News Archive

On January 8, James C. Wright, Clerk of the Board of Trustees, announced to the School community on behalf of the Board that Beth D. Johnson '77 will be stepping into the role of Interim Head of Friends' Central School beginning July 2021. Craig N. Sellers completes his nine-year tenure as Head of School at the end of this school year.  

In the midst of their planetary unit, Deborah Skapik's Upper School Astronomy class had a stellar visit from cosmic scientist Dr. Jen Heldmann of NASA Ames on Tuesday, December 8.

This fall, students in Taylor Salvitti's third grade class have been working hard on writing narrative stories on a specific moment in their lives. In October, the fruits of their labor were put on display as they held a virtual publishing party to celebrate their outstanding finished pieces by reading them aloud for their families and friends.

Friends' Central is thrilled to welcome fantastic new employees to the School for the 2020-2021 school year.

We are excited to welcome Erica Snowden to the FCS community as our new Director of Equity and Multicultural Education. As a member of the Friends' Central senior administrative team, Erica oversees equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts school-wide. Joining Friends' Central to further support equity initiatives is Sabrina Johnson in a new position for the Lower School, Pre-K-grade 2 Social Justice Instructor. 

Middle School Principal Alexa Quinn spoke to CBS3 about Friends' Central's campus safety measures. 

The Friends' Central Board of Trustees shared the following statement with the FCS community. 

When the majority of carefully planned FCS Senior Projects were undermined by the pandemic, faculty came together to provide the seniors with meaningful alternatives as their time at Friends' Central came to a close.

Head of School Craig N. Sellers shared the following important message with the Friends' Central community on Sunday, May 31: At this moment filled with sadness, all FCS employees stand with all of our colleagues, students, and parents of color, and especially our Black community members.

Despite the pandemic, the FCS Distinguished Visiting Lecture Series has been able to take place, along with a significant number of virtual visits to classrooms this spring, enriching the students' learning experiences during this time of much uncertainty.

Friends' Central School is pleased to announce that six seniors, Elisabeth Forsyth, Jade Halpern, Benjamin Lehrer, Rachel McCabe, Tristan Szapary, and Jane Whellan, have been named National Merit Scholarship Program Finalists.

For over five years, Friends' Central seniors Ben Lehrer and Jonathan Roach have been working and making together, creating show-stopping projects for their school and greater community, including the World Maker Faire and Philadelphia Maker Faire. One of those projects has now resulted in a patent, which they have recently licensed.

A team of Friends’ Central School students has been selected by the Pulsar Search Collaboratory to present at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Meeting in Hawai’i this January.

Congratulations to the Varsity girls' cross country team for winning their 5^th consecutive Friends Schools League title and for winning the PA State Independent School Championships! Friends' Central made history in the league and state championships; at the FSL Champs, FCS senior Lydia Russell winning the girls' race and FCS junior Diego Spielman-Rodriguez winning the boys' race, becoming the first-ever Friends' Central duo to win the league cross country title in the same year, and this was the first State Championship for the cross country team!

Friends' Central School is pleased to announce that 11 seniors have been recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program. Six Friends' Central students were named National Merit Semifinalists, and five students were named National Merit Commended Students.

Congrats to Friends' Central soccer player Ryan Lynch '21, who is Main Line Girls' Athlete of the Week for the week of Oct. 4! Lynch, who was a 1st team All-Friends Schools League selection as a center mid last fall, was moved to center back this season, leading the Phoenix defense in several key early-season victories.

In an effort to enhance her teaching of astronomy, last year, Friends’ Central Physics Teacher Debbie Skapik became a member of the Global Hand-on Universe (GHOU), and this past summer, she attended the GHOU Conference in Provence, France, thanks to a Hendrie Stipend, a fund established by an FCS alumnus to help faculty enhance the math and science programs at Friends’ Central.

Lydia Russell '20 clocked the second fastest time in course history en route to her 1st place finish at the Briarwood Invitational on Saturday, September 14. 

Jordyn Paszamant '22, though only a sophomore, has been a critical part of the Friends' Central Varsity girls' soccer team for three years now. Check out this piece, written by Josh Verlin, about Jordyn and her impact on the girls' soccer program. 

It is with great excitement that Friends' Central welcomes fantastic new administrators, faculty, and staff to the School for the 2019-2020 school year.

Skylar Davis '21 will be spending most of the first semester of her junior year in Japan, living with a host family and attending a high school in Tokyo. 

On Monday, June 3, Friends’ Central School held its annual Middle School Citizenship Awards Ceremony, recognizing and celebrating a handful of eighth graders in the Class of 2023 for their contributions as citizens to their school community and to the community at large.

On Wednesday, May 15, Friends' Central School held its annual Upper School Academic Awards Ceremony, recognizing students for their outstanding efforts in academics, arts, athletics, service, and citizenship. Highlighting the ceremony was the induction of 18 members of the Class of 2019 into the Cum Laude Society.

Friends' Central School did it again in the pool at the Friends Schools League Championships held at George School on Saturday, February 9. In front of a packed crowd, the Phoenix boys defended their league title successfully for the 16th consecutive season, and the girls took home another victory after placing one or more swimmers in the top 6 in 21 out of 22 events. 

Where can you find animals like the “zeal,” the “frosttooth tiger,” the “white tiger slizard,” and the “butterchimp?” The Third Grade Zoo! On Wednesday, February 27, third graders took over the Light Lab, transforming each of its four studios into an Antarctic wonderland.

Out of a field of 15 teams - including 10 public schools - Friends' Central's stellar debate team of juniors Jade Halpern, Ryan Jokelson, and Lindsey Schweitzer, won the PHSSL District 10 Parliamentary Debate Tournament on February 13, 2019. They are now heading to the State tournament, which takes place the weekend of March 15 at Bloomsburg University.

For the second consecutive year, Friends' Central senior Kristen Johnson was selected to perform in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) District 11 Orchestra Festival, which took place at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School from January 10-12, 2019, with a special concert performed on Saturday, January 12.

In fall and early winter 2018, Friends' Central's campuses were abuzz with activity, including award-winning moments for our students, important sustainability achievements, athletic and academic successes, outstanding theater productions, orchestral and choral performances celebrating the holiday season, and inspiring guest speakers. Here are some highlights!

Friends’ Central’s winter sports season, featuring boys’ and girls’ basketball, indoor track, swimming, squash, and wrestling, has officially kicked off. Here is an outlook at the 2018-2019 winter sports season at FCS. Written by Miles Johnson '19. 

Friends' Central's Dining Hall of Shallcross Hall, located on the School's City Ave. campus, has been awarded a 3 Star Green Restaurant Certification by the Green Restaurant Association, a national non-profit dedicated to making restaurants and other dining facilities more sustainable. Recognized for its sustainability efforts in food offerings, energy and water efficiency, reduced waste efforts, and chemical and pollution reduction, FCS is one of only three schools that have been similarly certified in the State of Pennsylvania.

On Tuesday, October 30, Friends' Central hosted pediatrician, professor, and noted public health advocate Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, whose research exposed the Flint water crisis, as the inaugural Distinguished Justice Leader. Author of What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City, Dr. Mona met with groups of students during the day and spoke to a sold-out crowd in the evening. 

Circlesinging and World Music Drumming have several things in common: they are creative, collaborative, and accessible approaches to music and storytelling, and FCS music teacher Michele Zuckman has studied both through Friends' Central's Farraday Stipend program.

Our newly opened City Avenue Dining Hall has been up and running for over a month now, and students and faculty have been enjoying some fantastic, fresh offerings! This stunning, newly renovated dining space is highlighted by attractive, flexible seating arrangement options, five distinctive food stations, a fully functional teaching kitchen, and the after-school Phoenix Café, with sustainability efforts permeating the entire space.

Laurel Burkbauer, grade 7 and 8 English teacher, received a summer stipend to further develop the seventh grade English curriculum, including a thorough review of the literature selections.

Sonia Chin describes her course, Frontiers and Techniques in Plant Science, which took place at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory as "summer camp for scientists." A PhD-trained scientist with expertise in animal biology, Sonia saw this course as a chance to revisit and explore plant biology with internationally renowned experts.

For six weeks this summer, Friends' Central Upper School teachers Michael Darfler and Anna Schall participated in an exciting, cutting-edge summer learning opportunity called REThink. A National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded program that provides research experience for teachers at various universities across the US, the REThink program took place at Drexel University's College of Computing and Informatics (CCI) and focused on "Machine Learning to Enhance Human-Centered Computing."

It is with great excitement that Friends’ Central welcomes 12 new teachers, administrators, staff members, and interns to the School for the 2018-2019 school year

It is not uncommon to see alumni/ae on campus each day, particularly after school on the playing fields and courts. Many sports, including soccer, basketball, track, wrestling, and cheerleading, as well as Friends' Central Aquatics (FCA), are led by alumni/ae coaches who want to continue the culture of sportsmanship and integrity fostered by Friends' Central Athletics. In an effort to find out what brings alumni/ae back to campus to coach at FCS, rising senior Miles Johnson sought the perspective of six alum coaches.

On Wednesday, May 16, Friends' Central School held its annual Upper School Academic Awards Ceremony, recognizing students for their outstanding efforts in academics, leadership, and citizenship. Highlighting the ceremony was the induction of 19 members of the Class of 2018 into the Cum Laude Society.

Skylar Davis '21 will be spending six weeks in Japan this summer, living with a host family, and attending a local school.

On Thursday, April 19, Friends' Central welcomed over 340 people, including 150 Middle School student qualifiers from public and private schools in the tri-state area, to host the Regional Finals of the Middle School National History Bee. Four Friends' Central Middle Schoolers qualified for and participated in the Regional Finals, and based on their performance at Regionals, two students qualified for National Finals. In addition, six Upper School students competed in the National History Bee and Bowl Varsity and JV National Championships, which took place the weekend of April 27-29.

During the month of April, a number of Friends’ Central students performed in one of the most prestigious concert venues in the World: New York’s Carnegie Hall.

FCA presented a check for $11,000 to Simon's Heart, a locally based organization dedicated to raising awareness about the conditions and warning signs that lead to sudden cardiac arrest and death in young athletes and children.

Friends' Central is excited to host the Philadelphia Area Independent School Fair on April 10 and the 2018 Educational Forum for intellectually curious students and parents on April 15. 

On Monday, March 12, Friends’ Central hosted Chelsea Clinton at the Lower School campus. Clinton spoke to students in Kindergarten through grade 5 about her latest book She Persisted Around the World: 13 Women Who Changed History, which introduces young readers to a group of 13 incredible women who have shaped history, both nationally and around the globe.