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| Date: Saturday, March 13
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Place The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA), Hamilton Building
Event: The “A World of Art” Parent Association Auction
The annual PA auction is a terrific night out, with great food and live entertainment. Hundreds of exclusive items are available for on-line bidding only, happening right now. Dozens of other unique items and experiences will be on the block at the live and silent auctions at the event itself. Buy your tickets now. The ticket price increases to $65 on March 1. And remember: Funds raised go toward the Annual Fund to support building improvements, faculty compensation, the financial aid program and other programs throughout the school. Want to volunteer? Got questions? Contact Vaishalee Sampat at 215-561-5900, ext 139, or vaishalees@friends-select.org or Nancy Kang Rosin at 215-561-5900, ext. 131 nancyr@friends-select.org.
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| Please donate blood during the school’s 32nd annual blood drive on Friday, March 5, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the gym. In order to reach the goal of 60 pints, 75 donors are needed from the school community of students, faculty, staff, parents and friends.
To give blood, you must be between the ages of 16 and 65, in good health and weigh more than 110 pounds. The entire process, from sign-in to post-donation snack, takes about 45 minutes. To schedule your appointment (on the hour at 15-minute intervals), please contact Mike Noonan by e-mail or at (215) 561-5900, ext, 109.
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A new generation of dancers is warming up at Friends Select, with the introduction of an extended dance unit as part of the lower school's physical education curriculum. Lisa White-Jones has added dance and movement instructor to her job description – a natural extension of her degree from the University of the Arts, a decade of experience dancing professionally and a pure love of dance.
Her philosophy for teaching dance to children is deceptively simple: “With little people, I like to get their inner rhythm out. We approach dance from a basic level. They walk, run, kick, skip, roll, stretch and bend. I let them define ‘dance’ for themselves.
“I also introduce them to the language of dance, such as parallel stance, turnout and first/second positions. But mostly, we just play to music.”
Dance classes happen in the lower level dance studio (equipped with a professional floating floor) and in the mat room. During their dance unit, lower school students attend class three times a week, moving to all types of music, from classical, pop, jazz and percussion, to music performed by their fellow students.
Although White-Jones’ focus is primarily on lower school dance, she also taught swing dance to seventh graders and did a Pilates unit with the ninth graders this year, a logical follow-up to her in-depth study of Pilates during her sabbatical in 2009.
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| Advanced computer science classmates Arman Dezfuli-Arjomandi and Haydn Dufrene woke up one morning late last spring and decided it would be "fun to develop an app."
After teaching themselves Objective C programming language over the summer, courtesy of iTunesU, they did just that. Beginning in December, in a matter of weeks, the two students wrote the code, beta tested it with eight classmates, bought a development license and submitted the app to Apple. After extensive testing, Apple approved it. Dezfuli-Arjomandi, a junior, and senior Dufrene launched the Friends Select app (available for download as FS on Apple) at weekly devotions on February 1, to a rapt audience of upper schoolers. In just one day, 57 students had downloaded it. "This app is my life," said one satisfied junior.
The Friends Select app enables upper school students to see their daily schedule, e-mail classroom teachers, add and monitor assignments and due dates, access the Online Learning Center and school calendar, even check SEPTA bus and train schedules -- all at the touch of their fingertips on their mobile iPhone or iPod touch. Wow! Life just got simpler in upper school.
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| The lower school is thinking ahead! At the end of January, third graders in Desiree Tee's and Craig Bierman’s class visited the middle school art classroom to paint bookmarks that will be sold at next lower school bazaar, scheduled for later this spring. Under the guidance of art teacher Fred Kogan, the students researched Philadelphia landmarks and discussed their meaning before creating an impressive stock of merchandise. Proceeds from the bazaar go to a charity selected by lower school students.
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