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| Lower School picnic is canceled on Wednesday, June 8, due the extreme heat and humidity expected. If you had planned on joining us we hope you will be able to enjoy the day in a cool, comfortable manner anyway.
We are in the process of planning fun activities here at school tomorrow for our indoor Lower School Fun Day. These will include time in the pool so please send your child to school with a (labeled) swimsuit and towel tomorrow. The lunch menu will continue as planned (hot dogs, hamburgers, etc.), so if you were planning on sending in a lunch with your child tomorrow you should continue to do so.
Grade 8’s closing ceremony is on Friday, June 10, at 8:45 a.m. at the Race Street Meetinghouse.
Grades 5’s moving up ceremony is on Friday, June 10, at 1 p.m. at the Race Street Meetinghouse.
Grade 12’s internship presentations are on Friday, June 10, kicking off with a reception at 12:15 p.m. in the Gray Library.
Baccalaureate Ceremony and Alumni/ae Induction is on Sunday, June 12, at 5 p.m. at the Race Street Meetinghouse.
Class of 2011 graduation is on Monday, June 13, starting at 10:30 a.m. at the Race Street Meetinghouse.
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| On May 18, 2011, Friends Select School junior and school chapter Model UN club leader Lauren Lamb was selected to participate at the Junior World Affairs Council (WAC) of Philadelphia held at Temple University’s Fox School of Business as a block leader for middle school students. In her role, she supported and taught her group how to draft resolutions, which are written suggestions of a group that deal with a certain problem.
Lamb, among nine other upper school Friends Select students, participate in simulations of national and international debates, discussions and policy-making bodies throughout the school year. In recent years, the club has participated in Model Senate (US Senate foreign relations committee meetings), a Model G20 Summit, and regular session Model UN General Assembly.
At the model events, students are given country delegations to represent, or they represent specific legislators and politicians from around the globe. Some of the positions are earned by audition. At another one of the club’s recent activities, Lauren was selected to a leadership position at the G20 Summit, held at Temple University’s Fox School of Business. Additionally, the club sent students to represent country delegations for Japan, Italy and Russia.
“Lauren worked hard to bring the club together this year as club president,” said Jesse Kennon, moderator of the school’s Model UN Club, middle-and upper school Spanish teacher and upper school Italian teacher. “She also impressed the staff of the WAC of Philadelphia for being responsible, hard-working and well prepared.”
At the simulations, students listen to invited speakers from around the world that are invited by the WAC of Philadelphia. They then meet to discuss the issues and draft proposals of how to address the key issues that arise. Recent issues students have discussed in simulations include the role of women, access to clean water, management of natural resources, environment, and energy management.
To note, the student club has renamed themselves “World Affairs Club” for next year.
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| Due to today's excessive heat, Philadelphia Public Schools, many of which do not have air conditioning, have closed early today at 1:30 p.m. Friends Select School is a temperature-controlled building with the benefit of air conditioning. Therefore, Friends Select School will not close early today and will dismiss school at the regular time.
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| On Monday, May 16, 2011, Friends Select School student app and game developer Arman Dezfuli-Arjomandi launched the Friends Select Mobile 2 app to 180 upper school students during morning devotions in the school’s Blauvelt Theatre.
Friends Select Student Entrepreneur Launches App from Friends Select School on Vimeo.
After teaching themselves Objective C programming language, Dezfuli-Arjomandi, a junior at the time, and his business partner Haydn Dufrene, senior at the time, wrote the code, beta tested it with other classmates, bought a development license and submitted the app to Apple for approval. The advanced computer science students launched the first version of the app on February 1, 2010, to a rapt audience of uppers schoolers.
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.
On Monday during the unveiling of the second version, Dezfuli-Arjomandi ’11 presented a PowerPoint presentation which describes his company’s game offerings and background on Friends Select Mobile 2 app. He skyped his business partner, Dufrene, a freshman at Stanford University, to say hello to former classmates.
After his presentation, Dezfuli-Arjomandi invited students to download the app while seated in the theatre. Students who own iPhone or iPod touches downloaded the new app all at the same time
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| On Tuesday, May 10, the Center City District celebrated the groundbreaking of Sister Cities Park at 18th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The Friends Select School upper school choral group kicked-off the event with an a cappella performance of Sweet Dreams by Annie Lenox. Mayor Michael A. Nutter, former Governor Edward G. Rendell, and Councilman Darrell L. Clarke were among the featured speakers. The Academy of Natural Sciences, another Parkway neighbor, also brought animals.
Sister Cities Park on Logan Square will be transformed into a richly planted, well-illuminated and welcoming civic space for people of all ages as part of the $20.9 million makeover of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The renovations will include an attractive new café, a new fountain that will pay tribute to the Sister Cities program, an active, educational play garden for young children, and a boat pond.
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Now that spring weather finally has arrived, more families are walking their dogs to school.
The school adopted a policy in 2007 that outlines where it is permissable for dogs to be on campus. The policy was developed with input from the Parent Association and mirrors safety guidelines in place at other independent schools.
The policy states:
Dogs on Campus
Dogs are not allowed inside the building, on the two rear playground areas or on the rear walkway. Families who walk to school with their family dog may enter the parking lot or the Front Plaza as long as the dog is supervised and leashed. This policy does not apply to seeing-eye or assist dogs; however such dogs must be registered and on record with the head of school office. There may be occasions when dogs under strict supervision and leashed may enter the building for a specific period of time for an assembly, show, drama performance, or classroom activity involving such animals. Under these circumstances, the faculty or staff member responsible for the event must make special arrangements with the Business Manager.
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| On Wednesday, May 4, four string students from the Curtis Institute’s community engagement program performed for both Friends Select fourth and fifth graders and the middle school in the Blauvelt Theatre.
During their visit, the Curtis Institute students presented an overview of the string instruments they brought to play and gave tips on best practice and ensemble techniques.
“String instruments are the foundation of a long musical tradition, and our middle- and upper school music program does a nice job in exposing students to the classical music genre,” said Heather Fortune, middle- and upper school orchestra and ensemble teacher.
Friends Select students also had the privilege of listening to the talented group play a variety of classical music pieces.
“Our students benefited from hearing these young players play on such a high level as well as observe some public speaking, as they prepare for presentations of their own,” said Fortune.
One of the fifth graders stated, “When people are great at what they do, it’s really fun to hear.”
The Curtis Institute community engagement program offers opportunities for students to perform in the community. The program was created with a twofold mission: to take classical music to young people and to provide training and practical experience to Curtis students in presenting interactive educational music programs to children and members of the public.
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Each year, ninth graders select a medieval or Renaissance art work to study at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Throughout the year, students walk to the museum to view and research their object or painting. The project culminates on a Saturday in May when students, standing in front of their selected objects, give a comprehensive public talk on the work to an audience of parents, friends, faculty and museum-goers.
This year's museum day will take place on Saturday, May 14, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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At Friends Select, each middle school grade ends the school year with a trip which reflects that grade’s course of study. On May 11-14, eighth graders will travel to New Mexico to explore ancient civilizations, a subject studied in the Interdisciplinary Sequence, an innovative and challenging course that traces human culture from 3000 B.C. to the present, while integrating perspectives from history, literature, philosophy, religious thought and the arts.
Throughout the year, students have learned about Mesopotamia, Greece, Egypt, India and other world cultures, and now this trip will introduce them to one of our country’s ancient civilizations, the Pueblo. In New Mexico, students will have the chance to visit the Petroglyphs National Monument, Bandelier National Monument, Taos Pueblo and Chaco Culture National Historic Park.
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| The MS/US Spring concert will take place on Wednesday, April 27, at 7 p.m. in the Blauvelt Theatre. Middle- and upper school choral groups, instrumental, and percussion ensembles will usher in spring with pop arrangements from the works of Radiohead, Coldplay and Flaming Lips, among others.
Welcome Spring!
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| The Friends Select School Performing Arts Department invites you to join us for the upper school spring performance of Tom Stoppard’s one-act play, Dogg’s Hamlet.
How do we infer the meanings of words? In our world of text messaging and emoticons, language, words and their meanings take on new significance for us. What are we saying, and what do we mean?
In the play, Stoppard asks the audience to imagine communicating with people who understand meanings for common words that are very different from what the audience knows. In Dogg’s Hamlet, the lines are spoken by a group of Dogg-speaking high school students getting ready to present a shortened version of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy. As they rehearse, an unsuspecting witness, who is puzzled to find he cannot understand a word they are saying, observes them.
As a performance in the round, the play will be presented in the basement of Friends Select School, in the former Studio 4 classroom, which can be accessed through Blauvelt Theatre. Dogg's Hamlet Flier
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| We encourage everyone in the community to be involved. Here’s how to participate:
- Share a photo of your favorite green space or personal garden. Photos will be collected
- Monday-Wednesday in a box near Ms. Stine’s office to be displayed on a bulletin board.
- (Photos can not be returned)
- Wear something green on Earth Day.
- Say “Hello” to the Eco-Falcon who will be handing out seed packets.
- Drop off your old cell phone to be recycled by the Green Notebook club.
- Visit the 7th grade “Human Impact on Nature” photo exhibit in the Middle School.
- Check out a book about the environment in the library.
In addition, the Upper School Green Notebook club encourages the community to follow 10 guidelines: - Buy only what you can eat—and eat everything on your plate.
- Use a tote bag instead of plastic shopping bags.
- Turn off the lights, when possible.
- Unplug electrical devices and chargers when you aren’t using them.
- Turn off your computer at the end of the day.
- Use both sides of the paper and limit unnecessary photocopying.
- Carpool, take public transportation, walk, or ride your bike.
- Fill up your water bottle at the sink, instead of buying bottled water.
- Turn off the tap—don’t leave water running, even when you brush your teeth.
- Take a shorter shower today!
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| Lower school Grandparents and Grand Friends Day is quickly approaching on Friday, April 22, from 8 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Here is the schedule with the morning activities.
7:45-8:20 Arrival and coffee in Bailey Circle
8:30-10:40 Attend Classes
10:45-11:10 Meeting for Worship at the Race Street Meetinghouse
11:15 Dismissal
There are a few other things to keep in mind:
• Please let us know if your child is going to leave with their guest after the program. Also, remind them to check out with us before they go. In order to minimize disruptiveness and keep track of everyone, students who leave with their guests at 11:15 should not return to school later in the day.
• We do ask that Grandparents and Grand Friends who wish to take their Grandchild to lunch do so at a local restaurant, rather than in our Dining Hall. On a regular school day, we welcome visitors at lunchtime so please let us know if you would like to join us another day.
• We have an elevator that goes between the lower level, the first floor, and the second floor. A volunteer will be ready to assist guests who need the elevator.
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| Stop by booths 85 and 86 this Saturday and say hello to Penny Razler and our upper school student volunteers, who will be staffing the Friends Select table at the Philadelphia Library Book Festival Street Fair this year. (If you are facing the Parkway Central building, our booths are located to the right of the main entrance.)
The Philadelphia Book Festival Street Fair is the largest literary street fair in the region. This free, open-air event (held rain or shine) features interactive exhibits, family-friendly events, and engaging programming on multiple outdoor stages.
This is the fourth year Friends Select has participated in this event.
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| From Friday, April 15 through Thursday, April 28, Philadelphia’s schools, universities, cultural institutions and research centers will come together to put science in the spotlight.
Friends Select School will be participating in the Philadelphia Science Festival's "Big Jump" this Friday, April 15, from 11 a.m.- 11:01 a.m. Students will jump at the same time on the school's front patio while other local schools' students in the city do the same to try to trigger a seismic event, which the Franklin Institute will be recording.
In addition, the Science Carnival on the Ben Franklin Parkway will take place on Saturday, April 16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and feature more than 80 exhibitors offering non-stop family-friendly experiments, interactive activities, games and live entertainment. Held in conjunction with the Science Carnival, the Philadelphia Book Festival’s Street Fair is a few steps away. Be sure to stop by Friends Select’s book booth!
Lastly, on April 19, from 2 p.m. - 3 p.m., Friends Select eleventh graders will be performing outreach work, where they teach a science lesson themed “Science is elementary” to local lower school students at the Philadelphia Free library. There will be four demonstrations and lessons on the following: water pressure, static electricity, magnetism and animal behavior.
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On March 30, students from Friends Select School pitched their old toys into a large sidewalk Art Box set up by Jones Lang LaSalle and Behringer Harvard at 1650 Arch Street.
The objects, which also included kitchen utensils, plastic hangers, old phones, and sunglasses, will be recycled and made into a huge sculpture for the lobby of 1650 Arch Street by environmental artist Tom Deininger.
Currently under renovation by Jones Lang LaSalle and building owner Behringer Harvard, the finished sculpture will be unveiled in late spring, when the building renovation is complete.
The students were joined by business professionals, construction workers, teachers and a large contingent from Jones Lang LaSalle’s Philadelphia office to make good use of unwanted objects.
The community can still contribute their least-prized possessions, smaller than a shoebox, to the Art Box on the sidewalk at 1650 Arch Street until Wednesday, April 13.
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|  As the lights dimmed low in Blauvelt Theatre, Lower School Director David Wood took the stage on Friday, March 18, and welcomed parents and the community to the second grade play, The Black Hole Squeaks. He then turned to the students and said excitedly, “Break a leg! This is a good thing though,” he continued, “it means good luck in the theatre world.”
In its eighth year at Friends Select School, the second grade play is performed as book-in-hand theatre and is used as a tool to help teach students the meaning of doing something for his or her own purpose. This year’s theme was “How to write a play,” which was developed collaboratively by all 50 students. Photo taken by Chris Meck.
“It’s always amazing to see how working together to write and then perform the play adds to a student’s experience in school,” states Debby Rickards, second grade teacher. “The second grade play builds upon the sense of community which continues on through middle- and upper school.” Here are comments of what older students remember about their work on the second grade play:
- It was amazing. I loved the costumes!
- It helped me a lot with my reading and it helped me get over my fear of being on the stage.
- It was a lot of fun because we got to write a lot of it and make our own costumes.
Year after year, the play supports second grader’s rising literacy skills and allows teachers to teach writing, especially composition, in an innovative way. All of the ideas in the play come from the students including the play’s theme and script, costume designs and song lyrics. Technology also assumes a huge role in the creative process as teachers use an interactive white board to share students’ ideas “in real time” with the entire class.
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|  On March 15, middle- and upper school science and biology students used Skype with “Ocean Doctor” Dr. David E. Guggenheim, who was at sea completing the last leg of his 25-day ship expedition from Cape Horn, South America, to the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. This unique opportunity for the students to ask questions and interact with Guggenheim during his voyage was facilitated by eleventh grader Ben Behrend, who is Guggenheim’s cousin.
Students from Christa Quint’s sixth grade science class, who are studying the ocean and water, thought the Q-and-A Skype session was fascinating, stating, “It was cool to see him on the computer showing us the ocean and letting us listen to different sea sounds.”
Natalie Mayer’s eleventh and twelfth grade Advanced Biology class also participated. Before the session, students were asked to study a topic of interest they found on Guggenheim’s Web site, http://oceandoctor.org/capetocape, and then present it to the class. “The Skype session allowed students the chance to study marine biology with a world-renowned scientific expert,” said Mayer.
Throughout the session, students asked Guggenheim questions about his travels and profession, such as what’s the most beautiful thing he’s seen (penguins), and what inspired him to become a marine biologist (his love for fishing and scuba diving as a boy). Guggenheim returns to the U.S. on March 25. Photo credit Abel Valdivia
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| This Wednesday and Thursday, right before spring break, middle school faculty and students will step away from their daily class routines and take part in two day mini-courses which will explore everything from touring the historic district to learning best jewelry-making techniques in the new metalsmithing lab.
“Now in its fifth year, the two day seminar-type courses allow us to go in-depth on a given topic,” explains Terry Kessel, director of middle school. “Pre-spring break energy is so great in middle school and we thought if we could harness that energy, the students could do really creative work.”
This year, students will choose among hiking and recording the sounds of the Wissahickon, touring historic Philadelphia, movie making techniques, media-literature exploration, outdoor public art, scientific illustration and jewelry making.
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