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Q
Why do students call their teachers by their first names?
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A
Quakers traditionally don't use titles (like Mr. or Mrs. or Sir) when referring or talking to someone. This came out of a desire to eschew the church hierarchy, since Quakers believe that everyone has an equal capacity to communicate with God. In a school setting, not referring to teachers by titles allows the students to get to know the teachers as people rather than as authority figures, and it allows mutual respect to develop organically.
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Q
Why don't the students wear a uniform?
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A
At GFS, we believe in honoring a person's right to self expression while cultivating his or her capacity for responsible choice. How we dress is another way that we get to express who we are.
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Q
What is Meeting for Worship?
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A
Each division of the school (lower, middle, upper) has Meeting for Worship once a week. It's a time when we gather and sit in silent reflection. If anyone feels moved to say something to the group, he or she can stand and speak. It's one of the things about GFS (and perhaps any Quaker school) that students miss most when they graduate - having time set aside from their busy schedules to sit peacefully and to reflect.
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Q
What are "frees"?
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A
A "free" is a period in an Upper School student's schedule when he or she does
not have a class or study hall. During frees students generally do homework,
spend time with friends, or meet with teachers. Most students can be found
spending their frees in the library or in Hargroves (the Upper School student
center). Oftentimes students use this time to meet with a teacher; some
students schedule DIS's during a free period (see below).
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Q
What is a DIS?
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A
DIS stands for Directed Independent Study. The DIS program is one of the great strengths of the Upper School academic program; it allows students to independently pursue one of their interests with guidance from a teacher with some expertise in that field. A student can propose a DIS in any topic to any teacher, and, if they have shared free time in their schedules, they meet at least once a week, with the student completing independent work in between meeting times. There can be more than one student in a DIS. This year there are 120 students in 39 DIS's, with topics ranging from Arabic to public speaking to early childhood education. For a DIS minor, the teacher and student(s) meet once a week; for a DIS major, the teacher and student(s) meet twice a week.
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Q
What's the atmosphere of the school like?
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A
At GFS we don't give much importance to the things that are immediately apparent (like uniforms and titles). Instead we spend our time and energy devoting ourselves to figuring out who we are, what we care about, and how we can best function as a school community whose primary goal is teaching and learning. The teachers devote themselves to helping the students develop a capacity for self-expression, self-direction, and self-motivation, and we all work constantly to build a culture of trust, so that we can each feel comfortable and free at school. All of this means that GFS provides terrific preparation for college not only academically, but socially, since we are a diverse community; emotionally, since we practice expressing ourselves and pursuing our interests; and professionally, since we, as students, teachers, and administrators, listen to each other openly, discuss problems with each other earnestly, and look to each other for support and guidance as we go about doing our work.
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Q
What sorts of clubs can students join?
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A
In the Middle School there are two lunch periods a week when "activities" meet. These range from a basketball activity to MathCounts to knitting to computer projects. Each student signs up for two activities per trimester and can switch to new activities each trimester. In the Upper School, as in the Middle School, clubs meet during lunch and are overseen by a faculty advisor, but students can show up to whichever clubs they want without any official sign-up. The clubs range from social clubs like Cooking Club and Film Club to affinity groups like Chaverim and the Multicultural Student Union; from clubs that have a specific mission like Community Action and Model UN to publication clubs like the school newspaper (Earthquake) and literary magazine (Polyphony), both of which have won national awards. There are 44 clubs overall, with about half of the 12th graders serving as a leader of a club. Most students in the Upper School are in one or two clubs.
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Q
What is the athletic program like?
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A
At GFS, students are given opportunities to participate in 15 different sports options, including intramurals in the Middle School, and within the sports they can compete at different levels. Upper School sports have a varsity team, a junior varsity team, and sometimes a 3rd team if there are enough players. Middle School sports have an A team, a B team and sometimes a C team if there are enough players. GFS competes primarily against the schools in the Friends League and has won 111 Friends league championship titles (the next highest school total is 82). Some of our students find their passion in athletics and succeed at a very high level. We have nationally ranked squash players, a boys' cross country team that was ranked nationally last year, and we have
students each year who go on to play sports in college, some at the Division 1 level. Most famously, Jesse Biddle, class of 2010, was the Phillies' first round draft pick. As for a sports requirement, 7th and 8th grade students are required to play a sport in the fall, winter, and spring. 9th grade students are required to play a sport for two seasons, and 10th grade students for one season. There is no requirement to play a sport in the 11th and 12th grades, though many 11th and 12th graders do. Middle School sports practices occur from 2:35-4:00 Monday through Thursday, and Upper School practices occur from 3:45-5:30 Monday through Friday. Some varsity teams practice on Saturdays.