The Wolf Pack welcomes Roslyn Benjamin today as our new Head of School. We look forward to getting to know Roslyn, her husband André, and her children Michael (rising TCS eighth grader) and Maya (rising college junior) and to sharing what we know and love about The Children’s School community with them!
Roslyn is excited, too! Read her welcome letter to the TCS community below.
Dear TCS Families:
Nearly two weeks ago, my family and I moved from San Francisco to Atlanta. Today, I officially start as The Children’s School’s seventh head of school, and more importantly, today I become a part of the Pack!
My TCS journey started last November when I arrived on campus as a head of school finalist and then again in February as the head elect. I was amazed at the energy and passion of the students. Their excitement for learning and sharing it with others was genuine. Our seventh graders proudly demonstrated their understanding of the connectedness of the world through the “World Peace Games,” a hands-on political simulation in which they addressed and solved different economic and environmental crises. Our fourth graders showed me their ability to synthesize their understanding of city planning with a built-to-scale city made out of LEGO® bricks. In a kindergarten classroom, I saw design-thinking in action when I toured an outdoor kitchen the students designed and built themselves.
In each classroom, the students were invested in demonstrating their thinking and capacity to follow-through with projects as they discovered the answers to questions through individual or collaborative play. While we value our educators, we also recognize that our teachers are one part of the learning process. Our students’ curiosity serves as another.
At TCS, we both challenge and nurture our students, empowering them to grow in their understanding of the content, their habits of mind (curiosity, persistence, and participation), and their development of social-emotional skills. They think critically and make connections and comparisons within and across subject areas while finding joy in these experiences. With this knowledge, each of them can follow their passions and have a larger impact on their immediate communities and their larger world.
Our age 3 – grade 8 program reminds our oldest students how quickly time flies. The big/little buddy program provides them with numerous opportunities for our oldest students to connect with our youngest learners through story time, playtime, and more. Allowing our Middle Grades students to gently mature gives them the opportunity to take risks and make mistakes in order to grow as learners and individuals without worrying about the opinions of their older peers.
We also know that in order for learning to happen, we must encourage our students to bring their whole selves onto campus. It is essential that we provide them with a safe place for learning where they can be their authentic selves. They need to know that their peers and the adult community see and understand them as individuals and as part of a larger group. Because of our diversity where our students’ identities are present in every space on campus and in our curriculum, we can dig deeper into the complex.
It is for these collective reasons that my family and I chose to move to Atlanta in order to join the TCS community. I’m excited to join this community and meet all of you and your children this year. Welcome to TCS where “ the strength of the pack is the wolf/And the strength of the wolf is the pack!”
Click here to get to know more about Roslyn.
