Conversation with Trustees
September 8, 2023
We have a long-running weekly series on Fridays called "Conversation with...
We have a long-running weekly series on Fridays called "Conversation with...
For nearly 2 decades Don Riesett has been an inspirational teacher and mentor to the students of The Community School. His weekly creative writing seminar and one-on-one sessions with the students are always a highlight of the week. Today was no exception, as the students reflected and wrote introducing themselves. Mr. Don, as he is known to the students, encourages the students both to think and to express themselves n ways both deep and creative. As he introduced this first seminar of the year, Don spoke about how this class will sometimes make you laugh and other times cry because students have shared both deeply personal stories from their lives and hilarious stories from their imagination. We are so fortunate to have Don as part of the community of The Community School. Here are a few unedited excerpts from the students' writings this week: "I am Danny. I am 65% Oxygen, 18% carbon, 9% hydrogen, and 3% nitrogen. I’m a hominid primate, a bipedal great ape capable of critical thinking and complex processing speed. 2 million years ago, people just like me discovered that if you rub 2 sticks together, the thermal energy will excite the carbons in the sticks, which will cause the carbon to bond with 2 oxygens. And with the discovery of combustion, out of thin air, we have our first instance of science. If you know me, you would know that my favorite thing is science." "I grew up starting to love everything my brothers love, whether it was the shows they watched or the...
We are excited to welcome TCS graduate Janiah Tillery as a teacher for the 2023-2024 term. After graduating from TCS, Janiah went on to Roanoke College where she earned her Bachelor's Degree with honors. She was a history major with a concentration in East Asian Studies. Janiah studied Chines Mandarin both at Roanoke and then continued her language studies in Taiwan. Following graduation from Roanoke, the U.S. State Department awarded Janiah a Fulbright Assistantship followed the second year by a Fulbright Flagship to teach in an Indigenous school in Hualien County in Taiwan. During the past year Janiah also served at Secretary and member of the TCS Board of Trustees. A native of Baltimore, Janiah attended Robert W. Coleman Elementary School, Mother Seton Academy for middle school followed by the Institute of Notre Dame before transferring to The Community School for 11th and 12th grade. Janiah's familiarity with our unique methods of teaching, along with her college and international experience is a welcome addition to the educational experience offered at The Community School. Welcome aboard Janiah!...
Student zombies in the house! At least it looked like it at this week's Theatre with The Lyric seminar. The students learned about stage makeup as part of this last class of the season. Thank you Denise Gantt and Ebony Evans and The Lyric for this year long seminar enhancing our students creativity, acting, writing and performing. We can't wait for next year already!...
We had a wonderfully enlightening "Conversation with.." author Thanhhà Lai this afternoon. The students just finished reading her lyrically written book "Inside Out and Back Again." It is historical fiction based on her family's emigration from Vietnam to the U.S. when she was 10 years old in 1975. The wide ranging conversation with the students went far beyond the novel and into the immigrant experience and the writing process. Our thanks to Martha Marani of The Ivy Bookshop for arranging for Thanhhà's visit and also providing a delicious lunch. We appreciated meeting Xandi Egginton also from The Ivy Bookshop and having him join us. Our deepest gratitude for Thanhhà Lai's generous sharing of time and story with us. ...
What a terrific time we had tonight! We were able to experience the performance of TCS 9th grade student Hector's play tonight as part of the Young Playwrights Festival at Baltimore Center Stage. Each of the plays was an enjoyable experience and the actors, set designers and directors were masterful. Our congratulations to Hector and all the young playwrights with soecial thanks to Center Stage for providing this opportunity for young people in Baltimore....
We had a wonderful Conversation with Joe Manko, Kashanae Simpson and Liz Tung today. They are all from The Abell Foundation. They each spoke about their educational and career backgrounds and then had a great back and forth with the students about education, the effects of COVID on schooling, and what works about The Community School. The Conversation ended with a tour of the classrooms, greenhouse studio and pantry. We deeply appreciate our long term relationship with The Abell Foundation and the important sharing of information that has been its hallmark since their President, Bob Embry, first came to the school nearly 20 years ago. ...
The students experienced the play Life is a Dream at the invitation of the Learning and Social Accountability Department of Baltimore Center Stage. This play was directed by Stevie Walker-Webb who just visited the school this past fall after we watched another of his productions. It was at times tragic, other times hilarious and other times just fantastical. Thank you to Janal Daniel, Director of Learning and Social Accountability and all the folks at Baltimore Center Stage for this kind invitation....
[embed]https://youtu.be/FOIzb85jFbI[/embed] The debt crisis is on the mind of TCS students Madison Hansel and Chase Christou in this week's TCS Student News broadcast. News around the school includes a special last seminar of the year with the folks from Done Construction, a special showing of the movie Till, a trip to see the Hip Hop Culture exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art and more....
We had a fascinating trip to the Baltimore Museum of Art to view the special exhibit The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century. The students were captivated by the many works in the exhibit that reflect many of their interests and culture. Special Thanks to Fleesie Hubbard and Teri Henderson for setting up this tour and offering many insights during our visit. Thanks also to TCS art teacher Leandra Laird for accompanying us and enriching the experience. Gratitude to the BMA for welcoming us and for sponsoring this exhibit. ...