A strong sense of purpose, the importance of staying true to oneself, and the value of asking the right questions characterized commencement exercises for the Class of 2015, held on June 9 at the New York Society for Ethical Culture. The three student commencement speakers – Louisa Grenham ’15, Giovanna Molina ’15, and Bisa McDuffie-Thurmond […]
New Middle School Head Glen Pinder grew up in Willow Grove, PA, a suburb two miles north of Philadelphia. One can’t live that close to William Penn’s City of Brotherly Love without exposure to Quakerism, and Glen was no exception. “Abington Friends was close to where we grew up. My grandmother enrolled us in the […]
Despite fast and furious 21st century changes, the school library remains a repository of knowledge, a retreat for those seeking solitude, and a gathering place for young collaborators. Library Department Chair Kathy Hartzler, now in her 23rd year at the school, has long pushed for enhanced technologies in the school’s hubs of learning. “Print and digital resources including video […]
In the Upper School, Physics Teacher Travis Merritt has joined the 3-D printing exploration with infectious enthusiasm Travis Merritt’s gadget-filled science lab now boasts a MakerBot 3-D printer. “It’s in an early stage. Right now it’s just one more tool available to students.” Travis teaches IB Physics to juniors and seniors and Conceptual Physics to […]
The Middle School continues integrating technology into the curriculum in ingenious new ways, among them taking part in the global “Hour of Code” movement. In addition to directing academic technology for Kindergarten through Grade 12, Elizabeth (Liz) Harnage has been the Middle School’s Academic Technology Integrator for the past six years. Liz teaches fifth through […]
Technological experiments and innovations have become the norm in many schools across the country. No where is this more evident at BFS than in the Lower School. It’s a brave new world of immersion into technology across kindergarten through grade 4 classrooms and library. The arrival of 160 iPads for student use in the fall of […]
Even before their daughter Madeline started in the Preschool threes, Nichol and Sarah Alexander had an instant connection to Brooklyn Friends School. “We immediately fell in love with the school, largely because it seemed to offer an oasis of thoughtfulness and community within the city that we had not seen anywhere else,” Nichol recalled. Now a […]
When BFS parent Nichol Alexander stipulated that his donation be used for technological innovations in the classroom, one of the first decisions the school made was acquiring two MakerBot Replicator 3-D printers. Coincidentally, Preschool parent Bre Pettis is a co-founder of MakerBot Industries. “The printers are easy enough to use by anyone with passion and my […]
IT’s Everywhere Innovative thinking from the school’s Information Technology (IT) staff, along with a recent push from a philanthropic parent, continue to move BFS forward in bold, new directions. Over the past several years, technological experimentation and innovation have become the norm in many schools across the country. The changes are evident at BFS, too, […]
Ahhh Springtime! Beauty is in bloom all around! Could there be a more perfect time for our annual All School Art Show? During the week of May 18th, one could discover artworks by our budding BFS artists from Preschool to 12th grade IB Visual Arts, blossoming inside our lower gym. As usual, the space was […]
In social studies, fourth grade students learned about New Amsterdam and how New York City evolved over time. As part of their unit, they built a model of what the Dutch settlement in today’s Lower Manhattan would look during the 17th century. We used the iPad app iMotion HD Pro to add animation to their […]
Watch what students learned at this year’s Makerspaces @ BFS – from SAMR Technology to Word Collages.
