connections

In each issue of Among Friends, we pose a question to our community, and print as many responses as we can fit!

THIS ISSUE’S QUESTION: What is your favorite part of our historic campus?

The floors. Why? This factory-to-school conversion brings back many memories... My grandmother was a seamstress for Levi Strauss, and I remember spending time there as a little girl.

– Ivy Tom, Current & Alumni Parent

Admittedly I have not spent all that much time on campus with our slow COVID start. But the library is definitely magic. The combination of light-filled windows, endless and varied books, and cozy nooks instantly fills me with a sense of calm and wonder.

– Lindy Caldwell, Current Parent

My favorite part of the “250V”—as our former Director of Development, Araxi Gundelfinger used to call it—is probably the floorboards on the second floor, as they resonate with historic stories with every scratch, dent, stain, or other mysterious markings. Take any one-foot by one-foot square of this amazing floor, and you might discover a poem or a play.

In terms of an addition that was made to the building however, I’m quite partial to our amazing Black Box theater! On several occasions, while visitors have toured our beautiful school, folks have remarked that our theater is better than the one that they had at their college. It’s a beautiful, versatile space that inspires creativity and active imagination for all our students, and often us teachers, as well. Furthermore, I love the third-floor girders and support pillars that give their idiosyncratic stamp on the south side of the room. I feel so grateful to work in such a great drama space.

– Jon Burnett, Grades 3–8 Drama Teacher

among friends: winter 2023

There is a lot of Levi’s history at 250 Valencia. At Grandfriends Day today, I met Mimi Haas who was married to the late Peter Haas, and we had a nice talk about what it used to be like. I told her about my dad, Michael, who worked there as a menswear designer, and later when I got to introduce them, they were so happy to make a connection through their shared past and with their grandchildren’s future at SFFS now. I personally love that our community has members who were here at 250 Valencia before our children and now are back here again with them.

– Ingrid Oliver, Current Paren

My favorite place on the SFFS campus is the protected outdoor kindergarten patio. It’s such a magical place in the mornings where kindergartners gather before school starts.

– Adam Berman, Current Parent and PA Co-Clerk

The Meeting Room is a very special place for me. It’s both the physical center of the school (tucked between the 1st and 3rd floors, surrounded by classrooms) but also the spiritual center of the school filled with so much natural light. I’ve experienced joy, tears, hope, connection, pain, motivation, awe, and calm in that room throughout my time here at Friends.

Another lesser known spot that I love to point out is in the Library. As you enter the space, I always have folks stop and look down at the old wooden floorboards. If you look closely you’ll see an actual rivet or two from the old Levi’s factory days. We used to have a bunch of these throughout the building, but they’ve since been picked out or covered up. I love seeing these reminders of our history, connecting our past with our present, and thinking about all the amazing stories and people that have walked through this building over the course of its lifetime. And all the amazing stories and people that we continue to add to that journey is both humbling and inspiring.

– Guybe Slangen, Current Parent / Director of Community Engagement

My favorite part of the campus is the skylights in the Meeting Room. I treasure many memories from the past eight years under those skylights - listening to a gentle rain falling against the glass during Meeting for Worship, gazing up at the soft light in times of great sadness or gratitude, even looking down on them as my family rushes around on our way to some game or performance on the 3rd floor. There’s a quiet and peace in the light that shines down on us when we join together in the Meeting Room - a particularly vivid contrast to the boisterous noise and movement that sometimes surrounds us there. To me that light symbolizes the beautiful way that our school invites grace into each moment of our lives.

– Laurie Dewan, Current Parent and PA Co-Clerk