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It was an emergency situation – but a good one. An exhibit on the Lenni Lenape tribe of the Delaware Valley was about to close. The middle school had to act fast. So on the first day of class – an unlikely date for a field trip –seventh graders and their teachers trekked to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology for an afternoon of inquiry.
The exhibit was the perfect venue for history teacher John Colgan-Davis to talk about the interdisciplinary approach used to study Lenni Lenape culture. In history, students will explore the tribe’s system of governance and its interaction with the colonists. They will also learn about the cultural lifestyles of the Lenape and other Native Americans and compare them with the lifestyles and cultural patterns of the European settlers. In English, they will study Lenni Lenape creation myths, compare and contrast them with other creation myths, and read "William Penn's Own Account of the Lenni Lenape.” In a cross-curricular activity blending English and math, students will learn how a bull hide was used to determine how much land could be appropriated by colonists and how the standard was manipulated by the colonists so they could get additional land.
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Friends Select School prekindergartners and kindergartners paired with sixth and eighth graders to “plant” 100 hand-painted “rocks for peace” in celebration of International Day of Peace on September 21. Teachers and students read a peace poem, sang songs and ceremoniously arranged and placed the rocks in the courtyard of the Quaker meetinghouse on Race Street, near 15th Street.
The United Nations’ International Day of Peace, marked each year, is a global holiday when individuals, communities, nations and governments highlight efforts to end conflict and promote peace. Established by a United Nations resolution in 1981, the first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982. The Friends Select “Plant a Rock for Peace” event was the only International Day of Peace event registered in Philadelphia.
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| The following programs are free and open to members of the extended Friends Select community. Programs will be held in the Blauvelt Theatre from 9:15 - 10:15 a.m.
 Tuesday, November 3, 2009Speaker: Philadelphia Daily News editorial cartoonist Signe Wilkinson
Wilkinson has been alternately delighting and infuriating readers of the Philadelphia Daily News since 1985. In 1992 Wilkinson became the first woman ever to win the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning. Her work is recognized for its unique style and famous irreverence. Wilkinson will speak on the status and value of free speech as it is practiced (or not) around the world.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Speaker: Philadelphia Inquirer film critic Carrie Rickey
Even after viewing more than 12,000 films, Rickey has not lost her love of movies—or of wordplay. Film critic at the Philadelphia Inquirer since 1986, Rickey will talk about how film is a universal language that can bridge cultures and foster community.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Speaker: Cliff Mumm, program manager, Bechtel, Inc.
Mumm is the program manager at Bechtel National, Inc., a global leader in engineering, construction, and project management. Among other projects, Bechtel is responsible for the Iraq Infrastructure Reconstruction Project in Baghdad, Iraq. Mumm will speak about global awareness and his international experiences. He also is the father of Friends Select alumnus Andrew Mumm ’04.
For more information, or to reserve a seat, please contact Brian Kors, director of international programs at Friends Select School, at briank@friends-select.org.
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| Thank you to all of you who took the time to complete the 2008-2009 Friends Select School Communications Survey last May. The survey consisted of 16 questions intended to measure readership attitudes toward Parents & Friends, the school’s monthly parent e-newsletter. It was sent to 628 Friends Select School parents and 116 faculty and staff on May 20, and closed on June 1. Fifty-five percent of you responded, which is considered a highly respectable response by industry standards.
The marketing department spent a good portion of the summer reviewing the results and making improvements to the e-newsletter, based on what you told us you wanted to see. (And, even though the survey didn’t specifically talk about our Web site, we have revamped the navigation of our Web site, too—more on that below.)
Here are the major themes that emerged from your responses. Bottom line—we hear you, and want to be as responsive to your concerns as we can be. We will repeat this communications survey annually, and will use the results each year both to measure our effectiveness and to guide change, with the ever-present goal of continual improvement in how we serve you.
MAIN THEMES
Overall, more of you reported being satisfied or neutral than very dissatisfied/dissatisfied with e-newsletter content (74% very satisfied/satisfied/neutral, 4.3% very dissatisfied/dissatisfied), but found the e-newsletter format to be confusing.
Actions in Response
- We changed the subject line of the e-mail that delivers the newsletter to you—it now reads Parents & Friends E-Newsletter.
- We redesigned the e-newsletter to be easier to read and to navigate.
- Parents & Friends articles are shorter—and one click gets you into the story. are
- We removed the photos of the directors from the home page (which made it look like we were running the same stories each month) and instead feature a front page article and photo each month, plus at least one feature or lead story per division.
- We’ve enriched the newsletter with videos, photo galleries and other interactive media.
- New feature: fall coaches have started posting blogs, housed on the Athletics page of the Web site. We hope to continue this throughout the year.
You reported that you love the photos and would like to see more. You would also like the ability to print out photos without having to go through marketing.
Actions in Response
- The school has signed up with FLICKR to house our many photo galleries. Not only do they look better (larger format, easier to navigate) you now will be able to print out photos directly from the site. The photo galleries are continually being updated and will be housed on our Web site on the Home page and also on the Parents page of our Web site, friends-select.org
You told us you are busy, and would like a richer calendar. You also appreciate e-mail reminders of upcoming events.
Actions in Response
- The FSS calendar is available electronically on the Web site. We have begun asking event “sponsors” to provide much more information about each event, such as start and end times, location, and to provide a contact name for you to follow up with if you have any questions. Our electronic calendar can also be sorted by month and by category of event (such as arts events, or athletic events).
- Divisions may choose to send electronic reminders of events specific to their division (director’s coffees, etc.) to your primary e-mail address.
You said that forms get buried in the newsletter and that you prefer to get them as hard copies.
Actions in Response
- With rare exceptions, we have converted to a system where forms are no longer sent home as hard copies.
- Instead, all forms are downloaded onto the Web, on the Parents page and also under Document Downloads, which can be found on the home page of our Web site. If you are missing a form, or want to make sure that you have got everything, please make it a habit to check these sites. Parents & Friends will continue to prompt you to check out the Parents page, where you can find forms or permission slips posted by division.
- Divisions may choose to send e-mail reminders directly to families when forms are due.
WEB SITE IMPROVEMENTS
The marketing department has simplified the home page of the Web site. Be sure to check out the New This Week column on the home page—it is updated continually. Just last week, we posted stories on our newly announced International Speakers Series, the 100th anniversary of soccer competition between Friends Select, Germantown and Moorestown Friends, our PreK/8th grade and K/6th grade celebration of International Day of Peace (and the accompanying Ch. 6 News Coverage of that event), our new strategic plan, and more. It’s a good way to keep up with everything that is happening at the school.
Again, thank you for your feedback.
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| Friends Select School has just released its new strategic plan, called Envision 2015.
Envision 2015 outlines the school’s vision and goals for itself over the next five years and beyond, focusing on three distinct areas: people, program and place, all undergirded by an unshakable commitment to Quaker values and practice.
The plan is the result of more than two years of work by two board-facilitated and appointed committees (a strategic planning and an expansion advisory committee); students; faculty; former and current parents; alumni/ae; meeting members of the two Quaker meetings which oversee the school; and community partners; as well as members of the board of trustees and administrators.
The vision and goals that emerged from this work point to a Friends Select that remains vibrant, grounded in Quaker values, relevant to the academic needs of today’s students and tomorrow’s adults, and integrally connected to the city and to the world.
While the nine goals of the plan are broad, there is a companion operational document that lists a set of strategies, or initiatives, that focus on accomplishing the goals.
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| As the debate over the state budget drags on in Harrisburg – despite a tentative agreement announced ten days ago -- proposals are surfacing to make cuts in the amount of money available for EITC. Under the EITC program, businesses may choose to satisfy their Pennsylvania tax liability by diverting dollars they would have paid in state taxes to schools. Friends Select has received significant contributions for its financial aid program through this program.
For more information about the budget situation or how you can help Friends Select through the EITC program, please contact Christine Jefferson at 215-561-5900, ext. 141 or at mailto:chrisj@friends-select.org.
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