A Report from Head of School Michael Nill

In all areas of school life, 2005-2006 has been an exhilarating year, marked by a number of achievements by the student body, the faculty and, institutionally, by the school. Among the highlights of student and faculty accomplishments are the following:

• The Class of 2006 (top photo) has distinguished itself as a high-achieving and wonderfully diverse group of scholars, artists, athletes, and community advocates. Many took advantage of the early action and early decision options in the college admission process and overall a very high percentage gained admission to their first-choice college. Download the list of college acceptances, which reflects the range of choices our students have available to them as they move on to higher education. 

• The Board of Trustees and I are pleased and honored to announce that Paul A. Lacey, presiding clerk of the American Friends Service Committee and emeritus professor of literature at Earlham College, is this year’s Commencement Speaker. Paul is an international figure and the author of books on leadership, teaching, and Quakerism; he will address our graduates on June 14 and also lead workshops and classes as an Upper School scholar in residence this month.

• After winning a New York City Gold Key in the Scholastic Writing Awards, senior Benjamin Morrison (photo, right) was named a national gold prize winner for short story writing. To put this achievement in context, only 350 student-writers out of 50,000 gain national recognition. Ben and his teacher Sidney Bridges will be honored in June at Carnegie Hall in New York and at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

• Juniors Rachel Fishman and Ariel Teal have been accepted into the New England Young Writers’ Conference at Bread Loaf, held each May at Middlebury College in Vermont. This is the third consecutive year that two students from BFS were selected for this prestigious and well-known conference, a great tribute to our Upper School writing program and faculty as well as to the talented students chosen for the honor.

• Our students continue to excel in the National Latin Exam. Three students received silver medals and maxima cum laude recognition for their top scores in the exam; one student won magna cum laude honors and three received cum laude certificates. Four seventh graders were awarded outstanding achievement certificates and ribbons for their performance on the exam, and five others received achievement citations in recognition of their high scores.

• Four instrumental music students—Yuri F. (gr. 3), Trevor G. (gr. 4), Gavriel L. (gr. 6), and Jackson W. (gr. 9)—have been selected to play at Carnegie Hall on June 10 in the School for Strings’ international Suzuki festival, led by their music teacher Elvira Sullivan. In the dramatic arena, Middle School students Anna E., Claire P., Alice O., Nate T., Tierney M., Theo M., Coner H., Alex E., Sophia R., Molly A., and Zachary R. participated in the Bucks County Playhouse Drama Festival on May 5, directed by their teacher Jeremy Richards. Anna, Nate, Conor, and Alex won critics awards for acting and Claire Paquin won Best Actress.

• BFS received an Honorable Mention Award from the Council for Spiritual and Ethical Education and their 2006 Community Service Recognition Program. The Council acknowledged our sixth graders’ partnership with the St. John’s Place Children’s Center in Crown Heights. A profile of the program, written by Community Service Director Carla Precht, was selected for publication in the Council’s September 2006 “Connections” newsletter.

• Teacher Ellen Kahan (ceramics) was awarded a Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Award for a three-week cultural and education experience in Japan this summer, while Upper School teacher Mark Buenzle, has been chosen for a six-week NEH (National Endowment for the Arts) Summer Institute in South Africa.

• Three members of our faculty were chosen this year to participate as members of Visiting Accreditation Teams for the New York State Association of Independent Schools—Karen Luks at Calhoun School in Manhattan, Diane Mackie at Grace Day School in Long Island, and Roxanne Zazzarro at Soundview Prep School in Westchester. To be selected as a member of an accreditation team is a special honor for educators, one that demands expertise, commitment, and personal time. I am proud that Diane, Karen, and Roxanne were able to represent BFS and make important contributions to our peer independent schools, and I look forward to my own service on a visiting team next fall at Little Red/Elisabeth Irwin in Manhattan.

I am very proud of the record of achievement that the school, as an institution, has been able to realize in 2005-2006:

We successfully managed the transition from a one-building to a two-building school, while preserving the connections among the different educational divisions.

We had 285 PAT volunteers this year. Volunteerism and giving to others is at the heart of BFS, and we are very proud of this record.

Our performing arts programs continue to grow and prosper. Students presented a phenomenal dance concert this spring and entertained the community with music concerts, a musical comedy (Charlie Brown), a thriller (Dracula) and a Shakespeare play (Midsummer Night’s Dream).

In athletics, we won the league and playoff championship in boys varsity soccer and won the girls varsity volleyball league championship. Our boys and girls basketball teams reached the playoffs, with our girls JV team playing in the championship game, and our girls varsity team winning a league championship. We played our second baseball game in Keyspan Park in Coney Island, and added fencing and track clubs to our sports line-up.

We are progressing very well in our use of technology. Every Preschool class has its own password-protected web page on Panthernet (our school’s intranet), and our seventh and eighth grade science fair is online this year, also on Panthernet.

We continued to invite celebrated speakers (Sara Lawrence Lightfoot, Robert Brooks), children’s book authors (Tad Hills, Tor Seidler), and other experts to the school, while at the same time taking advantage of New York City’s resources. Our entire Middle School saw a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado at City Center, and class visits to museums, theater, parks, and other cultural and scientific attractions enriched the educational experience.

We launched a $2.8 million capital campaign (with $2 million already raised) at the world-famous Tribeca Film Festival. The spring benefit set a record with attendance of 500 and $120,000 raised. Soon we will begin renovations of the rooftop playground, the third floor library, and the fourth floor science labs as part of the campaign. I thank you so much for your support and for your efforts to improve the quality of life and make the facilities match the programs. All families will receive a brochure that describes the capital needs and financial goals, and everyone is encouraged to lend their support to the campaign.

Thank you for this opportunity to update you on important news in the life of Brooklyn Friends School. I look forward to seeing you at many of the end of school year celebrations.

Michael Nill
May 15, 2006