SeaChange: Darkness and Light in the Gulf of Maine, Interview with Lee Chisholm and Otto Wolyniec '16

Middle school students with Lee Chisholm at the SeaChange: Darkness and Light in the Gulf of Maine art installation.

Seventh and eighth-grade science classes recently visited Maine Maritime Museum in Bath and toured the new art installation with retired and beloved FSP teacher - Lee Chisholm. Sea Change: Darkness and Light installation was inspiring and students were left in awe. The project was led by Anna Dibble, Joe Hemes, and Lee Chisholm who are all connected to the FSP community. Many FSP graduates made contributions to this exciting exhibit including: Mira Hartmann ‘21, Anna Siegel ‘20, Bianca Peterman ‘14, and Otto Wolyniec ‘16. 

Lee Chisholm and Otto Wolyniec ‘16 sat down to chat over Zoom about their recent involvement. Here are a few of the highlights and thoughts around this exciting exhibit. 

Pictured above: Otto Wolyniec ‘16, Development Director Brooke Burkett, and retired 7-8 teacher, Lee Chisholm

Lee: Anna Dibble was the artist who made this exhibit come to fruition. I met Anna when she moved from Vermont back in 2018. This project had its beginnings back in the fall of 2018. The US had recently pulled out of the Paris Climate Accords and I put out a call for artists to help with paper mache to create a 7-foot codfish. Anna answered that call and with 350 Maine, we held a codfish funeral on the steps of City Hall in Portland with youth speakers.  

At that time, Anna was visionary in reaching out to Bigelow Labs. An art installation “Majestic Fragility” was installed in the Fall of 2021. That installation would not have come about but for the group of far-seeing scientists, imaginative thinking, and openness to the arts that we encountered at Bigelow. It was this combination that often and uncannily leads to good things happening at the right time and with good people. 

Then, the Maine Maritime Museum reached out and they were interested in a few pieces from the Bigelow Labs. This really led to a new and more ambitious concept… “SeaChange: Darkness and Light in the Gulf of Maine.”  

Otto: Lee approached the conversation about the installation on one of our semi-annual calls. He first talked about an idea of a turtle being at the center. I was pretty hooked on this idea. Although, the turtle never came to fruition.  

I worked on various paintings. One of the banners that I worked on focused on the negative aspects of climate change. The harsh realities of climate change: mass migration, casualties, oil spills, flooding. 

And then this summer, the project was coming together in a space on Congress St. I did all the painting on the windows to share the project. I also created "Sam Cod" which might turn into a mascot or at least has a lot of potential for a bumper sticker.  

I really enjoyed working with Lee and then Bianca too. Bianca was a chance meeting. I had been painting on the windows to share what was being worked on and Bianca walked in the door excited to see Lee and me and get to work. 

Lee: It was really exciting to see Otto's work. Anna Dibble knew of Otto’s work and appreciated him as an artist before he was even helping. And then to have this chance encounter with Bianca. Good people, doing good work. FSP has really been a presence and a force in this project.  

The motivation for this project was to have a vehicle to push back in the fight against climate change. Everyone has an awareness in varying degrees of what it is like in the ocean and the Gulf of Maine. Because of the urgency of what the scientific community shares, we need more awareness. Our question is really: How can we be a force for good? 

The banner that Otto painted of flooded homes is shocking but beautifully done. It’s not just another photograph, it is good art. We need to reach people through good art.  

Cashes Ledge is this mountain in the Gulf of Maine 80 miles from the coast of Portland. It is 30-40 feet from the surface, which means it is bathed in light, giving rise to the deepest, densest kelp forest in the entire Gulf of Maine. This underwater forest provides a nourishing foundation for an intensely rich marine habitat. With this art installation, we wanted the experience to be uplifting. Both metaphorically and literally, Cashes Ledge is uplifting, so we endeavored in this exhibit to bring it into visibility, into conciousness. Even as the Gulf of Maine is seriously challenged, even as the world is seriously challenged we asked ourselves: what can we do? And the answer seemed clear - strongly and lastingly protect Cashes Ledge, and as a first step toward this goal, use art to inform people of its existence.

Seventh and eighth-grade teachers, Nicole Favreau and Pete Nowak took their students to see the exhibit as it tied into their study of plastics. “It was inspirational for students to see. They have known Lee as a teacher, a passionate teacher. But it is quite something for students to see Lee as a person working in the community around what he is passionate about,” shared Pete.   

An eighth-grade student shared, “When you walk into the exhibit, the first room is striking. It is dark and pieces of art are put in your way to disrupt your path purposefully. It is a trash apocalypse. And then you walk into this light-filled room that is beautiful and holds the hall of protectors. I’ve learned specific facts about plastics in the ocean but this was different. All the pieces that people made were amazing.” 

The Maine Maritime Museum is open daily from 9:30am-5pm. SeaChange Darkness and Light in the Gulf of Maine opened this Winter 2023 and will remain open through December 31, 2023. It got rave reviews from the FSP 7-8 science classes and is well worth the visit! 

What are the environmental impacts of producing, using, and disposing of materials?: A Study of Plastic with the 7-8 Science Classes

What are the environmental impacts of producing, using, and disposing of materials? This is the question that seventh and eighth-grade students have begun to investigate in their Chemistry of Materials unit. This struck their curiosity about how different materials have different properties, which affect their usefulness and impact on the environment.  

Students' anchoring question they are investigating is: What is the best choice for making single-use drink containers? 

First, students investigated the physical properties of elements, including aluminum, copper, carbon, and iron. They have been able to use this lab to gain a better understanding of the materials: glass, plastic, and aluminum. Students examined the data about each material including the percentage recyclable, pollution created in the process of making the product, cost to produce, and how many products can be made out of a single ton of material.  

Students' next steps in their investigation have led them to put their knowledge to work and impact change in their community.

Students are surveying the ways that we at Friends School use single-use plastic items and the ways that we could recycle, reuse, repair, reduce, refuse, and redesign our usage. Students are creating two proposals for the FSP board to review around a ban on single-use plastic items for events and every day use of trash bag liners. Together, students are taking a closer look at the ways that we can collectively be better stewards of our natural world.

What if the Quaker SPICES are Choices Instead of Values? Educators New to Quakerism Professional Development Training Reflection with New 3-4 Lead Teacher, Rachel Fischhoff

Pictured above: Rachel pictured with third and fourth-grade students and their eighth-grade buddies at our recent "I-Kid-Arod" assembly.

Friends Council on Education offers workshops for educators new to Quakerism. At Friends School of Portland, our goal is to offer all teachers and staff new to Friends education the opportunity to attend this training via zoom or in person.  

This February, our new 3-4 teacher, Rachel Fischhoff, attended the training at Pendle Hill in Pennsylvania. As the only Friends School in Northern New England, we benefit from this unique opportunity to meet with other educators and administrators teaching at Friends Schools across the country. It is an opportunity to compare experiences, ask questions, and make connections with our strong (but small) Quaker school community.  

Here are a few of Rachel’s thoughts:  

What is something that you learned that you didn’t know about Quakerism?

There was a lot of conversation around the origins of Friends Meetings and historical Quaker figures. I didn’t realize that Bayard Rustin was a Quaker! I also didn’t realize that there were programmed and unprogrammed Quaker meetings. I knew that FSP has its founding roots from Portland Friends Meeting which is unprogrammed. But I didn’t realize that there was another version of meeting.  

I was also really curious about what practicing Quakers thought about Quaker schools. I was struck by the conversation about how there are so few Quakers in the world that Quaker schools are really a beloved way to sustain Quaker values in the world.  

What was it like meeting other Friends School teachers and administrators? 

There were people at the training who held a bunch of different roles: assistant heads, division heads, teachers new to Quaker schools but not to teaching, teachers brand new to Quakerism and teaching, and graduates of Quaker schools just beginning teaching. When I was talking with other teachers, we talked about classroom dynamics a lot. When I spoke with administrators, it was a similar conversation just on a different scale. We were talking about spaces, school culture, and connecting threads between classrooms. I also had a really interesting conversation about discipline in middle school and Quakerism.  

What is a new practice or way of thinking that you would like to bring back to your work at FSP?

The Executive Director of Friends Council on Education, Drew shared his wish that Friends Schools would teach testimonies as practices instead of values. He spoke about how the testimonies are all action words that can guide our choices. I was really intrigued by this and I left thinking about how I might think about the SPICES as actions.

We talked about the underpinnings of ideas that were radical in Quaker schools when they were introduced but are now more widely accepted like asking deep questions, collective decision-making, and the autonomy of children. I appreciated delving into some of the theological underpinnings rather than thinking about it as the education tool of the moment.  

Anything else?

There was a lot of conversation around meeting for worship. It was pretty interesting to hear about different models, and different questions that are coming up at different schools. I think that I am more curious than I was before to ask myself, “How do I help kids consider if they have a message to share during meeting?”  

The whole professional development training just had a really good tone. It was at Pendle Hill, so it was just dominated by people in their practice. There was so much good energy around. I am glad that I had the opportunity to go!  

Building The Foundation: Lessons in Stewardship in Preschool

Pictured above: Preschool students playing outdoors on a rainy winter day at the tree fondly known as "Yoda's Hut."

Bird Land...

Yoda’s Hut...

The Gulch...

The Corner Spot... 

These are a few of the places that have been named over the years by preschool students at Friends School of Portland. Children learn intimately about the nature they are surrounded by. Ashley Blake and Jonathan Ewell witness this foundational experience every day in preschool at FSP.      

Ashley shared a few of her thoughts about how children’s experiences, at an early age, in the outdoors form the foundation of appreciation and deep love for the natural world. 

“Preschoolers explore new spaces in the forest and find their own connections, in developmentally accessible ways, to the natural elements around them. They practice being observers and thinkers. Children play with each other and find shared joy with peers, construct meaning as they think and talk about what they see, build curiosity and dig deeper into finding out more, and learn to move carefully and thoughtfully as they do. 

“These magical moments in the forest are rich, developmentally appropriate, and joyful. It is very often that children will recall moments, in the forest, that felt meaningful to them. The children will request that we visit their very special and favorite natural spaces. These places matter to them because they’ve had an opportunity to build up a love of them. These experiences are a valuable and necessary first stop on the path to lifelong environmental stewardship. I believe that these experiences become the fertile soil from which they can grow into more intentional action. 

“At the heart of environmental stewardship is an appreciation and deep love of our natural world. As children stop to notice and wonder about our outdoor explorations, they are building that foundation. This is done with intentional slowness and through the lens of simplicity.”

Sustaining Culture and Community

Pictured above: Seventh and eighth-grade students in morning advisory with Spanish teacher and Advisor, Dareth.

At FSP, all teachers spend significant time at the start of school working intensively on getting to know one another, building community, understanding identity, and creating our classroom agreements for the year.  This is the foundation on which we build open communication and welcoming and respectful classroom communities.  It is the foundation students need to take the risks necessary to learn.

Though the initial work of building community takes about six weeks, sustaining that community is an ongoing process. This takes place in the whole-school rituals that sustain our community– Monday Meeting for Worship, Wednesday All School Community Meeting, and Friday Assemblies.  Classroom communities also engage in regular rituals. Each morning, teachers hold morning meetings in which students hold silence, greet one another, and welcome each other into the classroom.  Meeting times are also used for sharing news, holding silence, playing team-building games, or working together to solve issues that arise.

Teachers spend time each week (and often each day) building community and supporting students around social-emotional skills as opportunities arise.  This week, for example, one teacher worked with students to manage a conflict they were having.  Another led a class discussion about how to better support everyone to feel respected and valued.  Another worked with a student on giving a clear message to classmates. A class spent time revisiting its agreements.  A pedagogical approach that asks students to co-construct learning in community also requires ongoing work on the skills of negotiation, problem-solving, and approaching learning using the lenses of justice and equity. 

Nurturing a learning community in which each person can both share their own Light and recognize the Light in others takes daily work. It takes a recognition that progress is not linear, and that it is through asking questions, taking action, reflecting on our practices, and doing better the next time that we will continue to grow individually and as a community.  It is through this daily practice and close attention to our interactions at all levels that we can sustain FSP’s culture and community.

Strategic Planning: You Are Invited

As we wrap up the first phase of our Strategic Plan process, we are poised to embark on the second phase. 

You are invited to our all-community Collaborative Visioning Session on Saturday, March 18 from 9:00 am to noon!

At this event, we plan to share a synthesis of the discoveries of the first phase of our strategic planning process, reorient to our strengths, engage in visioning conversations around the key strategic questions that have emerged so far, and launch what we’re calling Strategy Teams, the next opportunity to get involved between late March and early May. The role of each Strategy Team will be to gain a deeper understanding of an assigned strategic priority area, lift up important questions about the issue, gather and digest relevant data, and begin to define the goals and objectives for that priority area.

Come on March 18 to hear community responses to the question “What are our strengths?” and start pursuing answers to “How can we elevate these strengths, using our values as our guide?” We are seeking a wide range of vantage points at this visioning session, whether you have known our school since its inception or are new to FSP.

RSVP below to attend by Wednesday, March 15. 

Childcare will be available, please indicate your family's needs when RSVP’ing. 

FSP Graduate Spotlight: Catching Up with Bella Burnap '16

Bella ‘16 leading Art Club afterschool at FSP.

What are you up to now?

Right now, I am taking a year off from college.  I finished my second year at Colorado College and I am now applying to transfer schools.  I am looking at bigger cities.  My first year at college was virtual and my second year was a mix. The pandemic forced me to pause for a moment, to deviate from my original plan, and to slow down.  I have really changed the course of my life right now.  I hadn’t imagined that I would be working in aftercare at Friends School, running an Art Club, and substituting as needed.  I have a bunch of new interests that I didn’t know I had. I’ve been looking at programs in college for education and child psychology.  I have seen the challenges of teaching and also the rewards of it this year.  It is something that I am really considering and a path that without this opportunity to slow down may not have opened for a long time. 

Favorite Memory of FSP:

I’m just going to list a few memories as so many come to mind.  The eighth-grade trip, the Appylimpics, and my preschool teacher Lea Sutton.  

We went to Washington DC on our eighth-grade trip and I just remember how much fun it was to spend time with everyone outside of school.  We made and shared meals together.  

The App-y-lmpics was a legendary assembly.  Jonathan just made it so special!

And Lea, I vividly remember her teaching us how to fold a blanket with a friend.  It was just such a kind moment.  It really comes to mind when I think about my time at Friends School. 

---

Celebrate with Us as We Catch Up with the First 100 Graduates

A tradition in FSP early child hood programs is to celebrate the 100th day of school. Now, we are counting our way to an exciting milestone at FSP. This June, the 100th student will graduate from Friends School of Portland! This spring, we will be spotlighting and catching up with our first 100 graduates.

Are you an FSP grad? Want to share your favorite memory? Want to share what you are up to after your time at FSP? Reach out to Brooke Burkett, Development Director, by email (brooke@friendschoolportland.org) or phone (207) 558-6214.

Friends School of Portland's Incoming Board Members

Every school year the Friends School of Portland Board of Directors undertakes a process to find new members to replace those who are stepping down and to expand our collective talents and experience. Last school year, the FSP Governance Committee intentionally made changes to our recruitment efforts with the goal of diversifying our membership. Instead of relying primarily on the existing community connections of our present Board members and the Head of School, we instituted a more formal nomination process to broaden the circles in which we find new members. As we try new processes and shift how we recruit new stewards of FSP, we recognize that we still have work to do. 

We are thrilled to share four new board members who will help continue our important work. Our new members bring a wealth of expertise in education, child advocacy, school management, Quaker faith, and diverse life experiences to the Board; they will undoubtedly enrich the collective wisdom of the Board as we guide the school in the coming years.

It is with great pleasure that we introduce the newest members of the Friends School Board of Directors:

Kathy Beach is a longtime member of Portland Friends Meeting. She is a retired nurse-midwife, having practiced in Portland for 33 years. She still enjoys getting to know families with young children. Her grandniece, Cosette, has been at FSP for 2 years and is in kindergarten this year. Kathy and her husband Chris live in South Portland. 

Fritz Weiss worked in Vermont in public schools helping them become better at educating students who struggled with emotional and behavioral challenges. He helped launch three new schools, two as part of the team and one as a parent. He retired and moved to Portland in 2019 just in time for the pandemic. Fritz has been active among Quakers in New England for many years. He served as the presiding clerk of New England Yearly Meeting for four years from 2015 – 2019.

Galen McNemar Hamann attended Earlham College which sparked a love of Friends Education 

and a 20-year career in Friends Schools. While at Moses Brown School, as the Director of Friends Education, Galen got to know Friends School of Portland faculty through professional development. That was an impetus for visiting the school on Mackworth Island on a day that 

she had the good fortune of seeing the Itidarod reenacted on the snowy hills. After serving as 

the Assistant Head of School at Virginia Beach Friends School, when Galen returned to New 

England, she was eager to support Friends School of Portland: the vision, the faculty and the hands on Quaker Education she had come to know. Galen now serves as the Middle School 

Director at Thayer Academy and lives with her wife and 3 children in Braintree, Massachusetts. 

Luc Nya is currently employed by the State of Maine as Children’s Behavioral Health Program 

Coordinator. He has a deep interest in early childhood education and has loved and supported 

the Friends School of Portland from its inception. He is thrilled to join the FSP Board. When Luc 

is not volunteering on a nonprofit board, he loves to garden. He lives in Saco, Maine. 

Learn more about our full board on our FSP here...

Parenting for Peace: Calming Strong Emotions with Resonant Language

Parenting for Peace is an FSP tradition with the mission to bring outside speakers and thinkers to our community so that we can be a community of learners together and make our implicit shared values more explicit, integrating our values further with our practices at school and at home. Typically, we host a Fall Parenting for Peace event for faculty and families, while our Spring event is open to our wider community.

This Fall, about twenty-five parents, faculty, administrators, and board members joined Peggy Smith for a series of workshops. Peggy is a former teacher and founder of Open Communication, an organization that teaches Nonviolent Communication, a method designed to increase empathy and improve quality of life among both people using the tools and the people around them. Together, we spent three Thursday evening workshops learning about “Calming Strong Emotions with Resonant Language.”

The phrase “resonant language” originates with the image of two cellos, one in its case and one being played. The cello in its case will start resonating with the sounds it hears, a “warm accompaniment.” Relational language strategies help us turn to each other (and ourselves) with more warmth. We can choose how we resonate and how our resonance can help others. 

When we accept with kindness how the person we are talking to feels, making resonant guesses, we can gather more information and stay in better relationship. At their essence, Peggy’s strategies and teachings were all about “empowering people to be the authority on their own reality.” We can play an active role in each other’s lives, as partners, parents, colleagues, family members – by helping others calm their own nervous systems. And we can also do this for ourselves! 

More detailed participant takeaways below will offer a glimpse of the strategies and new ways of seeing that came out of this course. A huge thank you to Peggy Smith for her generous, candid, funny, and heart-warming teaching style.

“Nonviolent communication takes time and practice. It is using relational language and strategies to hold your own feelings and needs and honor those of others. In this way we find a path forward to deeper understanding and empathy of one another, especially in conflict resolution.”

“This workshop helped me examine and be aware of my habitual responses to life and to others in my life. I especially appreciated the sections that gave examples of empathy blockers and the four chairs of thinking/responding. They were great mirrors for myself and I appreciate having some new lenses and language tools to practice and create new habits of response--ones that will generate greater harmony in others and in myself.”

“I loved the practical and simple (but not necessarily easy) strategies such as to pause, name the feeling or need, rather than focusing on resolution or on brushing past the situation… What a wonderful teacher and group of participants!”

“There is a less transactional way of living available! … I can learn to ask for what will support me and hear better what would support others.”

“I have taken a similar class in the past dealing with conflict resolution and found Peggy's approach to nonviolent communication refreshing and new. Peggy came across as very insightful and engaging. Her class has given me more options and tools for dealing with conflict(s)... and how to self center in an effort to strengthen connections.”

“Remarkable new way of thinking about every day interactions. I found the conversation stimulating and thought-provoking and will certainly be attempting (with baby steps) to integrate this into my life. Many thanks for this eye-opening experience.”

Note from Megan, Enrollment Director

Pictured above: Seventh and eighth-grade Middle School Ambassadors with Director of Enrollment, Megan Campbell, at our most recent October Open House.

This fall has been one for the books. I have been taking it all in as I transition from my role in the classroom to Director of Enrollment.  

We continue to thoughtfully bring back traditions, and continue with new ones that were facilitated by COVID. In October, we held our first in-person Open House of the school year welcoming not only prospective families but Middle School Ambassadors too! We had put this tradition of middle school students hosting campus tours on hold in 2020. This is a wonderful leadership opportunity for middle school students and provides a unique perspective for families eager to learn more about FSP. 

Our ambassador training consisted of practice tours and a special lunch where students learned a few interesting facts about FSP and had the opportunity to ask questions about the Open House. It was a delight to work with middle school students in this capacity. They showed up bright and early at our Open House to take prospective parents and students on tours of our school and answer their questions about what it is truly like to be a student at FSP. 

A few students shared highlights of their experience as ambassadors: 

“It was nice to give back to the community and to show all the parts of the school that I love.” -Eighth-grade student

“When I was new, somebody gave me a tour. It was so fun to be a part of that cycle for someone else!” - Fifth-grade student

“Giving a tour with another student was fun–getting to hear about their perspective was so cool!” -Eighth-grade student

“Because I’m new this year, not only was I teaching people about the school, but I was learning more about it from my friends.” - Sixth-grade student

“My favorite part was talking about the parts of the school that I really like, and seeing families get excited.” - Eighth-grade student

We are hosting a series of Virtual Information Sessions which you can learn more about on our website. Our next Open House is Saturday, January 7th, from 9 am-noon, and I look forward to having Middle School Ambassadors welcome new families again!

Learn more about upcoming Admissions Events here: https://www.friendsschoolportland.org/admission-events

New Friendly Face at the Front Office: Jenni Casas, Office Manager

Pictured above: Jenni and a kindergarten student noticing that they are wearing matching mushroom boots!

In June, I began welcoming friends and families to FSP in the front office. It was lovely to settle into the office manager role during the more quiet Summer months. I remember feeling very nervous about what the hustle and bustle of Fall would bring; now that I’m in it, I love the busy school days. 

It feels very special to get to know the students. My heart lights up when I hear, “Hello, Jenni!!” and get waves from the hallway. I love hearing about new dogs, exciting weekends, a delicious cookie, and all of the little bits of news I get from students.  

It has been so fun to see faces that I recognize from my many years of baking at Scratch Baking Co. in South Portland. It’s lovely to reconnect with those families. A lot of the babies I would see regularly at the bakery are now Middle Schoolers!      

More recently, I worked for Preble Street as the Teen Center Kitchen Manager. I was lucky enough to spend a lot of quality time with Ann Dodd-Collins, a Portland Friends Meeting member, while working at Preble Street Teen Center. It was often just Ann and me in the kitchen sharing about our lives while preparing and serving lunch for about 50 youths. We talked a lot about books and knitting, and she piqued my curiosity about Portland Friends Meeting and Quakerism.

I have found Friends School of Portland to be a pretty magical place. During the quiet moments of the day, I take time to look at the pine trees that surround the building and feel a little more grounded and at peace. I’m excited to see and experience the flow of FSP in all the seasons. And I look forward to meeting you when you next stop in at Friends!

Counting to 100 Graduates: Conversations with Alumnx

Pictured above: Eighth-grade students back in 2016 sitting together on the old logs in the courtyard. A big shout out to this class who are now on to their adventures after high school!

This year, we will celebrate a big milestone for FSP -- 100 graduates! Just in the last few months, we have had 5 graduates join our summer camp staff, 3 graduates join our AfterCare team, and 1 graduate joined our Strategic Plan Design Committee. There is a satisfying and joyful “at last” feeling now that our dear alumnx are starting to come back to us! 

Over the summer, I interviewed a few camp counselors on what it was like to find themselves back at FSP. What had they missed? What did it feel like now?

“Coming back as a camp counselor reminded me how special the Friends School is. For example, how it gives kids the opportunity to be themselves and feel valued. I didn't realize how much I miss this feeling of welcomeness that can't be found everywhere. I enjoyed helping (the youngest campers) interact with each other the same way Friends taught me to treat others.” -Tess McNally ‘20

“There’s a definite value to having space in the woods. Not just a playground, but having space in the woods. I have vivid memories of being in that overhang under the stairs – we spent a lot of time there during AfterCare.” - Addyson Babcock’19

“I felt most nostalgic on my first day as a counselor for the FSP camp… I felt the warmth and love of the FSP community again. I felt this most at the end of the day during camp meeting when all of the groups come together. It reminded me of Meeting For Worship and Assembly during the school year. Friends School was and is still a second home to me.”

-Molly Katz ‘21

“(Being back) is weirdly similar but also different. It’s a foreign place to me but also I’ve lived here. Putting the board on two or three swings was a nostalgic moment for me. It’s the weird stuff that’s super fun that’s very FSP, that you wouldn’t find other places.” 

-Avery Rhoads ‘18

“Being back at FSP definitely made me feel very nostalgic. It’s kind of wonderful to see what has grown out of the FSP that I knew since I’ve been here -- the new wing, the gaga ball pit, and the trails are all things that make the kids so happy that didn’t exist when I was at school! It feels like the school has grown up, in a way, from its original roots.”

-Maya Denkmire ‘17

"It feels great to be back. It's a very full circle moment. I feel so honored with the opportunity to give back to the community that made me who I am today. FSP, it's the same in all the best ways but with more people!"

-Bella Burnap '16

Making Connections with Our Neighbors: Falmouth Land Trust and FSP's Trail Stewards

Over the last few months, three classes at Friends School of Portland have teamed up with Falmouth Land Trust for projects and trail work on the Underwood Springs Forest Preserve trail network. Given that the Underwood trails abut our campus and our students use them on a regular basis for PE (and other) classes, this collaboration seemed like a natural fit! Rebecca Dugan FLT’s new Education and Outreach Coordinator, has coordinated these efforts, which include a plant identification project with Aliza’s 5-6 science class and a data collection project with both 1-2 classes. In Rebecca’s words: 

We have been so excited to work with Friends School students and staff! It's so helpful to have students monitoring trails and reporting back what they find, whether that's an interesting plant or a bridge in need of repair. We also love getting kids out on trails and excited about nature since they are our next generation of stewards! Young people can be leaders in caring for the land and make a long-term positive impact!

In September, both Alex Perry, FLT’s Stewardship Coordinator, and Rebecca, met with Aliza’s science class to help them learn the importance of an ecological inventory, which they will work on throughout the year at the Underwood Springs property. Alex and Rebecca also explained what a land trust does, how they connect with people in Falmouth, and how the students’ plant-identification efforts will help support FLT’s grant-writing efforts.  

The 1-2 classes will be stewards or “scouts” of the Underwood Springs trails this year. Once per season, students will walk the trails in small groups, collecting data about the condition of the trails – bridges that need repair, trail signs that have fallen down, and any other observations they have about the general state of the trails. The students kicked off this project with a visit from first-grade parent and artist, Ellie Barnett, to learn about the difference between scientific drawing and “regular” drawing. After each season’s walk and data collection – a combination of notes, drawings, and photos – students will share their findings with Rebecca and the FLT staff.

Although there are not currently any other volunteer projects at Underwood Springs, Rebecca says there will be in the near future so keep an eye out for future volunteer opportunities!

7-8 Science Investigates Intertidal Crab Data

Pictured above: Pictured above: Students identify green crabs at Broad Cove, Cumberland

At the beginning of the year, the 7-8 began a science unit on Ecosystem Dynamics, which focused on European Green crabs, a species of crab invading the Maine coast. They started by learning about the intertidal zone and played a game displaying how green crabs affected the species richness and diversity of life living there. They learned how to ID crabs and analyze data in preparation to collect their own for the GMRI (Gulf of Maine Research Institute) Citizen Science Project which they participated in along with other Maine schools. 

The research questions for the investigation were:

• How do the populations of Native, Green, and Asian Shore crabs compare along the Maine Coast?

• Are crab populations changing over time in response to warming temperatures?

• Where do we predict Native, Green, and Asian Shore crabs will be in the future?

On their first field trip, they went to Broad Cove looking for green crabs. They found some in eelgrass, an area where they learned green crabs are commonly found in class. Green crabs often damage eelgrass beds by burrowing into the soil or clipping the blades to find bivalves to eat. Burrowing into the eelgrass is one way that Green crabs have adapted to survive cold winters in Maine.

On their second outing, they went to Mackworth Island and gathered in small groups to set up 1x1 meter quadrats along the shoreline transect. They spent an hour looking for crabs of any species (the four main types are the invasive Green and Asian Shore, and the Native Jonah, and Rock crabs) in their respective quadrats, digging in the sand, and looking under rocks and seaweed. 

Pictured above: Students participating in the GMRI protocol for Intertidal Crab Investigation

When they got back to school, they entered their data including species found, size, sex, shell type, and number of claws in the GMRI database https://investigate.gmri.org/project/intertidal_crabs/ and made a scatter plot from the data that they gathered. They found only Green crabs.

Next, they went to Wells Reserve. There they got to look at water samples with different types of plankton under a microscope to see what was in the water column. They talked with scientists doing real studies on green crabs with hopes of coming up with solutions to the invasive species problem. They spent time looking at graphs and taking blood samples from live Green crabs to test the levels of protein in them (using a refractometer) to try to predict when a crab was ready to molt.

Pictured above: Students view plankton via dissecting and compound microscopes and look through refractometers to measure proteins in crab blood.

On their last trip, they went to Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth. There, they followed the same protocol as they had at Mackworth, but found very different results. They still found many Green crabs, but they found even more Asian Shore crabs, with numbers up to 50 in a single one-meter square as seen in the graph below.

Pictured above: Students setting up a quadrat at Kettle Cove (left) and identifying an Asian Shore Crab (right).

Finally, students wrote claims based on the Research Questions, focusing on engaging in an argument from evidence (using GMRI data, CODAP graphs made by students, Wells Reserve data, and class data). They learned how to ensure validity in their data, how to consider and rule out counterclaims, and how to pose questions to investigate their claims further. The final step was picking out a way to share their findings with the community, which included sharing with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute live Zoom session with other students and scientists from across the state, with Grandfriends and parents in the CER gallery, and the wider school community via the e-bulletin and here in the FSP Quarterly newsletter! Enjoy checking out some of the student reports below!

Green crabs will support Maine's newest fishery- Michaela

Asian Shore crabs will out compete European Green crabs- Xander

Atlantic Blue crabs will take over the population of Green crabs- Max

Green crabs will be Maine's Newest Fishery- Eric

Green crabs will become Maine's newest fishery- Theo

Practicing Literacy and Making Potions with Kindergarten Students

Kindergarteners hunted for ingredients outside that they could identify -- maple leaves, acorn innards, dirt, pine needles. Bringing the ingredients inside, children chopped, blended, steeped, and more to create their potion inventions. Children blended them into different shades of dark green, purples, and pinks. Finally, kindergarteners used the word wall with over 70 kitchen action words to compose their own recipes. Potions ranged from those that grew candy trees, to those that created peace. Students were industrious and eager to explain their products: 

“This potion turns you into toast.” 

“This potion turns the school into cake.” 

“This potion doesn’t do anything. I call it ‘The Potion You’re Not Sure What it Will Do.’”

 “This potion just smells really good.”

School Wide Professional Development Goals: Critical Friends Groups and Vertical Alignment

Pictured above: Second grade student practicing their reading skills with preschool friends.

Each year, our faculty decide on a shared area of professional development and growth to guide our professional work together. This year, we are focusing our energies on launching Critical Friends Groups and working on Vertical Alignment.

Vertical Integration

In 2015, when our enrollment was just under 100 students, Friends School of Portland began planning an expansion of our school, adding one section every other year, beginning with first and second grade in 2016. This year marks the culmination of that plan; with the addition of a second seventh-eighth grade section, we now have a total enrollment of 140.   

During this period of growth, we focused on expanding grade-level teams and revising curriculum and pedagogy within those grade double-spans. At the end of last year, the faculty decided to spend this year revisiting what’s called Vertical Alignment, focusing on students’ programmatic experience as they transition “up” through the grades. Currently, subcommittees of teachers are working on questions of alignment in the areas of writing, math, social studies, science, and the specials classes. After winter break, the full faculty will come together to recommend the next steps in each of those areas.

Critical Friends Group

Our NEASC self-study clarified our commitment to collaborative problem-solving, adult peer-to-peer learning, and direct communication. As an extension of these values, we have initiated Critical Friends Groups for all faculty and staff. In the language of National School Reform Faculty, the founders of Critical Friends Groups, these are professional learning communities that consist of 5 - 12 members who commit to improving their practice through collaboration and structured interactions, called “protocols.” CFGs at Friends School meet once per month during our Friday afternoon faculty meeting time.

Sara Primo, Head of School, and Allie Miller, 5-6 Humanities teacher, have been trained through National School Reform Faculty, and this summer they co-trained eight faculty members to serve as protocol facilitators. Though our experience this year is still in its early stages, our school has identified that the purposes of this initiative are to: make faculty’s work more public and collaborative, prevent burnout, get unstuck on professional dilemmas, foster equity, and improve student learning. So far this has already shifted our school culture in positive ways.

Mapping Out Our Year of Strategic Planning

Courtney Bourns with Strategic Plan Design Committee members during last Saturday's retreat.

It is with excitement that I announce the launch of our strategic planning process, which will result in a new five year Strategic Plan for Friends School of Portland by September 2023. Our recent NEASC re-accreditation and Friends Council Self-Study have helped us reflect on and evaluate our own processes. I look forward to our entire community spending time between January and April considering the path ahead – one that reflects our values and takes us where we collectively want to go.  

Linda Ashe-Ford, a recently retired faculty member shared with me: “We’re not a magic place – a lot of careful choices have led to what can feel like magic here.” Our previous Strategic Plan shaped our growth and recent middle school wing addition, fueled the direction of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts, and created opportunities for our faculty to develop as Quaker educators, among other aspects of FSP life it would now be easy to take for granted. 

This fall, we partnered with Courtney Bourns, a consultant with Quaker education roots, who will guide our community through this process. We have formed a Strategic Plan Design Committee that is a cross-section of our broader community: board members, faculty, administrators, alumni, and parents. This team convened for the first time on Saturday, November 19, and is tasked with creating a map of the process so each member of our community can contribute their voice. 

By early 2023, we will have more to share. There will be a range of opportunities for you to participate, from online surveys to listening sessions. As Strategic Planning Design Committee member, Quinn Lavigne ‘09 shared at our opening retreat: “I am proud of this school for taking growth and change so seriously.” I look forward to the conversations ahead as we look forward together with hope, clarity, and a shared vision.

Friends School of Portland's Departing Board Members

Pictured above: FSP Board Potluck with NEASC Accreditation team in Spring 2022.

The Board of Directors is bidding farewell to three members this month.

Sam Solish, a founding board member, has served longer than anyone thus far. With only a short break, Sam has been on the board for most of its fifteen years. Sam's contributions have been many: the kitchen table at which the idea for the school was discussed, a strong Quaker presence, and along with his wife, Jo, steady hands steering the first capital campaign to build the school. We will miss Sam's institutional knowledge and delicious homemade bread, but know that his love for FSP will be ever present.

Rob Ravenelle has been on the board for seven years, serving as treasurer with great expertise. He has been a wise and careful steward of the school's finance committee, has taught us all how to read a balance sheet, and served on the second capital campaign. He has been an invaluable resource to the Heads of School, Finance Director, and Executive Committee. We have been extremely lucky to have Rob on the board and will miss his calm expert guidance.

Nat Shed is leaving us after four years, but also after many years on the school's Advisory Committee, providing support to the Heads of School. As the longtime director of Friends Camp, Nat has been both the school's advocate in wider Quaker circles and a knowledgeable presence on the Finance Committee. We will miss his laugh and his breadth of experience.

NEASC Process: Reflection, Feedback, Revision

Pictured above: Students in Katie’s 1-2 Class on Mackworth Island back in 2011...when we last had our NEASC accreditation year.

This year, faculty and staff, with support from parents and board members, engaged in a yearlong self-study for the renewal of our accreditation through the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The process began in the spring and summer of 2021, with preparation for an October “Foundation Visit.” In October, members of the evaluation committee visited FSP to meet with administrators and review documents and self-study materials related to the foundational (non-program) areas of the school: enrollment, governance, resources, staffing, and health and safety. The visiting committee made some helpful suggestions around health and safety protocols, and they supported our conclusions and goals around staffing, diversity, and enrollment.

Beginning during our August staff days in 2021 and continuing until March, teachers worked together to examine all aspects of our program. This process culminated with the submission of a report outlining the conclusions, questions, and aspirations that came out of our program self-study in advance of an in-depth “program visit.” On May 2-3, a visiting team of five educators came to campus to visit classes; meet with each staff member; and review policies, procedures, and curriculum documents.  

The final report was submitted to the NEASC board by the visiting team in June. We expect to hear official news of our successful accreditation renewal this summer.

The key takeaways from the visiting committee’s report can be found in their list of major commendations and major recommendations, which are included below. The recommendations are all reflections of goals that our own self-study identified.

Major Commendations:

• The Visiting Committee commends FSP for cultivating a mission-driven experience which permeates aspects of the life of the school.

• The Visiting Committee commends FSP teachers for their dedication to their ongoing learning, curriculum development, devotion for honing their craft, noteworthy communication with parents, and for their genuine support of their students’ intellectual and emotional growth.

• The Visiting Committee commends FSP for recognizing, valuing, and nurturing the unique reality of every student at each stage of their development and creating a safe, joyful experience for their learners.

Major Recommendations:

• The visiting committee recommends FSP proceed with plans and coordination of the next Strategic Plan to address space, enrollment, staffing, technology, alternate revenue streams, plans for community outreach, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work, and fundraising priorities.

• The visiting committee recommends FSP devise communications structures to revisit, realign, and collaborate on aligning their vertical and cross-discipline curriculum, visual identities within the classrooms and community space, and instructional practices.

• The Visiting Committee recommends FSP devote dedicated discernment time to its redesign of the Middle School program as it reaches its full capacity next year.

Friends believe that truth is continually revealed. In this spirit, we also understand that growth, learning, and improvement are a continual process. We welcome this feedback as one part of the ongoing process of reflection and revision.

The NEASC work has also afforded us an opportunity to reflect on FSP’s tremendous growth in the eleven years since our initial accreditation, and to recognize the remarkable constancy of the things we hold at our core. In 2011, at the time of our initial accreditation, FSP had an enrollment of 85 students and was in the process of looking for a permanent home. The 2011 visitors commended the school for the staff’s dedication to living the mission and establishing a culture of joyful learning, a culture that continues today.  

Taken together, recommendations from our own reflection process and the committee’s insights have given us an excellent foundation to guide our professional work in the next five years as well as a starting place from which to launch next year’s Strategic Planning process. We are excited to use our NEASC work to cherish and preserve those things that make us FSP while we continue to grow into our future. 

Exploring and Understanding the Value of Our National Parks

Students in the 3-4 classes explored the National Parks of the US. Each student chose a different National Park to research, beginning with locating their park on a map, reaching out with specific questions to the National Park staff, and which Native people inhabited the land before it was established as a National Park.   

Students wrote letters to each National Park visitor center with pointed questions. The following weeks, students eagerly awaited the arrival of the mail! Each National Park sent students thoughtful answers and information about the parks and their natural features. Students also learned what a geologist studies and what natural forces change the topography of a landscape. Students learned which forces shaped the land in their chosen National Park, and identified specific geological features.  

Each class spent time researching the Native Land Digital map site and then spoke with an Indigenous Alaskan National Park Ranger via Zoom about some of the parks in Alaska and their relationship with the indigenous peoples of Alaska.

Students then framed their research through the lens of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), a way in which the knowledge of indigenous peoples throughout our country is honored and used to help manage the National Parks and their resources.

Students discovered how scientist Suzanne Greenlaw is leading a conservation effort in Acadia National Park incorporating TEK and involving Wabanaki harvesters to restore the sweetgrass population and make the location in Bass Harbor available to Indigenous harvesters in a sustainable way. 

As students learned about National Parks near and far, students participated in nature explorations on campus. Students integrated the values and practices of “Leave No Trace” into their hiking. One 3-4 teacher shared that students noted, “once you get to know something well, you are more likely to act with care in its presence.” 

Students presented their final projects to peers and their families. The final projects included a 3-D map of their park and a persuasive letter of why one should visit their chosen park.