Continuing to Realize the Promise

PAUL LINDENMAIER

beloved treasure that it is. As we steward the School forward, we are reminded to nurture and preserve the powerful community spirit that has always characterized and distinguished BFS. We remain committed to teaching the values of respect, empathy, and compassion that will inform global citizenship and guide the future relationships of community members.

With extraordinary commitment to honoring the School’s mission and the community’s planning process and goals, Buckingham Friends School has progressed with purpose during the past few years toward an ambitious and thoughtful future that will support teaching and learning for future generations. Realizing the Promise, the strategic plan for BFS, has provided direction for the faculty, the board, and our larger community throughout our shared endeavors.

Spring is a time of growth and rebirth, and the BFS campus will blossom with the fruits of our collective efforts this year. After a ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony last fall, and despite some unanticipated delays due to approval processes, it is exciting to report that construction has commenced. A new, larger gymnasium will be built on the site of the current gym, and a connecting annex with a kitchen, elevator, and restrooms will provide a new entrance to the Arts building and the gym. A new science building will be nestled in the woods, providing increased space for exploration and learning—including an outdoor covered teaching porch where students may study the environment that directly surrounds them on our 44-acre wooded campus.

In the Main building, larger Middle School classrooms and a shared learning commons on the first floor will allow for new teaching methodologies, supporting opportunities for both greater collaboration and increased independent project-based work. All Upper School homerooms will be united on the second floor, and the Library and atrium areas will be re-envisioned as a larger learning commons for everyone. Finally, a new, larger wooden Lower School playground will be built among the trees adjacent to Lower School.

Through all of this, we have remained true to BFS’s mission and core values while focusing our care and concern on what makes Buckingham Friends School the unique and

As we continue to sow and cultivate the seeds of BFS’s future, we prepare to bid adieu to three of our tallest “oak trees”. In this issue of Seedlings, we recognize all that Steve Bernardini and Isabella Tamborino-Schreiber have contributed to our community and the life of the School as educators, and we express gratitude to Michael Godshall for his leadership and selfless service as clerk of the BFS board these past six years. Together, these three extraordinary individuals have embodied and represented the very best of BFS, helping to shape the School we know and love today. Their legacy of inspiring students and everyone around them, and of serving as models for others, is immeasurable. Their mark will endure forever, and they will always be connected to the very soul of the School.

In this issue of Seedlings, examples of how we achieve our mission and “instill the value of caring for others and our world” are also provided. Highlights of how we seek to inspire students through specific programs are provided, and stories of some exemplary alumni are included. As always, it is evident to me that our faculty are offering first-rate educational experiences while encouraging each student to develop their individual promise in multiple ways. We hope that you will enjoy this issue of Seedlings! •