A lot happens at The New Century School in the month of March—no brackets needed.
Here is your rundown of all the exciting academic events that TNCS students have been participating in!
Spelling Bee!
On March 7th, TNCS held its first annual spelling bee competition, that was open to 3rd-, 4th-, 5th-, 6th-, and 7th-graders, and participation was optional. The bee was divided into two cohorts: 3rd- through 5th-graders competing in one division and 6th- and 7th-graders in the second. will participate in a separate group. Organized by TNCS’s English Language Arts specialist, Ilia Madrazo, the bee was a fun and challenging competition, and TNCS students were thoroughly absorbed.
The competition was stiff, and spelling went into far more rounds than the judges had been anticipating—a testament to how assiduously TNCS students prepared. Although each student was trying his or her hardest, the camaraderie among contestants was beautiful to see: Each speller got a high-five for successfully spelling a word or a kind word of support if a word took him or her down.
An example of a Round One word:
An example of a Round Two word:
. . . And so it went . . .
And then there were five (in the 3rd to 5th cohort)—all boys!
After about seven or so rounds, three students remained standing, and it was quite a cliff-hanger!
Ultimately, two students tied for first in the 3rd to 5th cohort, making five total winners, pictured below. Although sharing the actual word lists online is prohibited by copyright, we can tell you that the two tied for first in the 3rd to 5th cohort went through 12 total rounds, both ultimately choking on the word, “outrageous,” fittingly!
Here’s what the winners had to say about their achievements:
Said Mrs. Danyali: “There was so much pride and courage in the room as each participant did their very best. Great job to all!”
Women Heroes!
The day after the Spelling Bee, another first occurred—the TNCS Women Heroes Assembly, in honor of International Women’s Day. Elementary and Middle School girls gathered in the gymnasium for a circle with Head of School Alicia Danyali to talk about historical women figures who helped further women’s causes, what it was like to be a woman before women had certain rights, and to imagine their own futures and what they plan to contribute to the world.
Math Kangaroo!
Next up in this chock-full month was the second annual Math Kangaroo for Grades 1 through 7!
Stay tuned for more about how TNCS students fared this year against their national and international peers—the results are still pending. In the meantime, check out last year’s competition: Math Kangaroo 2017!
Science Fair!
Always a big deal at TNCS, the 2018 Science Fair was an unqualified success, as the slide show below attests! From engineering and mechanics to chemistry, physics, and biology to even the social sciences, TNCS kindergarten through 7th-graders conducted their experiments and then presented to parent audiences throughout the third week of March.
Science guru Jon Wallace said, “When [TNCS students] enter high school, I think they are going to be ready to deal with high school sciences. The big drive this year was representing data. That’s something they are going to have to be very good at because when they get to 9th-grade biology, for example, they will be graphing data, whether it be a line graph, a bar graph, or whatever, and putting data into data tables, then interpreting that data.”
The top project for Mr. Wallace was Curly Hair versus Straight Hair: Light Absorption, which he found very interesting and unique. It’s a thoughtful question that even has evolutionary overtones—which type of hair allows for greater ultraviolet light penetration and is therefore less protective? “Mr. Wallace also appreciated the very engineering-oriented The Influence of Spoilers on the Downforce of Cars. “I feel like [that student] learned a whole lot about fluids through research about wing design. It’s neat to see kids get so into it.”
“I feel like overall we have gained something in being able to represent data. That was the main outcome I was looking for this year, in addition to following the Scientific Method, of course,” he said.
Project Linus!
Finally, On March 19th, just before the epic snowstorm of Spring 2018 hit and Spring Break ensued, TNCS 3rd- and 4th-graders completed a service learning project as part of the TNCS core value of Service. Other TNCS divisions will also be completing service projects as the second half of the academic year winds out.
For the second year running, 3rd- and 4th-graders spent an hour with Baltimore City/Baltimore County Chapter Coordinator Fay Husted, “Ms. Fay,” from Project Linus to learn how to make blankets for sick and hospitalized children in need. See details from last year’s project, TNCS’s first time with Project Linus and Ms. Fay, here: TNCS Continues Annual Service to the Community with Project Linus. This project is annually organized by the TNCS Parent Council, headed up by Sakina Ligon.
The group was so motivated by the blanket-making that they ended up taking Mrs. Sharma’s Teacher’s Choice period to complete them that very day! See the beautiful results for yourself!
So there you have it. March blew in like a lion, and TNCS students roared with achievement, learning, spelling, calculating, doing, and helping!
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