Tag Archives: Chinese language

10.11.24
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Martellies Warren Is Back in the Classroom at TNCS!

Martellies Warren is nothing short of a legend at The New Century School. His history with TNCS is nearly as long as the school itself (scroll to the end for earlier blog posts about this rich history). As one of the longest-serving staff members, Mr. Warren has been an integral part of TNCS’s growth and evolution over the years. He joined TNCS in its early days, in the second year of the school’s operation at its current location. He vividly remembers the excitement of those early years and fondly recalls his fellow staff members like Mrs. Lawson and Ms. Lazarony.

Well-Rounded Approach to Education

Throughout his tenure, Mr. Warren has witnessed and adapted to numerous changes within the school. He’s very proud of the overall development of TNCS’s educational approach. His ability to embrace change while maintaining his core values as an educator has been crucial to his longevity at the school.

Over the years, Mr. Warren’s role at TNCS has evolved. He has worn many hats, from (the world’s best) music director to administrator, and now as the lead teacher for the K-2 cohort. This varied experience has given him a unique perspective on the school’s operations and needs.

Long-Standing Commitment to The New Century School

Mr. Warren’s commitment to TNCS is evident in his approach to the school’s ongoing development. He emphasizes the importance of adapting to change and finding beauty in the present moment. “As someone who’s been here and has seen this school go through so many changes, I had to let go of what it used to be,” he reflects. “If you continue to try to measure today’s metrics with what it was, which is a whole different time with a whole different set of variables, then you’re going to always long for something that used to be.”

Despite the challenges that come with growth and change, Mr. Warren remains optimistic about TNCS’s future. He takes pride in the progress he sees, particularly in the Montessori preschool classrooms and what TNCS Preschool Coordinator Terriann Lane is doing there. “It takes time,” he says, “but we are really getting there. It’s a great place.”

As TNCS celebrates its 15th year, Mr. Warren’s deep connection to the school community continues to shape his teaching philosophy and his interactions with students, parents, and fellow educators. His long-standing commitment to TNCS, combined with his diverse educational background and musical talents, make him a unique and valuable asset to the school community, and he brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to his role.

Early Career and Discovery of Montessori

His journey in education began in traditional classrooms in Baltimore City, but a pivotal moment occurred when he discovered Montessori education. The sight of students engaged in this alternative learning environment at Julia Brown School in Columbia, MD, took his breath away.

Throughout his career, Mr. Warren has embraced various educational approaches, including online middle school teaching in Baltimore County. “I think this diverse background makes me a more well-rounded educator. I can take some of those aspects of that pedagogy and I can apply it now to a more traditional classroom setting,”” he said.

Finding Joy in the Classroom

In his current role, Mr. Warren teaches English Language Arts, Global Studies, and Math. He also continues to share his passion for music, teaching it to most grade levels. His day is a bustling mix of core subjects and music instruction, which he manages when his homeroom students are at Chinese and Spanish lessons (taught by colleagues).

Mr. Warren’s love for his current age group shines through. He appreciates how his K-2 students are independent enough to tackle tasks on their own, yet still seek his guidance and support. “All day I’m hearing ‘Mr. Warren!’ which is wonderful because I’m happy to be of service to them,” he shares with a smile. Describing a recent lesson, he enthuses, “Today we’re working on ‘Fundations‘, which is a curriculum that we’re doing this year. We went into a whole lesson on what a foundation is and discussed how we have to build on something that’s stable and how we view their learning the same way.”

Double Life: Educator and Professional Musician

Beyond the classroom, Mr. Warren has another claim to fame—he’s a successful gospel musician. While his students might not be fully aware of this aspect of his life, it’s a significant part of who he is. As part of Anthony Brown & Group TherAPy, he’s performed alongside industry giants like Kurt Franklin and Yolanda Adams, an experience he still finds mind-blowing.

Mr. Warren credits his own teachers for inspiring his dual career path. He fondly remembers Henry Terry from Montgomery, AL, who first recognized his classical voice and introduced him to competitions and advanced musical training. This experience underscores his belief in the profound impact educators can have on their students’ lives.

Embracing Change and Progress

Mr. Warren reflects on his journey with gratitude. He’s thrilled to be back in the classroom, focusing on what he loves most—interacting with children. “Being in the classroom doesn’t feel like a job,” he says. “My heart leaps when I’m in there.”

Looking Ahead: Winter Concert and Beyond

Looking ahead, Mr. Warren is excited about the upcoming winter concert, a cherished school tradition he’s preparing for with his usual enthusiasm. His positive outlook and dedication to his students continue to make him an invaluable (and much beloved!) asset to the TNCS community.

Music Is in the Air at TNCS!
TNCS’s Winter Performance Amazes and Delights!
TNCS Teachers and Admin Share School Memories!
TNCS’s Music Program Crescendoes!
TNCS Debuts New Summer Camp: Musical Theatre!
Music Is in the Air: TNCS Welcomes Back Martellies Warren!
TNCS Winter Concert 2023: Happy Holidays!
Mr. Warren Goes to Washington!
Mr. Warren Hits All the Right Notes as TNCS’s Summer Camp Director!

02.22.19
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TNCS Hosts Second Group of Students from China in 2019!

As mentioned in an Immersed post earlier this month, The New Century School hosted a second group of school-age Chinese children for a 2-week stay. All from Beijing, Jiaxuan Bai (“Tracy”) and her sister “Elisa,” Jiaming Jin (“Michael”), Junze Ma (“Frank”), Chuxuan Zhang (“Alice”) and Jiran Li (“Mia”), escorted by Elisa and Tracy’s grandmother,  Shuling Zhang, arrived Saturday, February 9th and depart on Saturday, the 23rd. Their first day of school at TNCS was Monday, the 11th, and TNCS students couldn’t wait to meet them, having had such a nice time with Lucy, Meg, Tiger, and Tiffany during the preceding 2 weeks.

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Once again, Candace Moore was the group’s Exchange Coordinator, and she gave them an orientation on Saturday in their Airbnb, followed by a trip to the grocery store. Sunday was a rest-and-relax day and a chance to adjust to the new hours. On Monday, school closed due to inclement weather in the greater Baltimore area, so Ms. Moore took the group shopping at Target and Five Below (city roads were clear, so driving was safe within the city). Their excitement and wonder to be inside those two Hallowed Halls of Worldly Goods are quite evident!

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At The New Century School

On Tuesday, their routine began. They would arrive at TNCS by 8:30 am, attend assigned classes including such specialty classes as English as a Second Language, Music, Art and others, have school lunch, and return to their Airbnb for dinner. Tracy and Alice, both going on age 12, and Michael, age 14, all joined Mrs. Madrazo‘s middle school classroom. Elisa and Mia, ages 8 and 9, respectively, joined Mrs. Biancaniello‘s 2nd- 3rd-grade class room, and Frank, a 4th-grader, joined Ms. Sharma’s 4th- and 5th-grade classroom. They participated in lessons, in-class activities, and the odd walkabout!

No visit to TNCS is complete without a cooking session, and this one was no different. Li Laoshi likes to use Chinese class time on Fridays to do something fun, culturally fun, and so each class made Chinese noodles from scratch. The prize noodle was made by Michael!

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Students also got to try their hand at bucket drumming with TNCS strings teacher Yoshi Horiguchi, another activity that is quickly becoming de rigueur at TNCS (see videos of Yoshi bucket-drumming with some of last-year’s visitors here).

Other Activities

The group’s visit coincided with the Presidents’ Day holiday, so they had a 4-day weekend to sightsee in and around Baltimore during their stay. On Friday, the 15th, accompanied by some of their TNCS friends, they played indoor laser tag and mini-golf at Monster Mini Golf in Parkville, which was a huge hit. The next day they traveled to Washington, D.C. to see the White House, among other important U.S. landmarks. On Sunday, they toured the Baltimore Museum of Art and ate at TNCS’s favorite Chinese restaurant, Orient Express. On Monday, the 18th, they visited the National Aquarium and walked around the Inner Harbor.

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The students got unexpected breaks from the classroom as well. A second inclement weather–induced school closing happened on Wednesday, the 20th . . . this time with 5 glorious inches of snow blanketing the ground! When it snows in Baltimore, kids head in droves to Pagoda Hill in Patterson Park, as our Chinese friends soon learned—they couldn’t believe how many of their TNCS friends were there!

They enjoyed sledding very much, a special treat, as snow in Beijing is a rarity. After their escapades in the snow, they visited TNCS Co-Founder/Co-Executive Director Jennifer Lawner’s house for an afternoon of games and some fun in the kitchen.

Interview with the Group

On their last day at TNCS, Immersed was lucky enough to sit down with the four older children (Michael, Tracy, Frank, and Alice, in the order shown left to right below) to hear firsthand about their experience. (Elisa and Mia were occupied in class.) It should be noted that both Tracy and Alice have been to the United States before, having come with their parents who came to expand their work in medical research. Tracy lived in Washington, D.C. for 2 years in 2015, attending Stone Mill Elementary during that time, and Alice in Boston for 1 year, attending Pierce School. The interview is transcribed below—you will see some clear themes emerging!IMG_2066.jpg

Immersed: Why did you want to come to study at TNCS?

Tracy: Because I wanted to see what the people my age are doing, like, how they study.

Alice: Because the air is fresh and I can play in the playground.

Michael: I like America.

Frank: Because the air is fresh, and everything is so good so I can study better. Also, the food is better than at my school in China.

Immersed: What did you think of TNCS? Did you notice anything different about TNCS from your school?

Tracy: TNCS is great. I like the teachers; they’re nice to me. When I have questions, like about a word I don’t know, they’ll explain it. What is different in my school, after lunch, we get into the classroom and start working on our homework because we have so much. We don’t have recess.

Alice: I think TNCS is very good. We can play in the playground. I notice that he homework is not too much.

Michael: It’s very good. The students in my class were very nice to me and want to be friends with me. The teachers are good, too. What is different is that it’s so active in the classroom.

Frank: [Holding up two thumbs and two big toes] What I like is the same as the other answers.

Immersed: What was your favorite activity outside of school?

Tracy: I like spending so much time outside. I liked the aquarium.

Alice: I liked the aquarium, too. The art museum.

Michael: Visiting the Aquarium and the White House.

Frank: Going to Target and Five Below!

Immersed: What are your hobbies?

Tracy: Skiing, ice-skating and making crafts.

Alice: Ice-skating and making origami.

Immersed: Did you go out to eat anywhere?

Tracy: My grandmother usually cooked dinner, but once we went to a place to eat chicken. While we are in school, Candace takes her shopping and to see things. She takes a lot of photos outside like the sculpture of the blue crab.

Immersed: Okay, last and most important question—what was your favorite food?

Tracy: Tacos! Candace might take me to Taco Bell tomorrow for lunch.

Alice: French fries!

Michael: Pizza!

Frank: Hamburger, fries, pizza, juice!

Farewell, Friends!

As has become the tradition, TNCS hosted a closing ceremony with speeches of thank-you’s from both hosts and guests, presentation of certificates, and snacks.

TNCS was so honored to have you and will miss you, Tracy, Elisa, Michael, Alice, Frank, and Mia! Please stay in touch Bǎochí liánxì (保持联系)!

07.13.18
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TNCS Chinese Camp 2018: Life Cycles!

Just because it’s summer, The New Century School does not stop bringing the language-learning! This week, Immersed is so happy to present this blog by Guest Blogger and TNCS Chinese Lead Teacher, Wei Li (a.k.a., “Li Laoshi”)!

The theme of 2017–2018 Chinese summer camp is “Life cycle.” The duration of this summer camp is 1 week, and the range of students’ age is from K through 8th grade. Joining me in the classroom was our brand-new intern, “Xu Laoshi” (a.k.a. “Nina”).

The main idea of the camp is combining the Chinese language and the subject of science together, with lots of fun, meaningful, hands-on activities and projects, which means our students are learning by doing. We started each day with a little movement to warm up our bodies and minds, in fact.

An important component of our camp was to encourage peer teaching. For example, we had a student who is currently in 8th grade. This student was assigned in the position of director when we were practicing our role play. She felt very proud of this and showed a lot of leadership. Other peer learning happens when students work in small-group activities since our students are both in different ages and levels.

In the camp, our students have learned three life circles: tomato, butterfly, and frog. Our students planted some tomato’ seeds on the first day for observing how they sprout and grow up. They took turns to water the seeds daily.

We next made a poster about the life cycles of tomatoes and butterflies and did a very nice presentation.

In the middle of the week, we learned a story and made a book about “Tadpoles Look for Their Mommy” and shared it in the front of whole class.

On Thursday, we went to Patterson Park for a field trip. Our students picked some leaves and made beautiful art work about the things that we have learned in the camp.

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On Friday, we we had a fun cooking activity, making (and eating!) Chinese pancakes.

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We also did Chinese painting about the story of “Tadpoles Look for Their Mommy” for reinforcement of the bookmaking we did earlier in the week.

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In addition, we put on a play, that was the culmination of all our lessons for the week. For those of you who don’t speak Mandarin Chinese, here is the script of “Tadpoles Look for Their Mommy”:

Narrator: Spring is coming. The eggs have changed to tadpoles. Tadpoles swim around and see a duck mommy.
Tadpoles: Duck mommy, duck mommy, where is our mommy？
Duck mommy: Your mommy has two big eyes and a big mouth.
Narrator: Tadpoles swim around and see a goldfish.
Tadpoles: Mommy! Mommy!
Goldfish: I am not your mommy. Your mommy has four legs.
Narrator: Tadpoles swim around and see a turtle.
Tadpoles: Mommy! Mommy!
Turtle: I am not your mommy. Your mommy has a white belly.
Narrator: Tadpoles swim around and see a goose.
Tadpoles: Mommy! Mommy!
Goose: I am not your mommy. Your mommy wears green clothes.
Narrator: Tadpoles swim around and see a frog.
Tadpoles: Mommy! Mommy!
Frog: Dear Babies, I am your mommy!

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What a great week had by all. Thank you for hosting such a wonderful camp and for contributing this fantastic blog about it, Li Laoshi! 谢谢! Xièxiè!

tncs-chineses-summer-camp-2018

03.16.18
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Meet the Teacher: Pei Ge Rejoins TNCS!

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Pei Ge first joined The New Century School as an assistant in 2016 after earning a bachelor’s degree at Towson University. She then decided to pursue a master’s in early childhood education also at Towson. On graduating this past January, she returned to TNCS in an enhanced role.

“Peggy,” better known as “Pei-Pei Laoshi” to her students, is originally from Shanghai, in China. There, she taught children ages 3 to 6 years. In 2012, she came to the United States and taught in the English program at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Now, living in Towson and back at TNCS, she assists as a floater among the primary classrooms during the mornings, and then teaches the Mandarin Chinese language each afternoon to the lower elementary classes. In fact, the kindergarten/1st-grade level is her favorite grade, but she is certified to teach toddlers up through 3rd-graders. “I’m kind of flexible for the grade,” she said. “My hope is that, maybe next semester if they have a position available for me, I can take the whole class. The Chinese immersion program would be perfect for me.”

Pei-Pei Laoshi is really a perfect fit for the TNCS approach to education. “I really like it here because they have a lot of choice for the language,” she explained. “Teaching Spanish and Chinese provides children with a really great opportunity to learn new languages at a young age. I really think that’s a good idea for young kids, especially with Chinese, because they are able to correctly reproduce the tones when they’re that young. When they’re older, there will be no problem for them.”

She also appreciates the TNCS emphasis on meeting each child at the child’s level: “Because in my class I know there is a Chinese level difference, I try to make sure that I meet everyone’s needs. I use differentiation for each one to make sure that they can learn based on their level.” She works with Li Laoshi to get an idea of each student’s learning profile, as many of her current students were formerly taught by Li Laoshi. They communicate regularly.

Her own style also aligns with TNCS’s overall approach:

For me, my goal is that students can play while learning—not just sitting there while I say, ‘you have to remember this and remember that’—we play and have fun, but we learn something, too. They enjoy it more and learn more when they have hands-on activities. For example, instead of rote memorization of vocabulary words, they might create their own books and vocabulary charts, which will be fun for them as well as being something they created.

For the Chinese Lunar New Year, she and her students made dumplings together. Pei-Pei Laoshi is a lucky rat in the Chinese zodiac.

In her spare time, she enjoys listening to music, reading, and painting. She also likes to relax at home and favors Towson for being a small, quiet town. When she feels like being social, she watch movies with friends and scouts out new restaurants to try (for good, authentic Chinese food, she recommends Orient Express, near the Hopkins campus).

Traveling is also important to Pei-Pei Laoshi. So far, she has visited San Diego; Los Angeles; Seattle; Las Vegas;IMG_0910 and, of course, Orlando.

In closing, she affirmed, “I want the students to want to come to my class everyday, and happily. Then, parents will feel the same, and that’s my goal, too.”

Well said, indeed, Pei-Pei Laoshi!

02.05.16
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TNCS Celebrates Chinese New Year!

The Chinese Lunar New Year is always a big event at The New Century School, a time to reflect on all that has happened during the prior year, connect with family and friends, and eat delicious foods, all to start the new year off in a positive way. This year is Year of The Fire Monkey, and it starts Monday, February 8th. To gear up for this special occasion, TNCS elementary students attended a presentation on China on Friday morning.

Given by a TNCS parent volunteer, the presentation was intended to not only celebrate Chinese culture and customs, but also to invite the elementary attendees to compare and contrast what primary and secondary education looks like in China to their own experiences here as U.S. students. Please excuse generalizations (of both schooling styles), which were made simply for the purposes of the exercise and not to pass judgment on either.

Although at first glance, Chinese and U.S. schools looked pretty similar to the audience, with lots of smiling faces and a happy sort of hubbub going on around campus, the differences became more evident once inside the classroom. Discipline and respect are highly prized in the Chinese classroom, meaning that kids are not permitted to fidget and must sit quietly—on their hands, in point of fact—until called on by the teacher. TNCS students, by contrast, are given the license to sit, stand, or recline where and how they wish at many points during the day so long as they demonstrate that they can handle this freedom and attend to their scholastic pursuits.

Advantages and disadvantages are evident in both approaches. TNCS students get to relax a little as well as not have to constantly fight their very natural instincts to move around, but the Chinese way allows up to 50 students per class to attend to a lesson without potential distractions from surrounding students.

Another point that TNCS students were asked to consider involved what are called “specials” at TNCS and include The Arts and physical education. In China, students are asked to replicate crafts and artwork from a model as well as exercise in perfect unison, and they are held to a very high standard of performance. This can mean that they are not given much opportunity to be creative or exhibit individuality in a given school day, although the skills they master are certainly impressive. U.S. students, by contrast, are frequently encouraged to find their unique identity and then express the heck out of it. However, they may not develop technical mastery of what inspires them at as young an age as do their Chinese counterparts. So, again, one approach might work for some, another for others.

The outcomes of these different approaches are, in some ways, “worlds apart.” While it’s certainly true that Chinese students command a large body of information and demonstrate their capacity for retention at test time, some of their teachers commented on their inability to think for themselves in non-academic environments. Many Western students experience nearly the exact opposite, following their individual paths of inquiry wherever they might lead and employing critical thinking and creative problem-solving to get them down the road. However, the United States ranks far below China (and 20 or so other countries) in measurable scholastic skills like math. This might matter a lot to some, less so to others, but once more the point is in exploring the two styles. Ultimately, it’s probably true that neither educational approach is perfectly ideal across all settings or contexts.

Nevertheless, TNCS students enjoyed teasing out both the differences and the parallels, and it was gratifying to see them imagining themselves in the shoes of a Chinese student. Their observations were insightful and even sometimes incisive. It’s a good bet that many of them would like to visit China for themselves in the near future.

In the meantime, they can content themselves with the video below of the slides presented today in addition to turning their thoughts to the approaching lunar new year, which Li Laoshi and Yangyang Laoshi are sure to help them celebrate with a bang! We hope that this Monkey Year brings you and yours health and happiness!