Be sure to join our free Facebook Live Jam Session in conjunction with DotCom Therapy on Tuesday, July 20 at 6pm right here on our Facebook page. We are hosting four of these Jam Sessions this summer and this is the third installment of the series. This free session is all about promoting social emotional learning. We look forward to seeing you there!
Each Spring, TLC holds it’s annual plant sale. All plants are supplied by local grower Sunshine Mountain Farms. Perennials, annuals, hanging baskets and shrubs are all sold with proceeds used to benefit students directly through the purchase of school supplies for the following school year. Thanks for making this year’s sale a success.
On April 29th and 30th, 2021, a corner of a classroom on the campus of The Learning Center Charter School was turned into a film set as the school hosted DotCom Therapy for a video commercial shoot.
DotCom Therapy partners with schools, health systems, health plans, communities and families to provide speech, behavioral, and occupational therapy. The school has used their services for two years to provide in-school speech and occupational therapy as well as mental health counseling services.
“As a school we are not able to hire full time speech and occupational therapists and finding DotCom Therapy has allowed us to offer highly trained, board-certified therapists to our students both effectively and consistently,” said Head of School, Ryan Bender.
Bender added that the school partnered with DotCom Therapy last summer to provide four mental health jam sessions that were available to the community at large. The sessions were conducted via Zoom and free to anyone to attend. Topics included ways of coping with the stress of the pandemic as well as ideas of what to do with children stuck at home during the time.
“Our partnership with DotCom Therapy has benefitted our students immensely and we were happy to host them onsite as they shot a commercial that they will ultimately use on their website and social media,” said Bender.
Each year, our fifth grade students spend the year doing field work with Muddy Sneakers. The Muddy Sneakers program exists to enrich the standard course of study through experiential education in an outdoor setting where students connect with the land, become more active, and gain self-confidence while improving science aptitude. Muddy Sneakers began as a pilot program in the spring of 2007 with Brevard and Pisgah Forest Elementary Schools in Transylvania County and has grown each year to now serve 36 schools across 12 counties and 13 school districts in the Carolinas.
Spring is here and students had a wonderful spring expedition with Muddy Sneakers in April. Students compiled a list of various indicators that spring has arrived.
Last fall, the Jackie Ward Foundation hosted a Virtual Talent Showcase that featured videos submitted by students across our community and region that showcased their talents. Recently, Mr. Ryan presented awards to student participants from our school.
Third graders at The Learning Center Charter School are immersing the pop culture phenomenon of graphic novels into their everyday studies and are learning language arts, science, and art as a result.
A graphic novel is a full length story published as a book in comic-strip format. In other words, graphic novels are book length comic books and subject matter can range from mysteries to superhero stories.
Teacher Kathleen Shook noticed student interest in graphic novels and decided to embrace it as a means to teach subjects across the curriculum. In addition to fully embracing graphic novels as a means to learn topics in language arts, students have also created their own graphic novels as part of writing assignments, illustrated them in art class, and included science lessons as part of the novels.
“My class has been really into graphic novels outside of class,” said Shook. “Bringing that excitement into other areas of study has been a fun way to engage my students and deepen their learning in other areas.”
Shook added that students have even been writing comics at home and bringing them to school to share with the class. Plus, Murphy Public Library loaned twenty new novels for the class to enjoy.
“Learning should be fun and my students have been having a blast weaving graphic novels throughout their studies each day,” said Shook.
The Curiosity Book Store sponsored a Kindness Art Contest. Customers voted on the best art pieces. It was optional and each winner received a free book of choice. These were the winners from our school. Way to go students!
Are you sharing your projects with us via Facebook? We sure hope so! Remember to tag us using BOTH @TLCGrowZonePage AND @TLCSchoolMakerFaire. Don’t forget to check our page on March 17th to see all the projects and give encouraging shout-outs to all our Makers!
This is a reminder that our 6th Annual School Maker Faire is going on now through March 17th via our Facebook page. Anyone that wants to participate is welcome! Share your project and tag us using BOTH @TLCGrowZonePage AND #TLCSchoolMakerFaire. Then be sure to stop by on March 17th to view all the projects and share encouraging words with our fellow makers. W cannot wait to see how YOU help us make this online School Maker Faire a success!
Starting in the 2021-2022 school year, The Learning Center Charter School will be participating in the Amazon Future Engineer Program. This program provides resources and support to teachers and students in the field of computer science.
Our middle school students will be introduced to the basics of computer science including Scratch coding language. In the first year of the three year program, students will be exposed to a variety of technological resources.
Using the curriculum provided through the partnership and our existing resources, students will learn the basics of computer science, practice using Scratch, explore robotics with Ozobots, and develop their understanding of technological concepts including vocabulary.
The program will continue to expand in second year with exploring Artificial Intelligence using Scratch and App Inventor and in year three with computer science by means of using Creative Media and Python.
This partnership will help students develop skills and include experiences like virtual visits with an Amazon engineer, field trips to an Amazon facility, and ongoing opportunities for real-world experiences.
This awesome partnership is going to help our students be prepared to engage in higher-level computer science courses at the high school and college levels.