News

Tenacre second graders have been studying crustaceans in science class and learned first-hand from two new additions to the classroom’s saltwater touch tank—a male and female lobster. The touch tank is divided into two “ocean zones,” the sunlit zone and the midnight zone, where the lobsters will reside. After fish are added to the sunlit zone next week, students will be able to observe how marine life lives in the different zones.

Tenacre second graders performed their class play this morning, the entertaining musical “It’s Saturday.” The plot focuses on the celebration of a “day off” in the life of a kid and all of the different options available on a day off from school.

Award-winning local author and illustrator Jarrett Lerner visited Tenacre today and inspired Tenacre students with a series of engaging workshops. Students in grades 2-3 and 4-6 participated in grade-appropriate story-building workshops. In addition, a group of students—whose names were pulled from a hat—had the opportunity to eat lunch with Lerner and ask questions.

A group of Tenacre third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders collaborated to host an all-school assembly yesterday in honor of Black History Month. The student presenters highlighted remarkable Black Americans who shaped our nation's history, including agricultural innovator George Washington Carver, Olympic champion Jesse Owens, civil rights icon Rosa Parks, groundbreaking actress Hattie McDaniel, school integration pioneer Ruby Bridges, and legendary jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. Students also featured the stories of young, contemporary Black trailblazers Like Marley Dias, who collected over 9,000 books with Black female characters and donated them to schools around the country, Mo'ne Davis, the first Black girl to play in a Little League World Series game AND pitch a shutout, and Mari Copeny, who worked to end the Flint, MI water crisis.

After weeks of preparation, sixth graders stood in front of their peers this morning with the option of reciting the Gettysburg Address or Frederick Douglass’s “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July”. This tradition is part of the Grade 6 social studies curriculum and its focus on the Civil War. Donning the garb of the times—black top hat, white button down, and black coat--students stood in front of the library fireplace and invoked their own interpretation of Lincoln or Douglass. Reciting these speeches is a Tenacre tradition that students eagerly anticipate. Many alumni are able to recite the first paragraph years later!

Tenacre’s fifth- and sixth-grade basketball teams have been competing for several weeks against local schools. Fifth- and sixth-grade sports are part of Tenacre’s P.E. program. Students practice during P.E. class to prepare for the season and play games after school. They have the option to play flag football, soccer, or run cross country in the fall, play basketball in the winter, and play baseball/softball in the spring.

On Saturday, Tenacre’s TPA held its Family Skating Party, an annual family event that is eagerly anticipated by all. Families enjoyed ice time at the Babson Skating Center and took pizza and hot cocoa breaks as needed!

This morning fourth, fifth, and sixth graders from Tenacre and The Chestnut Hill school gathered in Tenacre’s performing arts center for a presentation by At the Table with Dr. King, a live performance that taught students about the American Civil Rights movement and valuable lessons of equality and respect. Through music, poetry, historical video footage, and Dr. King’s own words, At the Table also challenged students to engage in creative acts of service and leadership in their communities. This hour-long show was performed by professionals from More than Music.

This morning during the time block for Affinity Groups, Tenacre fourth, fifth, and sixth graders started the day with options to participate in different activities in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. Students could participate in community service options by tying fleece blankets to donate to local shelters, creating birthday cards for the Confetti Foundation, which sends them to local children in hospitals, or joining classmates in a campus clean-up. Students also had the option to take part in an African dance workshop. All of the choices were a wonderful way to start the day.

Tenacre has just released its third “This is Tenacre” podcast. In this edition, Christina Grace, Tenacre's Director of Educational Support and Reading Coordinator, shares her experience growing up with ADHD and how feeling "othered" shaped her teaching philosophy. She emphasizes the importance of understanding, nurturing, and challenging children while recognizing neurodiversity and setting high yet realistic expectations for all learners.

This morning at assembly, Tenacre’s Dance Club presented an interpretive dance titled Dream Variations. The dancers gathered throughout the fall to rehearse their routine. Choreographed by Robin Offley-Thompson, the administrative assistant and assistant to the head of school, the rehearsals focused on teaching the students how to collaborate as a group and navigate their dance space. The seven dancers, representing grades three through six, wore pajamas for their lively and imaginative performance.

The Tenacre Art Gallery (TAG) welcomed artist Mark Heffley to campus today. An artist and climber, Mark uses retired climbing ropes to create art. Climbing rope is generally used for 3 to 5 years before being discarded for safety reasons. Mark uses the rope to create tables, chairs, coasters, and art to hang on walls. In the 10 years since he started his art, he has used 30,300 feet of discarded climbing rope, equal to about 5.75 miles. After hosting an all-school assembly in which he described his art and process, Mark worked with fifth graders in art class as they designed an item that could be created with climbing rope.

Tenacre’s Term 3 Student Council held its first meeting during lunch today—a group of sixth graders and the three faculty advisors discussed the leadership roles sixth graders would take on. Sixth Graders are assigned the responsibility of being co-presidents, treasurers, secretaries, and school reporters for their “term in office.” The Term 3 group will focus on a global organization to support and begin brainstorming ideas next week when fourth and fifth graders join the meetings. Starting at next week’s meeting, all Student Council participants will have the opportunity to offer suggestions for potential projects and how to organize, advertise, and implement them. 

Happy New Year and welcome back! We hope everyone had a relaxing break. We are thrilled to have Tenacre students back on campus.