The Evolution of Virtual BFS

The Evolution of

When Brooklyn Friends School transitioned to Virtual BFS during the week of March 9th, our community had no idea what was in store for the remainder of the school year. Could major curricular capstones and traditions continue? Could we still connect as our beloved BFS community? We soon found that the answer to these questions was a resounding “yes!”. Here are just a few examples of how the colleagues and students of BFS continued to learn and engage during Virtual BFS.

Family center

One way that the Family Center students and teachers stayed connected and continued learning and growing during Virtual BFS was through music! Singing and music were always present in the physical classroom, and teachers incorporated singing virtually every day. Dance parties were always popular and they also played “Name That Tune”. But what about instrumental music and accompaniment? Teachers found different ways for the children to continue being musical remotely. They “played” instruments they had at home, and also made their own. With simple household supplies—toilet paper rolls, wax paper, rubber bands or hair ties, tape and dry rice/beans, small plastic containers with lids—they created an orchestra. The children moved their bodies and made lots of music together. Joyful!

PhoTo aBoVe  A Family Center student enjoys a sing with Tony Soll.

Preschool

Blue Room Butterfly Week

As spring blossomed outside our windows in May, the Blue Room threes students enjoyed a springy Butterfly Week at Virtual BFS! Their study of the lifecycle of the butterfly included music, songs, books, a scavenger hunt, and hands-on activities. By the end of the week, the Blue Room students were butterfly experts, ready to spread their wings and fly!

Green Room Fairy Tales study

The Green Room fours students enjoyed an in depth study of fairy tales and folktales during Virtual BFS. They learned what makes fairy tales unique, including their story structures, literary elements, and characters, by reading many stories, making castles, creating characters, and story acting. They also tried out making potions, magic wands, and porridge!

PhoTos cLockWise FroM ToP  1 Blue Room teachers Camille Fobbs, Jazelyn Montanez, and Linda Villamarin kicked off Butterfly Week in a message to their students. 2 Jackie Oritz demonstrated how to build a castle out of household items including toilet paper rolls. 3 Lisa Ventry showed how to create your own puppet theater to tell the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff.

Lower school The 2nd Grade Brooklyn Bridge Play and circus

Despite facing disappointment that they would not be able to perform the traditional Brooklyn Bridge Play and Circus in person, the 2nd grade students and teachers pivoted and found new ways to continue these curricular capstones. The Brooklyn Bridge Play became the “Brooklyn Bridge Monologues”. Each student recorded their performances, in full costume, and the monologues were pieced together into a film telling the Bridge’s story. Students, families, and colleagues gathered on Zoom to view the Monologues and to celebrate the students’ work. When it came to the joyful 2nd Grade Circus, the students and teachers once again didn’t miss a beat. The brilliant group of students and their teacher Helen Tocci made BFS history by juggling, lion taming, and performing acrobatics — all virtually! Portions of this beloved BFS tradition were performed live for families and friends on Zoom and the rest was presented as a video compilation of their amazing skills.

3rd Grade haikus

Putting their writing and art skills to work while celebrating National Poetry Month in April, the 3rd grade wrote and illustrated their own haikus. The students took inspiration from “Wabi Sabi” by Mark Reibstein. In “Wabi Sabi”, a small cat seeks to find real beauty in unexpected places. We were touched by these students’ abilities to find beauty during these trying times.

Lower school challenges:

Throughout the spring, Lower School students, colleagues, and families engaged in various challenges that brought our community together in creative, fun, and meaningful ways. Read more below:

The Rainbow challenge

Children and families all over the world decorated their windows with rainbows as signs of hope and positivity and as a way to show support and love for nurses, doctors, delivery persons, and all essential workers. The first Lower School Challenge was to join this chorus of hope and create a rainbow at home made out of found objects; a rainbow out of socks, leaves, recyclables, whatever friends could find! View the rainbows at brooklynfriends.org/rainbowchallenge.

The screen-Free challenge

The second Lower School Challenge for the community was to share their screenfree time! They took photos of themselves cooking, building a couch fort, drawing, reading, digging for worms, snuggling with a stuffy or real pet, and more!

Middle school

The 3rd Annual 7th Grade Criminal Justice Conference, originally planned for March, went Virtual to a week of programming in May presented by the Office of Service Learning and Civic Engagement and a group of 8th grade leaders. On one day, the 7th grade heard from a group of panelists from all aspects of the criminal justice system. Andrew Carter, a federal district judge, Tyiesha Bush, providing care to inmates at Rikers Island Correctional Facility, for sharing their experiences and insights with us. Students also learned from organizers with community partners JustLeadershipUSA, the HALTSolitary Campaign, a staff attorney from the Innocence Project. The goal was for students to hear from those who have been most involved

Math Jokes With

NBC may have Jimmy Fallon, CBS may have Stephen Colbert, and Comedy Central may have Trevor Noah, but BFS came out ahead in the spring 2020 ratings with Kate special guests, and a staff of Lower School comedy writers brought laughter and joy to the Virtual BFS community each week this past spring. Stream all ten episodes now at the BFS website: brooklynfriends.org/mathjokes. with the system so that they can then support efforts to make positive change. All programming during this Criminal Justice Week closely ties to major aspects to the 7th grade curriculum. Read more about Criminal Justice Week in the words of Ana N., an 8th grade organizer, at the BFS

7th Grade criminal Justice Week

Thanks to Michael Farkas, a criminal defense lawyer, a NYPD officer, and Illya Szilak, a physician currently and Huwe Burton, an exoneree, and Alexis Agathocleous, website now: brooklynfriends.org/criminaljustice2020.

5th Grade squid Dissection

Despite being in their homes instead of a lab at Pearl Street, 5th grade scientists rolled up their sleeves and dissected squids in May! Each spring, the 5th grade dissects squids and the experience is a rite of passage and learning in the Middle School. Thanks to the dedication and creativity of teacher Laurice Hwang, the traditional experience continued at Virtual BFS! As colleague Rachel Mazor noted, “It’s good to know that some traditions live on…”. A completely voluntary experience following a viewing of a computer animated dissection, students who wished ordered squids to their homes and signed onto Zoom to follow as Laurice dissected a squid in her own kitchen. After experiencing this hands-on study of anatomy and the animal’s various adaptations, the students

kate & Jonathan

Minear and Jonathan Edmonds! Kate, Jonathan, gathered later for a calamari making session with Laurice.

PhoTo aBoVe  The Math Jokes logo and Math Jokes hosts and Lower School Math Specialists Jonathan Edmonds and Kate Minear and special guest 4th grade teacher Lauren Yi and her dog Archie.

upper school

iB Art show

At a time when we are all searching for glimpses of beauty and joy in the world, the Brooklyn Friends School community was met with an abundance of both at the Virtual Artists’ Reception for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Visual Arts Show in May. The work of 26 artists in the class of 2020 was viewed by 170 members of the community. Head of Upper School Lisa Arrastia, in describing her joy after the reception, shared: “Poignancy, Pride, confidence, daring, profundity in message and medium, and diversity in ideas and perspectives: these are the imbrications of schemes, visual and sound landscapes, and movements of youth work in the BFS Arts program. Thank you to visual arts colleagues Nurit Newman, Mark Buenzle, and Liz Duell, for their work and partnership with their student artists and Paul Romano and Andy Cohen who helped to make the virtual reception and exhibition a reality. You can explore the IB Art Show at brooklynfriends.org/IBArtShow2020.

The Play

The cast and crew of the Upper School Play rose to the challenge of presenting a production during Virtual BFS! With work already put in towards a production on the Meeting House stage when our school buildings closed in March, this group came together and pivoted their production to a show that they could present to our community virtually. They overcame scheduling, technological, and isolated Zoom acting challenges to present “Animated Conversations.” The play, written by Alan Haehnel and directed by IB Theater teacher Catherine Clark, is a series of conversations between people and inanimate objects. A topical choice given our current isolation, the cast and crew explored what happens when your pile of laundry or other everyday objects talk back to you.

PhoTos FroM ToP  1 IB Art Show photograph by Salma Bensalim ’20 2 Students present “Animated Conversations”e

Marvelous May Fridays

All our teams found ways to connect and move when things went athletes met with their teams and coaches to watch sport-related videos, skills and drills clips, and other fun activities like sports trivia. The boys varsity baseball team also created a fun video for the community and the baseball team virtually played catch which you can view at brooklynfriends.org/virtualcatch. Cooking with BFS What brings people together more than food? Dining services their own cooking shows. Tom demonstrated how to make cafeteria favorite tomato alphabet soup for an episode of The Life while Elena shared a video showing her cook her stuffed cabbage with students and colleagues. Middle School students virtually gathered for the “Great BFS Bake Off” with colleague Students and colleagues joined together for Marvelous May Fridays which began with a musical Lower School Assembly and culminated in a 2nd Grade Circus Extravaganza. 3rd and 4th graders gathered for lunch bunch and the Lower School experienced a Sonia de los Santos concert, a Bollywood dance lesson, the Drag Queen Story Hour, a performance by Liam the Magician and more. Marvelous May Fridays also featured student-led programming like the 3rd Grade Green Life Club and a

Athletics

virtual. Coach Lydia Gonzalez offered live Zoom workouts and Quarantine Fashion Show, senior Kennedy White’s C.A.S. Project.

Ls Black Lives Matter challenge

The final Lower School challenge of the school year called on the entire BFS Community to show their solidarity with Black Lives Matter. Friends did chalk drawings, wrote messages in the sand, and created art to show their care and love. You can view them at

colleagues Tom Buckley and Elena Novikova both hosted brooklynfriends.org/blacklivesmatter.

Kathleen Clinchy and other special colleague guests.

colleague Trivia nights

Thanks to the efforts of Brooklyn Friends and Families, BFS colleagues were uplifted and gratified by an online kudoboard in their honor. Families submitted messages and images filled with love and thanks. The Brooklyn Friends School Colleagues Kudoboard was bookmarked and refreshed by colleagues throughout the week. Thank you, families and friends, for sharing your appreciation. Explore all of the kudos at the BFS website now: brooklynfriends.org/kudoboard.

shabbat at BFs

On a Friday evening in May, the Parent Jewish Affinity Group hosted the third annual Brooklyn Friends School Community of the candles, which evoked a beautiful Quaker connection. Colleagues found fun ways to remain socially connected throughout the spring and summer; one popular way was with colleague trivia events on Zoom! Many colleagues gathered on a weekly basis for friendly competition and laughter. What teacher

colleagues Receive kudos!

doesn’t love a knowledge challenge?

APi Dinner

In June, our community enjoyed the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Virtual Gathering! The event focused on the impact of COVID-19 and racism on the local restaurants and ways that we can support the Asian Pacific American (APA)

Shabbat Dinner. Crissy Cáceres read the text for the lighting community and each other.