Last Thursday I participated in the following panel “Creative Activity as a Human Right: A Panel Conversation with National Leaders in Art + Design Education Focused on Equity” at Syracuse University.  It was so wonderful to be able to represent CNH and tell some of our stories.  We do a lot of amazing work at CNH that leaders around the country find inspiring! We pay attention.  We listen closely.  We construct with and not for our students.  We partner with parents and guardians. We engage learners in sustained project studies that are actually interesting and meaningful. We are responsive and pivot [...]

I hold a cup of tea, curled up on my couch, as I write this entry.  The weather has changed, I’m enjoying wrapping scarves around my neck, and enjoy watching the wispy clouds of a cold fall day move in the sky above. This week, please find a moment to step outside, breathe in the brisk air, and pause to enjoy the moment.  We are just a couple of weeks away from Thanksgiving break where we can collectively all exhale in gratitude for our lives. Have a great week, everyone! --Dr. Shyla.   ************************************** Noteworthy Upcoming Dates:   Date(s) Notes November [...]

Being responsive to children’s interests can bring such wonderful surprises and unexpected experiences.  For example, Aruna insisted that we dress up as big-o truck-os this year for Halloween.  For the past month, she has been consistent that she would be a milk truck, mommy would be a tow truck, and daddy would be a mixer truck.  Why?  I have no idea.  But we most certainly walked around Zoo Boo and our neighborhood as a fleet of trucks! In the classroom, it might mean that we are creating a day of service and fun for our middle schoolers, taking the kids out [...]

      Now, as we start Week 9, we are now officially 1/5 of the way through the school year. Walking through the school, it’s great to hear the sound of a good working buzz in classrooms, see evidence of arts integrated project studies around the building, and simply feel a bit of a “Groove” happening with students and teachers. This week, we have the Morgan State Innovation Week, Day of Service with Middle School, Fall Festival Dance Party on Friday, and so much more. It’s going to be a multi-faceted week! Have a great week, everyone! --Dr. Shyla. ************************************** [...]

Sometimes when I get caught up in the rigamarole of life, I stop and try to view the moment through the lens of my grandparents.  Pictured above, my Amma and Daji (grandma and grandpa) lived an incredibly family-oriented life.  When my family would visit Mysore, evenings were spent sitting in a large circle around the family room singing songs and laughing into the night. All of my aunts, uncles, and cousins lived together lining up on beds, cots, and the floor to sleep at night. Family was the center of everything.  Running between appointments, checking text messages instead of engaging with [...]

With every sunrise comes a new day -- space for new beginnings and fresh starts.  No matter how we feel when we crawl into bed at night, the next morning brings with it the promise of a new day.  As you rise each morning, allow yourself to practice a little mindfulness by slowing down to admire the beauty of the morning.  Breathe, relax, and remember -- Today, you are beautiful! Have a great week, everyone! --Dr. Shyla ************************************** Noteworthy Upcoming Dates: Date(s) Notes October 11-14 Make-up testing for Early Fall MCAP Friday, October 15 -- NO SCHOOL No School -- Professional [...]

Two DJs, 3 hours, 35 pizzas, and about 100 people later, we successfully continued our 90s dance party tradition at the end of the first month of school.  What a blast!  It so great to connect with people outside of school, in-person, with the simply goal of having fun.  Keep an eye out in the What’s Goods for more opportunities to connect outside of school hours outdoors.  See you soon! Have a great week, everyone! --Dr. Shyla ************************************** Noteworthy Upcoming Dates: Date(s) Notes October 4-5 Final Days for Vision for Baltimore (vision and hearing screening) October 6, 7, 8 -- 1:00 [...]

This week, I have been thinking a lot about partnership. What does it mean to be in partnership?  We have partnerships with outside organizations as a school -- Arts Every Day, Young Audiences, MICA, Morgan State University, Star Cypress, etc.  We have partnerships in our work -- colleagues we co-teach with or collaborate with in teaching teams.  We have partnerships with our students -- elevating student voices so that they can be active participants in the construction of their learning.  We have partnerships with parents and guardians -- supporting one another in helping foster well-educated, engaged citizens in our young people. [...]

   5-4-3-2-1 Blast off!  The year took off like a rocket ship! It has been amazing to see our community coming together again, after 18 months mostly virtual, and jumping into the year with both feet.  We have been focused on maintaining the CNH-ness of our school culture while ensuring safe practices throughout the day. The students have been troopers.  Above you see our flower ceremony where every student is given a wildflower upon entering the school.  They go to their classrooms and place their flowers in a glass vase representing the class bouquet -- they are all part of the [...]

The Family Work Day was amazingly productive last weekend -- our families moved 10 cubic yards of mulch to the playground, put together outdoor furniture, revitalized old furniture with paint, carried furniture all over the building, put together cleaning kits for teachers, helped to set up work spaces for kids, and laughed our way through it.  .  I am so deeply grateful for everyone who pitched in to help get the building ready for the students!!  We will be back at it THIS SATURDAY, 10:00-2:00. If you can stop by to lend a hand, we would deeply appreciate it! Have a [...]