Pinpoints Summer 2019 OLD | Page 11

A Bow Tie Birthday Throughout the last 15 years, Chuck Baldecchi (H’19), Erin Baldecchi (H’19), Bella ’17, Alex ’19, and Cade ’21 have made their many contributions to the day-to-day life of The Lexington School. As Mr. B becomes Head of School at Charlotte Latin School in North Carolina, the Baldecchis’ TLS family sends them warmest, best wishes. The Baldecchis, each and collectively, leave TLS with a school full of friends. For a thorough review of the Baldecchi years, 2004 to 2019, please see Spring 2019 Pinpoints. Bow ties were de rigueur for Mr. B’s surprise birthday celebration. Daniel Sussman Leaves for New Jersey Pinpoints bids fond farewell to the Sussman family, Daniel, Jori, Levi ’24, and Andrew ’26, as they move to New Jersey, where Daniel will become Director of Lower School at Far Hills Country Day School. TLS Lower School Head since 2016, Daniel grew up in New Jersey, about 20 minutes from his new campus. The sense of TLS community has been important to Daniel, as he says, “Every child is like a story, and getting to know our TLS families’ stories has been one of the highlights of our time here.” He views a critical part of being a successful Lower School Head as “providing support to students and families by knowing their stories. This helps us individualize each child’s program, be it an extra hug, pat on the back, or, in some cases, a gentle push forward.” Daniel is especially proud of the new Lower School Language Arts program that includes a variety of accelerated or remedial goals for reading, spelling, and handwriting. Important, too, are the continuing efforts of each homeroom teacher to promote the responsive classroom, for social and emotional learning. Classes begin with morning meeting, a time for the teacher to set the stage, as each student is welcomed and called by name. There forms a spirit of cohesion within the classroom, creating time during the day to develop relationships among students. Daniel points out that this classroom setting leads naturally into Mission Skills. The Sussman family deeply appreciates the personal outpouring of love and support from The Lexington School community, particularly during a challenging family health situation. 9