Middle School REPs Committee and the Annual Thanksgiving-Meal Service Project
One unique aspect of community life in the Middle School is that every student in grades 5 - 8 takes part in a committee. Every Monday, students come together in groups that have a mission to provide service to the FCS and/or broader community. They are based on shared interests and goals and allow students to make connections, improve FCS, and practice valuable skills like collaboration, management, and advocacy.
With the support of a faculty member or two, these committees are self-managed by middle schoolers who take charge of the committees’ formation, organization, and operation. At the beginning of the year, students review prior committees and propose ideas for new committees. Then they rank choices and get sorted into different opportunities. Within each committee, leadership roles are filled by Clerks chosen by the group. Clerks help plan and facilitate committee meetings and coordinate projects weekly with the help of our Middle School Dean of Students, Brighid Willson. Although there is always an adult in the room, each Monday when they gather, the Clerks are the ones who lead the meeting.
This year, the REPs (Representing Every Person) is the largest committee of the bunch. With a mission similar to that of a student government, the REPs work alongside faculty, staff, parents, and students to improve and serve both the school and the broader community. For the last several years, the REPs Committee has led an annual service project that has now become an FCS tradition: the Thanksgiving meal service project, also known as Turkey Boxes. The committee sets the project timeline, determines what supplies are necessary for this project to succeed, communicates the plan to the FCS community, and oversees the donation collection process from start to finish. This year, the REPs helped gather enough resources to fill 20 Thanksgiving-meal boxes, with over 800 items generously donated by the FCS community.
Committee meetings are when we really see our Quaker and progressive values in action—both within the committees themselves (and their larger purpose and goals), and through the projects they conceive and launch. With students from four different grades, committee meetings provide the opportunity to practice collaboration and mentorship across age groups. The Clerks are intentional about ensuring that all voices are welcomed, heard, and valued, and they emphasize that discussions and projects are not fully representative without everyone’s participation. This practice helps them come to decisions based on a group consensus, rather than chosen by the Clerks alone. Committee meetings are a time of togetherness where students experience firsthand the impact that they can drive and be a part of. By supporting causes that matter to them, these student-led committees are self-motivated to take on projects that enhance the school and broader community. The skills practiced in committee meetings not only support academic growth, but also help them become better leaders, collaborators, and advocates, both at FCS and beyond.
Located in College Park, MD, Friends Community School is a progressive Quaker K-8 day school, founded on the belief that every child is a valued member of our community. We offer a challenging curriculum imbued with strong values of equality, integrity, community, environmental stewardship, simplicity and peaceful conflict resolution, rooted in our Quaker heritage.
Friends Community School
5901 Westchester Park Drive
College Park, Maryland 20740
301-441-2100
5901 Westchester Park Drive
College Park, Maryland 20740
301-441-2100
