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Lower School Project Update
A New Chapter for Friends: The Lower School Project and Campus Master Plan
A series of community meetings were held in fall 2019, including one at Homecoming. Attendees were able to view drawings representing lower school site location possibilites on the middle/upper school campus. A formal schematic design is expected to be presented in May 2020.
In October 2019, Wilmington Friends School entered into an agreement of sale with Incyte Corporation for Incyte to purchase about 20 acres of our lower school property for $50 million. Contingent on the close of the sale, this would allow us to build a stateof-the-art lower school on our middle/ upper school campus. This might also make it possible for us to implement improvements to our middle/upper school building, and, in concert with current fundraising initiatives, grow our endowment to support students, faculty/staff, and families.
The current lower school facility was built in 1972. Prior to that, lower school was part of the campus at 101 School Road. While the new campus was an exciting and modern (at the time) space, the presence of the lower schoolers at the middle/upper school was missed by faculty and students alike. We are excited at the thought of having all of our students back together on one campus, this time with a brandnew space for lower school.
Since the Board of Trustees anounced the sale, we have held a series of community meetings to provide information and to seek feedback. We also have in place a dedicated email, progress@ wilmingtonfriends.org, to which our community can send questions and feedback. To date, we’ve heard both support and concern for what is to come. Some concerns raised pertain to traffic and use of the lower school driveway, as well as Incyte’s plans for the lower school property. We understand Incyte will develop and share their plans with the community following the company’s due diligence of the lower school property. We’ve also received questions about the arrangement of athletic fields and playground space and creative ideas to address those questions. Please note, the sale does not include Mellor Field (track/ turf) or the Bermuda grass field.
At the same time, we’ve heard expressions of excitement for the new facility, a more close-knit school community, and the long-term sustainability of the School. We are committed to considering all of the feedback we have received in the next phase of this journey, and we have also shared relevent feedback with Incyte.
Our next steps include further exploration by the Board of a site location on the middle/upper campus for the new lower school building, and working with faculty & staff and parents to develop plans for a lower school facility that will most effectively support our program. Our internal steering committee will then work with our architect (WRT of Philadelphia) and project team during the schematic design phase to develop a formal plan, which we expect by early May 2020. One of the contingencies of the agreement of sale is to gain approval of this schematic design from the Alapocas Maintenance Corporation Board.
We will be sure to post updates on our web site under “About Friends,” “Lower School Project” as they arise. If you have any questions or comments about the project, feel free to contact progress@wilmingtonfriends.org.
PROJECT TIMELINE (ESTIMATED)
October 2019 to June 2021 %XLOGLQJ'HVLJQ 0D\ and Approval Process
As early as 2021 6DOH&ORVLQJRQ/RZHU6FKRRO Property
2021 to 2023 Construction; ASP Building Closes
August 2023 1HZ%XLOGLQJ2SHQLQJ
Winter Concerts
This fall, our Quakers showed tremendous heart and effort on the ˉHOGFRXUWDQGFRXUVHDQGDOORIWKHKDUGZRUNSDLGRII:H ZRQRXU Homecoming games in every sport, won four DISC championships, and we were the only school in Delaware to send all four teams to their DIAA State competitions. Friends Boys’ Cross Country had an especially exciting season, which ended with a DIAA State Championship trophy. Heartfelt congratulations to our student athletes, coaches, parents and guardians, and fans!
Field Hockey Led by Coach Scott Clothier, Quaker Field Hockey opened the season with six straight wins, and ended the regular season with a very satisfying 2-1 win over Tower Hill at the Senior Game. The team beat Caravel Academy, 2-1, in the first round of the DIAA State Tournament and moved onto the second round, losing to the eventual state champ, Delmar High School.
All-Conference First Team: Bella Bukowski ’21 (GK)
Rosa Cochran ’21 Katrina Winfield ’20
Second Team: Olivia Billitto ’20 Ajala Elmore ’20 Margo Gramiak ’22 Meghan Malone ’21
Honorable Mention: Madeline Rowland ’23
All-State First Team: Bella Bukowski ’21 (GK) Katrina Winfield ’20
Cross Country Led by coaches Paul Nemeth and Nora Reynolds, it was a thrilling season for Quaker Cross Country. Our Girls’ team worked hard, took 4th at DISCs and 12th at States, their highest finish in four years, and achieved a slew of personal records. And our Boys’ team won the Lake Forest Invitational, the Sallies Invitational, were DISC champs for the first time in WFS history, AND brought home the Division II State Championship trophy!
DISC Championship Chris Rosado ’21, 3rd Luke Munch ’21, 4th Max Leffler ’22, 6th Marcel Stewart ’22, 9th Kyle Nisbet ’21, 12th
Volleyball Led by Coach Barb Fitzgerald, Volleyball had a history-making season. The team defeated Tatnall in straight sets to win DISC Championship, and, in the third round of the DIAA State Tournament, Friends beat Newark Charter in five sets, the first time in Delaware history that the 24th ranked team knocked out the top seed. QVB went on to play in the consolation round at the Bob Carpenter Center.
28 Winter 2020 • QuakerMatters DISC Champions: Boys’ Team
New Castle County Championship Chris Rosado ’21, 8th
DIAA State Meet Chris Rosado ’21, 4th Luke Munch ’21, 8th Max Leffler ’22, 11th Marcel Stewart ’22, 13th
Division II State Champions: Boys’ Team
Coaches of the Year: Paul Nemeth and Nora Reynolds
All-Conference First Team: Natalie Bush ’22 Abby Carian ’22 Jocelyn Nathan ’23
Second Team: Jadyn Elliott ’20
Third Team: Kayla Farley ’21
All-State Second Team: Abby Carian ’22
Football With Coach Bob Tattersall back on the field, Football had another strong season, highlighted by clinching the conference championship with a big 10-0 win over Tower Hill. The team showed heart and skill in a tough DIAA first-round game against Woodbridge High School.
All-Conference
First Team Offense: Isaiah Gaines ’21 (C) Carby Wise ’21 (G) Manny Adebi ’20 (T) Will Davis ’20 (WR) Denzel Dixon ’20 (RB) Patrick McKenzie ’21 (FB) Jacob Jaworski ’20 (P)
Will Davis ’20 (KR/PR) Jacob Jaworski ’20 (K)
First Team Defense: Carby Wise ’21 (DT) Manny Adebi ’20 (DE) Patrick McKenzie ’21 (DE) Sam Gise ’20 (LB) Denzel Dixon ’20 (LB) Will Davis ’20 (DB)
Honorable Mention Offense: Brandon Williams ’21 (T) Peter Erskine ’21 (WR) Cole Opderbeck ’20 (QB)
Honorable Mention Defense: Isaiah Gaines ’21 (DT) Peter Erskine ’21 (DB) Craig Lyttleton ’20 (DB), Sully Williams ’20 (DB)
Soccer Led by Coach Rick Sheppard, it was another stellar season for Boys’ Soccer. They were DISC champs and beat Sussex Academy and Indian River to play in the DIAA championship game, where they displayed true valor and sportsmanship in a very tough game.
All-Conference
First Team: Evan Arai ’20 Liam Hudgings ’20 Oryem Kilama ’20 Jack Taylor ’20 Bruno Yeh ’22
Second Team: Shiloh Connor ’22 Ryan Evans ’20 Miles McCoy ’20
Honorable Mention: Mark McMillan ’20
Coach of the Year: Rick Sheppard
Assistant Coach of the Year: Liam O’Donnell
All-State First Team: #4 player in Top 11 Regional All-American Oryem Kilama ’20
Second Team: Evan Arai ’20
Third Team: Jack Taylor ’20
Ryan Bradford Senior Service Award Sean Brady ’20
Fall Signing Days
Congratulations to the WFS senior athletes who will continue their athletic careers at Division I universities next fall! Left: Oryem Kilama, Virginia Tech Soccer; Edward Micheletti, The George Washington University Baseball; Wyatt Nelson, University of Missouri Baseball; and Nick Redd, University of Maryland Lacrosse. Below: Jacob Jaworski, Colgate University Football, who will join his brother Andrew ’17 on the team.
