A Vibrant Silence and SPICES

Headlines - October 22, 2010A vibrant silence
I often talk about the exciting things that happen at Friends School, but this week I want to share the quiet. I had the opportunity to visit several classrooms this week and I was struck by the amount of silence that does occur in this school. It is not the silence of students slipping into a stupor but the productive silence that often accompanies people who are focused on the task at hand.

In Teacher Kelly’s room there is sustained independent reading almost every day. I spent twenty minutes there watching Kelly, Assistant Teacher Elli, and teacher intern Karen float around offering help and encouragement to the students who were spread about the room reading. During math, Teacher Sunna’s group was taking a math test (yes, we do test in Friends) and the silence from the group was complete and sustained despite a rather energetic lesson being held on the other side of the room with Tr. Elli.

The following day, I traveled down to the middle school to catch part of Teacher Christy’s Language Arts Class. Again the quiet was palatable. Students were on computers and at their desks, writing. Some were writing speeches, others were writing poems and still others were composing informative pieces. These were all part of the middle school’s writing curriculum. In my twenty minutes I heard hardly a word, just the sound of keys tapping and pencils being pushed across the page.

Later that day, I passed some of Teacher Tim’s students quietly reading on the hallway couches as I entered Teacher Nick’s classroom. The room felt warm, smelled of herbs, and soft music could be heard. I found the students writing in their journals while enjoying cups of tea. They are currently reading Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Nick is using real experiences to reinforce the concepts in the book. In any case, it made for an engaging and productive writing time.

Throughout the week, I was able to observe our school at its quiet best. The importance of reading and writing throughout the school is evident through the many hours that are devoted to these activities and by the focus of the students. Therefore, it came as only a mild surprise to me that a larger school library was one of the top priorities identified by the 5-8th grade students during their school visioning session yesterday afternoon. Silence can be golden, but it also can be vibrant.

Announcements
S.P.I.C.E.S of Life Gala at the Atherton Hotel on Sunday, November, 7th from 4 -7 pm. This is an early evening social for parents and community members to meet over sumptuous local food and beverage features and to enjoy music and silent auction offerings. It is a celebration of the S.P.I.C.E.S. in our community – Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community and Stewardship. If have never attended this signature event, you don’t know what you’re missing! (FREE childcare will be offered this year.) Families who have attended in the past can help our new families to feel involved by encouraging them to attend and introducing them to others in the community.

Bring a Friend to School Day – Mark your calendars for Friday, November 5th. The SCASD is closed and we will use this day as an opportunity for your child to invite a friend to school for the day and to have other families become familiar with what the Friends School has to offer. Guests need to be registered. Please call the school for more information.

Love Reading? – Penn State education faculty members Pat and Kathleen Shannon, will present a workshop entitled Developing Lifelong Readers on Tuesday, November 9th at 7:00 pm. This event is for any adult who wants to instill good reading habits in children of all ages. The workshop will take place in the Community Room and is open to all. Invite a friend!

Conference Days – Parent Teacher Conference Days are on Thursday and Friday, November 11 and 12th. Please call the school to arrange an appointment with your child’s teacher.