BFS
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Answers from Our Ancestors: The Jacksons on BFS, Friends Education and Quakerism

Will Walter Jackson Unlike computers or labs or books, defining the heart of Brooklyn Friends School is difficult. That heart is rooted in Quakerism and we do try to explain these “intangibles” which are shared and passed down, and which can be extremely personal to each individual. They make up the very air we breathe […]

Our First Meeting for Worship, 1941

Meeting for Worship is such an important element of the Brooklyn Friends School experience that it is difficult to imagine that it did not exist in its present form at Brooklyn Friends School until October 30, 1941. We can thank Douglas G. Grafflin and S. Archibald Smith, two former BFS Heads of School, for introducing the […]

New to the Digital Archives

This week, we have a few additions to the Digital Archives. Two new items in Playbills: the 1980 Middle School production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience or Bunthorne’s Bride and the 1982 Intergenerational Chorus performance at the CUNY NYC College of Technology’s Klitgord Auditorium on Jay Street.  The BFS Sampler 2 photo album has now […]

From the kitchens of BFS

Teachers’ Treats Cookbook, published 1984-85 Some of us will remember the BFS cookbooks produced by members of our community, most often our teachers and parents of the PAT. The first of these cookbooks shared here is titled Teachers’ Treats, was illustrated by Lower School students, dates to the 1984-85 school year, and was found in […]

Archival Updates and Theatrical Enigmas

The Pajama Game, 1970s The photos in BFS Sampler 2 photo album have finally been corrected and re-uploaded, meaning better quality images for visitors. The class photos originally in that album have now been moved to the appropriate class photos albums. Many of the photos in BFS Sampler 2 can now also be viewed in person in […]

Canned Heat, with a brief history of Ceramics at BFS

Again, my colleague, director of media services Andy Cohen, comes through with a nice find as he transfers his own VHS collection. BFS has a long history in ceramics education and this short film by BFS students is about the Japanese pottery technique, Raku, as taught by BFS ceramics teacher Ellen Kahan during the Minimester […]

Found: New Class Photos!

1924-25, Class of 1927, 10th grade A recent excursion in the unsorted BFS photo archives uncovered a few class photos that were not previously included in the albums in the digital class photo collection. Found were 26 additional class photos from all decades, including two class photos taken before 1949, the most poorly represented period […]

Che bella voce!

  Take a look back to 1993 for a fabulous rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at BFS, sung by Middle and Upper School science teacher and past athletic director Janet Villas. Big thanks for making this possible go straight out to several of my BFS colleagues: director of media services Andy Cohen for the […]

William Bunker Tubby – the first architect of BFS

  Many know that Brooklyn Friends School began in the “social room” of Brooklyn Monthly Meeting at 110 Schermerhorn Street in 1867. Lesser known is the fact that our school gradually expanded, from 1877 to 1925, to the adjacent lots at 112, 114, and 116 Schermerhorn. The New York Times published a lovely article on […]

Finding BFS: Further Evidence

Some may remember that we published an article about the 1931 Football Team in 2006, honoring the 75th anniversary of their incredible feat, A Perfect Season – The Football Team of 1931. I recently discovered that there had once been a plaque at BFS honoring the acclaimed football team of that 1931-1932 school year. The […]

Miss Woodward, innovator at BFS and beyond from 1900 to 1951

  Examining the history of Brooklyn Friends School means also examining the history of education in Brooklyn and New York City. Brooklyn Friends School has a long history of educational innovations, but it also has a long history of allowing innovative educators to implement their ideas at BFS. Ella Frances Woodward exemplifies our long-standing commitment […]

Janna Scores 1,000th Career Point

Senior guard Janna J. scored her 1,000th career point for BFS   On Wednesday February 20, 2013, Girls Varsity Basketball Senior Janna J. ’13 scored her 1,000th career point during the second quarter of the final game of her career.  With 5:21 left on the clock she stole the ball at half court and drove to […]