Posts by Phoenix Friends School
Founder’s Letter – Summertime!
Summertime casts a spell on everyone. The oldest folk song in English – it was transcribed in the 13th Century in Middle English – celebrates the arrival of summer: Sumer is icumen in,Lhude sing cuccu! In modern English, we see the opening two lines aren’t so distant from the English we speak today. The familiar…
Read MoreFounder’s Letter – Delayed, Not Diminished
School Opening September 2024 As we considered reasons to delay opening Phoenix Friends School, lines by Robert Burns ran through my head: “The best laid plans of mice and men/Often go awry.” My own view of planning is something a little different, however, perhaps supported by a more personal, more positive outlook. Plans are “best…
Read More2023 Middle School Summer Camps in Phoenix
As we look ahead to the hot summer months we are thrilled to announce Phoenix Friends School Summer Camps! These week-long camps, designed for kids aged 8 through 12, will provide fun educational opportunities led by Phoenix Friends School teachers. Beginning the week of July 10th and ending on the week of August 7th, we…
Read MoreFounder’s Letter – Back To The Future
Phoenix Friends School aims to prepare our middle-school graduates for choices of high school, of course, but more importantly, we aim to prepare them for a world probably unlike the world we know today.
Read More$7,000 Tuition Benefit For All With ESA
Private school education in Arizona is now more affordable than ever! More than ten years ago, the Arizona legislature passed the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) law which provided funding to families of children with special needs. Last fall, Arizona expanded the ESA law by adding $1 billion in funding for public education and giving every…
Read MorePhoenix Friends School Partners with the Arizona Humane Society
One of the most exciting aspects of Phoenix Friends School’s programming in our early years will be our signature partnerships with community organizations in the city of Phoenix. With The City Is Our Classroom being an essential component in our founding vision we believe it is essential to forge partnerships in the city to support…
Read MoreFounder’s Letter – The City Is Our Classroom
I like cities. I like the look of cities. I like how streets branch and narrow and cross each other, how people and vehicles move and adjust to the traffic around them, how the changing streetscape both signals and conceals the human activity inside. Cities are puzzles to be opened and solved, tempting the interested…
Read MoreFounder’s Letter – The Turning Point
A journalist asked me why I’m founding a private Friends school when I didn’t attend a private school. I offered two answers: 1) my parents couldn’t afford a private school for my sisters and me, and 2) in the 1950s, public high schools were generally excellent, the equivalent of many colleges today. The second point…
Read MoreWhy Quaker School?
For families that are fairly new to the idea of Quaker schools, learning about the educational philosophy can be enlightening but also a bit confusing. One of the most common questions people ask is, “do you have to be a Quaker to go to a Quaker school?” The short answer: No. Students do not have…
Read MorePhoenix Friends School Partners with Arizona Aikido
We’re excited to announce that we’ve partnered with Arizona Aikido to offer the Japanese martial art of Aikido to all Phoenix Friends School students. Aikido focuses on harmonizing with your opponent to bring peaceful resolutions to conflict. It’s just one way we create unique student experiences that feed a sense of inquiry, reflection, action, and…
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