It was a glorious day for FSM’s all school Crosby Farm Day! Throughout the year, 7th and 8th grade students traveled monthly to Crosby Farm Regional Park in the Mississippi River Valley. They learned the natural history of the place, measured river height and rates, studied wildlife, and wrote and sketched in a specific habitat. Students went back to the same spot each month of the school year and tracked how the.. Read More
“Exploring Together” Quaker Workshop
Friends School of Minnesota was selected as one of two sites in the country to pilot a program of the Friends General Conference and the Friends Council on Education. The program is called “Exploring Together” and has three goals: For Quaker meetings to strengthen ways of welcoming and bringing newcomers into the life of the meeting For Friends schools to give parents, faculty, and staff a chance to explore Quaker.. Read More
What’s New for Fall 2013-14?
It is hard to believe that a new school year is only a few weeks away. We look forward to the energy and bustle of full classrooms! Here are some highlights of what’s new this fall:
1987 article about the founding of Friends School of Minnesota
Thank you to Don Irish for digging up this 1987 Tribune article about the origins of Friends School of Minnesota. It is interesting to read about FSM’s origins and see that the founders’ vision and core values are still strong 25 years later.
All School Crosby Farm Day
Last week, the whole school went down to the Mississippi River at Crosby Farm Regional Park. The 7th and 8th graders organized teaching stations about the lake, river, forest and fields to share their year’s work at this natural area in St. Paul.
Reflections from Pendle Hill
Last February, I had the opportunity to participate in the Educators New to Quakerism retreat at Pendle Hill, just outside of Philadelphia. Pendle Hill is a Quaker study center that offers various programs in a community guided by Quaker testimonies.
Weaving Quaker Values into Social Studies
In third and fourth grade social studies, we explore Quaker values and how students can try to implement these values in their lives. These include Integrity, Community, Simplicity, Stewardship, Justice, Equality and Peace as well as the idea that “There is that of God in everyone.”
A Query: How Do the Seasons Shape You?
Every Wednesday morning, everyone at Friends School of Minnesota gathers for Meeting for Worship. Sometimes our Meeting is “unprogrammed” and we sit quietly in community, perhaps feeling moved to speak from the silence. More often, we provide a query to help focus this time of reflection.