By Teacher Charina Cecilio
Thinkers Unlimited Teacher since 2015
“Great places, great memories.”
Lailah Gifty Akita
We are all excited for the next phase of Thinkers Unlimited! But, did you know that five years ago we had to make a big move? Back in 2015, we first brought our little school to the Zarcon Building. Back then, we occupied the two rooms on the third floor, and only had around fifteen students, which made the blue and yellow rooms a perfect fit for us. Steadily, Thinkers numbers kept growing. Soon, with a big leap of faith, we also took over a spacious unit on the second floor. Fast forward to 2019, The Thinkers population was bigger than ever! We knew it was time to leave for a bigger space, but didn’t expect to end up just a few steps away.
We were fortunate to make so many wonderful memories during our stay at Zarcon, and I would like to share a few from a teacher’s perspective. Like how Teacher Athena and I would always come to school very early in the morning, when the school was a very peaceful and quiet place (believe it, or not). While waiting for the students to arrive, we got the chance to exchange ideas on what to do for class while eating breakfast and sipping our morning cup of coffee.
Every PTC season, our classroom turned into a central hub for all teachers who worked together overtime to carefully rate, compute, mark, check, sort, compile, and arrange all of the students’ works. But even when we would stay very late into the night, we felt safe in Zarcon thanks to Kuyas Willie, John, and all of the other guards.
We loved being in school so much that often, Thinkers became a place for us teachers to unwind and bond...while eating, of course. Countless birthdays have been celebrated in our very own events place a.k.a ”the yellow room.” But personally, I think the greatest memory is seeing how the school which started out using a classroom in Toddlers Unlimited, grew to a scale where we needed two units in a building, and now, an even bigger space.
It’s definitely a bittersweet departure from a place that has been home to so many happy memories and milestones. We didn’t get to have the proper goodbye we all hoped, as the Coronavirus cut the school year short and our children weren’t able to help us pack up, as they had wished to do.
As we say goodbye to the Zarcon Building, I am very grateful to all of the people who work there, especially our neighbors, because no matter how loud we got, they never complained about the noise. We also want to thank Sir Chris and Ms. Cristy for their care, as well as the owner, Mr. Ortoll for his kindness. I am also very thankful to the funniest bunch of security staff, for being so caring toward our students, and us! We will never forget the spaces that became the home of Thinkers for the last 5 years - each nook and cranny that sparked joy in our lives. Zarcon will always be an important part of our history.
Now, it is time for us to say hello to our new home - Commerce Center, here we come! A new place, where many changes will greet us, but luckily, we will still see many of the same friendly (and happy) faces, too. We may be moving to a new place, but one thing is for sure, wherever we go...we are Thinkers Unlimited. #schoolkidslove