City Lab
City Lab includes a range of experiential, exploratory courses. These courses will be primarily 1-2 week explorations. Topics include art, cooking, languages, digital storytelling, 3D modeling and printing, and more.
Interior Masthead
Teacher: Dan Deslaurier
Dates: June 20-23 | June 26-30 | July 3-7 | July 10-14 | July 17-21 | July 24 - 28, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Cost: $375 per week
Prerequisite: Students must be ages 7 -10
Each weekly session focuses on a different theme. Through a variety of games and activities, students learn affirming, empowering meditation techniques and self-regulation skills, along with simple yoga poses and sequences. These practices are mindfully integrated with a selection of 2D and 3D art projects to provide each student with a unique, creative and FUN summer class experience!
Teacher: Brad Koegel
Dates: July 17 to July 27, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Cost: $350
Prerequisite: For students in 3rd through 5th grade.
Beats aren’t just for the hit-makers! Join us in exploring the world of digital music this summer. Students will learn to use digital audio workshops, a foundation for how music is made and assembled today, by creating their own audio “sketches.” We’ll be both in and out of the studio, working directly with digital instruments and computer software while also venturing into the city to capture and remix its sounds. By the end of the course, students will have an audio portfolio, a culminating project, and a basis of skills and resources they can continue to develop. Whether students want to learn how to make beats, record and mix their own guitar playing, or make a podcast, this is the place to be.
Teacher: Chenpeng Gu
Dates:
1st through 4th Grade: August 7 - August 11; 12:30 - 2:00 p.m.
Cost: $100; FREE TO FSS STUDENTS
Build memory, logic, and reasoning skills with board games. Board games help with child development. Many popular board games can help kids, teens, and young adults with problem-solving, decision-making, deferring gratification, and dealing with mistakes. Games will be provided, and you can bring your own games and teach everyone.
Teacher: Wayne Pennington
Dates: Week of July 10, Monday - Friday; 10:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Cost: $225; FREE TO FSS STUDENTS
Prerequisite: 2nd-6th grade
Ever wondered how a city works? Students will learn about our local city government and government operations, as well as the components of a city. Using that research and field trips around Center City for inspiration, students will then construct their own city in a large group project.
Teachers: Dan Capecchi and Max Budnick
Dates: June 19 - June 30, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Cost: $275; FREE TO FSS STUDENTS
Prerequisite: 6th-12th grade
Students will traverse Philly, observing and capturing its interesting sights and sounds by sketching, photographing, and gathering sound recording at various locations. The sights and sounds captured will then be used to create stories, music compositions, and multimedia explorations.
Teacher: Suzanne Morrison
Dates: August 23 -August 24 Wednesday and Thursday, 2:30 p .m. - 4:30 p.m. in person, with additional one-on-one sessions in the afternoon via Zoom;
Cost: $150; FREE TO FSS STUDENTS
Prerequisite: Entering 12th Grade
No matter where you are in the process—just gathering some ideas or actually beginning a draft—this 2-day course will give you skills that can enhance all of your writing for the college process. Through a combination of mini-lessons and one-on-one conferencing, this course will help you cultivate an authentic voice, write specifically for the college admissions audience, and learn how to make your writing come alive with more showing detail and less telling.
Teacher: Monica Higgins
Dates: June 26-30 | July 10-14, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Cost: $375 per week
Prerequisite: Students must be ages 9 - 13
Someone or something is causing chaos at Friends Select and we need your help! Join us as a Caper Scene Investigator to and use logical reasoning and the techniques of forensic science to solve a mystery. Students will work together to collect evidence at the scene including fingerprints, hairs and fibers, and trace chemicals. After all the analysis is complete, students will combine the evidence with witness interviews to arrive at logical conclusions and solve the mystery.
- Evidence Collection
- Fingerprint analysis
- Splatter analysis
- Hair and fiber analysis
- Chemical analysis
- Handwriting analysis
- Entomology
Teacher: Mariko Cummings
Dates: June 20 - June 23; 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
Cost: $90; financial assistance available
Prerequisite: For students in rising 2nd through 9th grade
Friends Select field hockey camp will run from June 20 through June 23. The camp will be run by varsity coach Mariko Cummings. The Falcons field hockey team is coming off of an exciting season. Camp will be 1.5 hours per day and participants will learn the fundamentals of the game through extensive drills and skill work.
Teacher: Norman Bayard
Dates: August 14 - August 16, 9 AM - 12 PM
Cost: FREE TO FSS STUDENTS
Prerequisite: For students entering 9th grade
This is a fun yet serious course designed to help rising 9th graders to prepare for high school. Students will become more familiar with Friends Select’s campus, from the pool to the rooftop athletic field to the STEAM Building, while learning who’s who in the upper school so they will know where to go for assistance if needed. Some of the topics that will be explored are goal-setting through the creation of vision boards, self-leadership, note-taking, schedule organization, and wellness.
Teacher: Ashanti Newman
Dates: Week of July 17, Monday - Friday; 12:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Cost: $175, FREE TO FSS STUDENTS
Prerequisite: 7th-12th grade
In this course, students will learn all about nail care—how to properly care for your nails and tools, and how to give a basic manicure. Students will also learn DIY nail art and how to design their own press-on nails. Each student will be provided with their own file, buffer, and orange wood stick. Nail polish and press-on nails will also be provided. Students will not need to share any tools. Students are asked to provide their own nail clipper, and are encouraged to bring up to three of their favorite nail colors, along with a pencil box or other container for supplies.
Teacher: Chenpeng Gu
Dates:
1st through 4th Grade: August 7 - August 11; 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Cost: $100; FREE TO FSS STUDENTS
Paper Quilling teaches you how to use strips of paper that are rolled, looped, curled, twisted, or otherwise manipulated to create different shapes; the strips are then glued together to create decorative designs. Quilling designs can be used to decorate greeting cards, pictures, boxes, and more.
Teacher: Barry Lynch
Dates: June 12 - June 16; 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
Cost: $90; financial assistance available
Prerequisite: For students in rising 2nd through 9th grade
Friends Select soccer camp will run from June 12 through June 16. The camp will be run by varsity head coach Barry Lynch. The Falcons soccer team is coming off of an exciting season that ended with a berth in the PAISAA Commonwealth Cup Finals. Camp will be 1.5 hours per day and participants will learn the fundamentals of the game through extensive drills and skill work.
Teacher: Bill Klose
Dates: June 26 - June 30; 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
Cost: $90; financial assistance available
Prerequisite: For students in rising 2nd through 9th grade
Friends Select softball camp will run from June 26 through June 30 on the turf field at FSS. The camp will be run by varsity head coach Bill Klose. The Falcons softball team has made the FSL playoffs for 13 consecutive years and played in the league championship in five of the last seven years, winning three times! Last year’s team advanced to the state final four. Camp will be 1.5 hours per day and participants will learn fundamentals of hitting and fielding while remembering that this game is fun.
Teacher: Tr. Allison & Tr. Stephanie
Dates: August 7-11
Cost: $375 for 2-week session
Prerequisite: For students in grades 3 to 6
Do you love STEAM Library and working with your hands? In this summer session of Makerspace we will continue to combine high and low tech tools to design projects such as laser cut jewelry, light up felt monsters, and silkscreened yardage for individual sewing projects. There will also be walking field trips around the city to gain inspiration.
Teacher: Maria Poccia and Steph Demko
Dates: June 20 - June 23, Tuesday through Friday, 9 AM - 1 PM
Cost: $200; FREE TO FSS STUDENTS
Prerequisite: 5th-8th grade
Do you have a passion for food? Do you want to discover how to be a better chef in your own kitchen? In Summertime Cooking and Baking, you will learn the fundamentals of cooking and baking, along with how to use fresh ingredients to make delicious summertime treats. You also will have the opportunity to talk with local chefs and explore the culinary world in Philadelphia!
Teacher: Bryan Skelly
Dates: June 20- June 23 | June 26 - June 30(9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.)
Cost: $250 per week
Prerequisite: For students in middle school
Using WaWa’s Welcome to America program, our group walks to museums/parks/free events happening in the city. The course is designed to enjoy the outside and the opportunities of the city.
Previous year explorations:
- Ben Franklin Bridge
- Rodin Museum
- Cira Green
- Comcast Center Top Floors
- Masonic Temple
- PA Academy of Fine Arts Museum
Teacher: Luisa Levine
Dates: August 1 - 10
Cost: $500
Prerequisite: For students in grades 7 and up
Students will creatively depict a narrative arc through digital and traditional drawing and mixed digital media, learn technical processes of digitizing and uploading work to the web, and begin building a website. By the end of this eight-day course, participants will exhibit a body of work in an online portfolio that they can continue to build independently and use for years to come.
- Digital Art
- Storytelling
- Drawing From Life
- Composition
- Creating Websites
Teachers: Amanda Cartier-Brandon and Steph Demko
Dates: Week of July 10, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Prerequisite: 4th-8th grade
Cost: FREE TO FSS FAMILIES; $175
Our Young Women Empowerment course welcomes all female-identifying and non-binary rising 4th- through 8th-grade students. We will focus on female empowerment through physical, mental, and emotional health and wellness lenses. We plan to be active and athletic, mindful and reflective, supportive and STRONG.
This course will combine creative arts, physical challenges, team-building activities, and self-reflection to allow students to build confidence, step outside of their comfort zones, and have fun! Whether a student is comfortable in their own skin or trying to break out of their shell, this course is a safe place to take risks and find strength. Possible activities include rock climbing, self-discovery challenges, community service, a baking competition, yoga, improv comedy, and a self-defense workshop.