Throughout the year, at Chicago Friends School, we reflect on and discuss Quaker Values in community meeting. We recently finished talking about simplicity, and I was forced to pause and think about how hard this is for young kids who are growing up in today’s America. The Quaker value of simplicity might be best recognized…
I went to recess today for the first time in several weeks, and found myself reflecting on actions of some of our boys with pride. This recess, a group of our boys were playing a long game of touch football in the snow. They called fouls, passed, ran, and chased for almost the entire recess…
Every week, our school community gathers for Community Meeting, where we reflect on our Quaker values and share time together in the manner of a Quaker meeting. Recently, when we started reflecting on Peace, I changed the format of Community Meeting. Our habit in Community Meeting was to have a discussion and then a query,…
Ten minutes before dismissal today, I was down in my office in the basement when suddenly I heard footsteps clattering into my office. Renata poked her head in: “You are cordially invited to a musical mask march, upstairs, right now!” Who could resist such an invitation, especially at the end of a long day? Upstairs our…
This year, our whole school instructional theme is circles, and this month all class levels have been studying the circles of Solar System in science. Each class is doing some research, making a model of some form, and learning facts about the solar system’s objects and their movement, each in a developmentally appropriate way. In…
A long-held tradition among Quakers is silent meeting. During this time, community members come together and settle into a shared silence. During the silence, everyone tries to connect with their innermost best self and enjoys a shared sense of fellowship. If someone is moved to speak to the group, they may do so and the…