by TNCS blogger

Service Learning Gets Souped Up at TNCS!

Service is a core value at The New Century School, along with Respect, Compassion, and Courage. Dean of Service Learning Alicia Danyali makes sure that TNCS students have regular projects to engage in that benefit the community and environment, from the Fell’s Point neighborhood, to Baltimore City, to national and international initiatives. Past projects include—but certainly are not limited to—Kindness Rocks, tree restoration in Puerto Rico, blanket-making for sick children, and raising storm water run-off awareness.

Soup’s On!

On Friday, September 27th, Ms. Danyali introduced her vision for Q1’s service learning project for TNCS 5th- through 8th-graders: making soup kits for food insecure citizens of Baltimore. She found this opportunity through an organization called Live with Purpose, whose mission is to [engage] volunteers to meet vital community needs and live with purpose through meaningful service.” The soup kits will be distributed to Living Classrooms and other local organizations like Paul’s Place who will distribute them to identified families in need to provide them “a hot and hearty meal.”

Before the kit assembly began, though, Ms. Danyali provided some context:

I know you’ve been partnering with other classrooms on some school-related service initiatives, but, today, you get to do a service activity with a focus on human dignity. No matter what anybody’s background, everybody deserves to be respected. We have to have meaning in our lives, which means that we have to take care of ourselves but also other people here in our school community and even beyond. I think it’s a really important value to serve. So, today we’re going to work on soup kits for people in Baltimore who are facing food insecurity. Food insecurity means that a person may not have the means to get enough food. When I reached out to Live with Purpose, they said they needed help making soup kits, and I said, ‘I have the perfect helpers!’

She next shared some sobering facts:

The USDA defines food insecurity as “a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life.”
A quarter of Baltimore residents live in a food desert (an area where fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods are difficult to find due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and healthy food providers).
Nearly half of Maryland’s hungry are working—people who don’t make enough to provide both healthy food and a safe home for their families.
1 in 4 children in Baltimore City’s schools are hungry when arriving to school, having not eaten a full meal since they left school the day before.

These are terrible truths that are difficult to fathom—25% of school-aged children go to school hungry? And 25% of all Baltimoreans don’t have access to healthy food?

These soup kits could make a real difference in our neighbors’ lives. So, during Teacher’s Choice time, first middle schoolers then elementary students spent 30 minutes putting together bean and barley soup kits to serve 4 to 6 people each. Stations were set up for pairs of students, and they got right to it!

“I think this is a great way to give back to the community,” said one TNCS 6th-grader. “This is fun, and it makes me feel good because I know I’m helping,” echoed a 7th-grader. They worked very carefully and neatly to produce attractive, quality kits.

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Thanks to TNCS students and TNCS Dean of Service Learning Alicia Danyali, some Baltimore residents might feel a little less insecure this fall. “I’m confident that knowing you’re helping other people, you’ll be very happy,” said Ms. Danyali.

03.01.19

by TNCS blogger

TNCS Elementary & Middle Visit the Frederick Douglass–Isaac Meyers Maritime Park!

February marked Black History Month, also known as National African American History Month, the annual celebration of notable achievements by African Americans as well as a time to reflect on their critical role in the history of the United States. This period of recognition dates back to 1915, 50 years post-emancipation, when historian Carter G. Woodson and minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), formerly the ASNLH. This organization went on to sponsor a week dedicated to Americans of African descent during the second week of February, which coincides with the birthdays of two of the most important figures in all of U.S. history, Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

Since 1976, that week has expanded to embrace the whole month of February, and each year the sitting ASALH has established a different theme for Black History Month. For 2019, that theme was “Black Migration.” According to their website:

The theme Black Migrations equally lends itself to the exploration of the century’s later decades from spatial and social perspectives, with attention to “new” African Americans because of the burgeoning African and Caribbean population in the United States; Northern African Americans’ return to the South; racial suburbanization; inner-city hyperghettoization; health and environment; civil rights and protest activism; electoral politics; mass incarceration; and dynamic cultural production.

Elementary and middle school students at The New Century School learned last month just how Baltimore figures into this theme in very important ways. Although Maryland upheld the constitutionality of slave-holding from 1715 through 1864, the city of Baltimore was a hybrid of northern and southern proclivities. Being so close to the Mason-Dixon line, it was a stopover point for escaping slaves headed north to abolitionist states or Canada. It was also home to many freed former slaves, one of whom was Frederick Douglass himself.

TNCS Head of School Alicia first gave some preparatory social/emotional learning lessons tailored to first one cohort of 4th- through 8th-graders and, later, a second cohort of 2nd- and 3rd-graders.

After, they walked through Fell’s Point to the Frederick Douglass | Isaac Myers Maritime Park & Museum overlooking the harbor on Thames St. and now under the aegis of Living Classrooms.

TNCS students would explore some big questions prior, during, and after their visit: “How can one man own another?” for example. They would also consider the Underground Railroad and how so much of a runaway slave’s chance of successful escape was completely out of their own control— how much uncertainty and difficulty a slave would likely encounter.

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The students were completely captivated by the interactive exhibits. They will not soon forget their encounter with Frederick Douglass or with what it was like to follow the North Star with the fervent hope of reaching a better place.

12.22.17

by TNCS blogger

Baltimore Gets a Special Visitor from the North Pole!

On Friday, December 22nd, something truly special occurred in Baltimore, MD: A Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) flew all the way down from the Arctic to land at Masonville Cove overlooking the Patapsco River, as shown in the photo below (lack of resolution due to distance from the owl).

“What’s the big deal (and what does this have to do with The New Century School)?” you may be asking. To find out what made this event so extraordinary, Immersed spoke to Jim Rapp, Co-organizer of Baltimore Birding Weekends (scroll below for details) and lifelong aficionado of the natural sciences.

Jim Rapp, Co-organizer, Baltimore Birding Weekends

Snowy Owl FAQs

First, check out this video about Snowy Owls on Assateague Island that Mr. Rapp filmed just a couple of weeks before our visitor graced us with its presence.

So, what’s all the fuss again? Mr. Rapp explains:

For birders, a Snowy Owl is considered a birding rarity. Although a few usually show up in the mid-Atlantic during the winter months each year, it is such an unusual occurrence that birders will travel for miles to see one, or to add the species to their life list.

Every 4 or 5 years, a natural phenomenon known as an irruption occurs. During an irruption, Snowy Owls fly south into the United States during the winter months following a very successful nesting season in the Arctic. The successful nesting season is attributed to large populations of lemmings, the Snowy Owl’s favorite prey species.

Once in a birder’s lifetime, a “mega-irruption” occurs, when massive numbers of owls migrate south. The last mega-irruption occurred in 2013–2014, when owls made it as far south as Florida and Bermuda.

Photo Credit: Dave Messick, Hooked on OC/Unscene Productions.

Also read Snowy owls come back to Assateague island.

Masonville Cove: Your Chance to See the Owl!

As to how and why Masonville Cove is temporarily hosting a Snowy Owl, no one really knows, but this is a great chance to see a beautiful creature that you may never again see in your lifetime. According to its website, “Masonville Cove is 70 acres of water and 54 acres of cleaned-up wetlands, nature trails, and a protected bird sanctuary, all soon-to-be protected by a conservation easement and part of the Shores of Baltimore Land Trust.” In partnership with Living Classrooms, this environmental education center (located at 1000 Frankfurst Ave., Baltimore, MD 21226) connects students with the rich habitats and inhabitants of this piece of Baltimore’s biodiverse waterfront.

Mr. Rapp continues:

Irruptions are still a bit of a mystery to scientists. Years ago, the southern movement of Snowy Owls was believed to have been caused by a lack of prey in the north. Scientists thought the owls were leaving in search of food, and were starving when they arrived in the United States. Thanks in part to capturing live owls to study and band them, researchers have instead found that owls wintering in the United States are typically fat and happy. Snowy Owls that winter near the water, such as near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor or Assateague Island, will feed on wintering ducks. The spark that causes the owls to migrate is still a bit of a mystery, but it appears that irruptions are connected to a bounty of food rather than scarcity.

There’s a good chance that the Snowy Owl spotted at Masonville Cove in Curtis Bay on Friday, Dec. 22nd will remain there through the winter months. The open habitat is just right for Snowy Owls, and there are lots of Buffleheads and other ducks on the water. If you choose to go see a Snowy Owl, please remember to obey property rules, and never get so close to a resting owl that you cause it to get nervous or fly away. A calm owl will sit in the same spot for hours during the day, conserving it’s energy for night-time hunting. If you get too close, Snowy Owls will fidget and bob their heads back and forth, and will fly away if really anxious. Surviving the winter is hard enough without being harassed while you’re sleeping, so give our visiting owls a break and keep your distance.

Says Mr. Rapp, “I love how Snowy Owls connect non-birders to nature. This bird has charisma that extends far beyond the birding world, perhaps due to Hedwig from the Harry Potter books and movies, or simply because these Arctic ambassadors are just so stunningly beautiful. Whenever a Snowy Owl is reported, you’ll find a nice diversity of people willing to bundle up to take a hike just to see one.”

Besides getting this lovely visit from our current friend, Charm City has another special connection with Snowy Owls. A young male owl named “Baltimore” made history in 2015 by revealing more about the routes a Snowy Owl might trace in a year than ever before recorded. In fact, aptly-named Baltimore is the “best known Snowy yet”! This video from NPR tells Baltimore’s story—and follows his amazing journey.

As the video also describes, “to study their behavior in more detail, scientists have partnered to form Project Snowstorm,” explained Mr. Rapp. “Some Snowy Owls that migrate into the United States. are captured and outfitted with small transmitter backpacks. Using cell phone technology, scientists can track their movements in the United States and southern Canada while the owls are in cell phone territory. When they move into the Arctic out of cell service range, the tracking ability ceases to work, but the owls can “blink” back on if they fly south in future years.” For more information, visit www.ProjectSnowstorm.org.

Finally, says Mr. Rapp, “If you want to go winter birding in Charm City with a knowledgable guide–and maybe see a Snowy Owl!–check out the Winter Baltimore Birding Weekend, hosted by Patterson Park Audubon Center. The event will be held February 10–11, 2018, and will include birding field trips at Masonville Cove, Fort McHenry, and boat trips on the Inner Harbor.” For more information, visit www.BaltimoreBirding.com. A second birding weekend is planned for May 2018.