Blog

Students Attend Oh Happy Day! at Center Stage

Through the kindness of the folks at Baltimore Center Stage, we had an amazing time experiencing Jordan Cooper’s play Oh Happy Day! This creatively told story carried us along, at moments laughing and others near tears as we went through the journey of the main character Keyshawn, also played by Mr. Cooper, as he reconciled with the pain of his past and found redemption. The acting was brilliant, the songs and singing were moving and the set design, particularly at the end of the play, contributed to an emotional roller coaster.

The play will continue to run through October 20th and we recommend everyone to catch it while you can.

Thank you Stevie Walker-Webb and Baltimore Center Stage for your commitment to expose young people to meaningful theatre that connects to their lives!

Writing Seminar: “It’s Not Easy…”

A cornerstone of The Community School’s education program is the writing seminar conducted every week by mentor and teacher Don Riesett. The students dive deep exploring topics and developing new ways of expressing their views and creativity. Some topics are whimsical and others provoke deep personal reflection. Last week’s seminar was just such a moment. We have featured some of the students’ works on our website with their permission. They are all worth a good read.

“The students were reminded by none other than Kermit the Frog that ‘It’s not easy being green.’ They were then asked to consider what about their lives is ‘not easy.’The students’ essays on this topic were excellent.” Don Riesett

“It’s not easy being an African American Muslim. The many obligations, traditions, values, and holidays I have to go by. The way people take a glance and judge me.” Mohamed
Read more: https://tcshighschool.org/its-not-easy-by-mohamed-cisse/

“It’s not easy being the oldest brother in a household where the parents only speak Spanish.” Hector
Read more: https://tcshighschool.org/its-not-easy-by-hector-rivas/

“It’s not easy being diagnosed with depression and anxiety at just 13 years old.” Jordan
Read more: https://tcshighschool.org/its-not-easy-by-jordan-smith/

“Starting a new community isn’t easy. Being a freshman, I’m going through many challenges.” Khori
Read more: https://tcshighschool.org/its-not-easy-by-khori-mitchell/

“Now I could list probably 10 reasons why it’s not easy to be me. For now I’ll just give you one of the major reasons. I am the first in my family who is planning to go to college and get a degree.” Madison
Read more: https://tcshighschool.org/its-not-easy-by-madison-hansel/

“It’s hard being the middle child and also the oldest girl. Not only does your family view you as grown at the age of 13 but so do other people around you. Especially men.” Karla
Read more: https://tcshighschool.org/its-not-easy-being-me-by-karla…/

Conversation with the Baltimore Beat

Teri Henderson, Lisa Snowden and Sanya Kamidi joined us for our Conversation this week. They are responsible for the Baltimore Beat, a unique local newspaper. They shared their experiences producing the paper, especially as women of color. This nonprofit free paper is produced every two weeks and seeks to give voice to those in Baltimore whose voice is often not heard.

The conversation explored their educational and career paths as well as the mission and operation of the paper. The students shared the kind of stories they would most like to see covered and the need for youth voices to be amplified.

We appreciate having these trailblazers join us!

Conversation with TCS Alumni

The students enjoyed one of their favorite “Conversations with…” today as alumni Dyrrell Moon, Olivia Yates, Ronan Guilfoyle and Jayla Nickens-Gill came back to the school. There was keen interest in the experiences that these former students had when they were in the school.  The alumni shared the special value they hold for their time at TCS and how it transformed and shaped their lives. They were also inquisitive about how the school is serving current students and how they are engaged.

Each off the alumni represented different years in the school and stages in their lives from Dyrrell who graduated 7 years ago and is now working for an international organization doing election monitoring in Eastern Europe and Asia, to Olivia who just started law school at the University of Baltimore to Ronan and Jayla who are working their way through college.

This was a particularly useful and inspiring conversation and as one of our newest students commented, “I can see myself in them and every time we have a conversation it motivates me.”