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This is the official blog  of the Learning Community Charter School Community. Please subscribe using the link below for updates on school news and policies. Your comments and questions are welcome and will be moderated. We reserve the right to select those which will appear on the blog. Thanks for stopping by!

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TCLP

We are thrilled to announce that LCCS has been selected for the prestigious “Teachers of Critical Languages Program,” which is run through the U.S. State Department, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and will bring a Chinese citizen (who teaches English there) to teach Mandarin at LCCS for the 2016-2017 school year.

 

More than 200 schools applied for the grant nationwide, and only 23 were chosen.

 

We are still working out all the details, but the teacher will be giving Mandarin instruction to students in 5th and 6th grades. He or she will also be engaging with students in other grades in a variety of ways, including leading a Chinese Club, and making visits to other grades to teach about Chinese culture and literature. He or she will also be an active part of LCCS life including assemblies, concerts, and other school-wide activities. 

 

The grant will pay for a full school-year’s salary for the teacher, as well as his or her living expenses. LCCS does not have to contribute financially in any way.  We are looking forward to this exciting opportunity and will be talking more about our visiting teacher in the months to come! 

If you have any questions about the program, please reach out to Development Director Jen Hughes. 


Posted by Marcmulholland  On Apr 23, 2016 at 12:33 PM
  
Read-a-Thon Results 

     Our Celebration of Reading will be May 18.  It is later in the year because of PARCC scheduling.Specific details to come.) Here are all of our winning readers and their total minutes! Way to go!  

Lower School 

PreK 
Zent: Griffin G. (371) 
Lockatell: Landon L. (52) 
De Los Santos: Hudson S. (290)

Kindergarten 
Porter: Maile D. (778) 
Van Der Horn: Luke F. (349)
Finn: Jonah L. (700) 

1st Grade 
Megaro: Haywood T. (665) 
Dynega: Aditya N. (1135) 
Wood: Magy B. (425) 

2nd Grade 
Creadick: Saket R. (1833) 
Sunshine: Adithi A. (1324)
Schwartz: Kabin F. (2591) 

3rd Grade
Vessa: Lola L. (2019)
Crane: Sara G. (1360) 
Lefkowtiz: Karan M. (3026) 

4th Grade 
Tyjer: Sai B. (2505) 
Nardiello: Saorla R. (895) 
Callegari: Dhruv S. (3154) 

5th Grade 
Muse: Saket R. (2687) 
Rengifo: Avik A. (2636)
Litman: Alexandra P. (1356) 

Middle School

Top Earner: Dalenys D.
Top Readers:
Klaslo: Nina U (1156) 
Krinsky: Dalenys D. (6831)  
Goral: Harleigh B. (712) 
Posted by Marcmulholland  On Mar 24, 2016 at 9:43 PM
  

Issues about water safety have been all over the news due to the frightening situation in Flint, Michigan. Because of this and due to some concerns raised by parents, LCCS will be testing the water within the school.

(For those of you who have been at LCCS since the time when we moved to our current location from downtown, you might recall that we engaged in a round of testing at that time. At the time, one water fountain was found to have an unacceptable level of lead, so that fixture was disconnected.) 

This round of testing, to be done by an outside firm, is due to take place next week. Once we have results, we will share them with the school community. If you are concerned about your child's blood lead levels, the Jersey City Department of Health and Human Services is offering free lead screenings. Click here for more information on that program.  
Posted by Marcmulholland  On Feb 12, 2016 at 3:32 PM
  


LCCS is fortunate to have so many incredible educators who are so dedicated to our students. Every year we honor our faculty with the Teachers of the Year Awards. 
TOTY

Here are some thoughts from our families and students about our amazing faculty this year 

Educational Support Professional of the Year: Kathy Andjuar

"Ms. Kathy has been a pillar of the kindergarten program here at LCCS for more years than most of us have even been at the school. Her dedication to our school's youngest students does not go unnoticed. She is loving yet firm, compassionate and motherly."

Middle School Teacher of the Year: Steve Krinsky

"Dr Krinsky is able to engage the kids in a unique manner. He speaks about current topics and encourages them to have an opinion and speak their mind. I am so grateful that our daughter had him as a teacher."

Lower School Teacher of the Year: Shanelle Muse

"I constantly see her hard at work creating unique and engaging lessons. She seems to truly connect and understand her students on a deeper level. She goes above and beyond in her unique ways of teaching for her reading and writing lessons."

and (drum roll please ...) LCCS Teacher of the Year: Scott Silva

"He shows integrity, emotion, and support to Learning Community Charter School."


"Mr. Silva really shows respect to me, and I know you can talk to him about anything and It will stay between us. I can really trust Mr. Silva."


Mr. Silva says: 

"I truly feel honored to be selected as LCCS teacher of the year, especially with all the great teachers that are here.  Many people helped guide me into the person and teacher I am today and I want to thank all of them."


Posted by Marcmulholland  On Jan 29, 2016 at 5:06 PM
  

For the first time, LCCS held a 4th and 5th grade Spelling Bee and students rose to the occasion. They triumphed over challenges such as as "idiosyncratic," "supine," and "pulchritude," and were felled by such tricksters as "valiant," "potpourri," and "desiccate." 

bee1bee2
bee3bee4
After a tense 14 rounds, the winners emerged. Farangiz Akhadova, the 1st place winner (L), goes on to the Hudson County Bee. She won with the word, "odious." Christine Ajoy (far R) came in 2nd, and Sai Bhandar earned 3rd place. Farangiz will go on to the Hudson County Bee at NJCU on Feb. 6. Congratulations to all the students for their hard work, and thanks to all the faculty and staff who created such an amazing event! 

bee5





Posted by Marcmulholland  On Jan 22, 2016 at 2:52 PM
  

Katie Goral's 8th grade students embarked on an ambitious and innovative study of the Shakespearian classic, "Romeo and Juliet." After reading the text, they translated it into modern English, and then acted out the scenes. 

romeo

You can see one of the videos on the YouTube Channel, LCCS Live!

In addition, the students are sending their videos of Modern English "Romeo and Juliet" to students in China at a school that Mr. Colin Hogan connected with during his November trip there through the Chinese Bridge Delegation. Those students will then conduct a "scavenger hunt" to find the scenes that LCCS students presented and share their own similar videos. 


Posted by Marcmulholland  On Jan 08, 2016 at 4:26 PM
  

We have received the school-wide data from the PARCC tests that your student took last year, and we are thrilled to say that LCCS students either matched or out-performed their peers both statewide, and compared to all students who took this new state-mandated test.

math 

ELA

I will be presenting this school-wide information on the PARCC scores to the LCCS Board of Trustees at their meeting at 6:30 p.m. on December 17. All are welcome.

We have not yet been told when individual student’s scores will be released. As soon as we receive those results and mail them to you, we will also be setting up a Parent Information night where we will discuss in depth how to interpret your child’s scores.

I want to thank all the teachers who helped our students prepare for this new test, and congratulate all the students for their hard work. At LCCS, we know that test scores are not the only measure of a quality education, but they are a valuable tool - one piece of the puzzle that shows all the elements of their learning, growth, and development. 

colin
Colin Hogan, Head of School 

Posted by Marcmulholland  On Dec 02, 2015 at 3:01 PM
  



This summer, Mr. Hogan was selected to participate in the 2015 Chinese Bridge Delegation, a program run by The College Board and The Confucius Institute Headquarters/Hanban. He will be overseas until Nov. 18, investigating cultural and educational connections with Chinese schools, and researching possibilities of Chinese language programs at LCCS.

Mr. Hogan is spending most of his time in the city of Tianjin. The photos below show Mr. Hogan at the Xia Hua Primary School, and you can follow his progress at his blog.  
 

colin1colin2
Posted by Marcmulholland  On Nov 13, 2015 at 2:11 PM
  

 

In the Fall of 2014, LCCS launched a program called Touchstones, an innovative program with a simple premise: Students sit in a circle and discuss a famous piece of writing that addresses a complex ethical theme or issue. Out of thousands of Touchstones teachers nationwide, Shanelle Muse, who facilitates the program in 5th grade, will be honored Dec. 12 as the Cynthia M. Barry Touchstones Teacher of the Year for 2015.

             “Shanelle was a wonderful choice for this award not only because she uses Touchstones with her students, but also because she applies the program in her work in social justice and counseling and is an exemplar of the inclusive leadership that Touchstones strives to foster in all teachers and their students.”
            -Howard Zeiderman, Cynthia M. Barry Touchstones Teacher of the Year Selection Committee and Touchstones Co-founder & President.

muse

Teachers facilitate the discussion of Touchstones issues, but they do not lead, allowing students to guide the discourse. Previous sessions have tackled the classic French text, Democracy in Action by Alexis de Tocqueville.

              “Touchstones is the type of program that subtly moves mountains in our classroom. Implementing it has allowed the students, I as well, to openly bring our race,  religion,  moral compasses,  socioeconomic status, gender,  family values and personal experiences,  unapologetically into our classroom. 
              To have genuinely open discourse about topics such as revenge, being judgmental,  sacrifice,  forgiveness and friendship builds their cognitive thinking,  socio-behavioral skills and self confidence.  My students have become meaningfully connected as they learn to be active agents in their own education, seek and appreciate diverse perspectives, and share power and responsibility." 
- Shanelle Muse 

Posted by Marcmulholland  On Nov 13, 2015 at 1:49 PM 1 Comment
  

Charlotte Kreutz, who heads up the after school Think Tank program and is a general LCCS Jill-Of-All-Trades, has recently served as costume designer for a New York City performance based on a Duke Ellington jazz suite.

ck

Theater is in Charlotte’s blood. She says her parents were avid theater goers, and her father acted and wrote plays at the community theater level. Certainly it will come as no surprise to everyone who knows Charlotte, that she was able to lend her ingenuity to the project. 

“I had a budget of $1500 to work with.  I could have borrowed (for a fee) costumes from the Costume Collection in Queens but I knew I wanted to build (a costume term) the women's dresses from scratch.  They had to be sexy and dramatic and I wanted to fit each actress perfectly.  I shopped for fabric at MOOD in Manhattan (Project Runway fans will know...). I'm so glad I made them, and so are the beautiful ladies.  I also lucked out finding a snazzy1950's double-breasted suit for the one of the actors for $20 at Goodwill.  Love a bargain!"

The work was inspired by characters from Shakespeare and features a live jazz ensemble from Jazz at Lincoln Center performing with actors from Hudson Guild Theatre Company and dancers from Matthew Westerby Company.

The final performances are this weekend, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m and Nov. 14 at 2 p.m. and 8 pm. 

jazz

Posted by Marcmulholland  On Nov 13, 2015 at 1:45 PM
  
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