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Announcements
and Achievements
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 School Committee 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
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