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!
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!
The first class you take in college can be exciting, nerve-wracking, intimidating, or any combination of emotions. For most new college students, the step into your first class can feel all the more daunting because you are newly removed from the support system you have been accustomed to in high school. Thankfully for our TCS seniors, this doesn’t have to be their reality. To ensure a smooth transition process, we send our seniors to the Community College of Baltimore County for an “intro to college” course that will help ease their transition to the new learning environment that awaits post-high school.
We are very happy to announce that our class of 2019 seniors, Donald Lacy and Jordan Leon, have successfully completed their first college course. We sat down together to discuss their experience. According to Jordan, the goal of the course was to teach ways to be successful in college, and specifically CCBC. Donald added that the course covered everything from financial aid, time management, and note taking to how to use Blackboard, an online teaching tool where they can find their assignments. For Donald, the most useful part of the class was learning to use Blackboard, so that he may be able to jump right in next year. Jordan appreciated the lessons on time management.
Looking ahead to the future, both Donald and Jordan have a few ideas of in what direction they would like to go. Donald would like to complete his general education classes at CCBC while also doing a volunteer firefighter program. Eventually he would like to be a EMT-certified firefighter, following in the footsteps of some other TCS alumni. Jordan is thinking about completing an associate’s degree and then moving on to university to study something in the field of sports. Good luck, Donald and Jordan, you have our total support!
Another school year comes to a close with one final Conversation With. Thanks to meteorologist Tony Pann, we will be entering the summer practicing the power of positivity. Mr. Tony believes that if you put the right thoughts out into the universe, the right things will happen. He says the power behind his success is visualizing what he wants before he acts on it. To Mr. Tony, the steps to doing anything should be to be, then do, then have. Positive thinking, according to Mr. Tony, increases your probability of achieving your goals. Of course to a meteorologist, probability is everything.
Going around the room, he asked each student to state a goal they have, then to close their eyes and visualize it happening. “Carry that feeling with you always,” he told the students. Mr. Tony also invited a few students to the front of the class to practice their public speaking. It doesn’t matter if you are afraid to talk in front of groups, he says, as long as you can act like you are comfortable. The students demonstrated an industry secret, holding something in your hand like a pen or clicker as a crutch to focus your nervous energy while speaking. It’s okay to take a deep breath and pause while speaking, Mr. Tony taught, and always turn your doubtful thoughts into positive ones. So, going into this summer, remember to always visualize success in everything you do!
“Honor your own curiosity” is the message of the day from Conversation With speaker Aaron Henkin, a radio producer for WYPR. His current project, “Out of the Blocks”, is a program that goes block by block to different Baltimore neighborhoods, allowing the residents to tell their stories. Mr. Aaron started the discussion by playing a clip of the show as an example. He explained that he wants to show what types of people you can meet when you show up “with the radical agenda of having no agenda”. He said that you can often find a more nuanced story if you let people talk about the issues they care about.
“Everyone I meet is the teacher of the day,” said Mr. Aaron. The factor that drove him to making content for radio and podcasts is is passion for discovering stories he didn’t know existed. He got tired of hearing the same stories to the same ways, over and over again. Mr. Aaron said that although they started with the most marginalized of blocks to showcase, he quickly realized that each block is like a tile in the mosaic that is Baltimore City; now they have gone to many diverse neighborhoods to tell their stories.
The discussion culminated in an activity with the students. Paired off, they each took a card that posed a question. The students used the question as a starting point for a mini interview. The point of the exercise was to practice active listening and to demonstrate the world of questions that open up from just one part of someone’s story. What a great skill for the students to learn!
The whistle blows, the kids go wild! Kicking off the long weekend this Friday was the annual GreenMount field day, a lively event where TCS students help GreenMount 8th graders facilitate the younger kids in field games like sack racing and tug-of-war. Each TCS student was assigned to a team with the GreenMount students. With Mr. Eduardo, the dynamic gym teacher at the lead, the students went through various activities with the younger kids. Some TCS students even bonded with some younger students. GreenMount field day is always a great opportunity for TCS to show leadership in the community. We are hoping to work even more closely with GreenMount in the coming year so that TCS students may step into a mentoring role for the younger students.
At the end of the day, TCS went up against the GreenMount 8th graders in a game of tug-of-war. Last year the 8th graders won, but this year TCS pulled ahead! The event culminated in popsicles, and a speech from Mr. Eduardo. Mr. Tom and a couple of the students got a chance to thank GreenMount for their hospitality in hosting our gym classes over the year. This year’s field day was a successful opportunity for TCS to practice leadership skills and get connected with the community!
Cheering on the relay runners!
Claude chatting with his team.
Salma cheers with the kids during tug-of-war.
Tyleiah giving the kids some pep.
Sara helps a student with her ribbons.
Aidan talks to some new young friends.
Tug-of-war is intense!
Olivia talks to a young friend.
GreenMount kids cheer for the victorious TCS tug-of-war team.
