The entire GFS community was treated to a day, and evening, with Nobel Prize-winning chemist and poet Roald Hoffmann on March 24.  Dr. Hoffmann specializes in bridging the gap between the worlds of science and the humanities -- and he found GFS students to be well on their way toward understanding the human act of creation as "one culture."

The GFS Middle School literary magazine Graffiti and the Upper School literary magazine Polyphony have both received a rank of "Excellent" in the 2009 National Council of Teachers of English Program to Recognize Excellence in student magazines.  A total of 425 schools entered the 2009 program.

Both magazines, showcasing student work, are designed and edited entirely by students, with the support of faculty advisors in the Art and English departments.  Congratulations to our creative teams of students!

 

The amazing MathCounts club with coach Matt Zipin (rear).

Germantown Friends School hosted the sold-out annual A Cappella Fest on February 13, a showcase of talent from four local high schools with each group vying to impress the crowd the most with close harmony and intricate arrangements. Special guest Bobby McFerrin led the grand finale, conducting all the singers on stage -- sopranos, altos, tenors and basses -- in an improvisational piece that thrilled singers and audience alike.

The spring Upper School drama production of The Wizard of Oz wowed audiences from March 11-14. But it wasn't the movie version of this American classic; this musical is loaded with social and political allegory.

 

Lily Gold and Sharell Bryant (aka The Wizard and Dorothy) invite you to follow the yellow brick road.

More than 100 Latin and Greek students in grades 7 through 12 held a Roman procession (at left), plays, prayers, sacrifices, a feast, and heard a GFS alum describe his trail from Harvard to Arab hip-hop.

Follow the link to view a short film of the sacrifice offered by the Greek students. 

 

Kimberly Lewis of Mt. Airy has been named Principal of the Lower School at Germantown Friends School following a national search. She had been Dean of Faculty at Germantown Friends School since 2006 and maintained a variety of leadership roles, including Acting Lower School Principal since July 2009.

GFS students – in Lower, Middle and Upper School – have taken the lead in multiple efforts to learn about the devastating January 12 earthquake in Haiti – and have been inspired to organize fundraising efforts.  Director of Community Involvement Kathy Paulmier has announced a new total:  more than $7,000 has been raised.

January 12, 2010

Twelfth grade students at Germantown Friends School were treated to a fresh perspective on their study of Irish writer James Joyce courtesy of Dublin-born poet Thomas Kinsella. In a class visit on Monday, Kinsella read selected poems of his own, and invited students to compare his work with images in Joyce’s short story collection Dubliners. 

GFS students, teachers and families began raising funds for relief efforts in Haiti almost as soon as news of the tragic earthquake reached campus.  Second graders in Susan Shechtman's class made a plea for pennies.  In only two days, a total of $1,234.16 was donated to the cause.  Susan and her husband Dan needed a wheelbarrow to haul the change to TD Bank, where a coin counting machine confirmed the amazing total.  Pennies and small change are still being collected.

 

In the Upper School, the Sistahs group dedicated proceeds from their dance on Saturday for relief efforts in Haiti.  Middle School students held a bake sale on Tuesday.  School nurse Marie Larkin has asked for the donation of crutches, which will be given to a team from Cooper Medical Center that is on its way to Haiti.  And on Martin Luther King Day of Service, students made a donation box and urged the more than 400 volunteers on campus to contribute.

 

GFS will direct contributions to Doctors Without Borders for the next few weeks, to assist with immediate medical care in Haiti.  Future contributions will be directed to the American Friends Service Committee, which will continue its efforts to rebuild Haiti's infrastructure and systems.  GFS students and faculty are already planning additional ways to help meet the growing needs of those devastated by the crisis in Haiti.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 16, 2009

 

The twenty-two students in Susan Shechtman’s second grade at Germantown Friends School were plenty busy this fall, doing household chores to earn money. Their goal was to purchase holiday gifts for 25 children currently living at the Stenton Family Manor homeless shelter. They worked hard indeed: By raising over $400, they were able to buy enough toys and still have funds left over for the class’s annual Valentine’s Day food cupboard drive. GFS hosts a holiday meal every year for the families living at Stenton Manor – and, of course, Santa always appears. The dinner took place on December 17, with a festive crowd in the Meetinghouse on the GFS campus.