Quaker Works Spring 2022

Quaker Works The Magazine of Friends’ Central School

13:2 Spring 2022

QYLC 2022

TEACHING GOOD SEX

LOWER SCHOOL LEARNING

FCS Hosts the Conference

10 Years Later

Science & Thematic Education

O N T H E C OV E R Celebrating "Blue Gray Beth Day" on March 1

Quaker Works The Magazine of Friends’ Central School Head of School Beth D. Johnson ’77 Editor Clare Luzuriaga Director of Communications Contributors Lydia A. Martin Assistant Head of School for Communications, Enrollment, and Strategic Initiatives Katherine Clayton Communications Manager

2021-2022 BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Ash Williams Digital & Social Media Specialist

James C. Wright, Clerk Tami Benton-Condiff, Vice Clerk Betty Bard, Treasurer Laura Jackson '65, Recording Clerk LiRon Anderson-Bell

Colette Kleitz Chief Development Officer Linda Waxman Wasserman ’75 Director of Alumni/ae Affairs

Quinn Bauriedel Liz Cohen '83

Kim Emmons-Benjet Director of Leadership Giving

Liza Ewen Seth Goldblum

Matt Cohen Director of Development Services

Jon Harris Juan Jewell '68

Melissa DiNofia-Bozzone Director of Annual Giving

Kimya Johnson

Jody Mayer Development Associate

Fariha Khan Mary McCabe Chinwe Onyekere '94

Photography Michael Branscom, Katherine Clayton, Matt Cohen, Jay Gorodetzer, Clare Luzuriaga, Paola Nogueras, Luke Nowell, Jim Roese, Mark Tassoni, Ash Williams, Day Yohannes

Alex Rolfe '01 Aaron Selkow '88 Tom Tritton Joshua Wasserman '02

Layout Clare Luzuriaga, Nancy Biddle

Roderick Wolfson

We welcome any comments, letters, photographs, and suggestions for future issues. Please send all to communications@friendscentral.org.

Barbara M. Cohen, Emerita Ken Dunn, Emeritus Ann Satterthwaite, Emerita Joanna Schoff '51, Emerita Koji Shimada, Emeritus Gardner Hendrie '50, Honorary Trustee

Friends’ Central School 1101 City Avenue Wynnewood, PA 19096 communications@friendscentral.org Connect with us on social media facebook.com/friendscentral twitter.com/friendscentral instagram.com/friendscentralschool youtube.com/friendscentralschool

2021-2022 ALUMNI/AE BOARD

Olivia Gillison ’10, President Taylor Lee ’08, Vice President Janice Decker Frohner ’60, Secretary Jeffrey Brody ’98 Bess Collier ’96 Lauren Collier ’99

Alexander Unkovic ’08

Alejandro Franqui ’03

Jessica Zeldin ’88

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Andrea Nuneviller Director of Home & School Partnerships

Jared Grove ’95 Julie Biron Maletz ’05 Clio Mallin ’96 Latifah McMullin ’99

Read past issues of Quaker Works at friendscentral.org/publications PLEASE RECYCLE

On Tuesday, March 1, 2022, the School celebrated the appointment of Beth D. Johnson '77 as Friends' Central's 12th Head of School at "Blue Gray Beth Day." See page 3 for more photos.

F E AT U R E S

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Quaker Youth Leadership Conference Laurie Novo describes the FCS-hosted 2022 QYLC

Meet Friends' Central's Board of Trustees Middle School Cookbook Helps Teach World Geography "Teaching Good Sex" - Ten Years Later Al Vernacchio reflects on the human sexuality program at FCS

Science at the Lower School Thematic Learning at the Lower School

D E PA R T M E N TS

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Opening Comments

4

Campus Log

16

Visitors to Campus

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Athletics

31

Notes from Friends

Letter from the Head of School

Letter from the Head of School Dear Friends, Just a few weeks ago, the Board of Trustees invited me to become Friends' Central's 12th Head of School. The moment was thrilling for me, and I was honored by the many messages of support I received. Thank you! Though I don’t generally relish being the center of attention, the welcome and celebration organized for me on March 1 was particularly meaningful. As I told students, the timing added additional meaning for me, as Friends’ Central’s first woman and first African American Head of School – I was asked to be Head of School during Black History Month and honored by them during Women’s History Month! I hope you’ve seen pictures of the school spirit in action!

I’ve said it before – and I’m feeling it particularly strongly these days as I try to digest the news of the wider world – Friends’ Central is a place of peace, tranquility, and joy. As you read this spring 2022 issue of Quaker Works, I hope, like me, you can draw some strength and energy from the many positive and inspiring stories and images of Friends’ Central students, teachers, and alums “going further,” as they engage in intellectual, artistic, and athletic endeavors.

In this issue, you get a chance to learn more about the FCS Board of Trustees and their deep connections to the School. Al Vernacchio writes about consent education on the 10th anniversary of the publication of The New York Times piece about his book and his work as a sexuality education teacher. Laurie Novo reports on the 2022 Quaker Youth Leadership Conference, which had as its theme Seeking Equity Through Stories. Upper School students share their experience of college-level genetics work – barcoding mushroom DNA. We hear about 10th graders independently experimenting with cathode-ray tube technology and plant decellularization. We take a deep dive into science teaching and thematic education at the Lower School. And, as always, there’s so much to share, as FCS students across all the grades continue to make us proud on the athletic field, in music and drama performances, in the classroom, and in the wider world. Faculty members continue to work their classroom magic, and several have been recognized for outstanding accomplishments in the classroom and beyond.

Spring is finally here, and our beautiful campuses are bursting with color, which means Reunion 2022 is just around the corner. This year, we’re calling it “Alumni/ae Day,” to reflect an open invitation to people from all Class years to join us on Saturday, May 7. I can’t wait to see my fellow FCS alums in person! Take a moment to read the “Notes from Friends” section of this magazine (on page 31), and let the news get you as excited as I am to see everyone!

I look forward to seeing you, whether on campus or at other FCS events!

Kind regards,

Beth D. Johnson '77 Head of School

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Students, faculty, and staff on the City Avenue campus

For more photosthe from the Community Celebration, visit bit.ly/FCSalbums. celebrating appointment of Beth D. Johnson '77 as Friends' Central's 12th Head of School For more photos, visit bit.ly/FCSalbums

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Campus Log

FOR MORE SCHOOL NEWS, VISIT FRIENDSCENTRAL.ORG/NEWS

The Middle School held an outdoor Meeting for Worship on September 30.

Middle Schoolers Make Their Mark

Mid-Autumn Festival

Middle School students in Caroline Maw-Deis's art classes began the school year by “making their mark” on a simple circle. Inspired by the concept in the story The Dot by Peter Reynolds, each student devised a unique solution for their individual circle. An exhibition of all the pieces was on display in the Shallcross Gallery.

On September 21, FCS international students held a Mid-Autumn Festival on campus. Joe Yicheng Yuan '22 explained, “The Mid-Autumn Festival – or Mooncake Festival – is widely celebrated by Southeast and East Asian communities. Families gather and celebrate with delicious meals and mooncakes.”

Traditionally, it marked the end of the autumn harvest.

International Day of Peace The Lower School community gathered for a Meeting for Worship in observance of the International Day of Peace in September.

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Grade 9 gathering in September for Orientation Day 2021

Lower School first day, September

Kicking off the school year at the Parents of Students of Color (PSOC) Ice Cream Social in September

Middle School first day, September

Grade 10 Paradise Farm team-building trip in September

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FCS Juniors Take On Mushroom Genetic Barcoding CAMPUS LOG

BY JACE ANDERSON '23, MARCUS CHIANG '23, MICHAEL CHOU '23, AND DEV GUPTA '23

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our of us from the Class of 2023 recently undertook the task of genetically identifying various species of mushrooms from local places, Friends’ Central’s City Avenue campus included.

Among the mushroom samples collected were three distinctive specimens from three different locations. Our faculty advisor, Mr. Gruber, gathered them from Friends’ Central, Crow’s Nest Preserve, and Stoneleigh Preserve. The latter two are Natural Lands preserves. The mushroom pictured here is from FCS! The Crow’s Nest and Stoneleigh mushrooms were somewhat damaged but still easily sequenceable.

In the first semester, we met every Friday and learned varying techniques through hands-on experience. These techniques included micro-pipetting, genetic extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), electrophoresis, and analyzing sequence data through computer software.

(From left) Dev Gupta, Jace Anderson, Michael Chou, and Marcus Chiang with faculty advisor John Gruber

Research like this is often expected in undergraduate institutions and demonstrates the advanced laboratory capabilities at Friends’ Central. We got to experience true wet-lab work as we explored science that can be seen in the world. Species identification is near impossible without genetic markers. These markers form a barcode that identifies a mushroom down to its specific species.

Soon after we submitted the results to GeneWiz for processing, our success with the process started to become apparent.

Species that appeared the same visually returned near-perfect matches with each other and, excitingly, with the BOLD database as well. BOLD is a compilation of sequences that allows you to compare your sequences with those of researchers all over the world. These promising results prompted us to document the work in the form of a paper with emphasis on the importance of teaching these hands-on experiences in high school. We hope that the article will be published soon. We also plan on sharing our findings in an oral presentation in the near future.

In the future, we will explore sequencing lichens, which have far less documented research than mushrooms and more unknown DNA to analyze. Lichens are plentiful at FCS and consist of a combination of fungus, algae, yeast, and bacteria in a symbiotic relationship. In order to sequence lichen, we will follow the same protocols and steps as the mushrooms; the primers we used to amplify the mushroom DNA, labeled as “general fungal ITS primers,” have broad success on all fungi. Through barcoding lichens, we can learn about other variations in the fungal family. QW

Middle School Mars Rover Landing After learning about space exploration in Dan Bobrowski's science class, seventh graders designed, built, and programmed their own model rovers using LEGO® Education SPIKE™ prime sets. After many hours of careful trial and error, student teams landed their rover on the culminating “Mars Landing Day” in March in the Shallcross Meeting Room. The teams controlled their rover by watching a live video feed of the rover’s movements and sending a series of successive programs to the machine through Bluetooth technology.

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Detecting New Asteroids

CAMPUS LOG

Upper School students Helen Potts ’25, Fotini Mourelatos ’22, and Lawson Messe ’25 on the Friends' Asteroids Search Team (FAST) and Upper School science teacher Deb Skapik each detected new asteroids this November (Helen and Lawson for the first time!).

In December, Deb Skapik shared, "Fotini and I just learned that one of the asteroids we co-discovered in April (2021) has moved on from 'Preliminary' status to 'Provisional' status. That means this asteroid has been observed by a second group of independent observers!

This asteroid was observed by the PanStarrs in Hawai'i on April 13, 2021, and shortly afterward, Fotini and I measured it, giving it the temporary name FCS 1221 (our 12th campaign, candidate #21). The IASC group gave it the Preliminary designation P11f34P. It has now moved on to Provisional status, named 2021 GC134, a name that will stick with it, even if we rename it something else eventually."

Senior Advocates for CROWN Act In September, Jai Smith ’22 engaged in teen advocacy work through the Jack and Jill organization to encourage Rep. Brendan Boyle (PA Team 02) to co-sponsor the CROWN Act. The CROWN Act (“Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair”) is a law that prohibits race-based hair discrimination, which is the denial of employment and educational opportunities because of hair texture or protective hairstyles including braids, locs, twists, or bantu knots. Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, a co-sponsor of the CROWN Act, met with Jai and other students.

Student Diversity Leadership Conference In December, Haylee Gibson '23, Mari Reyes-Toidze '22, Austin Vines '22, Jai Smith '22, and Marcus Chiang '23 attended the NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference virtually. The students participated in workshops and racial affinity groups and attended sessions with keynote speakers.

Students demonstrated their language skills and fabulous costumes at the eighth-grade Multilingual Fashion Show in November.

Lower Schoolers had a blast at Pumpkin Fair 2021.

In October, Middle School students participated in a daily art installation at Linwood Park in Ardmore.

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FCS on the Stage

Fiddler on the Roof, Jr. was this fall's Middle School musical. The cast and crew did an outstanding job bringing to the FCS stage this special adaptation of the classic Broadway musical which tackles the universal theme of tradition.

The Middle School Winter Concert in December The Upper School fall play was Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard. Staged outside among the beautiful trees on Felsen Common in a funny modern translation by Lavina Jadwhani, The Cherry Orchard is the story of a family struggling to adjust to a changing world.

The Upper School Holiday Concert in December

Upper School Drama put on a fantastic production of Godspell in February, with a beautiful student-built set. Using the language and structures of a specific religious tradition, Godspell explores ideas of how we can live together in community.

FCS Juniors Selected for PMEA Band & Orchestra Three FCS students made District Band and Orchestra this winter.

Claire Samaha ’23 (alto saxophone) was selected to join Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) District 11 Band. Michael Chou ’23 (violin) and Dev Gupta ’23 (bassoon) were selected to join the Orchestra. Claire and Michael are being recognized for the second year in a row! Claire represented FCS in the PMEA District 11 Band Festival at Pennsbury High School in January. Michael and Dev represented FCS in the PMEA District 11 Orchestra Festival at Upper Perkiomen High School, also in January.

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CAMPUS LOG

FCS Junior Performs in Triumph Music Festival In October, trumpet-player Kokayi Jones ’23 performed at the Triumph Music Festival, an exclusive educational and performing event with a unique opportunity for the winners to participate at the Gala Concert held at the historic Academy of Music Ballroom in Philadelphia.

FCS Student Nutcracker Performance Nora-Simone Thorne ’24 performed in the Philadelphia Ballet's (formerly The Pennsylvania Ballet) production of The Nutcracker as a Mouse and Hoops dancer this winter.

To prepare, she rehearsed and took classes seven days a week from the end of September until the performance.

Lower School Family Sing-Along Lower School families came together to celebrate the holiday season with a beautiful and well-attended community sing-along on December 16. The evening also offered an opportunity for families to take self-guided tours of the Lower School to admire their children's artwork.

Eighth Graders Build Rube Goldberg Machines Shakespeare Award In March, Lucy Shea ’23 won first place in the Philadelphia Branch of the English Speaking Union's Annual Shakespeare Competition. At the reception, Lucy performed her award-winning monologue from Richard II. She received a cash prize of $1,500, and she goes on to compete in the National Competition. This is the second year Lucy was recognized, as she came second in the 2021 Philadelphia Branch competition.

Eighth graders in Dr. Patricia Zaradic's science class worked hard this spring building Rube Goldberg machines in the Makerspace that had a marble pop a balloon.

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Building Cathode-Ray Tubes in an FCS Chemistry Lab

Decellularizing Leaves in an FCS Biology Lab

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riends' Central sophomore Rupert Bowen is conducting an independent experiment building cathode-ray tubes in an FCS chemistry lab. It’s a project he himself devised, and he’s exploring it with the single-minded passion and focus of the truly intellectually curious.

“I got really curious about how old televisions worked. I spent an hour down a Google rabbit hole, and I decided I wanted to try and mess with cathode-ray tubes.”

He emailed his chemistry teacher, Phyllis Hanson, to see if Friends’ Central had something approximating a cathode-ray tube so he could see it in action. “There wasn’t one, so I decided to build my own,” he said.

With a cathode-ray tube, “you create a vacuum inside a glass tube, and you have super-high voltage, causing electrons to jump from the anode to the cathode,” Rupert explained. “This creates streams of electrons, which are called cathode rays. They can flow freely because there’s no air to disrupt their path.”

“To build my own cathode-ray tube,” he continued, “I started with a plain Erlenmeyer flask, but I eventually switched to a filtering flask, because it has a little nozzle on the side that I can pull the vacuum from. I’m doing this in an FCS chemistry lab.”

He finds whatever time he can during free blocks and study halls, and occasionally, after a hurried lunch, to immerse himself in his cathode-ray tube experiments.

“I’m interested in how cathode rays deflect when you put them in a magnetic field or an electrostatic field,” Rupert said. “You can use either magnets (how televisions worked, creating a magnetic field using a coil) or electrostatic fields, by placing high-voltage plates next to each other. What that does is to accelerate the electrons in a direction, then you can deflect them to create pictures. You’re moving the electrons fast enough to create images.”

n addition to his cathode-ray tube building, Rubert Bowen and fellow sophomore James Heller are working together on another independent science project in an FCS biology lab, exploring decellularization in plant leaves.

Decellularization is the process used in biomedical engineering to isolate the extracellular matrix (ECM) of a tissue from its inhabiting cells, leaving an ECM scaffold of the original tissue.

The project began for James and Rupert as a lesson in their chemistry class, where they were partners in a food science project.

“We were interested in lab-made meat, which is created mostly through decellularization, where the decellularized structure is used as a scaffolding – whatever is left of the plant – to grow new animal cells inside the decellularized leaf,” explained James. "It has the potential to be used to grow artificial meat or turned into prototype artificial organs, which is the coolest thing ever!” said Rupert.

They decided they wanted to independently study the process of decellularization. With the assistance of Upper School science teacher John Gruber, they are experimenting with celery and ficus leaves under different conditions – in an enclosed shaker plate, an open shaker plate, pre-frozen, and at room temperature.

They are already seeing some results. “At this point, the celery is entirely decellularized. The ficus leaves are moving very slowly, but hopefully we’ll get them to the same point as the celery, where we can see through them and observe them,” said James. “We want to take a sample of the finished structure and put it under a high-definition microscope to get a really good, up-close look at it, added Rupert.” QW

Rupert’s making progress. “I’m on the verge of getting a focused beam, and that’s when I’m going to play around with deflection, which I’m super excited about. I’m not going to be able to get any high resolution images. My end goal is to generate a straight line using a high voltage AC electrostatic field. If I am able to create such a line, I may be able to generate a very basic oscilloscope that illustrates the voltages, using charged plates and probes.”

“Rupert is the most proactive student I have ever encountered.

He has an integrity and dedication to his work that is amazing and inspiring,” said Dr. Hanson. “In a short time at FCS, he has captivated the attention of many of his classmates through his research and generosity of time; he shows remarkable ability to teach and share his enthusiasm for his research. His positivity and humility allow him to fully explore the science he is so interested in.

I am honored to have had the opportunity to give him his own personal research space in the FCC, which he has used with the utmost professionalism.” QW Excerpted fromCENTRAL the full article, published in fcsfeatures.org, SCHOOL 10 FRIENDS' Friends' Central's online magazine.

Rupert Bowen (left) and James Heller at work in the FCS biology lab

Their successfully decellularized celery leaves

Lower School Junior Author Prize Winners In February, fifth grader Matthew (at left) was awarded first place for non-fiction in the Gladwyne Free Library Junior Author Contest for his essay titled My First Beyblade Battle. Fourth grader Dahlia (at right) won first place in the fourth-grade fiction category for her essay titled The Dividing Hallway. Congratulations, Matt and Dahlia!

Math Modeling Club Competed in High School Math Modeling Contest

World Affairs Club at Model Senate In December, the 12 members of FCS's World Affairs Club left proud and happy from the Model Senate hosted by the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia. The group had a great showing, with many team members recognized, including Outstanding Delegates Phoebe Davidson ’24, Lindsay McCammon ’23, and Allie Whellan ’23. The club faculty sponsors are Danielle Saint Hilare and Alex McDonnell, and the group leaders are Faiza Carey ’23 and Lindsay McCammon.

Upper School students tackled climate change using math this fall. The Math Modeling Club, with Upper School Math Teacher Julie Plunkett as advisor, participated in the High School Mathematical Contest in Modeling (HiMCM) in November. Hosted by the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP), the HiMCM competition is an opportunity for students to apply mathematical solutions to real-world issues. A total of 705 teams competed, representing 303 schools and 20 countries/regions.

Friends’ Central sent three teams to the competition. The FCS team of Drew Bukasa ’22, Julian Duvivier ’22, Dev Gupta ’23, and Claire Samaha ’23, who tackled the second competition problem presented, made it to the finalist stage, placing them in the top 6% of all participants. Kevin Dai ’23, Sean McGoff ’22, and Henry Mu ’23, who also chose the second problem, placed in the top 14% of all teams. The team of Jack Barsotti ’24, Kai Davidson ’22, Quin Stovall ’24, and Rita Tang ’25, who took on the first problem, also successfully competed. Congratulations to all of our students who participated in this challenge! The next level of competition is the International Mathematical Modeling Challenge (IMMC), a five-day challenge, which the meritorious and finalist teams were invited to.

Grade-six students presented their many fabulous projects at the Prima Lingua Derivatives Fair in February. Two of the projects – in which they trace a root word through a variety of languages and create a thematic display – are pictured below.

Fourth-Grade Interactive Landmarks Exhibition In March, the fourth grade invited students from all Lower School grades to their Interactive Philadelphia Historic Landmarks Gallery in The Ulmer Family Light Lab. The project combined work from classes in art, social studies, and MakerEd, as fourth graders engaged in physical computing, building interactive circuits out of hand-drawn images of Philadelphia Landmarks.

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FCS Hosts Quaker Youth Leadership Conference

BY LAURIE NOVO

“That QYLC vibe was strong,” commented one participant at the end of this year’s Quaker Youth Leadership Conference.

This long-standing annual program of the Friends Council on Education was held virtually in 2021 and made its in-person return this spring at Friends’ Central! We last hosted in 2011, and those of us who participated then know how rich and satisfying it is to explore the unique experience of Quaker education in the company of fellow members of Friends school communities. In spite of the ongoing COVID-19 uncertainty, FCS co-clerks of the Religious Life Committee Robyn Richmond and Anna Schall volunteered to host this year’s conference, and we gathered (in a hybrid offering) at the City Av-

Sean McGoff, Anna Miller, Blake Riesenfeld, Madison Smith, Micah Trusty, and Day’Mon Wimberley; 11th graders Faiza Carey, Lucca Frattone, Haylee Gibson, Alex Hexstall, and Sarah Leonard; 10th graders Spencer Kim and Azaria Sifontis; and 9th grader Erian Henighan were amazing leaders: creative, detail-oriented, and committed. Our visitors commented on how impressive it was to “watch the Friends’ Central students lead so inclusively and collaboratively.” FCS adults CJ Keller, Tom MacFarlane, Erica Snowden, Nora Swift, Al Vernacchio, and I supported Robyn and Anna, who shouldered the majority of the planning and implementation.

QYLC 2022 in-person attendees

enue campus between February 3-5. Fifteen Friends Schools participated, about half in person, though only one school (the intrepid group from Friends School of Baltimore) spent the nights on our campus. Though the hybrid format was challenging at times, it was rewarding to include distant Quaker schools like Pickering College in Canada, as well as closer schools still following restrictive COVID practices, to be part of this year’s gathering. The theme chosen by the steering committee of students, Seeking Equity Through Stories, was rich and satisfying, an especially powerful lens as we tentatively step out of COVID isolation and back into community. As Robyn Richmond said, “It is always uplifting to attend QYLC with our students. It was amazing to have the opportunity to collaborate, plan and implement, with 15 of our dedicated students, a conference that shared the best of who we are with so many other Friends schools.”

Friday’s program was a high point. “I loved the keynote! He really made an impact with our kids. We have a few artists in our bunch, for whom his art was very meaningful. He matched the QYLC vibe perfectly,” said one chaperone. Our speaker, Ron Norsworthy, is an activist artist and designer whose early work creating sets for music videos, television, and film established his ongoing interest in making explicit the visual cues that tell us whether and how we belong in a space. In his talk, building from Brene Brown’s observation that belonging is the opposite of fitting in, Ron talked about his own experiences and his mission to show us whose stories are being told and whose are not; that framing was revelatory to Sean McGoff ’22, who observed, “I hadn't thought of identity occupying space in the way that Ron described it,” going on to reflect, “which is most likely due to me being white.”

and builds community.” She spoke about her work with Youth Arts Self-Empowerment Project (YASP) to create mitigation videos for youth facing incarceration, a powerful example of using storytelling for equity. Dwight Dunston ’06 is a hip hop artist and facilitator for Lion’s Story, an organization dedicated to helping us develop our ability to claim and process racial stories to heal from racial conflict. Jesse White, a Quaker artist, helps people understand and tell their stories through cathartic art-making, and Shahidah Kalam Id-Din joined us from Penn Charter, where her professional development work centers on mentoring students and colleagues as they develop capacity in diversity, equity, and inclusion work within a Quaker context.

FCS student facilitators Alex Hexstall ’23 and Anna Miller ’22 had prepared questions for the panel, starting from “What is the first story you felt you had to tell?” Additional conference programming included affinity groups, a talent show (a long standing QYLC tradition!), icebreaker get-to-know-you sessions offered by Al Vernacchio and Erica Snowden, Meeting for Worship, and some time for the most valuable experiences of all, building relationships with students from other Friends schools. HSA and FCS parents provided a bountiful Saturday morning breakfast, and teams of students and adults (both from FCS and elsewhere) hosted Saturday workshops.

The conference ended with Meeting for Worship, among the most satisfying aspects for student steering committee member Azaria Sifontis ’24: “I have a new appreciation for the way we do Meeting for Worship here, coming out of pandemic and entering into the silence. Silence holds more significance to me now.”

Personally speaking, I had a great time and am so grateful to be part of this community and the team of amazing students (cheerful and engaged from the start-of-the-day COVID testing to the late-night sign-out as they headed home) and remarkable adults.

I’ve been here a long time, so I am no longer surprised by our amazing in-house talent— but watching FCS people do their thing still fills me with awe.

So many people stepped up to make the QYLC happen; its success was built on the generous participation of the whole community as QYLC shared facilities with a busy City Avenue campus in full swing on Friday, The keynote was complemented by a rich added catering and hosting responsibilities panel of activist storytellers who use art to our dining hall and security teams, relied It takes a lot to create such a comprehensive, and stories to express (and help others ex- on tech set-ups in the evening and on the satisfying experience, and many thanks are press and recognize) their truth. Natasha weekend, and so much more. It was a true due to our student hosts and planners, who Cohen-Carroll is a documentary filmmaker community event, one that left the organizhave been working on the conference since who “creates media that increases represen- ers tired but deeply satisfied. We can’t wait last spring. Twelth graders Drew Bukasa, tation, amplifies underrepresented stories, to host again! QW

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Rachel Slaughter

FACULTY & STAFF

The book by Upper and Middle School Learning Specialist Rachel Slaughter, Ed. D., Turning the Page: The Ultimate Guide for Teachers to Multicultural Literature, was featured in the fall 2021 issue of the Kutztown University's Tower magazine.

Dr. Slaughter graduated with a Masters in Education from Kutztown University in 2000. In 2019, she was awarded a doctoral degree in Cognitive Studies in Reading from Widener University. Her dissertation explores the inclusion of multicultural literature in private middle schools in the Northeast Rachel's other books include Turning the Page: A Guide to Securing Multicultural Literature for Schools, also published by Rowman and Littlefield. The book offers a nonjudgmental space where educators can take an introspective dive into their feelings about multiculturalism in the effort to generate a list of bias-free, multicultural books that celebrate individuality. This summer, Rachel will present her research on multicultural literature at the “22nd European Conference on Literacy,” organized by the Federation of European Literacy Associations, in Dublin, Ireland.

Margaret Somerville '83 Middle School Latin teacher Margaret Somerville '83 was selected as a winner of the 2021 Society for Classical Studies Award for Excellence in Teaching at the K-12 Level. Margaret, affectionately known as Magistra, is a longtime Friends' Central community member - alum, parent, and Middle School Latin teacher.

This fall, Margaret presented at the eighth annual Parliament of the World’s Religions, an international event described on its website as, “a safe way to gather the world’s global interfaith movement and celebrate the enduring spirit and work of religious and spiritual communities striving toward a more just, peaceful, and sustainable world.” Margaret’s Alignment interfaith programming has received external funding so that she can share it more widely. She leads retreats and weekly programming with leaders from a wide variety of spiritual traditions.

Read about Margaret's Alignment interfaith work at bit.ly/magistra21

Megan Schumacher Upper School English teacher Megan Schumacher was a recipient of the 2021 Sue Winge Playwriting Award from Villanova University. Her play, Laundry, received two performed readings in December in the Smith Performance Lab of the John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts. "Laundry takes place in a dystopian world," explained Megan, "Five female clones arrive for their daily work in a laundry facility. This work is routine for all except for one, who struggles to fulfill her duties. On this particular day, a rumor of a selection process and a disturbing event from the night before have them excited. As the play progresses, however, their excitement turns to fear as lives are lost and escape becomes key."

Megan is a distinguished and prolific playwright, director, and dramaturg. She is a member of The Foundry at PlayPenn and Simpatico Theatre’s Jouska PlayWorks.

Al Vernacchio Among many achievements, Al Vernacchio, Friends' Central's N-12 Sexuality Education Coordinator and Upper School English teacher, was recognized in March by the Woodhull Freedom Foundation with a 2022 Vicki Sexual Freedom Award.

The Woodhull Freedom Foundation is a national human rights organization working to advance sexual freedom. Each year, they present the "Vicki Sexual Freedom Award" in recognition of groundbreaking work, continued activism, and dedication to securing sexual and human rights.

See page 22 for Al's article reflecting on the human sexuality program at FCS 10 years since the publication of The New York Times Sunday Magazine cover piece about him, titled “Teaching Good Sex.” Courtesy of phillymag.com, 06/18

FO R M O R E FC S C O M M U N I T Y N E WS , V I S I T F R I E N D S C E N T R A L .O R G / N E WS SPRING 2022

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Meet the Friends' Central Board of Trustees 2022 James C. Wright, Clerk I’m a parent of two graduates of FCS and a Quaker. I have witnessed personally from them and through my interactions with teachers, staff, and administration what it means to live, practice, and model Quaker values and beliefs. My children were inspired to take responsibility for themselves, to seek collaborative, harmonious relationships in their personal and professional lives, and to love learning. I am committed as a Trustee to sharing my own experience as a professor and administrator to help FCS realize is aspirations as a leading school informed by Quaker spirit and values.

Betty Bard

Tami Benton-Condiff

Laura Jackson '65

Vice-Clerk

Recording Clerk

As a former Friends' Central parent, I am a member of the Board of Trustees because I believe in Quaker education.

I am excited and grateful to have the opportunity to serve FCS as a Trustee during this transformational period in its history.

Who we are & LiRon K. Anderson-Bell

Treasurer Education and service to others have always been important to me.

After being an involved parent for nearly two decades, I believed my skills and passion for the values-based educational process would allow me to contribute to the future of FCS. I consider it an honor to serve on the Board and hope my contributions will help ensure that the School continues to thrive.

I accepted the invitation to serve on the FCS Board of Trustees because I sensed a refreshed commitment to ensuring that students and families experience the Quaker values noted in our mission. I'm also happy to support FCS with my professional skills and subject-matter expertise.

Elizabeth Cohen '83

Liza Ewen It would be hard to overstate the importance of FCS in my professional and personal life – it's where I started my teaching career in 1998, where I came to know and love Quakerism, and where I met so many of the people I hold dear.

Next to my family, my relationship with FCS has been the longest and most important of my life.

I want to give back to FCS because it has given so much to me, my children, and my sisters.

Jon Harris

Juan Jewell '68

My family has had a wonderful relationship with FCS! I was the Upper School Principal between 1985 and 1998, my wife taught and did Admissions work for 10 years, and my three children are all graduates. Being in a position now to support the School is a complete joy and privilege!

Friends' Central has done much to shape me, first as a student and later as an educator. My Board service is an attempt, in some small way, to repay Friends' Central for all it has given to me.

Quinn Bauriedel

In a tumultuous world, creating and maintaining an educational space that confronts the most challenging topics with care, curiosity, and compassion is affirming. I serve on the Board because it feels like a true gift to be able to support the unbelievable teachers and administrators that have created a vibrant and joyous community where every child is seen and valued for who they are.

Seth Goldblum I firmly believe in the FCS educational mission and want to do my part to help support the furtherance of such.

As an institution, we have the opportunity to make a positive impact on so many lives across our community, and I relish the chance to play whatever role I can in ensuring we do so.

Kimya Johnson Kimya is the mother of Miles Johnson '19 and joined the Board as her time as an FCS parent was drawing to a close in 2019.

Chinwe Onyekere '94 I serve on the Board because of FCS's deep commitment to creating a community that centers belonging, equity, and justice. FCS lives our shared Quaker values and they shine through the students, faculty, and staff.

Fariha Khan Serving on the Board of Trustees is not only an honor but also a way to enact my deep gratitude for our School, our beloved faculty, and our Quaker community.

After eight years of service, I am wiser from the experience and richer from the remarkable friendships.

Alexander Rolfe '01 Serving on the FCS Board is— believe it or not—a thrilling experience. To be connected and to think about the future of our incredible School with a group of people who love it as much as I do is an honor.

Plus, I get to hang out with Ms. Beth a lot—what more could I ask for?

Why we serve Tom Tritton

Friends Central addresses two things I value highly: quality education of the young people who will inherit leadership responsibility for our future; and putting Quaker values into practice to create a better world. What could be a more impactful way to invest one's time?

Barbara M. Cohen, Emerita

Joshua Wasserman '02

Mary McCabe Since our daughter started ninth grade here six years ago, FCS has been a wonderful place for our kids to grow. I love being part of this special community of young people, amazing teachers, and caring administrators.

Aaron Selkow '88 My 45-year multidimensional relationship with Friends' Central has helped me to grow in so many ways, has brought me joy and meaningful connections to others, and has become part of my identity. Giving back to the School as a member of the Board is but one way to show my gratitude and to help to ensure that others will be impacted in much the same way for years to come.

Roderick Wolfson

My family has had a wonderful five-decade relationship with FCS, starting with my mother as a student in the 70s, then me and my sister as FCS graduates, and now my nieces are attending the Lower School. Friends’ Central was such a special place for me as a student, and I’m now honored to give back to the School as a proud alum and a member of the Board.

I'm honored to serve on the Board as property clerk. Serving provides me with the opportunity to share my architectural experience towards the stewardship and enhancement of FCS's two beautiful campuses. Our buildings and grounds are settings which can enhance the meaningful experiences of FCS students.

Kenneth B. Dunn, Emeritus

Ann Satterthwaite, Emerita

I serve on the Board because I love the School and I initially agreed to be a Trustee for three reasons: first, It was an honor to serve on the Board care about its future. My three Pam and I strongly believed in of Trustees. My daughters attended and the School’s values (respect, dedication to the graduated from FCS, where kindness, diversity, striving for School was the all them enjoyed learning, excellence, and integrity), and result of many facfelt comfortable expressing we appreciated how those tors: the education their views, and were active values reinforced those we of my son, Andrew and devoted members of the were trying to instill at home; Newcomb '87; the School community. They are second, our children were deep camaraderie now in their fifties, and their provided with an exceptional I always felt with intelligence and concern for education; and third, our deep fellow Board others are shown in many respect for former Head of members, faculty, ways. I am sure that their School David Felsen. I continue and, staff; and the FCS experience is responsible for so much of what is to be involved with the School because I have greatly knowledge that graduates of Friends' Central special about them today. enjoyed my work. I had the pleasure of working with make a positive difference in the world. many exceptional and dedicated friends, and we acGardner Hendrie '50, Honorary Trustee complished a lot together, with our hearts in the work! Koji Shimada, Emeritus I am very grateful to FCS for providing I am a great believer in education, and FCS gave classrooms and supporting the Japanese me what I needed (Nursery thru 12th grade) for a Joanna Schoff '51, Emerita Language School for 25 years. The JPLS has successful and rewarding career in the emerging Joanna served on the Board produced many fine computer field. That gift from 1995 to 2003 and was citizens, outstandgives me the motivation named a Trustee Emerita ing scientists, and to try to help the School to in 2003. She served on the artists. I am also continue to do an outstandCampaign Committee for the very proud to be ing job of educating students, Shimada Athletics Center. an Emeritus Board especially, those interested in member. Thank you, science and math.

FCS, and thank you David Felsen, my SPRING 2022 15 dear friend.

CAMPUS LOG

FCS welcomed authors, scientists, artists, and leaders who enriched our community in the fall and winter, including the following

VISITORS TO CAMPUS ACTOR BENJ MIRMAN In December, actor Benj Mirman – currently playing Ali Hakim in the National Tour of Daniel Fish's critically-acclaimed version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!

– took the Upper School cast of Godspell through a two-day Clown Camp where they worked on developing their characters for the production.

AUTHOR & EDUCATOR TIFFANY JEWELL Our 2021-2022 Distinguished Visiting Justice Leader was Tiffany Jewell, a Black biracial writer, twin sister, first generation American, cisgender mama, anti-bias antiracist (ABAR) educator, and consultant. She is the author of the #1 New York Times and #1 Indie Bestseller, This Book Is Anti-Racist, a book for young folks and everyone to wake up, take action, and do the work of becoming antiracist. Jewell is currently working on multiple book projects for readers of all ages. She visited in October, meeting virtually with Middle and Lower School students before delivering a virtual talk and Q&A for the community in the evening.

In March, Robert Saligman '17 Zoomed in from LA to talk about his experiences as a hockey referee to the Upper School "Game Theory: Sports Literature" English Seminar.

CLIMATE EXPERT J. MARSHALL SHEPHERD Our 2021-2022 Distinguished Visiting Scientist was Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd, a leading international expert in weather and climate and the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Georgia. Marshall Shepherd was the 2013 President of the American Meteorological Society (AMS). During his virtual visits in March, he met with Upper School Science Core Team students and delivered an excellent community lecture on the impact of urban heat islands on weather and their disproportionate impact on marginalized communities, highlighting ways to make urban meteorology actionable.

LOWER SCHOOL AUTHOR VISITS In March, students in Nursery to grade two had a virtual assembly with author Gene Barretta to celebrate his new book, The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver.

On the same day, grades three to five had a virtual assembly visit from author Alison Green Myers, who talked about her new book, A Bird Will Soar, winner of the 2021 Schneider Family Book Award.

MICHELLE JOHNS In March, Kindergarten students in KB received a Zoom visit from former FCS Kindergarten teacher Michelle Johns. On her sabbatical in January 2006, Johns went to Antarctica. She talked about her experience and shared photos with KB to kick off their study of penguins.

N'KENGÉ ROBERTSON & CHRISTOPHER R. ROGERS

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This winter, N'Kengé Robertson and Christopher R. Rogers were guest speakers, meeting with Middle and Upper School students as part of Director of Equity, Belonging & Inclusion Erica Snowden's Black Lives Matter at School programming. An educator and curriculum writer for #BLMAtSchools, Robertson is the voice for new innovative educators in the city of Detroit to change the educational paradigm of urban city youth.

Rogers is an educator and cultural worker who serves as Public Programs Director for the Paul Robeson House & Museum. Rogers is on the National Steering Committee for Black Lives Matter at School, supporting movements for racial justice in K-16 education

Middle School Cookbook Helps Teach World Geography

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new student-authored book that explores geography, history, and culture has hit the Middle School shelves. The 80-page book was created by Ashley Best-Raiten’s sixth-grade history class. But unlike most geography texts, this book isn’t illustrated with maps and tables of data. The book that the students worked diligently on for two months this fall is actually a cookbook.

Grade-six history at Friends’ Central, which is taught through the lens of world geography, gives students the opportunity to discover how physical geography impacts history, culture, and our own personal biases. What does cooking have to do with world geography? Ashley (known to her students as Ms. Best) explained that the project was an opportunity to explore how geography impacts the foods we eat and how we react to other foods.

“There’s more to geography than just memorizing countries on a map,” said Ashley. “The main thing you learn in sixth grade is skills. It’s all about starting to have abstract thought, thinking outside the box, and starting to apply your knowledge. Geography provides a great framework to practice all of that.”

Middle School Principal Alexa Dunnington Quinn ’98 said that, about six years ago, the Middle School history program began a shift away from survey courses toward thematic learning. She said, “We felt it connected well with our Lower School and it would help students make more connections across disciplines and do more critical thinking about history.”

Alexa noted that the lens of world geography fits well with her Middle School students. “So many of us have our own stories of migration in our families, or immigration, or forced migration, so it gives students a lot more access points to tell their own stories and to think about their families and to hear about the identities and stories of other families.”

Ashley began the project by showing the class a recipe for cuy without explaining what it was. The students guessed that cuy may be rabbit. Ashley observed, “They didn’t want to try it but weren’t disgusted by it. When they learned it was actually guinea pig, there were gasps and exclamations. So we unpacked that. Why is guinea pig horrifying to eat – ‘It’s a pet!’ – but rabbit is ok?”

Ashley Best-Raiten

Through discussion, the students concluded that since rabbit is a part of European and Western cuisine, it feels more familiar.

“One of our overarching themes for the year is ‘Be curious, not judgmental,’ from Walt Whitman,” said Ashley. “I told the students that when something startles or shocks us, let’s explore why and why the reaction might be different for someone from a different nation or culture.”

As the project continued, students were asked to share a family recipe or look one up that they considered to be from a place of origin for one of their ancestors. The first task was to look at the ingredients and answer the questions: where are these ingredients from, and what can we tell about the geographic themes of human/environment interaction and movement from these ingredients?

“Kuri kinton is made on my mom’s side from Japan,” sixth grader Julia Epps wrote in her recipe. “Chestnut originated in Asia Minor and is believed to be firstly introduced by the Ancient Greeks. Interestingly enough, the iconic Japanese sweet potatoes originated in China, meaning this recipe has traveled a lot. Asia Minor, China, Japan, America. That’s a lot of movement!”

“All of the skills they’re learning now translate nicely, so by the time they get through the Middle School program they’re really ready for Upper School History.”

ASHLEY BEST-RAITEN

The project culminated in the creation of a printed and bound cookbook which the students brought home to their families. “The book was entirely student-generated. They selected, edited, and proofread their own recipes,” said Ashley. “It was a great way for them to get them thinking about our unconscious cultural biases and begin to think geographically when they approach new cultures in our future explorations.”

“All of the skills they’re learning now translate nicely, so by the time they get through the Middle School program they’re really ready for Upper School History.” QW SPRING 2022

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Athletic News In October, girls' cross country won their sixth consecutive Friends School League title at Westtown on their farm course. The final score for Friends' Central was 37. Micah Trusty ’22 came in 4th (20:14), Miracle Price ’22 was 5th (20:21). Quin Stovall ’24 was 11th (22:25), and Sadie Forman ’23 was 16th (24:19).

Photo by Kathy Leister Photography

NEW BALANCE NATIONALS INDOORS Avery Lewis

Avery Lewis ’24 won her first national title in the 60M dash, taking over sole possession of the all-time Pennsylvania state record in the event during the New Balance Nationals Indoors in March. She finished the championship with a silver medal in the long jump, and had the fourth-best performance in the 200M during a busy championship at the Armory.

NIKE INDOOR NATIONALS MILROSE GAMES ACCOLADES Micah Trusty ’22 and Avery Lewis ’24 both continued to dazzle in track and field, competing with some of the best athletes in the world at the prestigious Millrose Games in New York City on Saturday, January 29. Micah ran the sixth fastest 600M in PA history for high school girls.

Avery ran the third fastest 60M dash in PA history and competed against professional women in the long jump, finishing sixth!

Micah Trusty

Micah Trusty ’22 won the Championship 800M at Nike Indoor Nationals at Ocean Breeze in March, clocking a time of 2:07.32 for a new indoor personal record to capture the win. That time moves Trusty back into the PA No. 1 spot and up to US No. 5 in the event this season. With her time, Trusty now sits behind just Chanelle Price, Gabrielle Wilkinson ’18, and Latavia Thomas on Pennsylvania's all-time indoor list.

She will enter the outdoor season at PA No. 7 alltime, with a good chance to move up.

GIRLS' TRACK & FIELD ARE STATE CHAMPIONS The PA Track and Field Coaches Association (PTFCA) Indoor State Championships were held in February at Penn State. With 63 points, girls' track and field (Maya Garrett ’22, Avery Lewis ’24, Miracle Price ’22, Quin Stovall ’24, and Micah Trusty ’22) won the Championship, coming first in five events (60M, 200M, LJ, 800M, 4X200M) and setting some FCS and State records along the way.

The 4X200M relay team of Avery Lewis ’24, Miracle Price ’22, Quin Stovall ’24, and Micah

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Trusty ’22, took gold in 1:42.43 in PA#1 and US#20.

Micah Trusty ’22 won the 800M in 2:11 and currently sits at PA#2 and US#14 with 2:10.28.

Miracle Price ’22 finished 4th in the 800M with a time of 2:14.

The team of Maya Garrett ’22, Miracle Price ’22, Quin Stovall ’24, and Micah Trusty ’22 finished second in the 4X400M with 3:57.48 but sits PA#1 and US#13 with an earlier season time of 3:55.68.

OUTSTANDING SEASON FOR AVERY LEWIS ’24

MASON McCREA ’24 IS MAIN LINE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

MADISON SMITH ’22 JOINS 1K POINT CLUB

Avery Lewis ’24 has had a remarkable season for girls track and field. In January, she won PA Prep Live’s Performer of the Week Poll for PA in January.

In October, Mason McCrea ’24, center mid/forward for the boys’ soccer team, was named Athlete of the Week by PA Prep Live. In the interview, head coach Galen Guindon ’06 said, “Mason is an amazing and mature young person and a super dynamic and intelligent attacking player. He plays well with his back to goal but is most dangerous when he gets into open space and creates for teammates. He is relentless with how much running and ground he is willing to cover over the course of the game.

He’s a true leader by example.”

In November, before the girls basketball season began, PA Prep Live spoke with Madison Smith ’22 about her past seasons and aspirations for the winter games. In the interview she said, “My coaches have been a big influence for me, especially on an emotional level and even on a physical level. They are like my base. At Friends’ Central, this team is the most family-oriented, especially with all the coaches supporting me and helping me mentally grow and physically grow as a player.” During her final season, Madison joined the 1K Club at a game against Westtown in January, scoring her 1,000th point.

A PA Prep Live article titled “A Golden Day for Avery Lewis and Friends’ Central,” documented her success at the PA Track and Field Coaches Association Indoor State Championship in February. The article stated, “In her state meet debut, Lewis put together what is arguably the greatest individual performance ever at the PTFCA Indoor State Championships.” Avery went on to win PTFCA Girls Athlete of the Year for the 2021-2022 indoor season.

In March, Mile Split USA announced that Avery won the National Girls Performer of the Week poll for the week of March 21-March 27, following closely on her first national title at the New Balance Nationals Indoors in March.

Congratulations, Avery!

SKATING CHAMPIONSHIP In December, Julia Epps ’28 (pictured above) took second place in the pairs competition in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Avery Lewis ’24 won three individual events at the PTFCA indoor state championships. She won the 60M in a time of 7.30 (PA#1 and US#5 at the time and an FCS record). Avery has since broken that time (see story above). She won the 200M in 23.74, which is PA#1 and US #3, and the long jump in 19-11.0, which is PA#1 and US#5. She anchored the 4X200M relay.

Middle School Parent/Caregiver/Child Game Day, October 2021 SPRING 2022

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FSL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS 2022 Boys' and girls' swim teams won the Friends School League Championship again this winter – the 18th consecutive title for the boys and the ninth consecutive title for the girls.

EASTERN SWIMMING SUCCESS The swim team had tremendous success in the pool at the Eastern Swimming Championships in February. Individually, Clara Behling ’24 finished fifth in the 200 individual medley with a personal record time. Spencer Thorne ’22 broke the 200 individual medley record, and Hope Lane ’23 broke the 100 free record.

Boys' Swim Team

The Phoenix set a team record in the girls' 200 medley relay, and the girls' 400 free relay and the boys' 200 and 400 free relay all made team and league records.

Girls' Swim Team

Julia Beyer

USROWING 2021 HONOR ROLL

Congratulations to Julia Beyer ’22 on earning Honorable Mention in the USRowing 2021 Scholastic Honor Roll. This year, 160 nominations were received from athletes representing 105 school and club programs across the United States. The USRowing Scholastic Honor Roll recognizes high school seniors who have excelled in both academics and rowing.

Wrestling Team

WRESTLING NATIONALS FCS wrestling crowned two All-Americans, with Mel Diah ’23 finishing third and Roma LoGiurato ’25 finishing fourth in February at the National Preps Wrestling Championship in Maryland. Drew Bukasa ’22 finished in the top 16 at the meet.

FRIENDS SCHOOL LEAGUE HONORS Congratulations to our student-athletes who have earned Friends Schools League honors this fall and winter. All-league and honorable mention squads are selected in each sport at the end of each season by coaches of that sport under the supervision of the sports commissioner using Quaker decision-making principles. Athletic Directors give final approval. In selecting players to the all-league or honorable mention squads, sportsmanship is as important as athletic prowess.

HONORABLE MENTION ALL-LEAGUE:

FIRST TEAM ALL-LEAGUE: Girls’ Cross Country: Micah Trusty ’22, Miracle Price ’22, Quin Stovall ’24 Girls’ Soccer: Juliana Aiken ’22, Julia Burd ’22, Jordyn Paszamant ’22 Boys’ Soccer: Sam Gerber ’22, Max Mattioni ’23 Girls’ Basketball: Sana’a Garrett ’23

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Boys’ Cross Country: Ethan Cohen ’22 Girls’ Swimming: Clara Behling ’24, Chloe English ’24, Penelope English ’26, Hope Lane ’23, Sofia Moran ’23, Claire Pillar ’23 Boys’ Swimming: Ethan Cohen ’22, Finn Hilliard ’24, Hugh Shields ’22, Spencer Thorne ’22 Wrestling: Drew Bukasa ’22, Mel Diah ’23, Austin Vines ’22

Girls’ Cross Country: Sadie Forman ’23 Boys' Soccer: Mason McCrea ’24 Girls’ Soccer: Anna Miller ’22 Boys’ Basketball: Reid Belcher ’24 Girls’ Basketball: Madison Smith ’22 Boys’ Swimming: Cooper Johnson ’23, Holden Kopcsik ’22 Wrestling: Roma LoGiurato ’25

COLLEGE SIGNINGS Congratulations to the following Class of 2022 studentathletes who signed their NLI to play collegiate sports.

Another signing will take place in the spring season.

Jon Aman

Derek Francis

Widener University Baseball

Alvernia University Baseball

Eva Bendesky

Maya Garrett

Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Ballet & Dance

University of Chicago Track & Field

Julia Beyer

Dylan Posencheg Dickinson College Baseball

Smith College Crew

Sam Burman Hofstra University Baseball

Luke Buscaglia University of Maryland Baltimore County Baseball

Caden Carlin Monmouth University Baseball

John Fitzpatrick West Chester University Baseball

Delaney Fox Union College Golf

Miracle Price Virginia State University Track & Field

Madison Smith Ursinus College Basketball

Sydney Stewart

George Washington University Volleyball

Spencer Thorne

Alumni/ae Athletes in the News MAX GINSBERG ’14 was hired by Cornell as Assistant Basketball Coach for the 2021-2022 basketball season. Brian Earl, Head Coach of Men's Basketball, said in an interview, "We are extremely excited to welcome Max back to the Cornell program. During his time as a manager, he demonstrated all the attributes of a future coach. It is great to welcome him home as the newest addition to our staff."

Cornell ended the season this year with a 15-10 record, and they earned an invite to the Ivy League Tournament.

Courtesy of cornellbigred.com

Ithaca College Swimming

Micah Trusty Villanova University Track & Field

Sonya Wilkerson William Smith College Swimming

Courtesy of proudtobeinbaseball.org

BRYAN RUBY ’14 (formerly Rubin) has teamed up with two out collegiate baseball players, Michael Holland and Sam Culwell, and formed an LGBTQ+ nonprofit to create a safe space for queer individuals who participate in the sport at youth, collegiate, and professional levels. In an interview Bryan said, "Definitely, as a queer person, growing up in baseball, it's a tough environment to be in. I am proud to be part of the community, and I am proud to be in baseball.”

Bryan is also the subject of a new feature documentary about his journey as a gay man in baseball.

COLLEGE ATHLETES COACH OF THE YEAR: BRANDON SHELL Brandon Shell, Head Coach of Varsity boys' and girls' track, was recognized the spring by the PA Track and Field Coaches Association as Girls' Coach of the Year.

Brandon shared, “First, I’m honored to be Coach of the Year, but I have to give it to the girls because it was their effort and their hard work that got me recognized. I’m happy for them and proud that they were able to buy into hard work and a winning philosophy. I feel honored because there’s a lot of good coaches in the area. The girls all worked hard, they’ve always been good students of the sport. They have very high track IQs, and they’re all pretty humble. It makes it fun. Genuine hardwork and genuine respect for the accomplishments that come from it. This group of girls pulling it through to be the team that won it before everything stopped and to be the first state champions after everything got back to normal, that made it pretty special.”

AVA FORMAN ’18 won the UAA Track and Field Championship along with her Washington University in St. Louis teammates in February. Ava’s 4X400M team took first and ranks second in the country.

Congratulations to TJ LEWIS ’21 (Neumann University) and ANTONE WALKER ’17 (Wesleyan University) who helped their respective teams win basketball conference titles this winter.

In March, LYDIA RUSSELL ’20 (University of New Mexico) earned her pro card, finishing fourth in the USA Triathlon Developmental race. Her 5K run was 17:08.

BLAKE ROSHKOFF ’20 (Brown University), along with teammate Rachel Mashek, took the national title for 2022 U.S. Squash Intercollegiate Doubles. The event was held in March at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.

Please note: the above is not a comprehensive list. If you have any alumni/ae athletic news to share, please contact communications@friendscentral.org.

SPRING 2022

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“Teaching Good Sex” 10 Years Later

BY AL VERNACCHIO

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n November 20, 2012, the cover story of The New York Times Sunday Magazine was titled “Teaching Good Sex.” It profiled the Sexuality and Society class at Friends’ Central, a unique, interdisciplinary elective course offered to 11th and 12th graders. Our school was celebrated for doing work that few other schools could match. Over the past 10 years, the human sexuality program at FCS has continued to expand, moving into new corners of the Upper, Middle, and Lower School, as well as out to the wider world.

The Sexuality and Society class, first offered in the 2000-2001 school year, was not the start of human sexuality education at Friends’ Central. Helping young people develop healthy sexuality has always been a part of our educational mission. Yet Sexuality and Society was the first course at FCS dedicated solely to the study of human sexuality. The course is still offered each year, and close to 400 students have taken it since its inception. This is especially impressive when noting that the course does not fulfill a graduation requirement. Students take it as a free elective simply because they want an in-depth, student-centered experience of talking about identity, relationships, and navigating the world of sexuality that surrounds them every day. Next year, for the first time, the course will carry an advanced designation.

“The newest addition to the Upper School human sexuality curriculum will begin next year with work on an even more robust program of consent education, thanks to the Edward E. Ford Educational Leadership Grant.”

AL VERNACCHIO

It was the seniors in the Sexuality and Society class who urged me to bring information about healthy sexuality to their younger peers in the Upper School.

After several years of piecing together class meetings for the ninth graders, a schedule change in 2013 opened up space for a new ninth grade class in Human Sexuality to be offered to all students. At first, this was a “rotation” class, one of several short courses ninth graders cycled through during their first year in Upper School. Quakerism was another of these rotation classes. As Quaker Life Coordinator Robyn Richmond and I began to talk about our classes, we came to see that we were pursuing similar goals. Both the Quakerism and Human Sexuality classes seek to help students explore their authentic selves, create healthy relationships based in authenticity and truth, and through those relationships, make the world better. It became clear that our classes could benefit from an even closer connection. We created a new, semester-long required class for all ninth graders where lessons in the Quaker Testimonies sit alongside lessons in gender identity, sexual orientation, and healthy relationships. When the #MeToo movement came into the public’s consciousness, the tenth-grade health class seemed like a good place to create lessons exploring the roots of sexual violence, consent, and teaching strategies for interrupting sexual violence by moving from bystander to upstander. I am happy to partner with health teacher Lisa Mansure to bring these lessons to tenth graders each semester. The newest addition to the Upper School human sexuality curriculum will begin next year with work on an even more robust program of consent education, thanks to the Edward E. Ford Educational Leadership Grant.

As sexuality programming in the Upper School grew, it also became clear that there were opportunities to create age-appropriate lessons and experiences in

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It’s not “just sex”, it’s JUST sex!

Al Vernacchio | TEDxYouth@SanDiego

Edward E. Ford Challenge Complete!

In December 2020, the Edward E. Ford Foundation awarded Friends’ Central School a prestigious Education Leadership Grant to support a Healthy Relationship and Consent Program led by Al Vernacchio and the Upper School Consent Core team. The $250,000 fundraising challenge was achieved in less than one year. The Consent Program will launch in 2023 and will include a regional student conference and a national teacher training Institute. We are grateful to the alumni/ae, families, friends, former faculty, and trustees who supported this effort.

To learn more about becoming a philanthropic partner with FCS, contact Colette Kleitz, Chief Development Officer, at ckleitz@friendscentral.org.

Middle School and Lower School as well. The Upper School administration graciously opened up time in my schedule to allow me to work with the other division principals to create these opportunities.

With my job title shifted to “N-12 Sexuality Education Coordinator,” I was welcomed into Middle School to provide special assemblies on consent, healthy online behavior, the social and emotional aspects of puberty, HIV/AIDS, and helping eighth graders think about the transition to Upper School in terms of sexuality. I have also enjoyed visiting the eighth-grade science classes to talk about sexual orientation and gender identity. Some of my most enjoyable work has happened in Lower School. In fourth grade, we revised the puberty curriculum, and I get to put on my superhero costume and come in as “Puberty Pal,” who puts the “pow-er!'' into puberty! The fifth-grade health curriculum has greatly increased the number of lessons in human sexuality. In the fall, we explore identity through the lenses of our body, gender, and sexual orientation. We explore the difference between a crush and a friendship, and we always talk about the importance of having a team of adults to reach out to for support and encouragement. In the spring, I return to fifth grade to talk about human reproduction and birth. In the lower grades, I am available to come in and read any number of story books that touch on topics like family diversity, gender and LGBTQ+ equity, and more. I am also always “on call” should issues arise in any classroom where I might be helpful.

Several years ago, I went into a third-grade classroom to help the students solve the dilemma of whether the Robin Hood in their puppet show should be played by a boy or a girl. After talking about gender equity and offering the idea that gender could include more than just being a boy or a girl, the students decided to create a nonbinary Robin Hood who could be played by anyone.

In all three divisions, I have offered programs for parents and caregivers and for my fellow faculty members. I love being able to talk with caring adults about how they can become more adept at talking with young people about sexuality. I am always heartened by how the adults in this community are willing to stretch and work through their own discomfort to help our students have meaningful and helpful interactions with adults who love them and care about them.

The New York Times story also opened up many opportunities for me to educate people far beyond the Friends’ Central community. I have had the opportunity to give four TED Talks, all about human sexuality. I wrote a book, Teaching Good Sex, which will be getting a second, revised edition (including an audiobook!) in 2023. I have traveled to schools, colleges and universities, houses of worship, and sexual health organizations throughout the country to speak and offer workshops on various aspects of human sexuality. I have been invited to do media appearances from podcasts to national programs on NPR. All of this is possible thanks to the generosity of the Friends’ Central community, which allows me the time away necessary to do this work.

Helping young people and adults to develop healthy sexuality is my passion, and Friends’ Central has been a place that has nurtured and celebrated that work. I am thankful every day that I found my way here all those years ago, and I am looking forward to the work still to come. QW Al is the recipient of a Woodhull Freedom Foundation 2022 Vicki Sexual Freedom Award (details on page 13).

SPRING 2022

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Better Together: 22 Quaker Schools Partner to Provide Scholarships In just six years, the Friends Collaborative, a partnership of 22 Quaker Schools, grew from raising $200,000 through the Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program to over $10 million this school year to support scholarships at Quaker schools across Pennsylvania. With the vision of founding clerks John Gilliland, FCS parent of an alum and former Trustee at Plymouth Meeting Friends School, and Jeff Markowitz, Germantown Friends School alum and Trustee at Plymouth Meeting Friends School, the Collaborative created partnership and synergy between schools to expand access to scholarship dollars for Friends education.

John Gilliland pointed out, “Early on, we knew that there would be opportunity and power in collaboration, and as the schools pooled resources and expertise, the Friends Collaborative grew to provide for more students than we ever imagined back in 2016.”

For close to 30 years, EITC has enabled companies to contribute to an approved scholarship organization like Friends’ Central and receive a 90% Pennsylvania state tax credit. Individuals are also eligible to participate through Special Purpose Entities (SPE) like those managed by the Friends Collaborative. Since 2016, when the Collaborative obtained their first approval from the State, 100% of dollars raised have funded scholarships.

The Collaborative employs a unique progressive sharing model firmly rooted in our collective Quaker values. The model ensures that a school receives no less than 75% of funds raised. In addition, some donors give to the Collaborative as a whole, and these funds are equally distributed among the member schools. The Collaborative maintains very low overhead by relying on strong volunteerism from the Clerks, volunteers from the schools, and significant in-kind gifts supporting the organization. The Friends Council on Education provides additional support and is the state-approved Scholarship Organization that distributes funds to the individual schools.

For FCS, over $1.3 million in Collaborative support raised our annual tuition assistance program to over $7 million this year. The Collaborative also provides support to new Friends Schools like Lancaster Friends, founded in 2021 and run

by FCS alum and Head of School Andrea Paz Y Mino Carty ’88.

Beth D. Johnson ’77, Head of School remarked, “The Collaborative demonstrates the Quaker testimony of equity as the schools work together with a shared vision to provide access to Friends education for more families including families at FCS. Access and affordability are central to our mission.”

Today, FCS has 47 families, alumni/ae, and friends contributing through the program, including leading support from our FCS Board of Trustees.

“There is no doubt that supporting tuition assistance through the Friends Collaborative is impactful, easy, and makes great financial sense. Rachel and I are proud to support FCS through this program,” said Alex Rolfe ’01, Trustee and current parent.

To learn more about the Friends Collaborative and to determine whether EITC is a good giving vehicle for you or your business, contact Kim Emmons-Benjet, Director of Leadership Giving, at 610.645.4499 or kbenjet@friendscentral.org.

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Celebrating THE COMMITMENT

Support the Friends’ Central Fund DIRECT YOUR GIFT TODAY FOR: HEAD OF SCHOOL DISCRETIONARY FUND FOR GREATEST NEED TUITION ASSISTANCE FACULTY SUPPORT EQUITY AND INCLUSION PROGRAMS & TRAINING ATHLETICS ARTS

www.friendscentral.org/giving

SPRING 2022

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Science at the Lower School

I

t's never too early to start learning about environmental stewardship and our connection to the Earth. Friends’ Central’s Lower School science sets out to teach both in an ever-evolving program, with some exciting additions on the horizon.

“Students are encouraged to explore their own curiosities. We’re interested in what the kids know and what they want to know.” Many Lower School science units culminate in a larger creative piece where students get to use their voices.

“Stewardship begins by embracing where we are and understanding how a connection and love of that place leads to becoming agents of change,” said Lower School Assistant Principal Rowena Castillo Lesher. “Starting with our youngest learners and all the way up to fifth grade, responsibility for the Earth and constant encouragement to explore curiosities and inquiries spark our young minds daily.”

When Tiffany started at Friends’ Central in 2015, she was mentored by legendary long-time Lower School science teacher Peter Grove after whom the Lower School farm, The Grove, is named. Peter retired the following year. “I quickly realized when Peter left, that he did a lot,” said Tiffany, “So I decided to use the current infrastructure to create a sustainable model for our gardens.”

The teachers who oversee the Lower School science program include Natalie Martin, who teaches Nursery, Pre-K, and Kindergarten, and Tiffany Borsch, who teaches first to fifth grades. Natalie and Tiffany work closely together to create a well-rounded curriculum that guides students through the lens of stewardship, encouraging a sense of responsibility for the Earth and our place here.

The annual Lower School Harvest Fest – a weeklong festival focused on the garden – began over 20 years ago.

Tiffany sees this festival as a way to, “get the kids to do the work – the planting, the tending, the harvesting – and then all of the kids get to share in that.” “Starting the previous spring,” explained Natalie, “we work together with the students to prepare the garden, plant the garden, and tend the garden. In Nursery-Kindergarten science classes, we spend our time immersing ourselves in the garden.” During the week of Harvest Fest, students harvest carrots, beans, onions, and more from the garden to create a delicious soup, inspired by the message in the book Stone Soup, which encourages community members to share what they have so everyone can eat.

Before coming to Friends’ Central in 2020, Natalie taught Pre-K at The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education’s Nature Nursery in Roxboro, PA. “[At The Schuylkill Center],” Natalie said, “I learned how to lean into playbased education, and I was able to see how the students engaged with the natural world.”

Tiffany has been a teacher for over 20 years. Her work and classroom style are inspired by her steadfast belief that teaching and giving others the ability to grow their own food is an important way to combat climate change. “Climate change is scary,” she said, “but we have an imperative to teach students about it. So my question is: How do I fill them with hope and empowerment that they can do something? I think that growing your own food is an act of resistance.”

Serving the traditional "Stone Soup" to wrap up the Harvest Fest week this October

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The Science curriculum is designed to be cohesive and build across the grades, explained Natalie. “Throughout the year, we have foundational, community-wide celebrations to orient our curriculum,” she said. “Along with Harvest Fest, we are excited to be adding in a Winter Festival to celebrate the solstice and the return of longer days.”

There will also be a Pollinator Party in the spring.

Head of School Beth D. Johnson '77 and Lower School Principal Melody Acinapura at the ribbon-cutting for the new greenhouse in January

TEACHING STEWARDSHIP & BECOMING AGENTS OF CHANGE

On the gardening front, there are some exciting innovations afoot, including the breaking ground on a new greenhouse on campus. Recently, Natalie worked with Nursery and Pre-K classes to process the luffa (a.k.a. “loofah”) plants that were growing in the garden. “The students had a blast working the luffas by stomping them, throwing them, and smashing them in any way possible in order to loosen the skin enough to peel it off and reveal the spongy fibers within,” she shared. In Natalie’s Kindergarten class, they are exploring the on-campus frog pond, measuring the pH of the pond and learning what constitutes a good environment for a frog. The Kindergarten class is also exploring the forest and gaining firsthand experience with decomposition and the roles that fungi can play within the forest ecosystem.

“ I see it as essential for children to first learn to feel hope and joy in their relationship with the land.”

NATALIE MARTIN

With her older groups, Tiffany began a recent climate-change lesson by asking the students, What have you heard? What do you know?

What do you wonder? “It’s a way for me to take some of what they’ve heard and dispel those myths, discuss what they know, and then lift up those wonders,” she explained. “Most of the ‘wonders’ are, ‘How do we fix it?’”

During the 2019-2020 school year, Tiffany taught her fifth-grade class about Paul Hawken’s Project Drawdown. Her goal was to make the students feel confident when discussing climate change and to empower the students to become climate activists. “Everything we do is geared towards social and environmental justice through the lens of stewardship,” she said. The students selected one of the 100 solutions proposed by Hawken, and they produced short stop-motion Public Service Announcements to try to encourage others – and potentially lawmakers – to make the necessary changes to combat climate change.

In the younger classrooms, Natalie said, “I don’t explicitly teach climate change. However, our curriculum in Nursery-Kindergarten is focused on learning to love and care for the land on which we live and learn.” She uses the beauty of the campus to inspire her students and takes that as the base for her lessons. “I see it as essential for children to first learn to feel hope and joy in their relationship with the land.

The students learn about how to treat the living and nonliving things in their environments with love and respect.”

Tiffany wants people to know that she became a professional gardener less than a decade ago and that anyone can learn how to grow from seed. She wants the people around her, especially her students, to know that they can become farmers too, because, “Everyone needs to eat.” She hopes that her students, “understand where we are – on the Main Line, Pennsylvania, North America, the Earth – and how do we affect that and protect that? What’s our responsibility? That piece guides us, that responsibility.” She went on to say, “We have kids that will transform the world; I really believe that.” QW Excerpted from the full article, published in fcsfeatures.org, Friends' Central's online magazine.

Tiffany teaching in the Lower School garden

“ We have kids that will transform the world; I really believe that.”

TIFFANY BORSCH SPRING 2022

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KA’s A Train, with Tanya Johnson Muse '02 and Shane Glover, KA assistant teacher, at the front.

The Interactive Landmarks Exhibition was part of the fourth grade's thematic Cities study. Students constructed their own interactive circuits out of a Philadelphia landmark they had studied and hand drawn.

Students in 1A at work building their city

Thematic Learning in the Lower School T

hematic education has been an integral and exciting part of the Lower School experience for close to 50 years. Each year, a fall theme is chosen by the Lower School faculty and eagerly anticipated by students. It’s followed by grade-level themes in the spring semester. A fundamental teaching practice in Friends’ Central’s early grades, it lays the foundation for an engagement with learning that carries through into Middle and Upper School.

A holistic approach that unifies disciplines around a central theme, thematic learning plays an essential and ever-evolving role in bringing learning to life. Thematic learning at Friends’ Central Lower School began in the 1970s. Charlotte DeCosta, Lower School Principal at the time, wanted to establish a curricular approach that would unify the community. Quakerism was the very first thematic project. It’s a testament to the power of thematic learning that it continues on to this day, dynamic and ever-changing each year. This year’s all-school theme is Cities, and we spoke with several teachers across the Lower School grades – one of whom also shares her perspective as a former Lower School student – to explore thematic learning in action and discover what makes it so effective.

Johnson Muse ’02 exploring Harlem and Kristi Kallam’s KB students learning about the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan.

Tanya’s class took a deep dive into the Harlem Renaissance.

“We learned about Langston Hughes. We learned about the Savoy Ballroom, one of the first integrated clubs in the US,” she said. “We learned how to do the Charleston, the dance that was popular at that time. We learned about Ella Fitzgerald. I have a Harlem playlist, so the kiddos are singing Ella Fitzgerald all day, listening to Fats Waller, and hearing Langston Hughes recite his poems.”

Tanya’s class also learned about New York’s A train, which was the only way to get to Harlem in the 1920s via public transport.

They listened to Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington’s song about taking the A train and made their very own A train, hanging in the classroom, as a series of images featuring a student’s face in each window. They built their own model of Harlem from the 1920s using recycled materials sent in from home.

INSPIRING CREATIVITY & DEEPER LEARNING

“We learned about the Tree of Hope, which was the center of Harlem and was cut down to make room to enlarge the city,” said Tanya. “The stump of the Tree of Hope is in the Apollo Theater, where the tradition is to rub it for good luck.”

For their study of Cities, the two FCS Kindergarten classes took on different aspects of New York, with KA students of Tanya

Kristi Kallam’s KB students explored Manhattan, a topic she has covered several times in previous years and one that she par-

28 FRIENDS' CENTRAL SCHOOL

ticularly enjoys revisiting, she shared, as it grows and changes each time. “This year’s class wanted to know everything about the Statue of Liberty,” Kristi said. “They were really passionate about it. We read some books. We investigated why the statue is greenish-blue, doing some experiments with pennies (from before 1983 when pennies contained actual copper) to observe the change from copper to green.”

KB also studied the Brooklyn Bridge, and the teachers constructed a suspension bridge in the classroom, with input from the students.

Students in KB also built their own model of the city using recycled objects. Through their study of some Manhattan artists, Kristi and Sofia Seidel ’13, KB’s Assistant teacher, decided to introduce students to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (‘the Met’). KB held their own pop-up Met exhibition, inviting in students from other grades to visit.

EXPLORING NATIVE CULTURES & THE ORIGINS OF CITIES First grade teacher Jessica Magin's students, for their thematic study, have been exploring what it means to live in a city. “We began our journey by learning about indigenous people – specifically the Lenni Lenape – and the origins of how a city is born,” Jessica shared. “Next, we pondered how people get in and out of the city.

We explored all forms of transportation and created some of our own in The Ulmer Family Light Lab using a variety of materials.

Soon after, we invited family members to share with the class cities they visited, work in, and that are special to them. We learned about Barcelona, Saltzburg, Septa Transportation, and a small town in Australia named Yackandandah. We engaged in conversations with Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Donna Bullock about who makes the laws, why they are important, and how they get passed. We spoke about laws we already know about and the ones we would like to see happen. These discussions pair nicely with our current lessons on civil rights.”

“We have been taking what we learn about these cities to create our own sculptures, homes, and green spaces inspired by the cities we have been introduced to from our greater 1A community,” Jessica said. “Students have been collecting recyclables to help create city structures. We are currently at the stage of seeing all our hard work come together as we build our city. We participated in a voting process to determine the name of the city. Each child submitted a name, and we eventually narrowed down the name to Black Panther City. Teacher Brie has been helping us identify which essential businesses we are missing in our city. We are currently in the process of creating a book about Black Panther City and the many characteristics of and happenings in our city.”

LEARNING EMPATHY THROUGH THE LENS OF THE FALL THEME “We’re doing some really exciting things in fifth grade around thematic learning,” shared fifth-grade teacher Sue Clough. “With the theme of Cities, we decided that we wanted to focus on food insecurity; we wanted to target a problem in the city and then walk ourselves through the design thinking process with the kids to have them come up with a solution or relevant service project.”

Step one is building empathy through a thorough exposure to the topic. “We read plenty of books, we talked, and we watched videos of kids that don’t have enough to eat telling their stories,” she explained.

“We asked kids to reflect on how it makes them feel, to have those who haven’t experienced food insecurity understand what it’s like from the perspective of someone who has. Part of that is also having interviews with experts who are on the ground working to help alleviate food insecurity as well as people who are exposed to it.”

“The fifth graders are learning about food deserts – What is a food desert, and why are food deserts linked to obesity? – to help build empathy,” shared Sue. “... It’s not just a matter of accessing food, it’s also a matter of accessing healthy food. Why do people eat at McDonalds so much? Because you can feed a family of four for around $10, right? It’s not healthy, but it fills stomachs.”

“The kids will take all of this information and research that they’ve done and bring it together, and we’ll brainstorm some kind of a service project to address food insecurity in some way. ... The students will come up with the project and will run it, and then we debrief at the end of it, which is the final stage of the process.”

GENERATING NATURAL CONTEXTS FOR LEARNING “Our math program is all about context, so it fits beautifully with this, because the theme creates a context,” said Sue Clough. “We just finished our unit on decimals, for example, so now we’re working with budgets and money, and students are practicing all the skills that we just finished. I’m about to start a math project where students are given a minimum wage salary. This is what you’d make in a month if you were on minimum wage. These are all the expenses that come with living in Philadelphia – taxes, rent – and this is what you have left to spend on food. Here are grocery store flyers from all over the city. You’ve now got $50 to feed a family of four.

And how do you do that? Sue Borrero, FCS Technology Integration Specialist, is coming in to teach students how to use a spreadsheet and how to enter numbers so they can come up with the budget.

And then we’re going to make some hard decisions about what you give up, if that’s all the money you have. We look at SNAP benefits – What does it cover? What does it not cover?” It’s mathematics skills applied to a context that is also designed to build empathy.

In the younger grades, the contexts for learning that the theme generates may be more basic, but they are equally powerful teaching tools. In their study of the Statue of Liberty, Kindergarten students in Kristi Kallam’s class used the physical spaces around them to understand numbers and scale. “We learned that the Statue of Liberty has 354 stairs to the crown. We took a math excursion and went and counted all the stairs in the Lower School,” shared Kristi. “We realized that there are 337 stairs that are accessible to KB students and compared that to the 354 in the Statue of Liberty. We mapped out a room to understand how big her eye is in real life to compare and contrast with the size of our own eyes.”

BUILDING COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLABORATION KB assistant teacher Sofia Seidel ’13 shared how much she appreciates working as a team with Kristi Kallam. “Our creative ideas really bounce off each other. And it really triangulates with the students’ interests, too. We’re all feeding off of each other,” Sofia said.

“What’s so amazing about the thematic project is that it really sets people up for collaboration,” she continued. “It sets up collaboration between teachers, and it sets us up for collaboration with our students. Everyone brings their own background and their own knowledge and interests to the theme. Cities as a theme is broad, and we’re all coming at it from our own angle. It also breeds collaboration amongst the classes and amongst the different grades.

When KB had our Met art exhibit, other classes visited, and they wrote us cards. It’s an opportunity at every level for the whole School to participate. I loved that as a student myself. I remember it being the most exciting thing to visit other classrooms.”

Excerpted from the full article, published in fcsfeatures.org, Friends' Central's online magazine.

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Reunion2022Schedule.qxp_Layout 1 4/4/22 12:26 PM Page 1

Celebrate With Us ALUMNI/AE DAY Saturday, May 7, 2022

Event Schedule 9:00 am Alumni/ae Registration WELCOME TENT

10:15 – 11:00 am Meeting for Worship FELSEN COMMON

11:30 am Alumni/ae Celebration Meet your classmates for the festivities Immediately following: Welcome Beth Davis Johnson ’77 as she begins her tenure as the first alumna Head of School Distinguished Alumna/us Awards 12:30 pm Class Photos FELSEN COMMON AND TERRACE

12:45 pm Alumni/ae Day Luncheon 1955-1972 MAIN BUILDING TERRACE

1973-2021 GIRLS’ FIELD UNDER THE TENT

Archives OPA ROOM

3:30 pm Alumni/ae of Color Tea MAIN BUILDING TERRACE

Hosted by David Williams ’75 and the Alumni/ae of Color Affinity Committee honoring our first alumna Head of School Beth D. Johnson ’77 Evening Individual Class Parties

30 FRIENDS' CENTRAL SCHOOL

NOTES FROM FRIENDS SHARE YOUR ALUMNI/AE NEWS Friends’ Central School encourages all alumni/ae to share news in the “Notes from Friends” section of Quaker Works. Send us your photos! To contribute, email communications@friendscentral.org (All alumni/ae notes are edited for length, grammar, and content.)

1943

Dorothy Jeanne Coleman Dangerfield reminisces, "Life takes funny turns; my life's ambition was to be a cartographer, but in 1939, the chief cartographer for the National Geographic gave me the greatest put-down ever because I was a female, which totally discouraged my father from sending me to college to pursue that goal. Since I was a jock, physical education was next on my list. A few weeks before I was scheduled to start at Penn State as a physical education major, I walked up a toboggan slide at 2 am, and I caught my toe in a hole, ripping my meniscus in my knee, thus ending a physed career after one month. The federal government had established the United States Cadet Nursing Corps, and since World War II was in full strength, I decided I would do my bit by joining up. The war ended before I graduated in 1947. I worked as a graduate nurse for a year, before Ben and I married in 1948, and then I mostly was a mother until 1961, when my youngest child started

school full time. Just before, an aunt had dropped enough money from the sky to pay the tuition for me to return to college.

In 1966, I received my BS and started teaching science and geography in a junior high school and attending another college for a master's in history. I finally ended my education in 1971. I could not go any further for passing one language requirement was all I wished to struggle through. I taught social studies for the next 22 years, thoroughly enjoying my seventh to ninth graders, but the lure of seeing the world was too strong to resist. Shortly after Ben retired, I joined him, and we embarked on the world, reaching about 115 countries."

1947

J. Richard Relick shares, “Three months ago, I moved from my residence in Cuenca, Ecuador to Belfast, Maine. The virus forced my hand, as I had not planned on moving.

Going into the Amazon jungle, floating down the Amazon river, having a walkabout on the Galapagos islands and sailing through

Sally Price Lindsay Honey '62

the Panama Canal were great experiences, and there was more I’d hoped to accomplish there.”

1948

Virginia Keim Cole reports, “I have been living with my eldest daughter out in Front Royal, Virginia for the last three years. The area is very nice in the Shenandoah Valley, and I'm near my other daughter who’s in Delaplane, Virginia, just 20 minutes away.

I celebrated my 91st birthday back in 2021.

We have done well during this time of COVID-19 and the lockdowns. My extended family has done well. Added to my family was a great-grandson who turns two years of age in June 2022. His name is Tyler Andrew Johnson-Cole. We did lose a family member back in June 2021 – my daughter-in-law, Melanie, a nurse who died of pancreatic cancer. Other than that, I have been healthy and enjoying life to the fullest.

Should any of my classmates wish to contact me, they may either write to my daughter’s address or to her email address.”

Nancy Warwick Tarlton shares, “My husband, Joe, and I are both 92 years old and living in the middle of a snowstorm in R.I. Our three children and their families live nearby. We are doing fine, just staying 'put' in the middle of the pandemic.”

1952

Carol Jerjisian Churukian shares, “Although I am no longer playing the organ for area churches, I am collaborating with a pianist presenting original fourhand duets by composers such as Barber, Bizet, Mendelssohn, Mozart and Schubert, as well as arrangements for four hands of orchestral works.”

Patricia Carroll Shuss reports, “I moved to Colorado recently to be near my son and his family. During the quasi-lockdown that was SPRING 2022

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ALUMNI/AE NEWS required by my community, I was able to write a memoir! I finished it in June 2021, and it is available on Amazon. Called A Summer Place, it is about my family who summered at Twin Lakes, CT in an unfinished cottage from 1900 to the present. I gave a bit of history and focused on my own summers there. Lots of photos, some of which are over 100 years old! It was FCS who started me off on my writing career!”

1953

Francis Markland writes, “Nine family members, including my wife, Wendy, and I, spent a great week at a house on 66th St. in Brant Beach on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, close to the house my great-uncle purchased back in 1936 on 39th St. in Brant Beach (that house is presently owned by another family, as it was sold by my mother in 1984 when my father passed away, much to my dismay). We had such a wonderful time that we are returning again this August with perhaps as many as 12 family members and friends.”

1954

Catherine Saunders Clark shares, “I am still married, still living in PA, and still practicing law (taxes and probate matters), and I hope I can keep it up for a while longer. I know it has helped keep me sane during the COVID-19 pestilence! Our military son retired from the Air Force several years ago and is living nearby, although his three daughters are in college in Georgia and South Carolina. The other son is still in San Diego, but his older daughter is in college in Tennessee. The last granddaughter is still in high school in South Dakota, and we still have hope that she will break the grits-andcorn-pone pattern by coming to the Northeast for college. I correspond with Robby Cannon Crouse and would love to hear from other classmates as well.”

1959

Osborn Cresson shares that his article, "Radical Love in the Meetinghouse: Uniting as Friends in Diverse Meetings," was published in the December 2021 issue of Friends Journal. “Trying to love someone whose religious views are not your own? A good way is to let speakers speak as led, while listeners translate into their own terms, responding to where the words come from, listening, and speaking from the heart.”

Richard Graves is pleased to write, “In 1963, when I was a senior in college, my family including my brother, Larry Graves ’63, was the host family of FCS's German exchange

32 FRIENDS' CENTRAL SCHOOL

Covers of books by Dennis Linnehan '62

student Hans Moosauer ’63. We all remained great friends over the years, with many trips back and forth between the US and Germany. Hans's son Florian now lives in London, where my daughter Lauren and her husband have been living for two years, and they have become good friends. The Friends' Central international friendship has moved to a second generation."

1960

Robert Levin reports, “my new book, LOLLIPOP: A VISTA Lawyer in Chicago: Sept. 1967 - Sept. 1968, is available ONLY from Spruce Hill Books, POB 9492, Berkeley 94709, for $15 (or at www.theboblevin.com) – murders and romance (all mainly true).”

1961

Ann Ginsburgh Hofkin shares, "I am not retired (not in my playbook), so I continue to work as an artist (photographer) and poet, always trying to uncover and illuminate some of the things that capture my imagination. Over the past few years, I have been fortunate enough to have participated in artist residencies in Iceland, Grand Marais (MN), and the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology in Cascade Head, Oregon. In the fall of 2022, I will take part in an artist residency at the Vermont Studio Center.

This past fall, along with the assistance of Linda Waxman Wasserman '75, several of us from the Class of 1961 (Julie Pontz Curson, Lynne Iverson Neefe, Richard Allman, and I) worked hard to contact and gather together members of our FCS class for a Zoom Reunion. I truly believe that those of us who were able to attend thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and since time had run out on the initial program, many of us were able to revisit the encore meeting that we arranged shortly thereafter."

1962

Sally Price Lindsay Honey shares, "My husband, Stan, and I sailed our 40' sailboat from San Francisco to Rhode Island through the Panama Canal, leaving in 2014, arriving in 2019. We prepared her for the Newport to Bermuda race in 2020, but it was canceled due to COVID, so we headed to Maine and

enjoyed two seasons cruising Down East to Roque Island and back. We enjoyed meeting many old and new friends along the way.

Our boat, Illusion, is now back in Rhode Island as we prepare for the same race this coming summer.

Separately, I have been very involved with safety at sea: chair of US Sailing's Safety at Sea committee for three years before being elected to chair of World Sailing's Special Regulations safety committee last year. It is a four-year term, and I am finding it challenging and time-consuming, but important to help all sailors enjoy the sport safely.

Thinking often of all the wonderful folks in the Class of '62 and wishing I could be more in touch than I have been."

Dennis Linnehan shares, "Elaine and I will celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary later this year. Within the last year, I have self-published two more landscape photography books: Yellowstone & Grand Teton Splendor and Zion National Park Splendor, bringing the total published to seven books.

The first Yellowstone & Grand Teton Splendor photography book sold out last year.

Elaine and I traveled out west for 38 days in 2021, exploring many Utah state parks and unique areas to incorporate in a new landscape book on all of Utah, with a publishing date to be determined."

1965

Ann Judson Ratcliffe writes, “my husband, Temple, and I are residing in a wonderful Lancaster continuing care facility, Willow Valley Communities, Management has been enormously protective during the Pandemic.”

Ann Ginsburgh Hofkin '61

Seven from the Seventies Reconnect with FCS A group of former FCS teachers and classmates from the 1970s recently reconnected with Friends’ Central and each other to support Beth Davis Johnson ’77’s leadership and the School.

“Each of us feel a high regard and deep affection for Friends' Central School. We arrived in the 70s – a time of change and adventure – and were mentored by talented, caring faculty and administrators. Each of us entered and continued lifelong careers in education as teachers, coaches, administrators, and school heads. Friends' Central played a critical role in shaping our lives. To that end, we have jointly decided to make an important gift to FCS in order to help meet the required match for the Edward E. Ford Foundation's $250,000-challenge grant in support of the Healthy Relationships & Consent Program. The importance and timing of this gift is founded on the belief that Friends’ Central is in good hands under the leadership of Beth Davis Johnson '77.

We invite you to join us in supporting our School.”

Christopher Dorrance, Timothy Golding, Robert Hallett, James Heus, Grant Jacks '75, Michael Mersky '72, and Harvey Zendt

1966

Marcia Kephart McKeon is pleased to share, “I am now the grandmother of a beautiful granddaughter, 'Evie' Genevieve Margaret Austin born 01/31/2020 to my son Hudson. And my grandson Jack is now 11 and a half years old and 5'11. He gets all As and is in two honors classes.”

1968

Claire Janosik Griffin reports, “In 2013, my young adult novel, Nowhere to Run, was published and then selected by Kirkus Reviews as a Book of the Year. In 2021, my adult novel, A Rebellious Woman, came out. It is biographical fiction for adults based on the life of a real woman of the South named Belle Boyd who came of age during the Civil War. I was attracted to the story (17 years in the writing!) because Belle was determined to live

her own life outside of male control, a near impossibility in 19th century America. This puts her on the right side of feminism but the wrong side of slavery. She was a product of her times and never had the epiphany about slavery that readers wish for. Yet the chapters written from the point of view of enslaved woman Eliza Corsey Hopewell show that their lives were interwoven in many complex ways. For example, Belle taught Eliza to read.

It’s a subtle book for not-so-subtle times, reminding us that our history is more complicated than we realize.”

1971

Elizabeth Fried was recently elected to a second term on the New Rochelle City Council. “It's been a challenge to lead a city through COVID, major hurricanes, and the legalization of cannabis.”

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ALUMNI/AE NEWS

2022 Distinguished Alumna Karen Horikawa ’77

ALUMNI/AE NEWS

Karen Horikawa '77 is recognized as Friends' Central's Distinguished Alumna at Alumni/ae Day 2022 for her achievements in Quaker education and for her long and caring involvement with Friends' Central School.

Karen earned a BA in Biology from Colgate University and has been a leader in the science department at Wilmington Friends School for the past 20 years, including serving as Middle School Teacher and Curriculum Coordinator.

Karen served as a Friends' Central Trustee from 2000 to 2016, and she helped to shape the vision and strategy of the School over that time. Karen's siblings, Mark '79 and Joyce '80, and her nephew, Alexander Horikawa-Torno '14, are FCS alums, and Karen's mother, Miiko Horikawa, was a long-time librarian at the FCS Lower School.

2022 Distinguished Alumnus Andrew Newcomb ’87 Andrew Newcomb ’87 is recognized as Friends' Central's Distinguished Alumnus at Alumni/ae Day 2022 for his long and caring involvement with Friends' Central School.

After graduating from FCS, Andy earned his BA in History from Trinity College.

He is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at MissionOG, which partners with high-growth businesses that have proven models in segments where they have had success as operators and investors, including Fintech, data platforms, and software. He also serves as a Board Director for Bridge Financial Technology and as a Board Observer for d1g1t Inc., Onbe, and Sayari Lab. Andy has served as a long-time leader in the FCS community, including a term on the Board of Trustees from 2015 to 2019. Andy's mother, Ann Satterthwaite, is a Trustee Emerita, after serving on the FCS Board between 1986 and 2015.

34 FRIENDS' CENTRAL SCHOOL

ALUMNI/AE NEWS Léa, is a freshman at Wake Forest University. My French husband and I hope to spend more time in the future in Florida where my parents live now.”

Jay Carlson '83 at his daughter Ava's Dartmouth College signing

1973

Eliza Schwab Petersen writes, “I recently relocated back to Colorado with my husband, three horses, and Max the cat. Now closer to the kids and two new grandbabies.

I’m still dabbling in audiology but heading towards retirement.”

1987

Mark Levy recently moved to Miami (from D.C.) to take on the role as CEO of a private equity real estate investment platform.

Paul Paz y Mino writes, “Hi to FCS friends!

Many classmates will remember my passion for Genesis – it hasn't waned. Back in 1986, Seth Lundy and I went to see Genesis for the first time (and many times thereafter). In November 2021, we went together to their farewell tour with his wife Michelle and 17-year-old son Mikey, coming full-circle.

1988

In April, Sonya Sklaroff released her latest limited edition artist book, A Love Letter to New York City, along with a major solo show of recent paintings and drawings held in the historic Algonquin Hotel. In conjunction with the exhibition and book launch, LinkNYC displayed six of Sonya’s colorful paintings of New York City on all 3500 digital kiosks around the city.

1989

Jim Christy is finishing a feature film based on his award-winning play Love and Communication about parents struggling with their school district (and each other) after their child is diagnosed with autism. Info at: loveandcommunication.com. Jim has a day

1976

Susan Ravdin reflects, “Sharing 'updates' or 'news' implies changes to our lives. Right now, I'm just happy to report that everything is fine, though pretty much the same; the only change is that we can't yet travel as we used to. I was glad the US-Canada border opened in time for holidays with family, though.”

1983

Jay Carlson is pleased to share, “My daughter Ava is a senior at Moorestown Friends School and just had her signing day to play field hockey at Dartmouth College.”

1984

Daniel Porter reports, “After launching Overtime, a next generation sports media platform that has grown to reach 250 million people a month, I launched Overtime Elite in the fall of 2021. Overtime Elite is the first professional basketball league built to empower the next generation of athletes and compensate athletes rightfully for their labor. Overtime Elite is built for all the Overtime fans and is based in Atlanta, where I have been spending time. The league is backed by over 30 NBA players and musicians such as Drake, Quavo, and more.”

1985

Robynne Slotnick Pendaries shares, “I am still living in Paris (since college graduation) and running my business as a Professional Organizer. My son Adrien just graduated from Duke and has become a professional golf player here in Europe. My daughter,

Pieces from Sonya Sklaroff '88's exhibition “A Love Letter to New York City” SPRING 2022

35

ALUMNI/AE NEWS ABOUT TANYA JOHNSON MUSE '02

Tanya Johnson Muse ’02

Titles: lead Kindergarten teacher and Varsity cheerleading coach Grades taught at FCS other than Kindergarten: Nursery, Pre-K First FCS teaching gig: summer camp counselor, age 11 Last stop before joining the FCS faculty: Rosemont College Connections to FCS: The quadruple: I’m the daughter of a longtime administrator (and alumna), I was a student (a lifer), I’m a teacher, and I’m a parent.

Tanya Johnson Muse ’02, a lead Kindergarten teacher and Varsity cheerleading coach at Friends’ Central School, is a woman who never stops.

By her own admission, she doesn’t always know how to turn off her teaching engine. And teaching the Muse way means a lot of movement, gesture, dancing, and an endless flow of joyful conversation. Even when she was temporarily derailed by an acute health crisis last year (don’t worry, she’s fine), Muse managed to grab all of her teaching gear and lesson plans on her way to the Emergency Room so she could stay in touch with her students and work from her hospital bed. Her doctors were impressed, and maybe a little concerned.

“We’re afraid,” they joked, “that your body might not be able to tolerate even the briefest of pauses.”

Muse’s energy, her playfulness, and the physicality of her teaching style are a perfect match for her roles in the Kindergarten classroom and the gym at FCS, the school that’s been an integral part of her world since childhood. A lifer as a student, she took an assistant teaching job at FCS right out of college and never left. Since taking over as a lead Kindergarten teacher in 2019, Muse has worked tirelessly to create bold, immersive, play-heavy academic units for her Kindergarten students, some of which focus on subjects that most parents don’t expect their children to start learning about until they’re teenagers, such as the Harlem Renaissance.

To read more about Tanya's work on the Harlem Renaissance and thematic learning in the Lower School, see Page 29.

Why FCS has always been a part of my life: My mother is Beth Davis Johnson ’77, Head of School and lifetime FCS employee.

Pioneering role: I’m the School’s first African American legacy—the first African American FCS graduate who’s also the child of an alumna/us.

Skill most required to teach Kindergarten: Patience What I think makes FCS different from other schools: Love. It’s the essence of Friends’ Central. Everyone here feels it.

We love what we do; we love each other.

Favorite place at FCS: The pond and the woods.

I helped dig the pond as a student, and I still go there almost every day.

If I wasn’t a teacher I would be: A psychologist.

It was my major in college.

Super power that everyone knows: I like to talk. A lot.

Super power that few people know: Singing Ella Fitzgerald songs in the car.

Why music has always been a part of my life: My dad was the pastor and organist at my church, and my mother is the musical director.

Music genre that speaks to me: ’90s R&B, although growing up, gospel was a big part of my life too (and perhaps had more of the parental stamp of approval)

A model of Harlem built by Tanya's students as part of their Cities fall thematic studies project

36 FRIENDS' CENTRAL SCHOOL

Touchstone ’90s R&B track: “Lost Ones” by Lauryn Hill

ALUMNI/AE NEWS critically ill patients. I remain active in sports medicine as well and currently serve as a National Team Physician for the U.S. Virgin Islands Lacrosse Teams, seeking qualification for the Olympics in Paris 2024.”

Lisa Kay Solomon writes, “I am excited to share that I was recently named to Thinkers50 2022 Radar List for my work on futures thinking, innovation in K12 and civic fellowship. I also recently spoke to FCS teachers on bringing futures thinking to FCS classrooms!”

1987 Classmates Paul Paz y Mino (left) and Seth Lundy with Seth's son Mikey and wife Michelle

job working for the man (Optum), and lives in Princeton with his wife Mary and their three (!) teenagers.

Keith Robinson reports, “I am a Senior Medical Director at a mid- sized contract

1992 research organization, Syneos Health. At the time of filing this note, I've co-authored 23 Pulmonary/ Critical Care COVID-19 protocols which have led to three approved treatments, one emergency use therapy, and four studies ongoing to treat the most

Jessica Christie Morowitz reflects, “My 30th high school graduation is this year.

My grandmother, Jean Radcliffe MacKay Christie ’36, graduated from FCS 56 years before me. She loved any invitation to the School. She particularly loved to attend Friends' Central's Grandparents’ Day, bouncing between me and my sister Sarah

Lindsay Bedford ’07 Lindsay Bedford '07 graduated last June from Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts and Design with a Master of Science in Interior Architecture and Design. Last summer, she was recognized by Mural Arts PhiladelALUMNI/AE NEWS phia as one of 20 artists to receive a Fellowship for Black Artists. She’s preparing to embark on a Mural Arts collaboration with the Percy Street Project, a public outdoor art gallery space located in South Philadelphia. Her project will consist of rose petals of different sizes creating a processional path directly on Percy Street itself, meant to subliminally guide the movement of those looking to commemorate love at Percy Street. Lindsay wanted to evoke the image of petals scattered at a wedding as an homage to love that has blossomed for herself and others at Percy Street. One of the murals already in Percy Street was commissioned by a couple to celebrate their engagement, and they also commissioned a yarn-bomb installation with the theme of a love letter.

Lindsay’s engagement with Philadelphia’s arts and cultural scene continues to grow. She was one of four artists selected to participate in a collaboration between Mural Arts and the Philadelphia Ballet called Behind the Stage Door, an interactive multimedia performance taking place this spring that explores the “invisible” forces that bring the ballet to life. Lindsay will be creating an art installation on a door that will be featured in public Philadelphia Ballet performances throughout Philadelphia this spring. Again, tapping into a floral theme, Lindsay will create a “curtain” of flower blooms, with the various blooms representing the diverse Philadelphia community and the broadening landscape of dance represented by the company’s dancers from around the world.

Lindsay Bedford '07 at Percy Street conducting a site survey

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ALUMNI/AE NEWS

(From left) Former FCS Drama teacher Terry Guerin with Kehinde Whetstone '00; Kehinde's mother, author Diane McKinney-Whetstone; Teresa Ryan Whetstone '00; Kennedy '33 (front) and Ryan (in Teresa's arms) at a talk given by Diane at the Paul Robeson House & Museum in March

grandmother, also graduated from FCS, and we share the same birthday.

I am really looking forward to being back on campus this spring and reconnecting with classmates and friends. I often reflect fondly on my years at FCS (1980-1992) and have some wonderful friends from my years at FCS.” Jean Radcliffe MacKay Christie ’36, grandmother of Jessica Christie Morowitz ’92, at the Friends' Central graduation 1936

who is four years my junior. I regret that I didn't ask my grandmother more about her time at FCS, undoubtedly so much different than my own experience. I do remember that she spoke with love for the school and remained best friends with her classmate Eleanor Demmert Farquhar ’36 until Aunt Demi's death in 1993. Aunt Demi's daughter, Jeannie Farquhar ’70, named for my

1997

AnnMarie Polsenberg Thomas shares, “As part of my lab's work with the rock band OK Go, we have created six music videos involving nearly 15,000 people from around the world. The "Art Together Now" project brought together the art and music skills of individuals and schools. The videos can be found here: okgosandbox.org/art-together-now.” AnnMarie is a Professor of Engineering and Business at the University of St. Thomas, where she is the founder of the Playful Learning Lab, and created OK

Go Sandbox with the band, OK Go, in 2017.

Recently, AnnMarie was named one of the winners of the 2021 Falling Walls Engage science engagement prize in Berlin, Germany, for her work creating the OK Go Sandbox project, and also won the 2020 LEGO prize.

2000

Emily Mayer reports, "Last year, I developed and sold my documentary series Book of Queer to Discovery+ which will premiere during Pride Month in June.”

Teresa Ryan Whetstone and Kehinde Whetstone write, “We recently celebrated our youngest daughter Ryan Whetstone’s first birthday. Her big sister is a happy FCS first grader, loving all that the Lower School has to offer. Kehinde and I enjoy reminding Kennedy of all of the fun things that FCS offered us sooo long ago.”

Nicolaus Wright shares, “My wife and I recently welcomed a foster youth into our lives, which required a very fortunate move into a large house in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, I have transitioned jobs after eight years from a well-respected local landscape architecture office to join Snohetta, an international interdisciplinary design firm, as their lead landscape architect in San Francisco.”

2001

Sloane Veronica Wasserman, daughter of Sarah and Joshua Wasserman '02, and granddaughter of Linda Waxman Wasserman '75 was born on February 8, 2022.

38 FRIENDS' CENTRAL SCHOOL

Carly Segal is now living in LA. She has been working as a TV producer since graduating from USC. She spent a few years in NYC, where she worked for NBC News on Dateline and the Today Show, before moving to LA and spending a few seasons with American Idol. In the last year, she produced the Fresh Prince Reunion, the Grammy Awards, and Friends: The Reunion, for which she was Emmy-nominated! “Inspired by trick-or-treating for UNICEF at FCS in Lower School,” Carly became an active member of UNICEF’s Next Generation and prior to the pandemic, traveled with UNICEF to Jamaica, South Africa, and the Dominican

ALUMNI/AE NEWS

Julian Shapiro-Barnum ’17

ALUMNI/AE NEWS

Just graduated from college, Julian Shapiro-Barnum ’17 has his own online show, Recess Therapy, which was recently featured in The New York Times and on The Today Show and Upworthy and now has close to one million followers.

Recess Therapy, released via a weekly YouTube video and several weekly social media posts, consists of Julian himself interviewing children on the streets of New York, getting their take on a wide range of subjects from movies, animals, and jazz to more profound topics such as climate change, life after death, and the meaning of life. His natural approach to talking to children generates insightful and often very funny interviews that have captured a great deal of positive attention.

“I’m trying to curate a brand that is positive and uplifting, and I think I’ve stuck to it,” Julian said. Within a short space of time, Recess Therapy has become a well-oiled and professional operation. Initially, Julian did all the editing himself, but he now has an editor, Will Halbert, to help. Generating one episode each week, Julian and friend Julia Ty Goldberg film for five or six hours, doing between 16 and 25 interviews, and Will then edits the footage.

“We’re at the point where I don’t have to make that many edits.

Will knows what I’m looking for,” he explained.

It has become much easier for Julian to find willing interviewees, as he is now recognized by many parents on the streets of New York, and he has generated trust with his respectful approach.

Once he establishes contact with the parents and has their permission, he talks directly to the child while they walk to the filming spot to create a comfortable, easy space that’s just about the conversation. Julian and Julia, behind the camera, have established non-verbal cues to keep the subject from feeling self-conscious while being filmed.

Reflecting back on his time at Friends’ Central, Julian feels it was integral to what he does now. Former FCS drama teacher Terry Guerin, he said, “trusted me and gave me a chance, which so rarely happens in the professional world. She gave me so many opportunities and was so encouraging of all the weird, artistic things I wanted to do, in a way that a lot of people haven’t been. I’m very appreciative of her continuing support.

“Recess Therapy is a way for Julian to be his charming self,” said Terry Guerin. “One of his greatest gifts as an actor at Friends’ Central was sharing his joy of storytelling and performing on stage in character. He always had ideas about how to make his own statement, how to utilize his art, and you see that in Recess Therapy. He really turned in some amazing performances – a peak one for me was when he played Prior Walter in Angels in America. He was only a sophomore at the time.”

Excerpted from the full article, published in fcsfeatures.org, Friends' Central's online magazine.

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The Fifer family at the 2021 wedding of Libby '09; (from left) Megan Fifer '96, Mark Fifer, Libby Fifer '09, Ginger Fifer, Mark Fifer '96, and their families

Republic. She continues to keep a placard of The Golden Rule “that we made the first week of Ginger Fifer’s 1988 KB class framed on my desk. Seriously! I haven’t told her that but keep meaning to. Hi, Mrs. Fifer!”

In family news, my husband, Tim, and I are expecting our second child this summer.

Big brother Ethan (three years old) doesn’t quite know what to think of this yet, but we know he’ll figure it out!

2002

Lots of love from our little family to all of you.

Wishing you a healthy and happy spring!"

David Gershkoff Slusky is on research sabbatical in Stockholm through the summer, from his position as a tenured Professor of Economics at the University of Kansas. He was also on an episode of Freakonomics M.D. recently: “Is Uber Good or Bad for your Health?”

Benjamin Feldman directed Bug Out, a four-part Amazon Studios documentary series about the Philadelphia Insectarium bug heist! The show launched on March 4, 2022 on Amazon Prime Video!

2004

Sara Viola writes, "Hello, FCS! Well, it has truly been a very strange way to start my career as an ICU doctor and lung specialist after finally completing 10 years of training in 2019. I have also launched my hospital’s COVID-19 survivors’ clinic where we care for patients who survive prolonged critical illness due to the worst effects of the virus.

I have often thought of you all and hope you stay safe and healthy while still somehow maintaining that special feeling of community and togetherness.

40 FRIENDS' CENTRAL SCHOOL

2005

Katharine Fussner reports, “I have signed a two-book deal with Katherine Tegen Books/ HarperCollins. A queer in-verse retelling of "Orpheus and Eurydice," my debut follows the story of two middle school girls learning to love each other and themselves as they fight not to lose one another and is slated for publication in summer 2023. My second book will follow in summer 2024.”

2007

Amanda Carr Giardino shares, “After graduating from Franklin and Marshall, I returned to Drexel for an accelerated bachelor in nursing degree. I met my husband (who is a pediatrician), and we are now working together at his pediatric practice. We married in 2021 and are expecting a little girl in April!”

2009

Michael Murray writes, “In November 2021, I started a job as the Associate Director for Major Gifts with Northwestern University Athletics. I'm incredibly excited and hon-

ored to work in philanthropy and athletics at such a prestigious institution!”

2016

Samuel Veith writes, “Hey, folks! I've just moved to Australia for six months (or one year?) to work as a boarding school counselor! Feel free to check out specifics about my trip at Veithbros.com/aussie.”

2019

Ran (Camilla) Liu shares, “I got an investment banking internship this summer and am planning to start my full-time there next year, hopefully January.”

Amanda Carr Giardino '07 and husband, John

IN MEMORIAM Bruce Beckwith '54

Miiko Horikawa

Dwight Speaker '47

Mary Beth Griffith Berggren '48

Arley Johnson '87

Sally Folger Speaker '47

Warren Blanton '71

William Judson '62

Andrew Weinstein '65

Helen Starling Burke '51

Stephan Khinoy '58

Mary Lundgren Wentzel '57

Albert Del Vecchio '53

Dorothy Dunne Kittrell '45

Mary McCoy Woodson '45

Jane Hare Engel '56

Michael Madow '63

Kirk Foulke '58

Joyce Manley '54

TRUSTEE EMERITI

James Freeman '60

Frank Richards '57

Peter Arfaa

Frank Garrison '71

David Rosenman '60

Hillard Madway

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Friends’ Central School 1101 City Avenue Wynnewood, PA 19096-3418

Celebrate With Us ALUMNI/AE DAY

Recognizing the Reunion Classes of 2’s and 7’s

Saturday, May 7, 2022 CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS YEAR’S DISTINGUISHED ALUMNA/US: Karen Horikawa ’77 for her many years of service to Friends’ Central School and her commitment to Quaker education

Andrew Newcomb ’87 for his outstanding accomplishments in the field of business and his commitment to the FCS community