Friends School’s first 8th grade class will be graduating in May. As they look towards high school, we’ve taken the opportunity to interview each of them to find out about their time at Friends School, whether they are “lifers” (here since Preschool) or brand new to Friends School. Please enjoy this interview of Charlotte Commons, one of Friends School’s lifers.
Name: Charlotte Commons
What grade are you in?
8th
How old are you?
14. I started here when I was 3.
What do you remember from preschool?
My first preschool teachers were Sherri and Christie. They were really nice. I had Christie for both years in preschool. One vivid memory that comes to mind is of Sheri collecting all of the hoodies that we had left around and stacking them on her head. In the spring when it was warm we would take the hose in the back yard and make a beach in the sand and play with beach toys there. We would also play inside the “spiderweb” and the teachers would rescue us. We also liked to play on the bikes – Allison (Hoeffler) and I would play a game called the dirty Olympics.
Share a memory from a ceremony or trip. Tell me about the experience and what it meant to you.
Two come to mind. After Silver and Gold in 4th grade we all ran off the stage, went into our classroom and changed all of the 4’s, where they referred to grade, to 5’s. After 5th grade we all went to a party at Allison’s house and there were food trucks and all kinds of things. It was probably the biggest party many of us had ever been to and it was so much fun to be there altogether. My favorite trip was to Crow Canyon in fifth grade. Instead of just relaxing, our entire class spent our free time filming this movie. It was really fun even though it was never finished because, well, the kid who was making it…his camera got run over by a car.
What is a life lesson that you learned here?
Probably to always be yourself and accept other people for being themselves. That is really cliché, but to not be afraid of being you. I think at Friends the community is so accepting and you learn that everything is truly better when people are themselves.
Tell me about a project or class that stands out and/or inspired you.
Middle school science has really inspired me. I liked science from the time I was really little, but we did not do as much of it as we do in Middle School. Now we do so many cool experiments and labs, and Kevin is such an inspiring teacher. I am interested in so many more branches of science now, not just space. For example, in 7th grade we studied biology and I had never done anything with that before. In sixth grade we did a project called “the inhabitable planet” where we had to take a planet and figure out how you could make it into a place where people could live. We had unlimited resources and had to figure out how to solve problems in new ways.
Tell me about a person from Friends that stands out and/or inspired you.
A teacher that I had that really stands out is Diane. I had her for second and third grade, and again for middle school. She is so kind and the most generous person. She was always just a wonderful person to be around. Her joy and positivity radiates onto everyone else.
What’s a question I should ask another interviewee?
How has being at Friends School changed your view of the world?
What are 3 words that describes your whole Friends School experience?
Inspiring, life-changing, supportive
Do you have advice for future Friends students?
Always be kind and treat others well. Then they will treat you well, too!
Do you have any advice for me, things to change/things not to change?
Continue to make it fun, challenging and good for everyone!
Do you know where you will go to High School? 1st, 2nd, 3rd choice
I sort of have four that I am thinking about: Monarch, Boulder High, Dawson or Peak to Peak.
What are your passions? What makes you, you?
Music, playing instruments like piano tuba, euphonium and violin). I don’t have a favorite, but I have been playing piano since I was 5. Another passion I have is sports – biking, skiing and softball.
What was it like to be part of the first middle school class?
I thought it was really cool to be the first ones. We got to see what the school was going to be like and help shape it to be reflective of the students interests.
If you could wave a wand……
If I could wave a wand, I would make it so that we could have our buildings on one campus. It would be fun to see people more often! I might also make the middle school a little bit bigger.
