Friday, October 27, 2017 | Volume IV • Issue 9 All-School News Ordering Your Child's School Portraits Click here for instructions on ordering your child(ren)'s School Portraits. If you have any questions, please follow the instructions in the email or contact Mark directly by email. New FCS Website Launches Next Week! Don't Miss the Upper School Production of Our Town Tonight and Tomorrow! "No curtain. No scenery." A minimalist theatrical style sets apart the 1938 recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Thornton Wilder's Our Town. Wilder's greatest and best-known work as a playwright, Our Town, opens with the Stage Manager's introduction to Grover's Corners. The Stage Manager assumes control over the onstage action through such unconventional, metatheatrical devices as prompting actors and cueing scene changes. Once the actors have been set in motion by the Stage Manager, the allegorical world of Grover's Corners unfolds. The audience is introduced to the Gibbs and Webb families who symbolize "ordinary people who make the human race seem worth preserving and represent the universality of human existence" (Thornton Wilder website). Please join us as we present this American classic to FCS audiences tonight, Friday, Oct. 27, and Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7 pm. Check out a trailer for the play, created by Miles Meline '18, here. MANNA Pie Sales Officially Open! Wondering Where the School Store is? Thank You to Everyone Who Helped at the Pumpkin Fair! FCS at the Philadelphia Craft Show on Nov. 9! Asian American Affinity Group Family Dinner - Sunday, Nov. 12, 6-8 pm If you or your family members are Asian American by heritage, marriage, or adoption, or if you are simply interested in learning more about being Asian American, please come and join us as we hold a casual family dinner at Pho Street in Bryn Mawr. Hosted by Catherine Chiang and Kavitha Goyal. Click here for the Evite. Sad News of a Beloved Community Member It is with sadness that we share that Jean Taranta, much beloved former Friends' Central Librarian, passed away peacefully on October 4, surrounded by her family. She had just celebrated her 95th birthday. A memorial service celebrating Jean's life will be held at Unitarian Universalist Church of Delaware County (145 W Rose Tree Rd, Media, PA) on Saturday, December 2 at 11 am. Please click here to view her obituary, a fitting tribute to an incredible woman. Former FCS staff member and current FCS grandparent Dr. Maria Siskin stopped by the Lower School this week to help Clay Club members learn how to throw on the potter's wheel! Lower School News Message Kelly Pierre
LS Halloween Parade Next Week! The Lower School Halloween Parade takes place on Tuesday! The parade begins promptly at 9 am on the car loop (in front of the LS gym and Light Lab) and will finish by 9:30 am. Students should arrive to school in costume. Phoenix Press First Issue of the 2017-2018 Year is Out! Parent Gatherings Join us for our annual grade level gatherings! Grade 4 - Saturday, Nov. 18 Grade 5 - Friday, Nov. 3 hosted by the Esposito's, 112 Walnut Lane, Philadelphia. Please RSVP to Willa DeSouza with what you will be contributing by October 30. LETTUCE FEED YOU Menu for October 30-November 2 Monday - Vegetable soup & focaccia bread sticks Tuesday - Turkey tacos & fresh cut raw veggies Wednesday - Pasta Primavera & tossed salad w/ homemade dressing Thursday - Chef's Choice Steak burgers, house-made french fries, & fresh cut raw veggies Friday - Pizza Day! Construction began on the makernook today! Middle School News Message Alexa Quinn During assembly this past Monday, students in our Students of Culture service group presented to the entire Middle School about Halloween costumes. The students talked about avoiding wearing costumes that may utilize or promote stereotypes and also those that may appropriate symbols and dress from cultures other than their own. They also talked about how many costumes that are sold in stores objectify girls and women. We have been doing this lesson for several years now, and I'm grateful to these student leaders for taking this on to help the Middle School have a fun-filled and celebratory Halloween that maintains the values and expectations of our community. As I reminded students, they should also avoid bringing in costume weapons of any kind. Eighth graders will be attending the Halloween parade at Lower School in the morning, and we have asked them not to wear any masks or scary costumes for the parade. They are welcome to do so when they are back on the City Avenue campus later in the day.
Alexa
Parents and guardians are invited to join us for dinner and a viewing of the Echo Hill video. Please stay tuned for a formal invitation, which you will receive by email in the next several days.
Mid-Semester Reports Mid-semester reports will be sent on Wednesday, Nov. 1, so you will have this information prior to Conference Day. Advisors will also send a very brief questionnaire prior to conferences so that you can tell your child's advisor what you'd like to focus on during the conference. MS Parent-Child Game Day - Join your Middle Schooler on Nov. 2! Middle School parents - join your Middle School child for Parent-Child Game Day on Thursday, Nov. 2 from 2-3 pm. We had a very successful event last year and look forward to another successful (and fun!) day this year. Please fill out this form and send it to the appropriate coach by way of your child by Oct. 30. Grade 8 Parent Gathering - Nov. 11 The Grade 8 Parent Gathering takes place on Saturday, Nov. 11, 7-8:30 pm in the OPA Room. RSVP to Val Riesenfeld at mushman@comcast.net, and please include 2-3 interesting facts about you or your family. If you are able to attend, please click here for the SignUp Genius, and tell us what you'd like to bring. Don't miss the Upper School production of Our Town tonight and tomorrow! Upper School News Message from the Upper School Office Fall took its time getting here, but it was nice to experience a few days this week, at least, that felt like the end of October. Congratulations to Terry Guerin, C.J. Keller, and the dozens of students in the cast and crew of Thornton Wilder's Our Town, which played to enthusiastic crowds beginning with the preview on Thursday night. Classics like this one can be especially tough to get right for high school performers, especially as many audience members already have a sense of how it "should be" performed. The FCS ensemble rose to that challenge! Speaking of which, congratulations to the FCS girls' cross-country team for winning the Friends Schools League championship! Many of our other fall teams are still in the midst of the playoffs, so please come out to cheer them on. Therapist Michael Blanche, who is working with our students on making healthy choices, had a busy week. After talking with a group of engaged parents on Tuesday night, Michael met with all of the 12th graders during their English class blocks on Wednesday, following up on the presentation they had seen previously during assembly. The 12th graders appreciated Michael's informed and reasonable approach. Michael will be in next week on Nov. 1 to meet with our 11th graders in class-size groups. Our French exchange visitors were busy earlier in the week attending classes, touring Philadelphia -- what a city! -- and Longwood Gardens. We wish them a hearty bon voyage as they head home to Lyon, where our exchange participants will be reunited with their new friends in March. Thanks to teachers Clémence Attard and Cristina Perez for organizing the exchange, and to the many other teachers, parents and students who helped with tours, hosting and logistics. Health screenings were conducted this week for most Upper School students. Thanks to Penny Rosenblum, our wonderful nurse, for making it happen. In addition to lots of Halloween-related stuff going on here, the big calendar item for next week is the All-School Conference Day on Friday, Nov. 3. We look forward to seeing those of you who have signed up for a time to meet with your child's advisor or, in the case of some 12th grade parents, have arranged an appointment with a college counselor. Students will be delighted to hear there are no classes on November 3! Don't Miss US Play Our Town Tonight and Tomorrow! "No curtain. No scenery." A minimalist theatrical style sets apart the 1938 recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Thornton Wilder's Our Town. Please join us as we present this American classic to FCS audiences tonight, Oct. 27, and Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7 pm. Check out a trailer for the play, created by Miles Meline '18, here. US Yearbook 2018 It's Not to Late to Order "A Boo for Boo"
MANNA Pie Sales Officially Open! Senior Parent Social Thursday, Nov. 2, 6-8 pm at Iron Hill Brewery Ardmore Join us for a fun social evening. Light nibbles/cash bar. US Blood Drive - Nov. 10 SAVE THE DATE US Play - Our Town Oct. 27 & 28 • 7 pm LS Halloween Parade Oct. 31 • 9 am MS Parent Wellness Evening MS Parent-Child Game Day Blood Drive Nov. 10 • 9 am-2 pm Fall Varsity Athletic Awards Evening News Friends' Central Honored with Lower Merion Historic Preservation Award Leading the Maker Movement – Friends' Central Students Shine at World Maker Faire Friends' Central continues to remain at the forefront of cutting-edge Maker Education. At the World Maker Faire in NY last month, FCS voices and projects were felt in multiple arenas. Lower & Middle School students and faculty gave a riveting demonstration of their State Fair project and their If the World Were a Village projects, and two Upper School students presented their show-stopping project – the RFiClimb, a wireless rock climbing wall with a scoring system that used RFiD and Bluetooth to show the climber's progress – winning Best in Class and multiple Editors' Awards. Read more. Just the FaCtS is published each Friday by the Friends' Central Communications Office. Lower School Campus | 228 Old Gulph Road | Wynnewood, PA 19096 | 610.642.7575 Middle/Upper School Campus | 1101 City Ave. | Wynnewood, PA 19096 | 610.649.7440 |