As an independent school, FCS relies on developing relationships not just with our students, their families, and teachers, but also with our community partners as well. As a school organization with many moving parts and needs, it is impossible to be fully ethical in our consumption. However, it is important to the Quaker value of Stewardship to actively practice our beliefs where we can in a way that is just and simple.

Stewardship is a core Quaker value that revolves around caring for our earth, its people, and the things that we own and use. Our green practices range from composting on site, reducing or eliminating the purchase of single use plastic, and encouraging reduced waste lunches to actively seeking a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification when our current building was built in 2006 with green materials and practices such as our straw bale insulation.

Each year, whether it’s Year A or Year B, the 1/2 team launches Writing Workshop with a unit on Small Moment Stories. In the first couple months of school, the 1st and 2nd graders work on crafting personal narratives that zoom in and retell one small, vivid moment in time. Using a watermelon analogy as a teaching tool, the 1/2 teachers explain how a watermelon story represents a big topic, a watermelon slice is a smaller topic, and a seed story focuses on a small moment. For example, instead of writing about an entire vacation (a watermelon story), students first narrow it down to a specific day (slice story) and then choose one activity from that day (seed story). They draw inspiration from their own experiences, and this year, topics range from riding roller coasters to breaking an arm (ouch!) to the FCS Fall Fair. They plan carefully, breaking down the sequence of events and identifying the key elements of the story, before beginning to write their draft. Throughout the unit, the students are challenged to incorporate specific details to build up their story. By the end of the unit, students transform what began as a few simple sentences into pages of engaging, detailed storytelling.

As a Quaker school, parts of FCS’s mission and values are rooted in Quaker practices and testimonies. Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship—commonly referred to as SPICES—are key values that are studied, embraced, and practiced by the entire FCS community, students and teachers alike. This year, the SPICE that all FCS students are exploring is Integrity. In recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month, Middle School Spanish teacher Daniela Rivadeneira and Middle School Art teacher Casey Collier partnered to provide an interdisciplinary opportunity that expanded on an annual research project of notable Hispanic and Latino figures through the lens of integrity. 

One of the most utilized and versatile rooms at Friends Community School is the Multi-Purpose Room. It serves as a gathering space for several different school events, from theater performances to Back-to-School Night. If the Multi-Purpose Room could talk, it would share stories about who we are as a community, what we do, and how special it is to be a part of it. Just in the past month, the Multi-Purpose Room has hosted Meeting for Worship, All School Meeting, Student Lunch, and Meet the Instruments. Here’s a snapshot of how we use this purposeful space together and how it truly lives up to its name!

Did you know FCS has an ultimate frisbee team? Their season began on April 18th, in a home opener against Washington Latin. Friends Fire, as they are called, is coached and was started by 5/6 Language Arts teacher Holly Stephens.

Holly started the team shortly after arriving at FCS. “My son Coby and his friend Rosario [both FCS ‘21] wanted a team, so I offered an enrichment in the fall. Then the following fall I offered two enrichment classes (one just for girl-matching players, and one all-gender class), and we went to a couple of tournaments.”

Recently, the 3rd and 4th-grade students have been learning about activism and the effect it can have on the world. Students have thought about what they would like to advocate for, and learned what they can do to create change in issues including LGBTQIA+ rights, Black Lives Matter, requesting sports teams, and preventing littering. 

 

As 6th graders get ready for their performance of Matilda, they’re learning about more than dancing and singing. The story takes place in England so they’re learning to do the show with English accents! 

On Wednesday night, nearly 20 members of the FCS community gathered to talk about books and enjoyed rich conversations that went well beyond the page. In so doing, these parents, community members, and students joined in the work of curating a library collection that inspires, reflects, and empowers FCS students to see themselves as builders of the future. Attendees generously shared their time and thinking with each other and the school as they reviewed and discussed picture books from the school's 40-year-old collection. 

The new year started with exciting science explorations in 7th and 8th grade. From sugar-coated DNA models to fast and fantastical marble runs, students in science teacher Angela Rohan’s classes had fun learning and playing last week!