Dear Friends,

S O U N D I N G SF R I E N D S A C A D E M Y1088 t ucker r oad, n o r t h dar t mo ut h , ma 02747www.fr ien d sacad emy1810.o r g fal l 2011

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This inaugural edition of Soundings captures the essence and the excellence of Friends Academy. In so many ways the mission of Friends Academy comes to life in the pages that follow, and I hope you will enjoy these examples of the very best in education.

As we settle into the routines and rhythms of the school year, I have been thinking about what FA has taught me since my arrival in July. I have learned, without question, that there are many strengths to build upon as we enter our third century. A few examples will give you the flavor of that experience.

! Friends Academy is not afraid of thinking boldly and taking on big challenges. Who else would attempt six months of construction in ninety days? Resources were marshaled, details embraced, and targets met. The fact that there was no marginfor error kept everyone successfully focused. Teamwork matters.

! Service Learning is important here. Steve Walach’s gardeners are not only conversant about soil types, compost, and naturalpesticides, they also harvest thousands of pounds of vegetables to distribute to local food banks. Charley Pelissier’s bees shape a similar tale through the honey they produce. Students and faculty who spend time at “Gifts To Give” play a significant partas well. The dignity of work is a powerful teacher.

! Students at Friends Academy are not afraid of big ideas. Peace Day activities had them wrestling with challenging concepts and complex realities. Personal reflections about the power of “their own two hands” to effect change peacefully brought forthsuggestions both local and global.

! Friends Academy values a supportive community. Weekly all-school meetings model the behaviors that everyone must invest in that process. Even the youngest students will brave public speaking and share their ideas at the microphone before theirpeers. Such risk taking does not just happen.

! Balance is a word that is alive and well at Friends Academy. Old-fashioned academic rigor can exist alongside creative uses of technology, a successful athlete can also proudly have an eye-catching piece of pottery on display, the necessity to embracetwenty-first century skills occurs in a context of personal responsibility and a genuine focus on the individual learner. Startingin pre-school at the Farmhouse and progressing through eighth grade, there is a clear sense that questions are just as importantas answers.

Graduates of Friends Academy will come away with many gifts because a community of talented and dedicated educators trulycares about them. Thousands of encounters and “teachable moments” will shape individual journeys infused with the ethos of the school. As the pages of Soundings clearly chronicle, the mission of Friends Academy is alive and well, accessible and vibrant,infectious and purposeful. Happy reading!

Sincerely yours,

Stephen K. Barker, Head of School

Constellations meet once a month to engage grades K-5 in working together as a learning community. This is donethrough a class meeting style approach. A greeting and fun activity or game is followed by a discussion that focuses on a community or Service Learning activity.It is our goal for this year’s Constellationsto fully integrate a Service Learning component.

The Constellation program relies on thecaring and support, active participation,and positive expectations of all its members.Our goal is to facilitate a sense of belongingand community for students, and to enablechildren to develop deeper friendshipsacross grade levels. Constellations alsoprovide students with more adult connec-tions with whom they may regularly interact and learn from.

Friends Academy is committed to investingin the future of our children by offeringthem opportunities and experiences tolearn caring behaviors. By giving childrentime and support, these behaviors will become habits, instilled into their dailylives, and will continue with them for alifetime.

Second grade teacher Krist i Ralton popped

her head out of her classroom door and

witnessed some gesturing between a sec-

ond grader and a fourth grader passing

each other in the hall. Nika and Emilia are

members of the same Constellat ion group.

The gesturing was clearly of the warm

and f riendly variety. Nika and Emilia meet

once a month with faculty advisors Putnam

Murdock and Katherine Gaudet , along

with ten other students in grades k-5

with the purpose of get t ing to know one

another. This relat ively new program at

Friends Academy is dedicated to helping

students build caring and support ive

relat ionships, across grade levels. Putnam,

Katherine, and their students have

developed their own “ Hi” sign, a f riendly

greet ing that they share with one another

when they pass in the halls or anywhere

around campus. “ We share a sign for

Pegasus, the name of our Constellat ion,”

says Nika. By linking thumbs and waving

their f ingers, students make a quiet

connect ion in the hall w ith the other

people in their Constellat ion.

At Friends Academy, we use a unique social curriculum (SC) that is integratedinto everything that children do, see, andhear at school. It helps them to becomecaring, responsible, and respectful indi-viduals. Through several SC initiatives,students are given consistent opportunitiesto acquire skills that will help them showmore concern for others, have better conflict resolution skills, and developstronger academic motivation and adeeper commitment to democratic values.

Our social curriculum focuses on purpose-ful school connectedness to help childrenestablish respectful and supportive rela-tionships. It also provides opportunitiesfor collaboration and builds children’sconfidence to use their own voice. Finally,students are given many opportunities toshare and practice common standards ofgood character. They learn from eachother in a variety of supportive, mixed-age settings.

In small class meetings, students developa sense of community. Teachers, students,staff, and specialists come to know oneanother through school-wide activities likeAll-School Meeting, on the playground,and through our Buddy Programs. In addition, Friends Academy has establisheda more formal program called Constella-tions, to connect students across gradelevels.

Modeled after similar programs that aresometimes referred to as family groups,these mixed-age groupings are made upof two or three faculty members and tento twelve kindergarten through fifthgraders. Students remain with the sameConstellation for the duration of theirtime at FA. Each year, existing Constella-tion groups absorb the new class ofkindergarteners.

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T H E C O N ST ELLAT I O N S P RO G RAM AT FRI EN D S AC AD EM Y by Kristi Ralton

Above: Pet er Veale and M r. M urdock

exchange t hei r Const el lat ion “ Hi” sign

in t he hal lw ay.

What most people don’t realize is that itis nearly impossible to keep bees organi-cally in this part of the world because fertilizers and pesticides are commonlyused in some local farm production andon many private lawns and gardens. Inorder to keep their honey as pure as possi-ble, area bee keepers employ what areknown as natural practices; they use or-ganic methods, knowing full well thattheir bees will be healthiest, and theirhoney as close to pure as possible, thoughnot truly organic. Friends Academyteacher and beekeeper, Charley Pelissier,thinks he may have found a way to makebeekeeping on campus, if not totally or-ganic, at least sustainable.

Watch for Charley and student helpers inthe days and weeks ahead. They will beselling jars of “School Bell Honey” in thecar line. For the first time since the bee-keeping program was established, he hasreserved a quantity of school-producedhoney to sell back to our own commu-nity. “We hope to sell enough jars to payfor supplies and run a truly sustainableprogram,” says Charley, whose aims aremodest. Each year the program purchaseshoneybees as needed, sugar for springtimefeeding, new pressed wax foundations forthe bees to build honey and brood cellson, and jars for distribution.

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But what no amount of scientific trainingcould possibly prepare them for was theamazingly aromatic scent of warm, newlyextracted honey. If you’ve never experi-enced the sensation, reread A.A. Milneand that wonderful passage in Winnie thePooh:

“’Well’ said Pooh, ‘what I like best,’ andthen he had to stop and think. Becausealthough eating honey was a very goodthing to do, there was a moment just be-fore you begin to eat it, which was betterthan when you were, but he didn’t knowwhat it was called.”

Call it what you will, students in honey-bee science lab were clearly engaged inthe experience and yes, they had the opportunity to taste freshly made honeytoo. Thanks to a grant from the BaldwinFoundation that helped get this programoff the ground, and now, to a hopefullysustainable beekeeping program, evenmore students will be able to witness thefull cycle of bee propagation and partici-pate in the production of “School BellHoney” every summer and fall.

One-pound jars of the honey will makegreat holiday gifts, though the vast major-ity of honey produced by the programwill continue to be donated to local foodpantries as part of Friends’ Service Learn-ing initiative.

When Charley Pelissier first took an organic beekeeping course at BCC a fewyears ago, he set up wooden beehives inhis backyard hoping to produce his ownhoney. Since then, his interest has blos-somed, you might say, into a fully realizedand hands-on science unit at FriendsAcademy.

Earlier this fall, Charley and Peter Zineco-taught a couple of sixth grade sciencelabs that enabled students to extract honeyfrom wooden honey supers. Students firststudied honeybee culture as a science unitand then were immersed in the procedureof harvesting honey in the lab. They progressed from distinguishing swarmcells from supercedure cells, examiningbee culture, developmental cycles, and the unique caste system of the bee colonyto handling wooden brood chamberframes and honey supers, scraping h oneyinto a stainless steel honey extractor, andhand cranking the honey into the base of the giant steel drum.

BEE K EEPI N G AT FRI EN D S BECO M I N G SU STA I N A BLE by Kyle Riseley

Above: Danny Grubbs-Donovan and Char ley Pel issier at w ork.

Right : Pet er Zine, science t eacher.

Watch for Charley P. and studenthelpers in the days and weeks ahead.

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I T ST ART S W I T H YO U AN D M E T EA CH I N G PEA CE AT FRI EN D S

Above: El izabet h Lonergan at t he podium—

All -School M eet ing on Peace Day.

The ent i re st udent body and f acul t y gat h-

ered on t he hi l l above t he f ield hockey f ield

t o d isplay t he school ’s peace banner. The

w ord “ Peace” w as f ormed w i t h handpr int s

t hat cont ained t he personal peace pledges of

each st udent in t he school . Below, st udent s

f ormed a huge ci rcle and t raveled around i t ,

grapevine st yle, shaking t he hand of every

ot her st udent and t eacher in t he school .

by Kyle RiseleyFriends began the 2011-12 academic year with an all-day program devoted toteaching and exploring the concept ofpeace. In large, all-school assemblies andsmall classroom settings, students andteachers from pre-kindergarten througheighth grade spent the day reading, think-ing, and talking about how peace startswith the individual, and that each and everyone of us can make a difference for peace.

“This is the school’s second annual PeaceDay,” said Katherine Gaudet. “We feel it is important to dedicate an entire dayto peace. We want our children to under-stand that they each have an individualresponsibility to make a difference in theworld and that they truly can and indeeddo make choices every day that affect others, as well as themselves.”

This year, the entire school read the bookPeace Begins with You, by Katherine Scholes. Both Katherine Gaudet, Head of the Sally Borden School, and MelindaFoley-Marsello, Head of the Lower Division, chose this book as a catalyst forconversations about what students can doto promote peace in their homes, in theirschool, in their communities, and in theworld.

In grades k-5, students talked about theways they could make a difference andcontribute to peace “with their own twohands.” They made pledges for peace and their ideas have helped determine the course of the school’s Service Learn-ing component for the 2011-12 schoolyear. Because Service Learning is a corecomponent of the educational program atFriends Academy, all students participateat some level, in a variety of service-

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oriented projects like volunteering at the Schwartz Center, contributing to organizations like “Gifts to Give,” and helping to grow and harvest vegetablesand honey from the school’s gardens forthe Food Pantry at Grace Episcopal Church.

An early morning all-school assemblylaunched Peace Day midway throughSeptember. Two students from each gradeshared their pledges for peace. The firstpledge “Being kind and loving to all people in the world,” came from a pre-schooler. Other students offered pledgesthat ranged from “helping in mygrandma’s garden” and “cleaning mybrother’s room,” to “cleaning up theearth,” and “donating to people in need.”Throughout the day, classes visited a 24-foot peace banner where students and faculty affixed their individualpledges for peace.

At a culminating celebration in the afternoon, students gathered on the fieldhockey field, formed a very large circle,and traveled around the circle, grapevinestyle, shaking the hand and saying helloto every other student and teacher in theschool. “It was a powerful and personalway to share a greeting of peace with eachother and to end the day,” said KatherineGaudet. The Faculty Band, made up of Jim

Bean, Putnam Murdock, Bill Perrine,Jonathan Felix, and Angela Mart in ledthe school in song, one in part icular,learned for the celebrat ion and ent it led, “ With Our Own Two Hands.”

Top photo: Second grade students inKrist i Ralton’s class played “ Pass thePeace” sharing their hopes for peacearound the world and in their own communit ies.

This year ’s Aut umn Fest and ear ly

morning Fun Run and 5K w ere a huge

success. So much so, t hat w i t h over 400

people at t ending, t he Parent Counci l

sold out of ent rance w r ist bracelet s.

This had l i t t le or no ef f ect on t he many

f ami l ies, new and old, w ho t urned out

t o enjoy t he company of each ot her,

and t he beaut i f u l aut umn w eat her.

Some came t o run in t he ear ly morning

races. M any st ayed on t o enjoy lunch

and an af t ernoon of games, scarecrow s,

bouncy houses, w recking bal ls, and cake

decorat ing cont est s. Thanks t o Tammy

Greenspan, M ichel le Lima, and al l t he

parent volunt eers and Upper Division

st udent helpers w ho made t h is day

possib le.

NEXT PARENT ASSOCIATION MEETING DATE:

Friday, December 2, 2011 in the Conference

Room: refreshments 2:30; meeting 3:00 pm.

Above: Ant hony and Raymond Bruno w i t h

bal loon hat s. St udent par t icipant s in t he 5K

crossing t he f in ish l ine.

AU T U M N F E S T

SU CCESS!

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Photographer Scott Indermaur createsone-of-a-kind portraits of individuals whohave been given the unique challenge of symbolically capturing their beliefs,essence, and individuality in a small box.His REVEALED project has gained national attention and is the subject of a documentary and an upcoming book.In a spinoff project designed for youngerpeople, the artist/photographer has beenworking with children in grades four andfive, modifying the age of his subjects,but capturing, he hopes, the same type of uncontemplated truths that have madehis one-of-a-kind portraits resonate in the art world.

At Friends Academy, fourth grade art students met the artist and were given asmall box to decorate in whatever way theychose. They were also asked to spend somethoughtful time over a two-week periodchoosing and filling the box with itemsthat would provide insight into who they

really are. “I asked students to dive deepand try and use this as an exercise to revealimportant things about themselves,” saidthe artist in a telephone interview.

Art teacher Susan Cogliano became acquainted with Scott Indermaur over the past summer through a current parent, Jeff Michaud (Mira, gr.4 & Joel,gr.3). Jeff is a friend of the artist and participated in the original REVEALEDproject by designing a box that reflectedthe theme, “What I Believe.”

When Mr. Indermaur first presented REVEALED to Friends students in October, he asked them to think aboutwhat they believe in. He shared somephotos of others who had also participatedin the project. “The students were capti-vated by the images and eager to sharewhat was most important to them,” saidSusan Cogliano. “They began to collectand create objects that held personal

significance, and their plain, white boxeswere transformed into amazing works ofart that reflect their heart, soul and spirit.”

When the artist returned to school inNovember, he photographed each studentindividually with their box. His experi-ment in sharing one’s identity throughthe contents of a plain white box, has ledto all kinds of self-exploration and quietcontemplation. “What I find to be mostinteresting is the profound affect thisproject has had on so many of my subjects,”he said. “Given the opportunity to lookwithin, many have experienced a journeythat took them much deeper than theirinitial inner self-examination and revealedundiscovered truths about themselves.”

Clockw ise f rom upper r ight : Emi l ia DeRego

and Sophie Robinson w ork on essays t o

accompany t hei r decorat ed boxes, M ira

M ichaud and Trey Sul l ivan as phot ographed

by Scot t Indermaur f or t he REVEALED

project , and Scot t Indermaur, inset .

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FRI EN D S STU D EN TS PA RTI CI PATE W I T H “ REV EA LED ” PRO JECT PH O T O G RA PH ER, SCO T T I N D ERM A U R

by Kyle Riseley

Friends Academy has partnered with theDartmouth Community TV Station toprovide internships for Upper Divisionstudents as part of this year’s ServiceLearning. Service Learning is an integralpart of a Friends Academy education.

This year, as part of our Speaker Series, experts on topics that matter to parentsand educators will come to speak on campus. Self-regulation is the theme ofthis year’s series. Student interns will editthese talks, which will be available on our school’s website. They will create thegraphics, photos, audio, introductions,and clips for the videos. They’ll be usingprofessional grade hardware and softwareand learning real world skills. They willbe planning and collaborating and work-ing with deadlines.

This project is one example of technologyintegration. Students blend writing andtechnology with graphic art, photography,music, and video. They’ll learn researchskills, Photoshop, storytelling and editingwith Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere,and directing and operating robotic cameras.

From a producer’s point of view, the finalproduct will be a series of video that are ofinterest to parents and teachers at FriendsAcademy and to the greater Dartmouth

Li g h t s! C a m e r a ! A c t i o n ! by Jonathan Felix, Technology Integrationist

community. Students are covering suchtopics as: a neuropsychiatrist speaking onexecutive function; an expert on internetsafety speaking on cyber-bullying; and a psychologist speaking on sleep deprivation.

This project offers a valuable opportunityfor students to learn all aspects of videoproduction: audio engineering, cameraoperation, post editing, scripting, creatingvector graphics, and working with greenscreens. The DCTV project is an extensionof the kind of learning that has alreadybegun at Friends. Many of our youngeststudents know how to use technology tocreate their own videos, shoot and edittheir own photos, create their own music,and design their own artwork. They’relearning to collaborate and cooperate onprojects that make a difference in theircommunity and in the world.

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St udent s in St eve Robat ai l le’s sixt h

grade class at t he Sal ly Borden School ,

w rot e, st aged, and perf ormed t hei r

very ow n play t o commemorat e t he

150t h Anniversary of t he Civi l War.

The act ion w as st aged out side, in, and

around an aut hent ic repl ica of a Civi l

War t ent , donat ed f or t he occasion

by t he f ami ly of Noah Sw eet . The play,

w r i t t en by M egan Tracey, t o ld a

st ory of Civi l War bat t lef ield l i f e and

f eat ured some w el l know n f igures l ike

Clara Bart on and General Ulysses Grant .

Pictured above from top left to right:

M egan Tracey, Grace LeValley, M ichael

Poulin, and Nathan Erickson, and from

bottom left to right: Raymond Bruno,

Noah Sw eet, Jenna Hughes, and Sammy

M ogaw er.

Top photo: Raymond Bruno and Sammy

M ogaw er played General Grant and a

Union soldier encamped on the batt lef ield.

Above: El izabet h Tarrant and Isaac Bl inn at

t he cont ro l panel . Ben Bai ley on camera.

A N N U A L GI V I N G I S TH E SI N GLE M O ST I M PO RTA N T SO U RCEO F N O N - TU I TI O N I N CO M E FO R FRI EN D S A CA D EM Y.

Donations to the Annual Fund are applied across the budget to:

• Purchase new technology• Fund our athletics, and visual and performing arts programs• Fund outdoor education and field trips• Increase professional development opportunities

You may donate online at www.friendsacademy1810.org. Contributions are tax-deductible.

Please remember that it is not the size of the gift that matters, but the fact that you give.

M AY W E C O U N T O N YO U ?

D i d y o u k n o w ?• In the three years since Friends established its organic garden,

Steve Walach reports that the school has harvested five (5!) tonsof vegetables and herbs for the Food Pantry at Grace EpiscopalChurch in New Bedford.

• In this season’s harvest, Friends Academy has produced a total of six (6) gallons of honey.

• This year’s Open House was the most well-attended admissionsevent since 2005 with thirty-six potential students and theirfamilies visiting our school for tours and information.

• Over 175 individuals responded to our recent communicationsurvey sharing information about how Friends families read and use information sent home in backpacks, by email, and on the website.

• Over 400 people participated in Autumn Fest and/or the 5KRace and Fun Run this year.

w w w . f r i e n d sa ca d e m y 1 8 1 0 . o r g

S O U N D I N G SF R I E N D S A C A D E M Y1088 t ucker r oad, n o r t h dar t mo ut h , ma 02747www.fr ien d sacad emy1810.o r g fal l 2011