Tenacre staff held a “secret” Spirit Week for the five days of school before Thanksgiving break, with staff showing up to school each day following a different theme:
Wearing socks with sandals
Drinking out of anything but a cup
Wearing all black
Dressing in fancy clothes
Dressing like a student
Students grasped pretty quickly that something was going on, but staff were heard commenting that it was “such a coincidence” that everyone was dressing the same way or doing the same “strange” things. Staff rallied around this fun scheme with creative ideas, and students were delighted to see what each new day would bring! Click here to see all the photos!
Tenacre students and staff participated in Spark Peace Project, a schoolwide community service project sponsored by Students Rebuild, a group that partners with other non-profit organizations to strengthen communities around the world. This is the 8th year Tenacre has engaged in an effort that includes schools and organizations around the world. In this project, each participant designed a piece of artwork that encourages a more compassionate and peaceful world. For each piece of artwork submitted to Students Rebuild, the community can raise $5 to support peacebuilding organizations such as Earth Tones, Choose Love, CARE, and Kids for Peace. Last year Tenacre raised a total of $910 for the Extraordinary Earth Project. At the completion of the project, an all-school photo was taken with students and staff holding their artwork.
Thanks to two Tenacre parents who worked to make this happen, Tenacre students and staff played host to the Boston Celtics 2024 NBA championship trophy this morning. Lucky the Leprechaun and Celtics representatives spent part of the morning at Tenacre, displaying the trophy and answering students’ questions. Students and staff were thrilled to have their photo taken with the trophy and see it up close.
Big Friends and Little Friends in PK and fourth grade worked together on a community service project this morning. The project is part of a schoolwide community service project sponsored by Students Rebuild, a group that partners with other non-profit organizations to strengthen communities around the world. The Big Friends and Little Friends together designed a piece of artwork that encourages a more compassionate and peaceful world.
Third graders have been studying the structure of a flowering plant, starting from the roots to the petals. They recently dissected a flower specimen to identify key organelles like the pistil and stamen. They will soon explore how flowers are well-suited to attract pollinators.
On November 18, Tenacre’s Community Inclusiveness Committee (CIC) welcomed best-selling author Jennifer Wallace, who wrote Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic-and What We Can Do About It. This event, held in partnership with The Chestnut Hill School, was a virtual event for parents. Tenacre parent and CIC Chair Megan Czerwinski moderated the event and engaged Wallace in a conversation to address the question, “How can we encourage our kids to strive for excellence in a way that does not induce unnecessary stress and cause unintentional harm?” Wallace is an award-winning journalist whose second book, Mattering in the Modern World: A Solution to the Crises of Our Time, is based on five years of research and an original global mattering survey. After graduating from Harvard College, Wallace worked as a producer at CBS “60 Minutes," where she was part of the team that won The Robert F. Kennedy Award for Excellence in Journalism. She is a contributor to The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post and frequently appears on national television programs to discuss her work.
Kindergarteners held puppet shows for each other and their Big Friends in fifth grade on Friday after reading and studying storybooks like Caps for Sale, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Carrot Seed, and Frederick. Students designed puppets for each character in the stories, drew the setting of the story, and performed a puppet show for their classmates. To design the puppets, students looked for familiar shapes that make up each character and attached movable legs using brass brads. They performed their puppet shows for their classmates using Tenacre puppet theaters created by Tenacre’s tech and design department.
This morning sixth graders participated in a collaborative STEM project in which they created a chute for a ping pong ball to travel 12 feet, starting at a height of 12 inches and ending in a specific location on a piece of tape! Their only supplies were office paper and kapla blocks. They worked in teams of four and tested a variety of options to create a successful chute.
Tenacre was honored to host former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice via Zoom for a conversation with Tenacre third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders about government. Tenacre grandparent Greg Brown, a friend of Dr. Rice, moderated the discussion from Tenacre’s Wells Playhouse, where students sat. Dr. Rice explained that a democracy is a government for the people, by the people, and that it is a tremendous gift to be a citizen of the democracy of the United States. “Never take for granted the privilege of being a citizen in a democracy,” she told Tenacre students. Dr. Rice also spoke about her role as Secretary of State (2005-2009) and her background before taking questions from students. She concluded by advising Tenacre students to work hard, be honest, get to know people with different interests, and to find activities that bring them joy.
Dr. Rice served as the first female African-American secretary of state (2005-2009) and U.S. national security advisor (2001-2005). She served under presidents George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama. At the time of her appointment as Secretary of State, Dr. Rice was the highest-ranking woman in the history of the United States to be in the presidential line of succession.
In honor of Veterans Day, Tenacre welcomed three veterans this morning to share their experiences at an all-school assembly. Tenacre current parent and Specialist Anjuli Hyppolite, Lt. Colonel Tom Duff, and Nurse Mary Beth Sandman all spoke about their service and answered questions from the student and faculty audience. We are grateful for the service of all veterans and thank them for keeping us safe and protecting our country.
Measuring, mixing, and having fun together, first and sixth graders made loaves of pumpkin bread this morning. An annual project of the Big Friend/Little Friend program, students love working with their Big or Little Friend on this project. The baked loaves will be donated to a local food pantry.
Fourth graders hosted a heartwarming all-school assembly this morning to introduce their Little Friends in PK. Each fourth grader presented his or her Little Friend, explaining what they learned about their Little Friend and then sharing their hopes for their Friend’s school year. Hopes included such ideas as learning their letters, making great new friends, having an amazing school year. The Little Friends stood right next to their Big Friends and enjoyed their time in the spotlight.
Wellesley police officer Kathy Poirier visited Tenacre’s sixth-grade classroom this afternoon to speak about her job as a school resource officer and answer students’ questions. Serving as the liaison between the Wellesley Police Department and schools in Wellesley, Officer Poirier, works with schools from pre-kindergarten through grade 8 in Wellesley. Officer Poirier answered many questions about safety and what to do in different situations.
Students loved the enrichment assembly this morning, hosted by Urbanity Dance from Boston’s South End. Urbanity dancers demonstrated different styles of dance—hip hop, salsa, contemporary—and invited student volunteers to participate on stage. The assembly ended with an all-school “dance” in the bleachers to Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop This Feeling!” Log in to My Tenacre see the all-school video under News/Featured Content!
Fourth graders worked on a collaborative music/technology project this morning, creating a marble run using the bars of xylophones and marimbas on a peg board. Students learned they could change the sound and rhythm of their “song” by changing the placement and order of the bars from the two instruments of their run.
Fifth graders performed their class play this morning, “Superheroes Unite.” In this tale, the citizens of Nova City need a patron superhero to save them from the evil clutches of the nefarious Colonel Mustard and his sidekick Hemlock. They learn that by working together, they can bring justice and security to Nova City.
Tenacre hosted it annual Apple Pie Run for the school community this past weekend. The course of this longtime tradition winds through the campus, finishing on the playground with apple pies for everyone! A fun and delicious way to start the weekend!
Fourth graders presented their class play this morning – “Let’s Eat! A Tasty Musical for Anyone who Loves Food!” Fourth graders celebrated food in this musical, which included songs like “The Fast Food Tango,” “Chicken Pot Pie,” “My Banana Split” and “Pizza.” Guest appearances were made by Tenacre’s chefs and Mr. Riseborough!
Girls Can, Tenacre's affinity group for fifth and sixth grade girls, had their first meeting of the 2024-2025 school year last Friday. At this first meeting, the participants learned about the group's purpose and history. Then, they completed a survey that asked about topics of interest, project ideas, and future opportunities to bring back alumna to speak (a past favorite). To end the meeting, the students made inspirational bracelets with short phrases (ex: joy, try, brave) to wear as a reminder of the group.
Fourth graders and pre-kindergartners met this morning as part of Tenacre's Big Friend Little Friend program. Fourth graders "interviewed" PKers about their hopes for the school year in honor of this year's school theme of Hope. In the coming weeks, fourth graders will present the results of their interviews at an all-school assembly, where they will be joined on stage by their pre-kindergarten Little Friends.
This morning, Tenacre’s Multicultural Group learned about the holiday Diwali and were taught how to make diyas, oil lamps lit during the festival of Diwali to symbolize prosperity in the new year. Special thanks to current parent Dr. Niti Shama for her help.
Tenacre hosted a kick-off celebration last night to celebrate the launch of its Success By Design Campaign. Success By Design will invest in the people, places, and programs at Tenacre by anchoring our learning support and enrichment in a dedicated space, expanding our design technology program with a new curriculum and space, and investing in our most valuable resources—our faculty, staff, and students. In addition to investment in our school programs, Success By Design will also focus on increasing Tenacre’s auxiliary programming. We were thrilled to celebrate the kick-off of this campaign with more than 200 members of our community, including current parents, past parents, alumni, grandparents, and faculty and staff. Click here to see additional photos!
This morning, first graders performed their class play for an enthusiastic audience. “Our Musical World: An International Musical Revue” included a lively selection of songs from Scotland, Ghana, Japan, and Brazil. Class plays are an important tradition at Tenacre. With each class play, students gain confidence performing for an audience and become more comfortable speaking in public. In addition to speaking roles, plays often provide opportunities for creative expression through song and dance. Working together to perfect their performances, students learn valuable lessons about cooperation and teamwork.
Tenacre's fifth- and sixth-grade flag football team notched a win yesterday on Centennial Field against The Fay School, 32-20. The Tigers took an early 6-0 lead, but fell behind 13-14, before scoring three consecutive touchdowns to break open the game.
Yesterday, pre-kindergartners investigated whether a pumpkin could float (it can) and explored the inside of the pumpkin to see what they could find. After reaching their arms in to see what it felt like, PKers described the interior as “gooey,” “slippery,” “cold,” and “wet.”
Sixth graders are investigating mold growth in science class after collecting samples from different locations in school. Using the scientific method, they have been analyzing the results over the course of a week. Locations that students tested include a window sill, a keyboard space bar, a bathroom sink, a toilet seat, and the gecko cage in the science room. They transferred their swabs to a petri dish and then watched to see what would grow. They measured the diameter of any mold colonies and recorded their observations onto a data table. Sixth graders analyzed their data and wrote a concluding statement that summarized their findings.
Fourth graders started the year with a team-building field trip to Hale Reservation, focusing on teamwork and cooperation. Students participated in a variety of games that required them to work together to solve challenges as a group, helping them learn the importance of collaboration. During a ropes challenge, they supported and cheered each other on. Afterwards, they participated in reflection on the day and thought about a time they were brave and a time they were challenged.
This morning, Tenacre sixth graders honed their person-to-person speaking skills while participating in mock interviews with Tenacre staff. The interviews are part of Tenacre’s public speaking curriculum, which also focuses on class presentations and performances. In addition, the mock interviews help students prepare for potential secondary school interviews. After each student was interviewed by staff members, the sixth-grade class met to debrief with Head of School Will Crissman and Enrollment Director Meg Burke.
The girls' fifth- and sixth-grade soccer team kicked off Tenacre's fall athletic season today with a game against the Fay School. A great effort by both schools. Cross country, flag football, and boys' soccer all have games next week. Go Tigers!
Pre-kindergarteners are in the midst of their annual apple unit. They have listened to stories about apples, practiced counting with apples, and participated in crafts that involve counting, sorting, and creating apples.
Pre-kindergarteners and fourth graders gathered this morning for their first meeting as part of the Big Friend/Little Friend program, a beloved Tenacre tradition in which younger students and older students are paired up for the year. The group will meet regularly throughout the year and participate in different activities together. For their first meeting, the Big Friends/Little Friends met each other and spent time on together on the playground.
Tenacre welcomed artist Sammia Atoui as its visiting artist this morning. Her work is currently being exhibited in the Tenacre Art Gallery (TAG). Sammia started the morning by hosting a community assembly to tell students about her work. She then taught an art class to sixth-grade students. Sammia is a printmaker and painter whose subject matter spans portraits, flowers, and nature. She has a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in Printmaking, an MBA from Simmons School of Management. She currently owns and operates MiraMar Print Lab, a printmaking studio in Swampscott MA with her husband, artist Adrian Rodriguez. Previous to opening MiraMar Print Lab, Sammia worked as an artist out of her home studio creating works on paper featuring figures and flora, led Satoui Designs, and held positions at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, City of Boston (Public Art), and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
Sixth graders recently returned from their class trip to Thompson Island–a two-night, three-day adventure. In this highly anticipated tradition, the class participated in various Outward Bound activities led by counselors from Thompson Island. In addition to beautiful weather, students enjoyed challenging activities, class bonding games, and downtime with their friends. They returned to campus a tired, but exhilarated bunch.
In honor of Chef Appreciation Week, Tenacre students and staff took a moment after lunch today to thank Tenacre’s amazing FLIK chefs for the delicious meals they prepare for our community. Each homeroom made personalized cards for our favorite chefs and gave them a standing ovation. We are so grateful to have them at Tenacre!
Tenacre students are getting into the swing of things during their first week back at school. Students have learned new routines, focused on academics, and connected with new and old friends.
Welcome back Tenacre! Students have returned to school, and we are thrilled to see the hallways filled with children. Students and staff were full of smiles as old friends reconnected and new friends were made.