This beautiful cornucopia spilled over with all the kids’ favorite healthy snacks!

Holidays at The New Century School are special not just because of the unique, meaningful ways TNCS celebrates, but also because the school seizes the chance to give back to the surrounding community and beyond. After a Fall semester full of fundraising initiatives and community outreach, TNCS spent the last school-day in November by sharing a Thanksgiving/Cultural Feast to share our collective gratitude as well as taste delicious dishes from around the world. The Feast was the perfect culmination of the first two Units of Inquiry for the 2014–2015 school year: Community Building and People/Families Around the World.

Parents were asked to contribute a dish representing their culture to their child’s class feast. As has become the norm, TNCS parents really brought it. The following slideshow represents just a “taste” of the schoolwide event, but is more than enough to make your mouths water, viewers!

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What hard work was the antecedent to this lovely reward? Lots and lots of it.

Neighbors and families came out in force—there wasn’t a crumb remaining after the 30-minute sale!

Mrs. DuPrau and her proud 1st- and 2nd-graders.

TNCS elementary kids held the school’s first-ever bake sale and donated their proceeds to help raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. The bake sale was an astronomical success due to both the tempting goodies up for sale and to the savvy promotional campaign that preceded the event (students designed their own posters and signage). Mrs. DuPrau’s homeroom class was proud to contribute more than $300 to Habitat.

Another local beneficiary was the Help Rebuild Thames Street Park Playground initiative right here in Fell’s Point. TNCS students use this playground regularly, so Head of School Alicia Danyali ran a school-wide fundraiser through Mixed Bag Designs and gave all of the proceeds—more than $1,700—to the playground renovations! Well done, TNCS community!

As for the past 2 years, TNCS once again hosted a very successful food drive for to St. Vincent de Paul’s Beans & Bread program, “a comprehensive day resource program that offers a complete range of supportive services designed to help [Baltimore] individuals attain stabilization and self-sufficiency.”

True to form, the TNCS community is finding other ways to demonstrate their inherent altruism. Such creative and inspiring acts include enrolling in the sustainable energy program provided by Viridian, which helps the planet and earns fund for TNCS. Haven’t enrolled yet? Read more: TNCS Uses Viridian’s Power with Purpose!

And, elementary students are once more partnering with Councilman Jim Kraft’s office to do some good around Southeast Baltimore. See what they are jointly cooking up: TNCS and Councilman Kraft: Outreach for Our Shared Community.

TNCS provides students with regular opportunities to share their resources and goodwill, and our little humanitarians will learn very important life lessons as a result of this important practice in gratitude. So thank you, TNCS!