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Middle and Upper School jazz musicians filled the air with a diverse range of music styles—infused with occasional experimental riffs—at GFS’ annual Jazz Night under the direction of music teacher Chris Coyle. It was the culmination of the hard work and learning throughout the school year and great preparation for the group's first-ever recording experience this month at a local studio.

Excitement mounted in the lead up to this year's Science Night extravaganza. In the days before, Upper School students visited preschool and Kindergarten classes to demo the chemical reaction that creates elephant toothpaste. And during the day leading up to Science Night, students from across the school got to conduct experiments on the Common.

A Cappella Fest, a beloved GFS tradition, is celebrating its 30th year in 2025! Hear from students and faculty about how this lively vocal ensemble exemplifies GFS' value of learning in community.

GFS is making significant upgrades to its Athletics multi-use varsity fields and fitness facilities. The new school year also brings new members to the Athletics team, as well as an innovative student-athlete leadership program.

Now in its seventh year, the Philadelphia Youth Film Festival has grown from the wild idea of a few industrious students into a well-oiled machine that perennially impresses.

Chris Allen’s drive to tell complex, untold stories was born at GFS. 

Each January at GFS, upper school students take a break from their studies and school day routine to venture out into the unknown.

During the 1960s and 70s, social activists targeted children’s toys in their quest for change and found surprising success. This is the uncharted story GFS Upper School History Head Rob Goldberg tells in his new book, “Radical Play: Revolutionizing Children’s Toys in 1960s and 1970s America” published this past fall by Duke University Press.

At this year's Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, the GFS community celebrated the 60th Anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. After an inspiring message from the keynote speaker on the power of voting, students, teachers, families, and staff branched out across campus for service and learning in workshops and activities led by our amazing community.

To celebrate a new translation of The Iliad, Germantown Friends School students shared the ancient classic as it was originally intended in ancient Greece, through the spoken word at a public reading at Friends Free Library.  

Amir Staten’s video of his reaction to being accepted by Morehouse College recently went viral.

Divisions held special assemblies to commemorate Black History Month.

Upper School students had the opportunity to hear from New York Times journalist Katie Benner.

During Diversity Dialogue Day Upper School students had the opportunity to hear from strategist, community organizer, and executive operations expert Deesha Dyer.

An author studies program focused on Black, Indigenous, and authors of color helps students to both see themselves and learn about different cultures, traditions, and families.

We are delighted to share the names of the recipients of the 2022 Maguire Innovation Fund for Progressive Education. Check out some of the projects!

Philadelphia Councilmember Helen Gym joins the Upper School Assembly during Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Students, faculty, staff, parents and caregivers, and community members came together recognize Unity Week!

Middle School Mini-Courses are week-long, interdisciplinary deep dives that center on joy, curiosity, and rigor as students experience uninterrupted learning around a single topic. 

The new André Robert Lee Fellowship celebrates outstanding Upper School students by providing financial grants, mentorship, and leadership opportunities, while building a stronger culture of affinity and inclusion at GFS.

Students discuss the unfolding war in Ukraine and recently heard from Quaker peace activist George Lakey

Latin and Greek students in grades 7-12 enjoyed a full day of exciting activities for our first in-person Classics Day since 2019.

The Philadelphia Youth Film Festival was recently featured in Metro Philly.

The Upper School Asian Student Alliance (ASA), alongside our international students from China and in partnership with the DEI Office, are celebrating the Lunar New Year.

Students in the J-Term Prints for Progress class have been studying visual artists who create work based on social change.

Read about the Middle School Chair Project—happening now in the Sharpless Building—in our latest issue of the GFS Bulletin.

Matthew Stitt ’05 and Zoë Rankin ’06 were recently appointed to the GFS School Committee

The South Philadelphia oil refinery explosion in 2019 influenced a recent assembly hosted by the Upper School environmental clubs.

The Theatre Department and Counseling Team joined together for an all-school gratitude project, inspired by the Upper School play Every Brilliant Thing.
 

Congratulations to the 2021 Maguire Innovation Fund for Progressive Education recipients!

Rising senior Dylan Ragas was named a finalist in the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting Fighting Words Poetry Contest.

Middle School English teacher Rachel Reynolds created Writing for Thinking Notebooks to offer her students a creative outlet and useful tool during this pandemic year.

Senior Ryan Lewis was honored with a Princeton Prize in Race Relations for advancing racial equity in the GFS community.

The Upper School Intersectional Equity Club (IEC) has a new website!

Author Kiley Reid had a virtual visit with Anne Gerbner’s and Meg Cohen Ragas’ First Fiction Essentially English elective.

Early Childhood Division Director Sarah McMenamin wrote an article for Edutopia about GFS' author studies program.

Among the many discoveries made during a year of quarantine, we’ve learned that nothing brings people together quite like baking bread.  Twenty years ago, Lower School teacher Daniel Rouse founded the Whosoever Gospel Mission Bread Project.

Created and managed by Upper School students, the GFS Philadelphia Youth Film Festival went virtual this year.

Please enjoy this new video about Early Childhood Center City!

For International Women's Day, we spoke with student Diversity Ambassador Maria Ramos '23 and Penka Slavova, Director of the International Student Program (ISP), about Women’s History Month. 

Niche recently released their 2021 Best Schools rankings. 

GFS DIS German teacher and documentary producer Frauke Levin wants to educate the public about current options to mitigate the crisis. Her new documentary, Can We Cool the Planet?, which she co-produced for the science series NOVA, airs October 28 on PBS.

Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE) announced that GFS alumnus David Gould '07 was named Chief Diversity and Impact Officer.

Sophomores Maria Ramos and Sarah Levy developed a summer fundraiser and awareness campaign as part of Action Through Athletes.

Get to know our new faculty and staff—and our employees who have stepped into new roles this year! The first interview in our Q&A series is with Zarah Adams, who recently became Director of Community Engagement. 

Enjoy a video featuring James Hightower, Director of College Counseling, about the GFS approach, and view a list of college admits for the Class of 2020! Visit the College Counseling page for more information.

View our working Actions for Equity plan for our renewed approach to equity and anti-racism at GFS—developed in partnership with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Officers of the School Committee, and many others.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Philadelphia region, Tate Park '21 knew he could use his skills for good. That's why he invented a special clip for the N95 mask, making it safer, reusable, and a lower contamination risk for doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals.

Each June, Pride Month aims to highlight, uplift, and celebrate the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer community in our country. We asked Early Childhood teacher Michael Roach how he begins to address and teach about gender diversity with even our youngest students, and he offered the following book recommendations and reflections.

GFS students, teachers, and families make and donate cloth masks to a local health center—providing a much-needed community service.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on GFS' January term (J-term) experiential learning program.

GFS teacher, Sara Primo, shares her tips for taking care of yourself during a school shutdown.

GFS teacher Lindsay Roberts gives families five tools for embracing diversity with Early Learners at home.

Introducing our remote curriculum, named Colloquia!

Learn about the Upper School's Directed Independent Study (DIS) program.

Tenth grade student Joanna Lin started "The Student Period Movement" to shed light on the stigma surrounding menstruation.

Six Germantown Friends School (GFS) choral students were accepted to participate in the American Choral Director's Association (ACDA) All-East Honor Choir. 

Earlier this month, Germantown Friends School (GFS) Upper and Middle School students welcomed Ryan Howard, Major League Baseball World Champion with the Philadelphia Phillies, as the annual Mercer Tate '48 Lecture on Public Service speaker. 

In 2016, our athletics department began to identify ways that our people, program, and resources could better support student wellness. GFS developed a new athletics staffing model, education focus, and holistic and individualized approach to health and well-being that impacts students in the classrooms, during sports, and outside of school.

On Monday, April 8, Conrad Benner, art curator, photographer, and blogger for Streets Dept inspired Upper School students and guests during the Abigail R. Cohen '91 Memorial Art Lecture.

On Saturday, March 20, 2019, the GFS Mock Trial Varsity team placed second out of 300 teams in the annual Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition.

Congratulations to Chloe Smith Frank '19, Kim Hua '19, Javier Carmona '20, Brenden Dahl '20, Sarah Miller '20, Erin Schott '20, Ava Sinai '20, and Julian Spiro '20.

After a junior year campaign that led to breaking multiple school records and a trip to the New Balance Indoor Track & Field Nationals, Kai Cummings adds another accolade to his impressive season: All-State. 

Hannah Caldwell Henderson, Chief Advancement Officer, and Kathy Paulmier, Director of Community Involvement, contributed to the article "Quaker schools continue the long tradition of quiet reflection" in Grid Magazine. 

James Wright '18 was highlighted in the Philadelphia Inquirer for overcoming obstacles at this weekend's 92nd annual Stotesbury Cup Regatta, including challenging weather and a new venue, to win the senior single heat.