Friends Select students and faculty are in a sprint to the finish line of the school year. Here’s a sample of some of the activities that have been going on in all three divisions.
Earth Day
Environmental awareness took center stage on April 22:
- The school mascot donned a special cape and handed out seed packets, becoming “Eco Falcon” for the day.
- The upper school environmental club, Green Notebook, created a video and a list of earth friendly living tips.
- The middle school Green Thumb Club prepared snacks using lettuce grown in the middle school greenhouse.
- Lower school classrooms engaged in a variety of activities, including a zero waste day, junk art projects, and field trips to the Tinicum water shed and a city garden.
- In all three divisions, Meeting for Worship queries focused on humans’ relationship to the natural world.
- Select Gallery mounted an exhibit of artist Dan Miller's prints of instects.
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Select Gallery also featured an exhibit about bugs, at which Jason Weintraub, parent of a kindergarten student and an entomologist at the Academy of Natural Sciences, captivated lower students with a discussion and live show-n-tell. See Photos
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Poem in Your Pocket Day
Seventh and eighth graders fanned out throughout the school to share brief readings of their favorite poems on Thursday, April 30. "Poem in Your Pocket Day" was sponsored by the Academy of American Poets. The students, all from teacher Dianna Newton's English classes, were asked to select two poems -- one for older students and another for lower school students. See Photos They received explicit instructions, as follows:
- Ask politely if you can share your poem.
- Explain that it won't take much time.
- Read/share your poem.
- Then have the person sign your "Poem in Your Pocket Day" log.
- Say "thank you."
Special Lower School Visitors
Lower school students welcomed special friends on April 17, when their grandparents and “grand friends” came to visit. During their three hours at the school, the visitors spent time in classrooms, attended a performance by third graders in the theatre and experienced Meeting for Worship. One lower school student connected with her grandparents electronically using Skype. See Photos
Inter-cultural Bridge Building
Quaisra Shahraz, author of several novels, came to school on April 20. The Pakistani-born writer, who was raised and now lives in England, talked about the experience of being a moderate Muslim woman living in the West and her determination to promote understanding wherever she goes.
La Piece Theatrical du Lycee
Upper school thespians presented their take on The Bourgeois Gentleman by Moliere. Originally written as a five-act ballet and presented in 1670 to the court of Louis XIV, the play satirizes social climbing. The student production on April 24 and 25 featured students in '70s garb. See Photos
Fine Arts at Friends Select
May 6 was opening night for the annual Fine Arts Festival. The first floor of the school was transformed into a gallery for student work. Guests mingled, enjoying refreshments and the exhibits and listening to the upper school jazz combo, before attending the spring concert in the theatre.
Prom Night
Juniors and seniors donned formal attire and headed to the Top of the Tower at 17th & Arch Streets on May 2 for the much-anticipated social event of the spring season. They lingered over a buffet dinner, then moved to the dance floor where students and faculty alike danced the night away. See Photos
The “Proper” Approach
Eight seniors learned some of the finer points of business etiquette during a workshop at the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia, prior to beginning their three-week senior internships. The hour-long seminar covered topics ranging from what to wear to an interview and the role of thank you notes, to tips for remembering which bread plate and glassware to use and how to hold one’s fork and knife.