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Student Leadership and Activities
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 Learning and personal development are greatly enhanced by the students' involvement in out-of-class activities. We encourage participation and peer leadership as essential components of the total student experience at BFS. Through our arts programs, athletics, and extensive community service program students gain knowledge and find new avenues of creative expression. They also publish literary magazines, poetry journals, newspapers and the yearbook. All students in grades 3-12 take overnight trips as part of the Outdoor Education Program and the foreign language curriculum. Leadership opportunities for Middle and Upper Schoolers include the Model United Nations, student judiciary, El Club Latino, the Social Action Committee, and the Building Committee.
In the school’s personalized environment, students have a voice in responding to issues of concern, selecting topics for workshops and special programs, initiating projects and trips, celebrating individual and cultural diversity, and strengthening the bonds among students and faculty members. Students take a “hands-on” approach in addressing social issues, participating in age-appropriate projects: Preschoolers might bake food for senior citizens, Lower Schoolers might hold a read-a-thon fundraiser for local, national or international humanitarian groups, Middle Schoolers might share their computer skills with senior citizens, and Upper Schoolers volunteer directly with community organizations. All Upper School students are required to perform 100 hours of community service—20 hours in the school, and 80 out in the community.
 The Middle School Student Council represents the Middle School in governing matters. The Upper School Student Senate, consisting of elected representatives from each grade, makes recommendations to the administration and conducts monthly “town meetings,” organizes dances and other social events. Work on the Student Senate helps students focus on their strengths and leadership abilities, improve their public speaking skills, and work collaboratively with others. Composed of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and the president and senator of each grade, the Senate also coordinates student clubs and activities that meet weekly. Our Upper School students also annually participate in the Quaker Youth Leadership Conference, a nationwide conference affording students and faculty an opportunity to discuss leadership issues, school missions, and community issues both schoolwide and worldwide.
 Brooklyn Friends School also has a comprehensive service program that begins within the school, extends to the local community, and ultimately encompasses an awareness of the world as our community.
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