the opportunity to complete college credits while in junior and senior year is unique and set us apart from most of the area private schools.

Mr. Tom made sure to give recognition to the students’ hard work throughout the year, describing some of the key highlights of this year’s curriculum and activities. He also recognized some students for their achievements that went above-and-beyond. Sara Harris and Claude Nicholson both made honor roll this year. Donald Lacy, Jordan Leon, and Olivia Yates never missed a day of school, and Jacob Cougle had perfect attendance by both attending every day and always being on time.

As summer begins, we look ahead to the changes taking place next fall. We will be welcoming new faces and growing our enrollment to 22 students. We also plan to hire a new part-time math and science teacher. Thank you to everyone in our special community who has continued to put in the love and support needed to nurture and grow this school!