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Another Successful Auction Night

On Saturday, March 19, Friends Select School Parent’s Association hosted its 6th Annual Auction, held at the Academy of Natural Sciences. This year’s event themed “Our Night at the Museum” raised nearly $65,000 and attracted more than 300 guests.

Through the generosity of businesses, individuals and the entire school community, annual proceeds of the Friends Select School Parent Association Auction will support Financial Aid & Scholarships, International Studies Curriculum, Faculty & Staff Professional Development, Athletics, and Technology.

Friends Select School Parent’s Association would like to acknowledge the following sponsors for their generous contributions. Please click here for the full list.

MS Mini-Courses

On March 23rd and 24th, middle school faculty and students stepped away from their daily class routines and took part in two day mini-courses. This year, students chose among the following courses:

•    Hiking and recording the sounds of the Wissahickon, see photos
•    Touring historic Philadelphia
•    Movie making techniques
•    Media-literature exploration
•    Outdoor public art
•    Scientific illustration
•    Jewelry making

See full mini-course descriptions, here.

School Community Accomplishments

1. Heather Fortune, lower, middle- and upper school music teacher, played the flute and piccolo in the orchestra pit for the Pennsylvania Ballet's performance of Stravinsky’s Agon and Gershwin’s Who Cares during the “Building on Balanchine,” which is part of Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts held in April.

Alongside Fortune, alumna Martha Chamberlain '89 also performed in the ballet (in her last performance of her career), and a full profile about her 21-year run as a ballerina will be featured in the Spring/Summer issue of Select News due out in May.

2. On April 8, Michelle Horton, upper school clerical support assistant and school receptionist, received the Distinguished Honors Award from the National Black Authors Guild for her recently self-published book The Other Side of Threw.

3. On April 7, Terry Kessel, director of the middle school; Molly Patterson, middle- and upper school learning specialist; Patrick Cassidy, middle school math teacher and seventh grade advisor; and Christa Quint, middle- and upper school science teacher and seventh grade advisor, attended the Memory & Mind: Improving Memory and Achievement in the Classroom Conference in New York City.

4. At the start of the 2011 Phillies season, Ellen Gershman, admission assistant for data management, was inducted into the Phillies virtual Wall of Fame to honor her loyalty as a season ticket holder.

5. Over spring break, network administrator Chris White became an Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) 10.6.

6. Fred Kogan, visual arts department chair and eighth grade advisor, is currently participating in a continuing education class at UARTS called Illustration Portfolio with a focus on fashion illustration.

7. In February, Karen Cohen, fifth grade teacher; Paula Cairo, lower school librarian; Maureen Haurin, middle- and upper school librarian; Christa Quint, middle- and upper school science teacher; and Lynda Greenwade Thorp, upper school art teacher, attended the Pennsylvania Educational Technology Expo and Conference (PETE&C), a statewide event that provides quality programs focused on technology in the educational field.

8. Over this past winter, Deborah Caiola, upper school art teacher, received the Transformation Award from the Leeway Foundation, an organization that funds women creating social change.

Friends Select Offers Tax Relief for Businesses

Although the 2010 tax season has just ended, it doesn’t mean it’s too early to start preparing for next year. Tax professionals suggest taking a hard look at this year’s tax situation now for next year’s season, as it will never be fresher in your mind.

One way for businesses to get tax relief is to earmark funds to the Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC). With EITC, businesses can donate to Friends Select School and pay fewer tax dollars as a result.

“The EITC program is an amazing vehicle businesses can use to allocate their Pennsylvania taxes to the nonprofit school of their choice,” states Tony Sovinski, real estate investment business owner and Friends Select parent. Businesses participating in EITC can achieve tax savings in two ways:

Credit against Pennsylvania state taxes – the tax deduction is dollar-for-dollar against tax due.
Deduction against net income as a charitable donation.

“It’s empowering to know that I’m the one to decide where my tax dollars go. I’m happy to support Friends Select as it’s where my twins attend school,” says Sovinski.

No business is too small—or too large—to be eligible to participate. EITC is available for businesses ranging from neighborhood pharmacies, to mid-sized companies, to large corporations.

To donate a gift for the 2011-2012 school year, applications must be submitted by June 30, 2011.

Click here, or contact Rebecca Rankin, director of annual giving, at (215) 561-5900, ext. 131, to learn more about the EITC program or to discuss making an EITC gift.