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by: Rose Hagan, Head of School
There was an outward bound component to an education course that I took at St. Louis University many years ago. It involved spending a few days in the woods: hiking, camping, orienteering, and journaling. There was one assignment I remember in great detail. Partnered with another student, I was given 8 small sticks – about 3” long – and some string and instructed to use those materials to create a small pathway, 2” wide and 12” long. With our noses to the ground, we inched along and recorded our observations of both animate and inanimate objects that lay in the path.
An hour later, we moved on to the second part of the assignment – eliciting universal truths from the microcosmic world we had just recorded. I recall that one universal truth was about the interdependent relationship between the microcosm and the macrocosm, or about the value of life in all things, regardless of size. Whatever lessons – in the abstract – I was to gain from that experience, I began to understand more fully in my daily commute to school.
I walk three blocks to Friends Select each morning passing the Atria retirement center, Moore College of Art, Academy of Natural Sciences, and the Four Seasons. It occurred to me that each day I walk the equivalent to the path I created in the woods more than 20 years ago. Both are microcosmic representations of a larger system, but the analogy stops there. Then, I was apart from the experience. I was above it, outside of it, as observer and recorder. Now as a pedestrian, I am part of the experience. I am in it, as participant.
Traditionally, schools - including universities - teach us to objectify knowledge, sort it, classify it, dissect it and analyze it, all the while developing a sense of self as apart from it. Even when we study humankind through anatomy, psychology, anthropology and history, we maintain an objective distance, as if we were superior to the knowledge, rather than of it.
At Friends Select, we invite students to be in their knowledge as a part of it, rather than apart from it. In the book To Know As We Are Known, Quaker author Parker Palmer suggests that a depth of knowledge comes only when we adopt a position of humility and are in a relationship with the known world. Here, students are immersed in the known world and directly engage in personal ways with their learning. They are walking in the knowledge.
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by: David Wood, Director of Lower School
Summer is a wonderful time for rest and reflection. I hope you had some time for both this summer.
At Friends Select we spend a lot of time exploring ways to connect within and beyond our school community. From activities connecting students between divisions like all school Meeting for Worship, Brown and Gold Days, DEAR (Drop Everything And Read), and Chinese New Year, to connections with local institutions like the Atria Senior Center, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Philadelphia Horticultural Society, and Philadelphia Museum of Art, students at Friends Select frequently enjoy connections to a broader learning community within the school, within the city, and beyond. Students grow and learn from each other and build clarity in their opinions and gain perspective in relation to others in our community. The ability to easily access local resources and gather and share information is exciting, and we are repeatedly reminded of our great location in Center City and the wonderful urban community that is Friends Select.
This year, we have a few changes in faculty assignments and a welcome to share. As you know, Marissa Colston has moved into the lower school administrative office as administrative assistant to lower and middle school divisions. Marissa comes with a range of teaching experience and a graduate degree in education administration from Teachers College, Columbia University. As her new role has been revised and expanded, she is looking forward to taking on more challenges and program development opportunities. Kindergarten teacher Jaime Weingart has taken on the additional role of lower school technology coordinator supporting faculty interests in incorporating more uses of technology into the classroom. Jessica Brister has moved into assistant teacher in kindergarten as she continues to pursue her graduate degree in elementary education at Temple University. We are also happy to welcome Barry Lynch as first grade assistant teacher. Barry has a background in sports studies from University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom and is looking forward to pursuing further studies in elementary education.
There are many events coming up this fall to look forward to, and you will receive more information about each of these, but here are some reminders for your calendar.
Sept. 9, 8:15 a.m. - First day of school
8:30 a.m. - New Parent Welcome Reception in the dining hall
Sept. 22, 6:00 p.m. – Back to School Night
Sept. 25 – Lower School Picture Day
Oct. 6 - Brown and Gold Day for students in all divisions
Oct. 7 – In-service day for faculty, no school for students
Oct. 13, 6:00 p.m. – LS Specialists Night
Oct. 21, 8:15-9:00 a.m. – Director of Lower School coffee
Oct. 31, 8:30-9:30 a.m. – Halloween Parade
Nov. 3 & 4 – Parent/Teacher Conferences
Nov. 18, 8:15-9:00 a.m. Director of Lower School coffee
Dec. 2, 9:00 a.m. – Winter Concert grades 3, 4
Dec. 9, 9:00 a.m. – Winter Concert grades 1, 2 Dec. 16, 2:00 p.m. – Holiday Sing at the Meeting House
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by: Terry Kessel, Director of Middle School and Assistant Head of School for Professional Development
Welcome back to an expanded and exciting middle school! We welcome our newest members, the fifth grade, along with fourteen new students from Lansdowne Friends School, F.A.C.T.S Charter School, St. Peter’s, West Chester Friends, J.S. Jenks, The Philadelphia School, Jubilee School, Tamanend Middle School, and San Francisco Friends, who join a total of 112 middle schoolers.
This means that our orchestra, drum ensemble, chorus, and dance troupe will be filling our stage with wonderful sound and movement. It means our sports teams will field more athletes. Our middle school play - this year an original play written by Director Paul's father - will have a fuller cast. And during middle school service days, more trails will be restored, more parks cleaned up, more kittens and puppies cared for, and more homeless individuals fed, all with smiles. For fifth grade parents, it means new director coffees, new events to calendar, and quarterly report cards with grades in writing, reading, and math. Welcome all!
Also new this year is our English teacher for grades 6 through 8. Please help us in welcoming Laurie Morrison. Laurie comes most recently from a teaching post at Staten Island Academy but returns to the Philadelphia area where she lived during her time at Haverford College. Laurie already knows and loves our city, and looks forward to incorporating it into the middle school English curriculum. (Sounds just like one of us already!) She is busy catching up on her summer reading, all the books your children will be reading throughout this school year. Hopefully your students enjoyed their summer reading. I especially enjoyed The Dreamer which seventh and eighth graders read.
Dates to get on your calendar now are as follows:
Sept. 8 - Registration Day (schedule available here)
Sept. 9 - First day of classes; prospective athletes meet coaches
Sept. 12 - Middle school sports begin - remember children have one week to decide
whether they want to commit
Sept. 19, 6 p.m. - Middle School Back to School Night starting at 6pm
Oct. 7 - School closed for faculty in-service
Oct. 10 - School closed for holiday
Oct. 13, 8 a.m. - Middle School Director Coffee
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by: Jesse Dougherty, Director of Upper School and Assistant Head of School for International Studies
The start of the school year brings so much excitement as students and faculty pour into the building rejuvenated and reenergized. Everyone is enthusiastic to be back and this reminds me of how uniquely special our school is.
As we embark on a new school year together, we welcome over thirty new students to the upper school joining us from abroad from countries as far afield as Great Britain and China, and more locally, Center City and New Jersey. We welcome three new faculty members as well:
Robert (Bob) Courey joins the math department and is responsible for teaching algebra, geometry, and middle school physics as well as advising in the upper school. He comes from The Young Woman’s Leadership School and before there, taught at the Baldwin School. Bob started his professional career as a senior engineer for Lockheed Martin but not before participating in the U.S. Peace Corp in Gabon, Africa.
Ian Ranzer joins us from Haverford School where he taught upper school English. Here at Friends Select, he’ll serve as tenth and eleventh grade English teacher as well as an adviser. Before moving to the Philadelphia area, he taught English at Brooklyn Friends School and before that, taught American Literature for many years as well as electives in fiction writing, woman’s literature and on themes of utopia and dystopia.
With an extensive research and teaching background in chemistry, Heather Paul joins Friends Select as upper school chemistry teacher. Most recently, she served as a visiting professor at Villanova University where she taught numerous classes and helped fully revise the lab curriculum of the school so that students gained more hands-on experience.
Save the Date: Ninth Grade Convocation
The grade 9 convocation for students and their parents will be held on Wednesday, September 21st, from 5:30 p.m.-7 p.m. The evening begins at the Race Street Meetinghouse with remarks, introduction to Meeting for Worship and presentation of the ninth grade class, followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. in the Friends Select gym.
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Mark your calendars for the first Parent Association (PA) meeting of the year: Tuesday, September 27, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
You can expect to mingle with other parents from lower- middle- and upper school, hear a report from the head of school, and participate in discussion led by the PA presidents. The September meeting agenda will be posted on the Parent Association webpage when it’s finalized. To see past and present PA events click here.
All Friends Select parents are automatically members of the PA and are encouraged to attend the regularly scheduled meetings. For more information about the Parent Association contact Molly Mullahy, director of parent programs, at 215.561.5900, ext. 139.
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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 commute to school and work. A few guidelines: - Allow pedestrians to cross at the sidewalk and crosswalk zones.
- Remain in your vehicle when 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 or 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 parts 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 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 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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Many members of the Friends Select community count their pet dogs as cherished members of the family. As a reminder, 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, Mike Noonan.
Thank you for helping the school to maintain a safe environment.
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There are a number of exciting renovations planned or in progress in our immediate neighborhood. Along with other key stakeholders on the Parkway, Friends Select had input on the design of many of these projects:
- Sister Cities Plaza, the park facing the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, broke ground in May to construct a park and children’s pond. The Friends Select US Choir performed at the groundbreaking ceremony. Completion date: Spring 2012.
- Extensive streetscape renovations are planned for the 1600 and 1700 blocks of the Parkway. Sidewalks and pedestrian traffic islands will be widened, with the goal of calming traffic, and the city will install new landscaping and street furniture. Work will begin in November and end sometime in 2012.
- Completion of The Barnes Foundation museum is expected Spring 2012. Friends Select student art has been on display on the Barnes construction fence along 20th St. throughout construction.
- Construction of the new Family Court Building, which faces the Race Street Meetinghouse, is underway. Friends Select is a member of the Cherry Street Coalition, a group set up to monitor the plans and construction at the site.
- Dilworth Plaza renovations are expected to begin Fall 2011 and end in 2013.
- Construction on renovations to JFK Plaza (“Love Park”) is expected to begin Spring 2013.
- The Benjamin Franklin Parkway celebrates 100 years in 2017. Friends Select will be active in both planning and implementation of Parkway Centennial events. Historical side note: Friends Select School was at its present location before there was a Parkway!
Special note on scaffolding: Three Parkway has been doing maintenance to the exterior of its building throughout the summer, which necessitated the installation of scaffolding at the front entrance to the school; on the rooftop playing field; and in back of the Three Parkway building adjacent to the school’s parking lot. Three Parkway estimates that the scaffolding in front of the school and on the rooftop will be taken down before the start of classes on September 9; scaffolding next to the school parking lot will come down later in the fall.
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