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Several Friends Select students have been named semifinalists and outstanding participants in three national scholars programs: the 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program; the 2010 National Achievement Scholarship Program; and the National Hispanic Recognition Program. Two Friends Select seniors have been recognized by AP Scholars in recognition of their exceptional achievement on AP Exams. | Cameron Anderson, Lorraine Beck, Claire Cocroft and Joseph Paulson, all Class of 2010, were named semifinalists in the 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program, which honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. All are eligible to compete for some 8,200 National Merit Scholarships, worth more than $36 million, that will be offered next spring.
Senior Emerson Hawkins was named a semifinalist in the 2010 National Achievement Scholarship Program, which honors scholastically talented African American high school seniors. Hawkins will be eligible to continue in the competition for approximately 800 Achievement Scholarship awards, worth some $2.6 million, to be offered next spring. Classmate Autumn Williams was named an outstanding participant in the same program, after placing in the top three percent of more than 160,000 African American students who applied.
Cameron Anderson, in addition to being named a semifinalist National Merit Scholar, was named a scholar by the National Hispanic Recognition Program. This program, started in 1983, identifies outstanding Hispanic/Latino students. This year, NHRP is recognizing nearly 5,000 students selected from a pool of more than 200,000 students who met PSAT test requirements and held a GPA of 3.5 or higher. This program is sponsored by the College Board.
Beck and Haydn Dufrene were named AP Scholar with Honors and AP Scholar, respectively.
Congratulations to all of these academically-talented and hardworking seniors!
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The focus was on fun October 2, as upper school students embraced the second annual Friends Select Spirit Day. The energy was palpable as students and faculty savored a break from their regular routines. In the morning, a raucous game of musical chairs sent students scampering for free seats in the mat room. School-themed Jeopardy stumped contestants in the library. Capture the Flag was the game of choice on the roof. The photography studio, renamed “Spirit Station,” served as the staging area for skits, songs and posters. The afternoon consisted of field day-type games on the rooftop. Every student was assigned to either the brown or the gold team for some friendly competition in the spirit fun.
The day was punctuated by a barbecue on the front plaza, the Falcon mascot greeting lower school students, and greater-than-usual attendance at the afternoon field hockey and soccer games. Designed to promote school unity, generate excitement about the athletic program, and create opportunities for inter-grade mingling, Spirit Day is clearly a new and popular school tradition.
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Writer William C. Harris (pictured above, bottom left), associate professor and chair of English at Shippensburg University, met with around ten members of the Friends Select Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA) on Thursday, October 15. Harris is the author of Queer Externalities: Hazardous Encounters in American Culture, a book in which he argues that “mainstreaming” in the media may have as many negative effects as positive ones for contemporary gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. Harris spoke about the chapter of his book devoted to young adult literature, and fielded questions from students.
Harris came to Friends Select at invitation of middle school art teacher Fred Kogan (pictured above), with whom he is friends. Tr. Fred is mentioned in the acknowledgements page of the new book.
This month, SAGA members will attend Lead, the local GSA summit, being held at Friends Select on Saturday, November 7. The group also plans on going on a second tour of LGBT-owned businesses and will continue to sponsor movie nights at school.
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History teacher Sara Wolf believes in creating a human connection, whenever possible, with the subject matter her students are learning. To kick off her sixth graders’ year-long exploration of Africa, Wolf invited Mousa Doucoure, a Malinese citizen and Philadelphia graduate student, to visit her classroom in October. “I wanted my students to have the experience of interviewing a primary source. And Mousa is a Malinese citizen, so his visit fit perfectly with our study of Mali and the West African medieval kingdoms.” The students came prepared with five interview questions each – their “admission ticket” to the class. The visitor brought along photos of his family in Mali, African clothing for the students to try on, and music to which everyone danced. The experience helped transform Mali from a flat shape on the map of Africa to the vibrant home country of their new-found friend. Doucoure has agree to come back to talk to the classes again as their understanding of Africa grows and they have more questions to ask.
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The After School Mole Street Community Garden project earned second place in the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s City Gardens Contest, in the Children’s Garden category. A watercolor of the garden is currently displayed on the lower school hallway.
Students in grades 3-5, with help from the After School staff, beautified a previously dilapidated garden on Mole Street, a narrow block near the school. The students designed the garden, prepared the dirt, planted seeds, tended the garden by weeding and watering, and harvested vegetables. They also designed a mural and painted it on the garden wall. Beyond teaching students about gardening, the project was designed to connect both students and their teachers more closely with the larger community beyond the school.
Here’s what some of the students said about the experience:
“I always looked forward to the garden because each year it was something new to do. I read all the packets of seeds and learned about a lot of different kinds of plants and flowers.”
-Gareth, grade 5
“I personally like gardening so I thought it was great. We planted vegetables, beans, petunias, lilies, tomatoes, basil, and even some kind of tree. Leaving the building after being cooped up all day was the best… And the company! I think everyone should do it: You get exercise, fresh air, and are with people you know and like!”
-Alex, grade 5
“We wanted to make it look better and fill it with life. And I think we did! Plus, I loved playing in the dirt.”
-Lydia, grade 4
“Each time we came back it changed a little. At first you couldn’t see anything, but then the littlest sprout, then it got a little bigger and a little bigger and then came out. It was awesome to watch.”
-Wiley, grade 4
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|  Second graders in Debby Rickards and Carol Sime’s classes have are engaged in lively correspondence with the Raston Rat (AKA “Ratty”), a character in Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell. They are blogging with Jonell (in the role of Ratty) for two weeks, October 19-30.
The book is about a young girl, Emmy, who can't figure out why her world has been turned topsy-turvy. No one seems to notice her, including her own parents! With the help of Ratty, her class' pet, and Joe, a child from school, Emmy figures out what is happening and solves the mystery. The second grade classes have been reading this chapter book aloud since the beginning of school.
To follow the blog, click here.
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| Eating at school is a healthier experience than ever, thanks to collaborative work by Friends Select community members and Metz & Associations, the outside firm that manages the dining hall.
The newly-named Dining Hall Service Support Committee, which meets four times a year, is the primary link between the school community and Metz. “Our work is never done!” says Sherry Claypool, admission director, committee co-chair and former nurse. “And that’s a good thing,” she continues, “since serving over 700 people daily with a variety of dietary concerns, requirements and preferences is a tall order.” The committee includes a parent representative, faculty, administrators, students and the school nurse.
One upgrade is a new e-mail address, where parents may ask questions and communicate concerns directly to the committee’s parent representative, Suzanne Frantz, at parentrepdhssc@friends-select.org. Frantz will answer questions when she has the appropriate information and will take other concerns to the committee.
As in the past, the monthly menu continues to be posted on the Web site under Current Parents and the daily menu is always posted at the entrance to the Dining Hall.
As the committee continues to work with Metz, the needs of developing children are front and center. “Everything we’re doing is geared toward encouraging students to develop and maintain healthy eating habits,” says Tom Smith. “We want to reinforce positive messages about nutrition by providing food choices that reflect both the latest trends in healthful eating and parental preferences, while acknowledging the range of tastes and dietary needs of a diverse community.”
Lively discussions last spring and this fall resulted in a number of good ideas and several specific changes. Here are some “healthy highlights” that reflect the committee’s work:
For everyone:
• Vegetables are fresh, not frozen or canned.
• Whole wheat bread is used for all sandwiches, unless white bread is specifically requested.
• Raw vegetables without dressing and seasonal fresh fruit (such as grapes, strawberries, blueberries, and melon) are available in the “grab ’n go”section. (Fresh produce is purchased from local vendors, whenever possible.)
• Vegetarian entrees and options are offered daily.
• Ground turkey is used instead of beef.
• The bacon available at breakfast (turkey and pork), is baked, and not fried.
• Mashed potatoes are real, not powered.
• Over half the offerings in the vending machines are healthier options, such as baked chips and granola bars. The machines are timed to come on at 3 p.m.
For lower school students, in particular:
• The milk from WAWA contains no growth hormones.
• Yogurt is organic.
• Lower school students may order a sandwich (or a half-sandwich and a side dish) instead of the hot entrée and can always get a green salad, and carrot or celery sticks.
• On ice cream day (Thursday), non-dairy ice cream is also available.
The Dining Hall Service Support Committee will meet next in December to continue the conversation about healthy eating at Friends Select.
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Upper school art teacher Lynda Greenwade has loved maps since she was a child, so winning a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to study cartographic literacy was a dream come true. The summer program for teachers was based at the historic Newberry Library in Chicago, home to an estimated 500,000 maps, half of which were published before 1900.
Greenwade and around 15 other teachers from around the country spent several happy weeks at the library’s Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography. Founded in 1972, the center’s mission is to advance knowledge about the creation, use, and interpretation of maps and the relationship between mapping and other facets of human history.
Greenwade returned to Friends Select ready to share her enthusiasm about maps and mapmaking with students. Already, she has worked with students throughout the school, and is helping other teachers incorporate cartography into their history curricula. The culminating product from this study will be a "cartography" show in the Select Gallery. Says Greenwade, “Mapping teaches students science, math, art, geography, literature and history. Maps teach us about our past, show us our place in the world now, and give us clues about how to navigate the future.”
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