News

The Tenacre community gathered to celebrate the holidays with its annual December Celebration performances. Students in Grades 3-6 sang from the stage at Dana Hall for two performances today. This Tenacre tradition is always a festive way to observe the holidays and a great way to kick off school vacation!

This fall, when the At The Forefront campaign construction project needed to cover the windows of the kindergarten breakout room for safety reasons, kindergartners got creative with the new, blank space. They created a map of the entire construction project, using only their imaginations and their hands! Students have been working industriously on their different committees over the past two months, and the result is a homemade map that details the Tenacre campus. Kindergarten teachers integrated curriculum pieces into this project, making it engaging and fun, while teaching fine motor skills, collaboration, literacy, and planning—among other skills.

Kindergarten students welcomed a special visitor this morning from England. The grandmother of a student came to class to speak to students about Boxing Day, an British holiday celebrated December 26. After explaining the holiday and reading a story, kindergartners participated in a Boxing Day tradition – using Christmas Crackers, which contain a prize after being pulled apart. Students loved pulling apart the Crackers and finding their prize and paper crown inside.

Kindergartners, first graders, and second graders brought the holiday spirit to Tenacre this morning with the first of two performances of Candles of All Colors. This year, students performed in Wells Playhouse, since the lunchroom is under construction. Led my music teacher Sarah Kornfeld, the students added new songs to some of the established numbers. Candles of All Colors is a festive way to kick off the holiday season!

Tenacre fifth and sixth graders sang "America the Beautiful" at the Providence Bruins game on Sunday afternoon. A group of 15 students volunteered to sing. Afterwards, everyone sat back and enjoyed the game -- a 2-1 overtime win against the Springfield ThunderBirds.

Sixth graders visited Natick’s A Place to Turn food pantry last Thursday as part of their service learning curriculum. Students helped stock shelves and check expiration dates of food and also donated tween-sized clothing. They spent time talking about why it is important to have a food pantry in a “well-off” suburban town—that there are families in need in both cities and suburbs.

Second graders have been learning to program robots in technology class. With a program called Dash & Dot, students utilize an app on the iPad to “instruct” the robot on how to move. Students can program the robot to move forward, backward, spin, light up—the options are endless. Programming helps students develop skills in logical thinking, problem solving, resilience, collaboration, and communication.

Tenacre’s students and staff all participated in a community service initiative this morning for the Students Rebuild Youth Uplift program. Students Rebuild is raising money to support children’s education in areas where poverty and the need to support families has made accessing educational opportunities almost or completely impossible. The Bezos Foundation, which runs Healing Classrooms/Students Rebuild, is teaming up with Save the Children and Global Nomads Group to support impoverished youth specifically in Nicaragua and Indonesia. For each hand made by students and mailed in, the Bezos foundation will donate $1.90 -- up to $500,000. Every student and staff member at Tenacre made a hand out of paper for this project. At the end of the morning, we took an all-school photo of students and staff with their hands.

Fifth graders presented Shakespeare’s "Romeo and Juliet" this morning. The study of Shakespeare started over the summer for fifth graders, when they read "Romeo and Juliet" for school. As part of their study of the causes and effects of the American Revolution, students learn about England in the 16th and 17th centuries -- Queen Elizabeth, the power of Spain, and the important role the theater played in education, entertainment, and enlightenment during this period.

Artist Kristin Stashenko visited Tenacre this morning and worked with students in first and fourth grade art classes. An award-winning artist, Stashenko is well known for her graphic works of architectural interior and exterior landscapes in gouache and acrylic. Trained as a scientist, Stashenko eventually changed her focus to art. She started by drawing portraits of children of friends, and then moved on to using watercolors and acrylic paints. She often finds herself inspired by the way light falls.

Tenacre held a Veterans Day assembly this morning and invited Sarada Kalpee, a veteran of Afghanistan and a member of the U.S. Army Reserves, to speak to students. A First Sergeant, Kalpee is the Director of Veterans Services for Wellesley, Weston, Lincoln, and Needham. She served a 12-month tour in Kandahar and is an active member of the Reserves. As she answered numerous questions from students, the Tenacre community was reminded of the incredible role that Veterans play for our country. We salute all Veterans!

Sixth graders held a school presidential election today for Grades 3-6 and faculty, encouraging 100% participation. Polls opened at 8:00 a.m. and closed after lunch recess. No word yet on the winners—sixth graders have been too busy with classwork to count the ballots!

Tenacre hosted five best-selling youth authors yesterday afternoon for the Mega Awesome Author event, held in conjunction with Wellesley Books. A maximum capacity crowd of 200 fans filled Wells Playhouse to see and hear New York Times bestsellers Rick Riordan, Jonathan Stroud, Eoin Colfer, Robert Beatty, and Joshua Kahn speak. The authors spoke about different aspects of writing, all while entertaining the audience with stories and jokes. Guests left the event with autographed books and smiles on their faces.

Tenacre students gleefully participated in the annual Halloween parade this morning, displaying their colorful and creative costumes. Before the parade, the school joined together in a sing-a-long about the 13 Nights of Halloween, which included guest appearances by various Tenacre teachers.

Anjali Forber-Pratt, a Paralympic athlete and a professor at Vanderbilt University, spoke to fourth, fifth, and sixth graders this morning as part of Tenacre’s “Flexibility” theme for 2016-2017. Forber-Pratt, who has been paralyzed from the waist down since she contracted transverse myelitis as an infant, was inspired by the Boston Marathon wheelchair race when she was five years old. She decided then that she wanted to try wheelchair racing. “I realized I could live a life and have dreams, even though I have a disability,” she told the Tenacre audience. “It opened my eyes to possibilities.”

Fourth graders presented their class play, “Rats! The Story of the Pied Piper,” this morning in Wells Playhouse. The town of Hamelin is overrun with rats, and the citizens are in a panic until the mysterious Pied Piper appears, offering to solve their dilemma for a small fee.

Students came to school in their PJs yesterday for Tenacre’s Grub Day. Teachers joined the fun, too, which led to a “vote for the best teacher PJs” contest. Students in every grade were thrilled to cast their votes. As students participated in this “election,” Tenacre’s consulting psychologist, Allan Wyatt, offered some words of advice on how to talk about the “other” election taking place.

Author and illustrator Ryan Higgins visited with Tenacre students this morning, keeping them in stitches with his expressive reading of “Hotel Bruce.” The animated author, who worked with pre-kindergarten through second grade, also tapped their imaginations to create a new animal, which Higgins then drew for the audience. Higgins’ new book, “Quiet,” launches tomorrow.

Tenacre students attended a special ceremony this morning, helping to break ground for the new Christian B. Elliot Community Center. Two sixth graders and three first graders shoveled the ceremonial dirt to signify the start of the construction project. Before the ceremony, students enjoyed a festive snack—choosing a cookie in the shape of a saw, hammer, screwdriver, wrench or pliers.

Pre-kindergartners and fourth graders met today for the first Big Friend/Little Friend gathering of the year. Both grades were excited to meet their new friends. They spent time in the Pre-K classroom participating in a variety of activities together.

Sixth graders held their Flexibility assembly this morning, sharing different views on what flexibility is and why it is important. Their presentations included speaking, gymnastics, “swimming," singing, and rapping. Great job by all!

Tenacre welcomed author and illustrator Matthew Holm and author Jonathan Follett this afternoon to speak with students in second, third, fifth, and sixth grade. Holm and Follett, best friends since middle school, co-authored a new children’s graphic novel, “Marvin and the Moths,” a wacky horror-comedy about middle school. Holm is also the author of the popular Baby Mouse series, a graphic novel series for geared toward second and third graders. Holm and Follett gave an engaging and entertaining presentation that had both students and adults giggling.

Tenacre fourth graders once again tested their creativity with the annual pumpkin project. Librarian Esther Frazee directs this popular project, which students complete at home. Students are asked to take their favorite character from summer reading and transform him or her into a pumpkin! The pumpkins are currently on display in the library.

This morning, artist Lauren Mehrberg visited Tenacre, giving an all-school assembly and working with students in art class. Mehrberg, whose glass mosaics are displayed in the Tenacre Art Gallery (TAG) answered numerous questions from students about her work. After the assembly, she worked with fourth and sixth graders in their art classes, helping them create their own mosaics.

Math Coordinator Dr. Kevin Mahoney returned yesterday from two weeks in India, where he had been invited to teach Indian math teachers about the Singapore Math curriculum. Tenacre has used the Singapore Math method for the past eight years. Mahoney gave six, daylong workshops in three cities – Mumbai, Delhi, and Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.

This morning at assembly, Head of School Chris Elliot explained his definition of “flexibility.” He asked students to think of three images when thinking about flexibility: a rubber band, the letter X, and a rainbow.

• Rubber band: A rubber band stretches and so should students. They should try to stretch out of their comfort zone, as that is the best way to learn.
• X: The letter “X” goes in four different directions, offering a symbol for flexibility. There are often many ways of doing one thing, and the letter X reminds us of that.
• Rainbow: A rainbow shows many beautiful colors. Mr. Elliot suggested that the colors represent different viewpoints and opinions. Instead of only liking one color (viewpoint), it is important to embrace and accept all the colors (viewpoints).

A great lesson on flexibility, Mr. Elliot!

Welcome back to our Tenacre families! We are thrilled to have the classrooms and hallways full of students. We look forward to a great 2016-2017 at Tenacre.

We hope hope everyone is enjoying the summer. We will be back with more shcool news after Tenacre starts classes on September 6. In the meantime, relax and take it easy!

Tenacre sixth graders participated in Good-Bye Evening on June 13, the school’s annual closing ceremony for Grade 6. Students returned for a half-day the following day, and then summer vacation started. School is out, and students have scattered. Wishing everybody a wonderful summer!

The weather was sunny and cool for Tenacre students as they participated in Field Day this morning. Students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade played a variety of games throughout the morning. One of the highlights was the annual relay race in which students race to fill up a bucket using a cup with a hole in the bottom!

Sixth graders were busy this morning creating customized bird houses in library class. In this project, which librarian Esther Frazee created six years ago, sixth graders choose their favorite picture book from their time at Tenacre and use the pages of the book to create a collage on a wooden bird house. It brings back many fond memories for the sixth graders, as they are about to leave Tenacre and move on to new schools.

The Tenacre Dads Group hosted its annual camp-out on the Tenacre grounds Saturday night. It was a huge success, with more than 100 students attending the event, along with a parent. After setting up tents at 6:30, students played games—tug-o-war, sack races, egg toss, to name a few. They slowed down long enough to relax at the fire pit and make s’mores at sunset, before gathering under the big tree on the playground to listen to ghost stories. Quiet time started at 10:00 p.m., but more than a few youngsters may have been awake a little longer than that! Thank you to the Dads Group for organizing such a great event!

Fourth graders spent the morning last Thursday at Central Rock Gym in Watertown, learning to rock climb at the indoor gym. This is part of the Grade 4 P.E. unit that teaches life skills to students. Every grade at Tenacre has a life skills unit—pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and second grade learn to ice skate. First graders learn to ice skate, too, but also learn to ride a two-wheeler. Third graders hike Blue Hills; fifth graders learn to cross country ski; and sixth graders learn to kayak and canoe in the Charles River.

Fifth graders hosted their annual fine arts assembly this morning. Students volunteered to sing, play an instrument, dance, and even showcase their skills on video. Fellow classmates introduced the acts, so the entire class was involved.

Fourth graders hosted their annual egg drop challenge this morning in the lunchroom. For this science project, students attempt to defy gravity by engineering a protective container that will keep a raw egg from cracking or breaking when dropped from a distance of about 26 feet. Mr. Kerr from Facilties was in charge of dropping the eggs, which were then unwrapped to see if they survived. Most eggs survived thanks to ingenious contraptions devised by the students.

Sixth graders hosted their annual “wax museum” this morning, showcasing research projects on historical figures of their choosing. The project involved researching information in the library, writing a paper, and orally presenting and portraying the information. At the “wax museum,” students dressed up as their subject and gave a brief speech about the accomplishments and importance of their subject. Some of the historical figures that students chose were Harry Houdini, Marie Curie, John F. Kennedy, Sally Ride, Steve Jobs, and Amelia Earhart. The goal of the project is to teach research skills to the sixth graders.

Tenacre fifth and sixth graders hosted two performances of “Shrek Jr.” yesterday, to the delight of both audiences. The raucous and silly comedy provided many laughs. Sixth graders assisted with choreography, props, and scenery, as well as stage management. All students applied their own makeup (which was extensive) for the show. The annual spring musical is a strong tradition at Tenacre, in which sixth graders take on the lead roles, and fifth graders, the supporting roles.

This week, the kindergarten class visited Natick Organic Farm, a working farm in Natick. It was a great opportunity to learn about bugs on the farm with Tenacre science teacher Mr. Vilmenay. Farmer John helped kindergartners learn about the importance of bees for pollinating and making honey and wax. Students learned how bee hives work together as a community. Farmer Chris helped Tenacre students understand how important bugs are in producing the compost used for planting. Kindergartners loved examining compost up close to see what types of bugs they could find, hard at work creating rich planting material.

When students walked into school this morning, the first thing they saw were two large cakes -- and that could only mean one thing -- it's Orchard Day! When the "blossoms are on the bough" (a quote from the Tenacre Song), and two cakes appear in the front foyer, Tenacre students know it is Orchard Day, a beloved tradition now celebrating its 64th year. Later this morning, grades 1-6 will gather in the Tenacre Orchard for a celebration to honor the sixth graders. Watch for more photos to be added later today!

Third graders took advantage of the sun’s appearance this afternoon to draw en plein air during art class. Students sketched a view of their choice in the Tenacre courtyard today and will fill in the drawing in their next art class.

Sixth graders worked this morning with the Wellesley town arborist to help plant trees in Beebe Meadow. The Wellesley DPW planted three White Pines in an area of Beebe Meadow, and Tenacre sixth graders helped water and place wood chips around the trees.

Spring sports have started at Tenacre for fifth and sixth grades—softball and baseball. The Tigers have gotten a few games in, and everyone is hoping the rain stops soon, so we can get back on the field to play!

Pre-Kindergarteners performed their class play this morning. "But What About the Pigeon?" is based on four Gerald and Piggie stories by Mo Willems. PK decides to do a play about Gerald and Piggie, "The Best of Friends," who take care of each other in many of Mo Willems stories. The class is in agreement about the choice of plays except for one student, who is intent on including another Mo Willems character, the Pigeon, in the play. After trying to convince him otherwise in four short skits, "A Big Guy Took My Ball!," "We Are Invited To A Party!," "I Broke My Trunk," and "There Is A Bird On Your Head!," he finally sneaks the Pigeon into the play at the end, just after the class joins together to sing the Tenacre Song.

At this morning’s assembly, Assistant Head of School Lou Anne Collins spoke about Harriet Tubman and how she will be the new face on the $20 bill. Many of the students knew basic information about Tubman, but Mrs. Collins gave detailed information about Tubman’s life and then concluded the assembly by reading the following poem about her: 

Internet safety expert Katie LeClerc Greer spent the afternoon at Tenacre today, working with third, fourth, fifth , and sixth graders. Later this evening, she is scheduled to speak to parents on the same topic. She covered many topics, including cyberbullying, safe gaming, using social media responsibly, and privacy settings. Ms. Greer has worked with Tenacre students and parents before, and it has always been an enlightening experience for everyone.

First graders presented their class play, an adaptation of Antoine Flatharta’s “Hurry and the Monarch.” In this story, the beautiful orange Monarch--on her fall migration route from Canada to Mexico--stops to rest in Texas, where she makes friends with an old tortoise called Hurry. She tells him, "Maybe one day you'll break out of that shell, grow wings, and fly away," and then she is off again with millions of other Monarchs. In the spring, she stops again at Hurry's garden just long enough to lay her eggs and head north to Canada. Embedded in this presentation are the fascinating facts about the amazing 2,000-mile migration and the life cycle of butterflies, an important unit of study for first graders at Tenacre.

Students are participating in Tenacre’s annual Gwyn Loud Science Week, in which every class takes part in various science workshops. Students look forward to this popular event, which has many great hands-on experiences for the students. Below are the topics students learned about: Pre-kindergarten: bubbles Kindergarten: sound First and fourth grade: building structures Second grade: tide pools Third grade: crazy chemistry in the kitchen Fifth grade: “green” engineering Sixth grade: physical states of matter

Sixth graders are in the midst of their annual stock market project, which teaches them how to read and analyze graphs and charts. The project ties in nicely with their math unit, which also focuses on percentages. Working in pairs, students are “given” $100,000 to create a portfolio of five different stocks. Each week, they analyze the stocks, creating graphs and pie charts in the process. This morning, four parents of sixth graders, who all work with stocks, visited the class and provided a real-life perspective on their work. The project lasts until May, at which point the pair with the highest increase wins bragging rights.

Fourth graders presented their Lego projects this morning in Rendell Library. In Technology class, students learn about Lego robotics design and programming. Students brainstorm a project and then design it, often overcoming programming challenges along the way. Examples of projects this year included a bagel slicer, an animal ride, and a drive-in movie to name a few. The students were extremely creative in their ideas!

Six Tenacre fifth graders were honored for their essays in the 2016 Will McDonough Writing Contest. The Tenacre students were chosen from among thousands of entries across the state. In the fifth grade category, Tenacre’s Eli Helzberg won first place, and Jack Abbrecht won second place. Louis Chiasson, Julia Price, Lara Poole, and Casey Walter each earned Honorable Mention. The Sports Museum holds this contest every year and honors students from across the state in grades 4-12 for their essay submissions. The essays are judged by Boston Globe sports writers and editors on development, organization, style, and mechanics. Every member of the fifth grade class at Tenacre submitted an essay to the contest as part of a class writing assignment. The contest honors Will McDonough, a former Boston Globe columnist of 44 years, and the only Globe sportswriter to be nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. He passed away in January 2003 and was best known for his coverage of the Patriots and the National Football League.

Head of School Chris Elliot brought his Golden Retriever therapy dog, named Jersey, to the pre-kindergarten classroom this morning. Jersey, a trained dog with Pets for People, provides comfort and helps lower stress levels of the people she visits. She works about once a week with senior citizens, college students, and individuals with cerebral palsy. Mr. Elliot started the visit by reading a story called “Hardworking Puppies” and ended the visit with opportunities for everyone to pat Jersey.

After learning about immigration in social studies, sixth graders heard first-hand accounts of immigrant experiences during a panel discussion in class this morning. Sixth graders invited family members who immigrated to the United States to share their experiences. Seven members of the Tenacre community spoke about their experiences coming from China, Lebanon, Greece, Canada, Italy, Holland, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Fifth graders hosted an assembly yesterday, showing that they have learned to make music from almost anything. They performed Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” using plastic Home Depot buckets and Orff instruments. A new take on an older song!

This morning, second graders performed their play, “Balto: The Greatest Dog Ever.” The story explains how Balto helped bring medicine across 800 miles of Alaska to help sick children in danger of dying. The play ties in with the second graders’ Iditarod study, which extends across disciplines.

Wednesdays during the winter months, Tenacre sixth graders work in pairs and take over Mr. Elliot’s morning greeting duties. They stand at the front door and greet every student by name and with a handshake as they arrive at school.

Tenacre co-hosted a blood drive today with the American Red Cross. Although Tenacre students are too young to give blood, they contributed in many other ways. Fifth and sixth graders assisted with registration and the canteen and guided donors to Wells Playhouse. Second graders made posters, and third and fourth graders wrote thank you notes to the donors.

Kindergartners performed their class play this morning, a great rendition of the book, “Tacky the Penguin” by Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger. In this story, Tacky marches to the beat of his own drummer, which causes problems with the other penguins—until Tacky’s behavior helps everyone out of a difficult situation…

Students in Grades 1-6 were invited to tie fleece blankets this afternoon for the Horizons for Homeless organization. More than 25 students spent lunch recess in Wells Playhouse preparing the blankets, which will benefit the play spaces at Horizons. Tenacre also supports Horizons for Homeless through the holiday toy drive in December.

Tenacre’s Physical Education program has been hosting a Jump Rope/Shoot Hoop for Heart event for Grades PK to 6. During the month of February, students have been learning about heart health in P.E. class. Grades PK-1 have had specific lessons on how the heart works, have listened to their hearts with a stethoscope, and have learned how blood flows through the circulatory system. In addition, they have played many games that reinforce the importance of healthy eating and exercising.

Kindergartners read some of Mo Willems' "Dont Let The Pigeon" books and then created their own version of the story. Students produced their ideas and communicated them through detailed pictures using sharpies and colored pencils. When the illustrations were finished, students counted the number of words they wanted to write to match the illustration. They drew a line on the white board for each word and then wrote the sounds they heard in each word. Teachers helped students to isolate and identify sounds with the support of sound charts. When the writing was complete on the white board, students copied their writing onto a strip of paper that was attached to the bottom of the illustration.
This process helped students to apply their letter sound knowledge in a meaningful way. It also reinforced the concept of word, proper letter formation, spacing, and sight words. The students loved recording their voices with sound effects!

Tenacre students left school today with a deeper understanding of gender stereotyping and how it affects people. Dr. Jennifer Bryan, a consultant who works with PK-12 schools on topics of gender and sexuality, visited Tenacre to create conversations about the dangers of gender stereotyping in elementary school settings. She worked in classrooms, leading fun and informative conversations with the students at age-appropriate levels. She is scheduled to return this evening for a session with Tenacre parents.

Third graders performed their play this morning – “The Day the Crayons Came Home.” This play is the sequel to last year’s production, “The Day the Crayons Quit.” In the sequel, the crayons are upset because they have been misplaced and want to go home. Tenacre third graders wrote the lyrics for every song in the show, taking current pop tunes and writing lyrics to correspond with the story line. Music teacher Emily Yandoh worked with the students during music class on this project.

Fifth graders have been hard at work in science class to create their own versions of the game “Operation” – remember that old-school game created in 1964 by Milton Bradley? Students used their knowledge of electricity and electrical circuits, the Makey Makey invention kit, Scratch programming, and problem-solving skills to create their own unique version of game Operation. This STEM project is the culminating assessment of the electricity unit of study. One creative version involved operating on Head of School Chris Elliot!

Sixth graders sharpened their debate skills this afternoon during social studies, when they debated the pros and cons of having a dress code at Tenacre. The class divided into two groups, with each of the two groups following this debate model: teams of three students argued for and against the dress code, and a jury of six students listened to arguments before making an objective decision. Debaters researched the topic, practiced their public speaking skills, and learned to be quick on their feet with responses. The jury took notes during the arguments and used the information to make an impartial decision – no matter how they personally felt about the topic. Past topics for this project have included the death penalty and wind farms on Nantucket Sound.

Chess is in full swing at Tenacre, with students from kindergarten through sixth grade participating at varying levels. An outside instructor and chess master conducts beginner and intermediate/advanced classes. The beginner classes receive a twenty-minute lecture and demonstration followed by a half hour of play. The intermediate/advanced group receives instruction followed by tournament play to sharpen their skills and strategy in a more competitive environment. Some groups meet during lunch, some after school, but all of them have fun!

Yesterday, Tenacre hosted 14 educators from area schools for an EV3 Robotics workshop. The goal of the workshop was to train teachers to teach this robotics program in their classrooms. Beth Green, Tenacre’s Director of Instructional Technology, attended the workshop. This robotics program will be taught to sixth graders in the coming months. “This allows us to extend the programming part of our technology curriculum into the sixth grade,” Green said. The Class of 2016 Gift provided funding for this curriculum expansion, which enriches Tenacre’s STEM programming.

Students arrived in Wells Playhouse this morning for Monday morning assembly and were treated to an opera performance by Tenacre music teacher Sarah Kornfeld, accompanied by Emily Yandoh on piano. Ms. Kornfeld, who performs in operas and musical theatre--in addition to teaching--sang Leonard Bernstein's "I Hate Music," a cycle of five kid songs for soprano. After listening intently, students asked questions after the performance.

Tenacre music teacher Emily Yandoh gave an assembly this morning about David Bowie and his music. In addition to listening to and seeing great clips of Bowie's music, Ms. Yandoh made sure to drive home the point that David Bowie was always true to himself and did not let other people's comments or opinions stop him from expressing himself. She ended the assembly by showing this quote from Bowie: "I'm just an individual who doesn't feel that I need to have somebody qualify my work in any particular way. I'm working for myself."

After weeks of preparation, sixth graders stood in front of their peers this afternoon and recited the Gettysburg Address. This tradition is part of the Grade 6 social studies curriculum and its focus on the Civil War. Donning the garb of Abraham Lincoln—black top hat, white button down, and black coat--students stood in the front the library fireplace and invoked their own interpretation of Lincoln. Reciting the address has become a Tenacre tradition that students eagerly anticipate. In fact, a 2010 alumnus who was recently on campus was able to recite the first paragraph six years later!

Yesterday, Tenacre’s affinity groups for boys and girls met during lunch. Both of these groups are open to students in fifth and sixth grade. The Boys Group, which is new this year, discusses topics related to being a boy at Tenacre and in society in general. Girls Can, the name of the girls’ group, considers the experience of being a girl at Tenacre and in society in general.

In yesterday’s Girls Can meeting, nearly every girl in fifth and sixth grade attended. They created visuals for a bulletin board display for the main floor of school. During this hands-on project, each girl was provided materials (pens, glue sticks, colored paper, stencils, etc.) to produce a visual representation of our group. The results were unique, varied, and beautiful. Attendance for the Boys Group was equally high. In their meeting, they shared ideas on what it means to be a man.

Tenacre alum Finn Mahoney '10 visited the Grade 6 classroom yesterday afternoon to speak about his experiences with the Vermont Semester Program, a five-month expedition in which high school students trek and live in the woods of Vermont. The Tenacre students were locked in on every word Finn said. Students in the program travel 600 miles through Vermont backcountry by skiing, white water canoeing, rowboating, and mountain biking. Led by expert guides and woodsmen, they learn a myriad of practical skills needed to survive in the wilderness. The five-month program starts in Janaury and ends in June. Finn compared the experience to Tenacre's "Resilience" theme, stating that resilience was one of the most important skills to have on this journey.

Artist Denise Driscoll is visiting Tenacre this morning to share her work with the school community. After starting the day with an all-school presentation, Ms. Driscoll has been working with second and third graders in art class. They are using her techniques with geometric shapes and color to create their own work of art. Click HERE for more information on Ms. Driscoll and TAG.

Artist Denise Driscoll's colorful artwork will be on display in the Tenacre Art Gallery (TAG) until February 21. Next Monday, January 11, Ms. Driscoll will host an all-school assembly and then work with second and third graders in art class on a collaborative project.

First graders got back to work this morning, honing their writing skills. During their daily Writer’s Workshop, they came up with ideas that would grab the reader’s attention. Feedback from the Grade 1 teachers helped students develop their story lines.

Third graders started the New Year at school by learning how to build a tipi. Dan Cripps and the Native American Perspectives organization led the day-long activity, which included cultural information and activities in the afternoon. Students spent the morning building the tipi themselves, with Mr. Cripps only providing oral instructions. This activity is the culmination of the Grade 3 study of Native American peoples.