by Jon Bluestein, Lower School Program Head

It was so fun to be a part of my very first Friends School Harvest Celebrations! The Preschool event, which took place on Thursday, was a joyful time to be together to share a story, homemade muffins, cider, and songs. The spirit of community was strong and the children felt accomplished as they applied head, hand, and heart to the festivities through baking the muffins, helping to tell the Enormous Pumpkin story, and singing with the group. 

K-8 Harvest, which took place earlier today, gave us all our first opportunity of the year to be together with our middle school staff and student friends. The middle schoolers arrived on the South campus in the morning bringing with them delicious homemade apple crumble made with South campus apples and flowers for our craft project. Elementary school friends were paired with middle school buddies to make art, play, and bond over stories, music, and food. The “Stone” Soup made by our elementary students was shared with all and was a big hit. (Thank you again for providing the veggies!) When Honor read the story out on the field, our preschool students joined as well, marking a powerful moment and a glimpse of what Friends school is: One strong, loving community of students from Preschool to Grade 8 – all in different parts of their journey, but all becoming curious, creative, collaborative, resilient, and compassionate friends. What a beautiful sight it was to see so many of our students stand up and lock arms in unity (without any prompting from adults) during the sing along. Friends School really is a special place!

Fall season often has people thinking a lot about gratitude. One of the very best things about Friends School is that, for us, gratitude is not seasonal. We end nearly every meeting, with staff or students or both, with some kind of expression of gratitude for others in the community. I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude to all the members of the staff and faculty who put so much work into both the creation and execution of special events like Harvest and to the creation of a safe and engaging everyday learning environment that makes our students feel known, challenged, and loved. I would also like to say thank you to you, the parents and guardians that have made the choice to share your children with us. We are honored to take this journey together with you all!