News

Today, the first-grade class enjoyed an outing to the Wheelock Family Theatre to watch the production A Year with Frog and Toad. This experience was especially meaningful as the students have been reading Frog and Toad stories this fall. After performing their own class play in October and preparing for their upcoming holiday concert, this theater visit gave them the opportunity to learn about being a respectful audience and to experience the magic of live theater as spectators.

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:

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!

 

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!