ISSUE 5
NOVEMBER 2021
Noteworthy Review Highlights from our Weekly Newsletter
In This Issue Class of '21 Artists Fundraiser Pet Days 2021 Big Friend/Little Friend Scarecrow Walk Open-Ended Writing Sparkle Series
BFS Class of 2021 Artists Help Raise Over $700 for Local Charities Congratulations to the Class of 2021 who's artwork was featured at the Scrambled! Gallery of Gifts in New Hope, PA for a local benefit art show. ALL of the BFS artwork sold and they helped raise over $700 for Pine 2 Pink and the Bucks County SPCA! Fantastic job, everyone! Kris Sinisi looks forward to collaborating with Scrambled! Gallery of Gifts's benefit shows again in the near future!
Pumpkin Carving Crossing the Finish Line 4th Grade SPCA Project US Service Learning Project Glowga 2021 Best-selling Author Visit Tens Friends Ghost Walk Architect Visit Buckingham Friends School p. 215-794-7491 www.bfs.org 5684 York Road Lahaska, PA 18931
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Pet Days 2021 Thank you to everyone across all the grades who came out for Pet Day this year! From goats, chickens, and rats to dogs, stuffies, and cats, it was wonderful to gather together to honor one of our craziest and most loved BFS traditions.
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Big Friend/Little Friend Scarecrow Walk BFS took Peddler's Village by storm for the annual Scarecrow Walk! The students enjoyed getting off campus to see the scarecrows and, more importantly, to spend some precious time bonding with their Big Friends/Little Friends!
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6th Grade Open-Ended Writing Project Kara Shaw's 6th Grade English class recently read "All Summer In A Day" by Ray Bradbury. The science fiction short ends on a cliffhanger (a locked door that is finally opened). The class was tasked with continuing the story and exploring what happens next. Says Kara Shaw, "I love this project because they all have their own take on what might happen , and I really get to see their writing skills and strengths." Their stories are well underway and we can't wait to see what happens when the door is finally unlocked!
Sparkle Series - Parent Coffee Hours Katelynn Connolly, Director of Advancement, hosted the Sparkle Series this fall - a parent coffee hour that allowed parents to connected and converse across the grades. Parents, guardians, faculty, and board members enjoyed the opportunity to gather together on the Upper Field, make new friends, and connect with familiar faces!
Photos By: Ozzie(rvoiiiphoto.com)
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Middle School Pumpkin Carving It was a ghoulishly good time at the Annual Middle School Pumpkin Carving event! Thank you to all of the parents and guardians who came out to help the students carve their boo-tiful pumpkin designs. It truly takes a village to make that event possible! Special thank yous to Mr. Haupert, Mrs. Gibson, and Mrs. Cortright for organizing this special annual event! The day in turn was a brief return to the familiar, nonpandemic BFS. While ensuring safety measures were in place, the 8th Grade students and teachers were to savor a few precious moments together as a class. The spirit of these amazing youths was felt by all.
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Crossing the Finish Line - Cross Country 2021 Congratulations to our Cross Country Team for the successful completion of their season at the NFS Meet. Our runners grew so much over the season, pushing themselves to increase endurance and achieve personal bests. They should all be so proud of everything they accomplished both as individual runners and as a team.
4th Grade Kicks Off Their Signature Service-Learning Project The 4th Grade Class kicked off their signature service-learning project with the Bucks County SPCA. The volunteer manager, Tracy Canonaco, zoom'd in to educate the students on the mission of the SPCA and explained the five freedoms to which they believe all animals are entitled. She also shared the current needs of the shelter with the students. The 4th Graders will now work to develop their own ideas on how to best support the Bucks County SPCA this year. We look forward to learning more about their projects soon!
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Upper School Service Learning Project A Huge Success Thank you to all of the Upper School families who donated items in support of the Upper School service-learning project! Grades 6 through 8 collected food and supplies for families devasted by the recent floods in our neighboring town of Lambertville. Together we filled an entire SUV with supplies! Many thanks to Laura Downs for organizing this project and the Nier Family (photographed) for helping transport all of the donations to Fisherman's Mark. If interested, you can still donate to Fisherman's Mark.
THANK YOU for Supporting Glowga 2021! Thank you to all the students, parents, and alumni who came out this year to support Glowga! It was a beautiful night to come together and celebrate our health, wellness, and community. Together we raised over $950 to support the operating fund at Buckingham Friends School! A BIG thank you to Joe Simek, Alexis Ridge-Simek, and Colby Smith for leading the practice, as well as our 8th Grade Ambassadors!
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Middle School Assembly with Bestselling Author & BFS Parent Chuck Wendig, bestselling writer of novels, books, screenplays, and comics...and BFS parent, visited with Middle School students virtually for assembly. Students learned about what goes into writing and publishing a book, how he develops ideas for stories, and the importance of being able to make mistakes when writing. Students in 3rd through 5th Grade asked questions and also learned about Chuck's newly released young adult novel, "Dust and Grim." Thank you, Chuck, for sharing your talents with the Middle School!
Tens Friends in 2nd Grade Math Life is better with friends especially in 2nd Grade math! Melissa Bagley taught the students a lesson about "Ten Friends" out in the Lower School cove, where the students worked together to combine single digits numbers to make the number 10. The game, which allowed for laughter and lots of running around outside on this beautiful day, helps the 2nd Graders understand both the composition and decomposition of math facts around the number 10.
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A Ghoulishly Good Time at the Ghost Walk and MS/US Parties It was a terrifying scene in October in the haunted woods behind BFS. The 8th Grade ghosts, goblins, and madmen lurked under an ominous sky. Many Middle and Upper Schoolers dared to venture down that foreboding path, only to return with the most terrifying tales! Many thanks to the students, faculty, parents, and guardians who made the Ghost Walk, Middle School Party, and Upper School Party such frightfully fun events!
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Meetings with the Centerbrook Architects Centerbrook Architects visited campus in November! In addition to reviewing 6 bids for contractors, the architects met with key members of the community (including Buckingham Monthly Meeting Members) and conducted an inspiring sustainability workshop with the full faculty to help gauge priorities leading up to the construction phase. As the design begins to take shape, faculty started thinking through the teaching and learning layouts of their rooms. We continue to have much gratitude for the participation of so many community members and students that were involved in the Master Facility Plan process as we begin this next phase!
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