Category Archives: Elementary Education

04.14.23
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TNCS March STEM Madness 2023: That’s Science!

The month of March at The New Century School is a big one for STEM subjects. From Math Kangaroo to the STEM Expo, TNCS students are steeped in STEM!

It’s important to note right off that, at TNCS, the STEM Expo is a demonstration of scientific rigor, not a competition. Participation in the Expo is required for all students in grades K through 8. So, on Friday March 10th, TNCS students unveiled the projects they had been working on for several weeks for a packed house of attending families.

Scientific Method vs. Engineering Design Process

But let’s start from the beginning: developing their ideas. “For the younger grades, first we reviewed the differences between the scientific method and the engineering design process in an effort to help students better understand what makes a meaningful project,” explained TNCS science teacher Rob Brosius (“Mr. B.”). “We included in this discussion the nature of testable/measurable questions and the importance of isolating variables. For example, you can’t question which cookie tastes the best because you can’t generate numbers about that—it’s subjective.”

Even though middle schoolers were able to start right away, having learned this part already, a big part of Mr. B.’s job at this stage for all students is moderating expectations. Wanting his students to succeed (and to learn!) and work on a project they are really interested in, he gave the younger students a bunch of testable questions and asked them to choose a handful that attracted their interest. From there, they went on the Science Buddies website to search for a project that matched up with their question. Once a project was identified, Mr. B. helped students adapt it if necessary (e.g., if it was a little too complicated) in such a way that allowed them to work independently.

The next step in the process was listing and assembling materials. The TNCS science inventory is well stocked, and Mr. B. was also able to order needed supplies. “We try to reduce the amount of help given by families in an effort to help students feel more accomplished/confident and develop a better sense of independence,” he said. “This is an exciting time of the year for our students and the science program. We hope to help them explore their passions as they relate to scientific exploration.”

Robots, Drones, and … Kitty Litter?

Student projects ran the gamut, from building robots that moved in a straight line or spun in circles, to drones, to testing which kitty litter was most absorbent. (Surprise, surprise—it’s Target’s Up and Up brand!) “A lot of the younger students gravitated toward nature and chemistry, so we had some plants and animals and moldy bread projects,” said Mr. B. Moldy bread is, of course, a classic.

Older students, he explained, tend to have grander ideas that might not be entirely realistic to complete in the timeframe, so his goal there is to help them gain the knowledge that they would actually need to be successful. One student wanted to build an artificial pancreas, for example, recognizing that it was something that people would want to use. Mr. B. modified it so it was more on her level and has hopes she might return to it next year with increased knowledge and readiness. “That’s something I try to evaluate: ‘are there students who had projects they wanted to do but didn’t get to do?’ Because I can help them get ready to do it for the following year. At the end of the quarter, we put all the projects into a spreadsheet to keep track of what students do every year,” he said.

Science for Good

Although TNCS does not judge the projects, the requirements are similar to those of a standard science fair. Mr. B.’s goal with the STEM Expo for the younger students is to make sure they understand the scientific method and the engineering design process. For the older students, he encourages them to compete in external regional competitions that require increased dedication and attention to detail. And, even though no project was “judged,” a couple stood out for how well they fulfilled the project requirements. “One was from a student in the 2/3 class looking at whether the color of light affected the growth rate of mustard plants. The student put the seeds very carefully in a grid on wet paper towels, put colored cellophane over each, placed them all in plastic bags, and then left them in the sun to see what the germination rate would be and how much the stems would grow. She did all the research herself and to a standard I would consider 4/5 grade level,” he said, ” because it shows that she really understands the process as a whole and realizes that research is what leads you to any great science project.”

Another standout was from a middle schooler who wanted to make more eco-friendly, biodegradable ink. Mr. B. appreciated that project because it can be improved on through repeat testing.

I enjoy seeing students find projects that are practical and can actually solve or try to solve a real-world problem. That’s the epitome of a good science project: it’s something that if you presented this information to people they could replicate it and use it to help others or help themselves. Scientific exploration is very much about solving problems. We hope that by the end of this process students will feel a greater sense of community and a responsibility to help others. The goal is to help students become increasingly rooted in humanity, grounded in their intent, and focused in their dedication.

 

Feeling nostalgic for STEM? Visit past TNCS expos and science fairs below!

02.03.23
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TNCS Celebrates Lunar New Year and the Lantern Festival!

One of the most anticipated annual events at The New Century School is celebrating the Lunar New Year. This year rang in Year of the Rabbit, TNCS’s second rabbit year, with the last happening in 2011, when TNCS was very much still in its infancy.

For the second year running, TNCS held a Chinese bazaar to honor the occasion. (See Li Laoshi’s Chinese Night Market from last year here.) So, on January 24th and 25th, the auditorium in building north was transformed into an indoor market of craft and clothing stalls, food vendors, and performances. This, says Yujie Peng (“Peng Laoshi”), allows students to collaborate with their peers and to communicate about real-life subjects in Mandarin Chinese.

The bazaar, she explained, presents an opportunity to explore different Chinese cultures. Students were so excited leading up to the event, she said, and it turned out even better than she had hoped. So much better, in fact, that she thinks she will need to double the goods offered next year (Year of the Dragon)! The bazaar was not only a sell-out, but it also came close to tripling the funds raised last year, with more proceeds still to come. Parents, said Peng Laoshi, had lots of positive feedback to share. Not surprising, as you’ll see!

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As the photos (courtesy of Peng Laoshi) show, 4th- through 8th-grade students set up stations focusing on a topic that  interested them, such as Kung Fu, Chinese food, pandas, traditional traditional crafts, and traditional clothing. Qipao, for example, is the traditional Chinese dress and is commonly worn to celebrate the New Year. Students created trifold poster presentations and presented their topics in a mix of English (so attending parents could understand) and Mandarin Chinese, as part of the lesson in learning new vocabulary related to culture. New this year, Peng Laoshi asked her students to use the three parts of their posterboards trilingually, each in a different color to represent the three languages TNCS students learn: Chinese characters and pinyin in green, English in blue, and Spanish in orange. Younger students (K through 3rd-grade) made posters to decorate the walls of the auditorium.
Another special bonus is that each class did a classroom presentation in Mandarin that was recorded and shown on a loop during that class’s time at the bazaar. Courtesy of TNCS’s Mandarin Chinese teachers, these are sprinkled throughout the remainder of the post.

At the bazaar, students needed to demonstrate their proficiency in buying and selling in Mandarin as well as advertising their stations. Goods were bought and sold with tickets that attendees could buy prior to entering. “This not only allowed them to practice their language skills, but also practice life-ready skills,” said Peng Laoshi. “They need to know how to cooperate with their peers, because each station had two, three, or four students. They also need to know how to organize their station with the different items.” Prior to the event, more learning took place as students developed online research skills and then how to coherently present their research on Chinese culture according to parameters set by Peng Laoshi.

But it wasn’t all work for these industrious bazaar managers! Each student got a package that included a red Year of the Rabbit tee-shirt in one of two styles depending on division to wear on bazaar days. At the bazaar, they each got a red cup containing two dumplings and a spring roll—they could buy more if still hungry! (This proved to be very much the case, and next year Peng Laoshi plans to have extra air fryers on hand!)

The tee-shirts were a runaway hit and have made several subsequent appearances at school, including during this past spirit week’s Twin Day.

Peng Laoshi said she didn’t have a favorite presentation—they were all great—but she did express how impressed she was with some of the beginners, who learned very quickly and brought their A game to the bazaar. “Overall,” she said, “I see that students can really learn a lot from this kind of activity.”

And now, we look forward to the Lantern (Shangyuan) Festival, which happens on the 15th day of the lunar calendar and coincides with the full moon. That is Sunday, February 5th this year. Peng Laoshi says, “I hope more people around the world can know about the Lunar New Year and the Lantern Festival. It’s like a new beginning—everything’s new, and we have new hope and a whole new start.”

When asked what the celebration means to her personally, Peng Lasohi said:

The Chinese new year is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture. It means reunion of family and celebration of the beginning of a new year. I am so happy to celebrate it with TNCS families, which is like a big family reunion and celebration. The rabbit symbolizes peace, longevity, and prosperity in Chinese culture. The year of the rabbit is predicted to be a year of hope. May the year of the rabbit bring every TNCS family good health, happiness, and abundance.

Wishing you lots of luck this rabbit year! Tù nián dà jí! 兔年大吉

12.16.22
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The New Century School at 13: A Retrospective in Immersed Posts

It’s time. The New Century School is just completing its 13th fall semester, and we need a reckoning of all this amazing school has accomplished in that relatively short amount of time. Why 13? We chose to memorialize the 2022–2023 school year because it offers a truly remarkable first: a TNCS student who started TNCS at age 2 when the school opened in the fall of 2010 will graduate as an 8th-grader this June—she will have completed the full TNCS experience and is the only student to have this distinction!

TNCS is also rounding out a full Chinese zodiac of years. Established in the Year of the Tiger, TNCS closes 2022 also as a Tiger year and will begin 2023 as a Rabbit.

In this post, you’ll take a walk back through time. You’ll see your babies back when they were (or if they are still) babies. You’ll revisit cherished memories. You’ll smile to see beloved friends, teachers, and faculty who are still a part of TNCS in spirit if not in person. In short, you’ll be amazed . . . and probably moved to tears.

(Another thing you’ll notice is how actually bad phone cameras were a decade ago! Also, a sad note on videos: some no longer display as TNCS’s YouTube channel is now defunct.)

Finally, you’ll get to judge for yourself. As TNCS Co-Director/Co-Executive Founder Roberta Faux said over a decade ago, “school should be where kids discover their passion.” Has TNCS provided opportunities for passion-finding?

Milestones and Firsts

TNCS has accomplished sheer marvels. In its first 5 years alone, the once tiny one-room schoolhouse established by Co-Executive Directors/Co-Founders Ms. Faux and Jennifer Lawner with five students grew into a full-fledged preschool and elementary school. Milestone after milestone was sighted, then met, including launching a greenhouse and school-lunch program, acquiring a gymnasium and auditorium; implementing a robust STEM curriculum; introducing Immersed; earning two coveted STARTALK grants; and creating a wonderfully rich education that integrates the arts, modern world languages, inquiry-based learning, and self-motivated discovery.

Since those incredible feats happened, still more miraculous developments took place: the student body has grown to hundreds, the middle school opened in 2016, the Ozone café debuted, and the international service-learning program began to name just a few (and plenty more are listed below).

Through all of this truly remarkable evolution, TNCS’s original raison d’être has remained true: language immersion in Spanish and Mandarin paired with self-directed exploration. The program has blossomed in beautiful ways around this core idea, but it informs and underpins everything at TNCS.

Although providing an exhaustive accounting of the last 13 years is impossible because of the sheer volume of accomplishments, enjoy these highlights in the form of past Immersed posts about this one-of-a-kind magical place.

To start us off, here is a rough timeline of some pivotal TNCS events:

2006: Patterson Park Montessori (PPM) opens

2010: PPM moves to 724 S. Ann St. in Fell’s Point and becomes TNCS

2012: Immersed, School Lunch, the Elementary Program, and the School Gym make their debuts

2013: Science Fair, Imagination Playground, and Summer Camp debut

Spring 2014: TNCS applies for a Startalk grant, and the Spring Concert debuts

Fall 2014: TNCS expands into Building North, the Playground Gets a Major Upgrade, Parent Volunteers Paint Crosswalks on Campus, and the Winter Concerts, and the TNCS Website debut

2015: Read-a-Thon comes to TNCS and TNCS Goes to China

Spring 2016: TNCS debuts its first Art Exhibition, the first Class President is elected, the first Elementary Graduation happens, and TNCS gets a school van

Fall 2016: Middle School opens, TNCS Core Values are established, the Ozone Snack Bar opens for business, TNCS establishes a Parent Council, and TNCS holds its first Hispanic Heritage Night

2017: Math Kangaroo comes to TNCS

tncs-math-kangaroo-competition

2018: TNCS holds its first Spelling Bee, establishes a scholarship program, and gets a pedestrian crosswalk placed on the corner of Ann and Lancaster Streets

2019: Capstone trip program debuts for middle schoolers, and TNCS Graduates its First 8th-Graders

Spring 2020: TNCS holds its First Black History Celebration,  Virtual TNCS debuts, and TNCS becomes an Essential Personnel Childcare Site

Fall 2020: TNCS Students Return to Safe In-Person Learning and establishes a COVID-19 Wellness Team

2021: TNCS Holds Its First-Ever Silent Auction, and the Advisory Board, Student Council, and School Store debut

2022: TNCS embraces the philosophy of One School, One Program, One Community and creates the Portrait of a Graduate, and the parent council becomes the Family Partnership

. . . and whatever wonderful things happen next!

Have we whetted your appetite for more delicious memories? Read on!

What Sets TNCS Apart

We could go on and on (and do, actually). But so many features of this beautiful school have elevated it to truly one of a kind, including multi-language learning, emphasis on the Arts, and all the special moments that take place daily in the classrooms.

Aftercare: Spaceship Camp, Aftercare 1, 2, and 3

Core Values: Kindness Counts!, Giving Back: Heifer International, Peace Day, Student Awards Ceremony, Kindness Buckets, Kindness Rocks, Anti-Bullying, Gratitude

Emphasis on the Whole Child: Physical Activity throughout the Day, Cultural Diversity, Mental Health Awareness, Mindfulness, Restorative Practices, Internet Safety 1 and 2, Unplugging and Connecting, DEI, Spirit Days, Cuddles and Crafts, Positivity, Student Support

Environmental Sustainability: Blown Away with Wind Energy, Viridian, Weeping Willow, Hungry Harvest

Field Trips: Confucius Institute; Math-E-Magic; Columbus Park 1 and 2; Walking Tour with Frederick Douglass; Robinson Nature Center; Milburn Orchards; White House; Cathay Cultural Center; Digital Harbor; Echo Hill 1 and 2; Museum of Industry; AVAM; Irvine Nature Center 1 and 2; Port Discovery; MD Science Center; Frederick Douglass Museum; Washington, D.C.; Chesapeake Shakespeare Company; BARCS; BOP Pizza; Cultivated Creations; Science; Golden Wok

Holidays: Mother’s Day, Holidays

Language Learning: Multilingualism, 5 Cs, International Skype, Mid-Autumn Festival 2018, Preprimary Spanish Immersion, D.C. Chinatown, Youth Chinese Test, Talking the Talk

Miscellaneous: Cursive, International Day of Coding, Chickens, Peace Game, Robots, Anti-Racism, Rain-Making

STEM/Science Fairs: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022

Summer Camps: Lego 2014 and 2016; Move It; Startalk 2014 and 2015; Painting Workshop 2014 and 2016; Drama 2013, 2014, and 2016; Camp Invention 2013, 2014, and 2016; Cooking and Gardening; Chinese Immersion 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019; Spanish Immersion 2016, 2017, and 2018 1 and 2; American Music System 2017, 2018, and 2019; Musical Theatre 2018 and 2019, Shakespeare, Virtual Art 2020

The Arts: Art Program 1, 2, and 3; Music Program 1 and 2; Pipa; Square 1; Strings; 2021

Volunteering: Parent Volunteering, Host Families 1 and 2

Concerts/Shows/Performances

One of the most-appreciated aspects of TNCS is its penchant for celebration! TNCS celebrates all of its wonderful diversity as well as takes every opportunity to put on a good show!

Art Exhibitions: 2017, 2020

Black History Month: 2020 1 and 2, 2021

Hispanic Heritage Night: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018

Lunar New Year: Year of the Snake, Year of the Horse, Year of the Sheep, Year of the Rooster, Year of the Pig, Year of the Rat, Year of the Ox, Year of the Tiger

Miscellaneous: Baltimore’s Chinatown Performance, Confucius Day Institute, Continental Bridge, Greek Plays, Primary Drama, Stand-Up Comedy

Music Concerts: Spring 2014, Winter 2014, Winter 2019

Special Visitors

TNCS has always welcomed special guests to campus to broaden students’ horizons, to participate in meaningful exchange with the community, and to further the TNCS aim of discovery and enrichment. Parents present their jobs or heritage in classrooms, musicians perform, guest speakers share their wisdom, and experts in their fields teach their crafts in special classes. TNCS even got a visit from the Secretary of State, who was wowed by Ge Laoshi’s kindergartners proficiency in Mandarin!

Artists: Baltimore Love Project and Returning Visit, Dia de Los Muertos, Crankies, RecyQueen 1 and 2, 123 Andrés

Chinese Students: 2013, 2017, 2018 1 and 2, 2019 1 and 2

Chinese Teachers and Interns: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019

Guest Speakers: Bonnie Zucker, Deborah Roffman

Family Members: Captain Marc (and Many Others!), BGE, Jazz Saxophonist, Askable Parents, Mindful Parenting

Other Schools: DBFA and the “Big Kids”, Gilman School

Politicians: Councilman Krafts, MD Secretary of State

Workshops/Town Halls/Information and Back-to-School Nights

Informational forums are a great starting point to get to know TNCS and how and why it came to be in addition to what new trails it will blaze. Through the years, these events help tell the story of TNCS.

Back-to-School Nights: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019

Information Nights: 2014, 2014, 2016, 2017

Preprimary Parent Workshops: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 1 and 2, 2018

Primary Parent Workshops: 2016, 2017 1 and 2

Open Houses: 2013, 2014, 2019

Town Halls: 2014, 2015

Service-Learning

TNCS students start giving back the moment they enter TNCS’s illustrious halls. The cumulative impact they have had over the years is staggering. But TNCS itself also gives back. In one of many such ways, in 2018 TNCS launched a partnership with “sister school” Wolfe St. Academy. Exemplary Wolfe St. students are granted scholarships to TNCS, the TNCS community participates in clothing and food donations for Wolfe St. families in need, and TNCS students visit their sister school friends for the “Reading Buddies” program.

In 2019, TNCS middle schoolers took their first international service-learning trip.

Environmental Sustainability: Hack the Trash August 2013; TNCS Wins Recycling Competition December 2013; Pop the Trash 2014; Healthy Harbor 2014 and 2015; Colorcycling; Earth Day 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2020; Puerto Rico 1 and 2, NexTrex Recycling 1 and 2; Costa Rica

Miscellaneous: Breast Cancer Walk, Grant Writing

Outreach: Giving Back November 2013, Holiday Outreach December 2013, Annual Outreach Initiatives, Thanksgiving 2014, 2015, 2018; Project Linus, Reading Buddies 1 and 2, Soup Making, Season for Service, Valentine’s Day Initiatives 1 and 2, Dean’s Initiatives 2021

And there you have it: 13 years of teaching, learning, singing, creating, discovering, growing, laughing, and becoming . . . The New Century School.

TNCS is making 724 South Ann St. a place to thrive and grow once more

05.20.22
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Meet the Teacher: Joan Cui Takes Over TNCS’s Chinese Immersion K/1st Classroom!

Rounding out the second floor of The New Century School‘s building south, this post features Kindergarten/1st grade teacher Jingqiong “Joan” Cui!

As promised, Immersed has been highlighting the younger student divisions this spring (see posts on preschool, K/1st, and the preschool/lower elementary coordinator), and with this post, we introduce Cui Laoshi, who joined TNCS for the 2021–2022 school year.

Meet Jingqiong “Joan” Cui!

Cui Laoshi arrived in Baltimore in 2015 from Chongqing in Shanxi Province, China, about a 3–4-hour car ride from Beijing. She explains that she had just graduated college, but there was a job shortage, so she decided to come to the United States to improve her proficiency with the English language. “I had no real plans,” she said. “I thought I would stay maybe 2 or 3 months, finish my language learning, and then go back to China to find a job, but it didn’t happen.” She was accompanied by a close friend and her son, and all three were education-minded. The son attended high school here, and Cui Laoshi and her “cousin” enrolled in language classes at Notre Dame of Maryland University here in Baltimore.

Cui Laoshi says that she always knew she would work in the field of education but wasn’t sure in exactly what role. “I just knew I wanted to work in education,” she said. “I got a Master’s degree from Towson University in instructional technology in 2019. No matter what I was studying, it was all around education.”

Cui Laoshi at TNCS!

And here we are! Cui Laoshi says that she began as an assistant at TNCS in January, 2020, just a month after earning her graduate degree. She joined then-primary teacher Maria Mosby’s classroom and got her first taste of the Montessori method. “It was a new teaching style for me,” she said, “as I had only known traditional education before. I learned it step by step.” She is grateful to TNCS for giving her the opportunity to learn something new and to grow as an educator.

Of course, soon after she adopted her new role as assistant teacher, TNCS shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cui Laoshi was ready, though, and used her instructional technology expertise to create videos to teach students during the lockdown. These were language themed as well as crafty—young children love to make things with their hands! She also helped edit videos that other teachers made. “Using technology is helpful for teaching. Every teacher uses technology tools and equipment to improve teaching quality,” she said.

With the start of the 2021–2022 school year and the teaching vacancy left by Ge Laoshi when she assumed her new Curriculum Coordinator role, Cui Laoshi got her own Chinese immersion homeroom class and a promotion to lead teacher. “It’s challenging because I’m a totally new teacher, but I’m really excited,” she said. She also has some totally new subject matter to teach: in addition to teaching Mandarin Chinese, she also teaches Global Studies and Science . . . in Chinese. For this, she had to translate a lot of materials into Chinese. She says her students gave adapted very well, and that in the beginning she taught these core subjects in 60% English and 40% Chinese but has since progressed to 80% Chinese. Her methods are ingenious: she works the necessary GS and Science vocabulary into her language class, so her students have a foundation to build knowledge on, all 15 of whom are learning Mandarin for the first time.

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She now has ample opportunities to incorporate technology in her classroom. She uses apps   like WordWorld, for example, to “make words come alive” for her K/1st students who are just beginning their reading journeys. She also finds tools that help them practice writing. Other “tools,” like stickers, reinforce positive learning experiences.

As for what she likes best about TNCS, one special aspect is that she gets more than 1 year to get to know her “loving and warm” students, some of whom she knew from the primary classroom and will have them for 2 years in her homeroom. This makes for a lot of beautiful memories, she says. She also has made lots of new friends among her colleagues.

Cui Laoshi’s desire to educate is clear, and because she knows her students are hungry to learn, she pushes herself to do her best for them, such as preparing more materials to engage them. “There’s two things I know,” she said “they still need to work hard and to improve, and I’m so proud of them.”

When she does allow herself time to relax, she likes to play card games with friends and to travel around the country, which has been curtailed lately. She enjoys the Mid-Atlantic area best but has also visited Boston, New York City, Las Vegas, and so on. One day soon, she hopes to resume her exploration of the United States.

In the meantime, she continues striving to be the best teacher she can be and to encourage her students. “I may not have a lot of teaching experience yet,” she said, “but I have a lot of love. I always remind myself that I’ll get more teaching experience because the kids are giving it to me.” That’s really a very wonderful insight—that, in teaching, she is also learning.

Welcome to TNCS, Cui Laoshi!

05.13.22
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Meet the Teacher: Charlotte Longchamps Joins TNCS as K/1st Teacher!

Charlotte Longchamps joined The New Century School for the 2021–2022 school year to lead a mixed-age kindergarten/1st grade classroom. She may be a relatively recent addition to the faculty, but her philosophy of teaching this age group is deep rooted and has facilitated a very rapid acclimatization to TNCS.

Meet Charlotte Longchamps!

Mrs. Longchamps grew up in Severna Park and has been in Maryland for most of her life. Her now-husband is from the Columbia area and lived here in Baltimore when they began dating. They moved to Boston, both pursuing advanced degrees: a PhD in Human Genetics for him and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies with certificates in Social Justice and Policy Development from Boston College for her. She previously earned a bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education from Towson University.

If it’s starting to sound like Mrs. Longchamps is a natural fit for TNCS, there’s more: “I’m very influenced by Montessori practices and philosophy, so in my own personal philosophy of education and instruction I will implement Montessori practices,” she explained. Although the K/1st classroom is not considered a Montessori classroom, many of those practices are still incorporated into the curriculum by teachers at this level—they work!

Mrs. Longchamps did her student teaching in Arundel County schools (where she went to school as well). She then taught in Montgomery County and first grade at Bethesda Elementary School for 3 years before the temporary relocation to Boston in 2019. It was there that she experienced the Montessori Method, providing weekly STEM instruction at a Montessori school.

The Longchamps moved back to Baltimore in 2021 to be closer to their families.

Mrs. Longchamps at TNCS!

Now happily ensconced at TNCS, she appreciates the smaller class sizes and the tight-knit community of teachers and families. “I have great relationships with all the teachers in the school,” she explained, “and we’re all able to work together to kind of develop curricula and improve our classrooms and instruction.”

In addition to being a K/1st homeroom teacher, Mrs. Longchamps teaches two core subjects: math and ELA. “Since I have the joy of teaching both core subjects, we really get to do some intense work with math and reading,” she said. At first, navigating the mixed ages was challenging. She had experience teaching both ages, but, until now, not both ages together:

It’s been a learning experience teaching two age groups at once. It was interesting to learn how to parallel teach or even compartmentalize those areas with those grades. It was a lot of setting up initially with differentiated centers and differentiated lessons and getting the kids to be independent so I can work with them individually or in small groups. But it’s helped me become more flexible as an educator and really tweak my own planning and instruction to fit the individual students. It was a bit tricky to figure out in the beginning with not yet knowing the kids and the community and wondering if I was heading in the right direction, but you to be able to think on your feet and modify to fit their needs as you go.

Now that she has the hang of it, the emphasis on differentiated instruction and individualized approach to learning are what she likes most about TNCS, apart from the community of teachers she speaks so highly of.

Even though kindergartners and first graders may seem like they are developmentally very similar, “where they are” can actually be quite different. In addition, kindergarten at TNCS is considered a transition from preschool to elementary, so it’s approached differently. Kindergarten students are in an immersive language experience (and Joan Cui, the other K/1st teacher teaches them Mandarin Chinese and Global Studies and Science in Mandarin), whereas 1st graders learn 45 minutes daily of both Spanish and Chinese. (Not to confuse things, but kindergarten students also receive 45 minutes a day of Spanish instruction.)

Back to thinking on her feet, Mrs. Longchamps has also had to be flexible with even where the class eats lunch because of COVID-19. “We try to eat lunch outside whenever we can,” she said. “There are picnic tables on the playground, some students have picnic blankets, and some of them have little folding chairs. So we’ll do that outside as much as possible but when the weather isn’t great or in the winter, we would eat at our classroom desks. Not any longer, but for a while, that meant eating in shifts of four kids at a time to minimize the amount of time not wearing masks.”

Parents, Mrs. Longchamps has an important message for you:

I want them to know—and I hope that they could tell from my actions—that my number one priority is their child’s perception of belonging at school and feeling safe and included. Feeling loved and welcomed is first, and then the academic piece comes behind that. You can’t learn if you’re feeling unsafe or stressed out or not included, so cultivating this safe environment for their children is important. I really emphasize building relationships, getting to know their children individually and deeply during our time together. I feel like the more we know each other, the more motivated they’ll be to learn. The more I will know to help them succeed. So that’s my priority. It is so essential to build up that positive attitude toward learning. You need that foundation before you can build up and bring in academics.

Mrs. Longchamps may well be cultivating lifelong happy learners with this beautiful approach to educating young children. She also says, “my students are so sweet and funny, thoughtful and loving . . . it’s great to watch them grow through the year.” Although she is planning to return for the 2022–2023 school year, she will be out for part of it, welcoming and nurturing a future student of her own. Congratulations, Mrs. Longchamps!