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Mark your calendars for the first Parent Association (PA) meeting of the year: Tuesday, September 28, 5:30-7:30 p.m. And come prepared to get involved. The triumvirate leading the PA this year, co-presidents Jessica Shapiro and Rita Ann Lamb, and newly appointed director of parent programs, Molly Mullahy, are ready to harness your ideas and enthusiasm. Returning parents already know about the PA and its vital community-building role at Friends Select School. For new parents, here are some of the basics:All Friends Select parents are automatically members of the PA and are encouraged to attend the regularly scheduled meetings, where topics range from child development to the school’s International Studies Program. “PA meetings are a great way to connect with other families,” says Lamb, mother of ninth and 11th grade students. “As a parent, you naturally gravitate toward the parents of your child’s classmates, so PA meetings are an opportunity to meet other families and get a broader sense of the school.”
Parents are invited to join committees that organize activities throughout the year, from the annual book fair, the faculty/staff appreciation breakfast and canned food drive, to the Martin Luther King Day project and the PA auction. “I am always pleased to see how many parents are willing to step up and offer their time and talents to the PA,” says Shapiro, mother of third and fifth grade students. “The tremendous commitment of FSS parents is what makes the Parent Association so successful. A vibrant Parent Association helps build a strong and supportive community for our children. I am looking forward to another successful year with the Parent Assocation and to meeting new parents and greeting returning parents.”
Each lower school class has a “class rep” and the middle and upper schools have “grade reps.” These volunteers, to be announced shortly and listed on the PA section of the Web site, are the “go-to” people who coordinate grade-level activities and can help answer specific questions.A knowledgeable and helpful director of parent programs is always available. This year, Friends Select bids farewell to Vaishalee Sampat, who has steered the PA for two years, and welcomes Molly Mullahy. Mullahy is familiar to many families from her work with the After School Program, as well as several other roles she has held around the school. Read her welcome message.
The PA gets results. In addition to its primary role in connecting parents and building community, the PA raises money to support special initiatives. For instance, the $10,000 raised during 2009-2010 will support faculty training in lower and middle school and help fund the International Studies Program. Click here to read about other PA accomplishments.
The PA is fun, pure and simple. Certainly, the PA is a serious organization with a vital mission of supporting the work of the school. Participating in the PA gives parents a chance to meet one another, work on projects, and share ideas with faculty and administrators. But the PA also offers time out to relax, share funny stories and simply have a good time.
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Learning to play an instrument and playing in an ensemble develops and hones essential skills such as concentration, coordination and cooperation. A key for young (and, in fact, all) musicians is learning how to practice. Most children are excited about starting to learn to play an instrument, but then find themselves not motivated to practice. Good practicing skills simply must be learned and repeated until practicing is a habit, like doing homework or playing sports.
Parents can do a lot to support their budding musicians and help them develop a practice habit:
Start with five minutes a day. You may think that five minutes of practicing could hardly matter, but building a daily relationship with the instrument is vital, especially for beginners. Many days may only yield a five-minute practice session, but before long, some sessions will stretch longer as your child decides to master a song or a tricky passage.
Create a dedicated practice space. It can simply be a music stand placed in a bedroom, but create a single space for your child's practice. Keep the instrument there when it is not at school.
Be present during practice time. Grab something to read and silently join your child in his or her practice space. Most families find that it works best, particularly with younger students, if the parent remains quiet unless asked for specific help or feedback and is simply present to help keep the musician focused.
Use a practice log or journal. Many musicians say this is the key to their successful practicing. Keeping a record of how long one spends on each element during a session (for example, C major and G major scales – three minutes, etc.) helps students take ownership of the process of improving on their instrument.
Prioritize practicing within a big picture. We are all busy people, and distraction is all around us. Help ensure a practice habit takes hold by keeping a consistent standard, regardless of what other obligations arise. Continue the practice habit, even during a sports season or over school vacation. There will always be a reason not to practice, and this is what you are trying to overcome.
Creating a practice habit takes significant time and effort, but it is well worth it. Developing children’s intrinsic desire to play music and play it well prepares them for many of the challenges they will face in life, while affording them many pleasures along the way!
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This fall, Friends Select welcomes several new faculty, staff and administrators to the school. Here is a list of the arrivals. If you see someone new, stop and say a quick “hello.”
Lower School Faculty
Marissa Colston, Assistant Teacher, Kindergarten
Jessica Brister, Assistant Teacher, grade 2 Natalie Zeppa, Assistant Teacher, grade 2
Sherry Shaeffer, Lead Teacher, grade 5
Francoise Thenoux, Spanish
Upper School Faculty
Deborah Caiola, Art
Li Hsueh Tsai, Mandarin
Staff/Administration
David Wood, Lower School Director
Wes Enicks, Director of Annual Giving
Joe Hardy, Head’s Office Assistant/Continuing Programs Assistant
Dana Rothman, Nurse
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Please note the following changes for 2010-2011:
- Front door: The reception area will be closed at 5 p.m., instead of 6 p.m. as in the past. Entry doors will be locked at 5 p.m. Visitors will still be able to access the building using the back entrance (at 16th Street).
- Back door: The back entrance (at 16th Street) continues to be staffed from 7:30 – 8:30 a.m., and from 2:30 – 6 p.m. Entry to the school from 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. will be via the front door of the main building (at 17th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway) only.
- Friends Select @ 1700: The school’s new space on the corner of 17th and Race Streets will have a receptionist on duty from 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
As always, parents and visitors will be asked to provide proper identification before proceeding into the building.
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Parking is a challenge anywhere you go in Center City, but especially in our small school lot. Please be considerate when entering and exiting the FSS parking lot for drop-offs and pick-ups. Working together, we can maintain a safe and pleasant community.
A few guidelines:
- Allow pedestrians to cross at the sidewalk and crosswalk zones.
- Remain in your vehicle while the greeter helps your child in or out of your car.
- Parents are permitted to park in the lot only after 4 p.m. and only in marked spaces. Never double park and never abandon your vehicle in the parking lot, whether at the entrance gate area, bus zone or in front of faculty and staff parked cars. (Please remember that your “emergency” may inadvertently cause frustration and anger on the part of others.)
- Metered spaces are available on 16th Street and also on Vine Street, a short walk away.
- Some alternatives: In the mornings, a small gate is open on Race Street at the west end of the low wall, which allows safe access to the school through the playground without pulling into the lot. Also, most older students prefer to be dropped off at the Parkway/Cherry Street entrance, where there are two loading zones. Using these two drop-off points can relieve a lot of pressure on the parking lot.
- Do not drop students off at the exit gate on 16th street! Visibility is limited for drivers here, and it is dangerous. Instead, pull up to the walkway that opens to the sidewalk on 16th Street.
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Admission season has started. If you know parents who might be interested in Friends Select School for their child(ren), please encourage them to attend a fall information open house:
Thursday, September 30: 8:45-11 a.m. (for pre-K, Kindergarten and Grade 1)
Saturday, October 23: 1-3 p.m. (for all grades)
Invite them to check on the Admission tab on the school's Web site home page for details about the open houses and for plenty of other admission related information.
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The Green Notebook Sustainability Club is selling used textbooks over the summer and during the first week of school at discounted prices. Click here for a list of available books and prices. If you would like to make a purchase or have questions, e-mail Natalie Mayer at nataliem@friends-select.org.
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A $50,000 matching grant from the E.E. Ford Foundation literally “doubles the money” available to support the International Studies Program. Friends Select raised more than the required $50,000, so the actual total exceeds $100,000. These funds will be used to launch the new InterSession program this winter and support the popular international lecture series and Live@Lunch concert program. In addition, they will enable faculty to pursue international-studies-related professional development and more. “Generous donors recognized the unique opportunity to leverage their contributions by helping to ‘meet the match,’” says Chris Jefferson, director of development. “We thank them for stepping up and giving generously.”
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