Sept. 15, 2017

Last night at Lower School Back to School Night, I reminded parents of our arrival time: 8:15 AM. As I walk the halls between 8:15 and 8:45 AM, I see the importance of our activities in the early morning.
Lower school students gather daily with their homeroom teacher to open the day. They greet each other and share information about books, hobbies, family, and how they spent their time outside of school. The class reviews the calendar, focusing on today’s schedule. With some regularity, birthday celebrations work their way into mornings, taking form as a circle of affirmations. Starting next week on Wednesdays, lower-school students will be greeting and working with their middle-school Meeting Partners. Daily morning meetings are likely to end with some silence and clear directions about the start of the academic day.
 
Morning activities in the middle school vary with the day.  On Mondays, students check in with their advisors, then attend middle-school Meeting for Worship to set the tone for the day and week. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, middle schoolers meet with their advisors for nearly 25 minutes to build community, discuss upcoming events, and share insights with their entire group. Wednesday morning Meeting Partner activities help older students take on new responsibilities and develop closer connections with our younger students. Friday advisor period is short, saving time later in the morning for student-run committee meetings.
 
Mornings are busy at FCS, as we build relationships and set the tone for our time together. 
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Located in College Park, MD, Friends Community School is a progressive Quaker K-8 day school, founded on the belief that every child is a valued member of our community. We offer a challenging curriculum imbued with strong values of equality, integrity, community, environmental stewardship, simplicity and peaceful conflict resolution, rooted in our Quaker heritage.
Friends Community School
5901 Westchester Park Drive
College Park, Maryland 20740
301-441-2100