Clubs & Activities

MISSION CLUBS

ADMISSION OFFICE STUDENT GUIDES
Faculty Advisor: Fred Brown
Student Leader(s): Bari Gilbert, Becca Leifer, Mike Solomon
Meeting Information: As scheduled
Description: Student tour guides lead visiting parents on a tour of the school during the academic day and at Open Houses. The group is comprised of 10th, 11th and 12th grade volunteers who have agreed to assist the school in this facet of the application process.

CLASSICS CLUB
Faculty Advisor: LucyBell Jarka-Sellers
Student Leader(s): Raff Gans-Pfister, Michaela Krauser
Meeting Information: As scheduled
Description: The Classics club provides an extracurricular opportunity for students interested in classical languages, literature, and/or culture to gain access to the wider world of scholarly and artistic work influenced by the classics. After-school events may include, but will not be limited to, lectures at local colleges and universities, trips to museums, screenings of classically inspired films, and tea parties and other social gatherings. All students, regardless of language experience, are welcome.

COMMUNITY ACTION
Faculty Advisor: Kathy Paulmier
Student Leader(s): Laura Biester, Cary Anne Kane, Allison O'Connor, Anna Sacks
Meeting Information: Monday, M-201
Mission: The Community Action Committee is a group that seeks to increase GFS's involvement in the neighborhood, and the neighborhood's involvement with GFS.

DEBATE TEAM
Faculty Advisor: Jeremy Ross
Student Leader(s): Emma Greenstreet-Akman, Lody Friedman, Nicholas Rittler
Meeting Information: Tuesday, A-22
Description: We meet once a week to plan for tri-annual debates against other schools in the Philadelphia area.  We also have a couple of In-House debates a year for practice

DIS/BIG SIBS
Faculty Advisor: Anne Gerbner
Student Leader: Lody Friedman
Meeting Information: As scheduled.
Description: The purpose of the Directed Independent Study minor is to give students an opportunity to take charge of their own education, with the help of an advisor. Students may pursue an academic interest in any area for which they can find an interested advisor. Students draw up a plan of study with the advisor and are responsible for doing most of the work on their own, 2-3 hours a week.
Students may also elect to work as Big Brothers and Sisters in Lower School classes, in the role of emotional mentor, tutor, small group teacher in reading or math, or as a general assistant in the whole classroom, one period a week.

DRAMA
Faculty Advisor: Lisa Burns
Student Leader(s): Kate Finney, Kyle Musto, Amanda Shur
Meeting Information: As scheduled
Description: Through drama classes and plays in fall, winter and spring, students can experience a variety of dramatic opportunities. It is not necessary to be taking a drama class in order to audition for a play. Students who are interested in stagecraft (lighting, set design, and multimedia) work on drama productions and assembly setup.

EVAC (EMERGENCY VOLUNTEER and ACTIVISM
Faculty Advisor: Susan Robinson
Student Leader(s): Mike Solomon, Aedhan Loomis
Meeting Information: Wednesday, SC -105
Mission: To provide students with a common place to share their passion for emergency service work and to educate the GFS populous, about the opportunities within the volunteer community emergency service groups.

Weekly Agenda: Discuss large-scale emergency events of that week. Plan trips to the
Philadelphia fire museum, and local firehouses. Educate the community on emergency service opportunities such as becoming a first responder, EMT, or Firefighter. Plan Community action days to promote work within the emergency service field, to educate about avoiding emergency situations, or dealing with emergencies when they arise. Over all, have a fun time through sharing of a common interest.

ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION CLUB (EAC)
Faculty Advisor: Ian Van Wert
Student Leader(s): Carey Celata, Aryeh Coburn-Soloway, Raquel Thalheimer
Meeting Information: Wednesday, SC-104
Mission: Trying to make our community a more environmentally friendly place by instituting a compost system, spreading awareness and reducing our carbon footprint.

GLOBAL CONNECTIONS
Faculty Advisor: Kathy Paulmier
Student Leader(s): Emma Greenstreet-Akman, Morgan Ramsey, Sophie Wright
Meeting Information: Thursday
Mission: "Global Connection" is an organization that focuses on providing accessible education to children around the world while raising awareness of the plight of the many children for whom an education is not readily available. Our group raises the awareness of the GFS community through the distribution of flyers and videos shown at club meetings. In the past, we have also raised funds on behalf of children in Ghana, the Dominican Republic and China. We are always open to the opportunity to help any country in which there is a need.

H2O FOR LIFE
Faculty Advisor: Chris Singler
Student Leader(s): Emma Jerrehian, Madeline Nelson
Meeting Information: Monday, A-6
Mission: The goal of the club is twofold: 1) to raise awareness about water related issues; and 2) to partner with another school in a water stressed part of the world, and raise money to provide them with what they need (e.g. a well, indoor plumbing, etc.).

HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP
Faculty Advisor: Bob Rhoades
Student Leader(s): Michaela Krauser, Sonali Singh
Meeting Information: Tuesday, M-206
Mission: Our goal as a group at GFS is to educate and raise awareness in this community regarding human rights and human rights abuses locally, nationally and internationally.

MOCK TRIAL
Faculty Advisor: Rhonda Jones Levy
Student Leader(s): Jared Goldberg, Sonali Singh
Meeting Information: Wednesday, A-4
Description: Mock Trial is an inter-scholastic way to explore interest in the legal world and the justice system, as well as hone verbal speech and delivery skills, through competitions (actual mock trials with witnesses and attorneys) coordinated by the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

PEER TUTORING:
Faculty Advisor: David Mraz
Student Leader(s): Isabella DiDio, Livia Jaramillo, Peter Lee
Meeting Information: As scheduled
Description: Peer tutoring provides an opportunity for students to help other students and receive assistance from other students. Meeting times are arranged on a personal basis. Students offer their specific talents to the student leader, who matches them with students who would like to receive tutoring. Students may also be referred by a teacher.

SCIENCE  OLYMPIAD
Faculty Advisor: Gen Nelson
Student Leader(s): Andrew Bair, Max McCafferty, Sam York
Meeting Information: As scheduled

Mission: Students interested in science work on independent projects and compete in regional and possibly state level competitions.

STUDENT ADVISORY COUNCIL (SAC)
Faculty Advisor: Gen Nelson
Student Leader(s): Livia Jaramillo, Henry Shah, Michaela Krauser, Charlie Taterka
Meeting Information: Monday, SC-104
Mission: The Student Advisory Council is composed of four elected representatives from each upper school grade. Our mission is to serve as liaison between the student body and administration. We relay students' ideas, opinions and needs to the faculty and administration in an effort to improve the quality of student life. We also frequently sponsor fun events such as fall and spring jams to generate excitement and school spirit.

STUDENT RELIGIOUS LIFE COMMITTEE
Faculty Advisor: LucyBell Jarka-Sellers
Student Leader(s): Henry Shah
Meeting Information: Meetinghouse: Friday, A-4

Mission: We want our school to be a place where students and teachers of diverse religious and philosophical backgrounds feel free to explore religious, philosophical, and spiritual questions with each other and to express fully who they are in the context of this our Quaker school. We are students of diverse religious, philosophical, and spiritual backgrounds-- including atheists and agnostics-- who want to work with students and faculty to make GFS a place that's conducive to religious /philosophical/ spiritual exploration and self-expression.

TECH THEATER
Faculty Advisor: Lisa Burns
Student Leader(s): Kristen Kelly, Andrew Tran
Meeting Information: As scheduled