QSL_2008 spreads - Buckingham Friends School

A
&
QUAKER
s we leave this friendly place,
Love give Light to ev’ry face
May the kindness which we learn
Light our hearts till we return.
Sung at the end of meeting for worship just before
Buckingham Friends students and teachers shake hands.
VINCENT SILLIMAN
from As We Leave This Friendly Place
1894 - 1979
SPIRITUAL LIFE
Buckingham
F
S
RIENDS
CHOOL
T
his simple brochure is a tool to help you understand Quaker and spiritual life at
Buckingham Friends School. We are a Quaker elementary school in the tradition
of the Religious Society of Friends, educating children from kindergarten through
eighth grade.
The Religious Society of Friends originated in the 1600s as a Christian religion. Quakers, who are
also called Friends, are a religious community whose members seek a personal connection with
God. Quakers believe in the Inner Light – that of God in everyone – and that everyone can reach
God through many pathways, including other religions.
Buckingham Friends School looks for the Light in every child, and focuses on teaching the whole
child. We strive to help each of our children to be strong academically and to be individuals who
remain true to their principles and sense of self.
Quakers use the term testimonies to describe important principles and beliefs that should
be expressed in deeds as well as words. Quaker testimonies are the quiet curriculum that directs
life and education at Buckingham Friends School. The testimonies of community, equality,
peace, simplicity, integrity, stewardship, and service have shaped Buckingham Friends School
since 1794.
We invite you to discover your interpretation of our Quaker testimonies. Consider what the
voices of our community and others say about each testimony. Ponder our queries, which
are questions to help guide our lives together as a school community.
We hope you will reflect on and experience how Quaker testimonies come to life at Buckingham
Friends School.
QUAKER & SPIRITUAL LIFE COMMITTEE
BUCKINGHAM FRIENDS SCHOOL
We’re all here in one room, we’re from all over the world, and we’re now friends.
Community
AUSTRALIAN SIXTH GRADER
visiting Buckingham Friends School as part of the Joint Environmental Mission
Class of 2005
I like our school because it is a huge big family.
KINDERGARTEN STUDENT
Class of 2016
I n c l u s i o n | I n t e rd e p e n d e n c e
If there’s only one of us we’re a student.
Together we’re a school.
SIXTH GRADE STUDENT, CLASS OF 2010
Q:
■ How can I make members of our community feel
welcome and connected?
■ What special gifts do I have and how can I share them
with and through Buckingham Friends School?
■ What can I do to make sure Quaker values are upheld
in the Buckingham Friends community?
■ In what ways can we come together to make a
difference in our global community?
The spirit of cooperation and the
tradition from which this grows
are integral parts of the life
of the school.
Participation in the activities of a group is the oldest
and most effective form of education.
GEORGE ROWE
Buckingham Friends School
teacher and principal, 1950 - 1981
HOWARD BRINTON
from Friends for 300 Years, 1952
2
Queries & Testimonies
Community
3
Equality
Here at BFS, we have always been treated with
the understanding that we are each an imperative part
of the future. No one has to earn this significance in a
special way. We are all born with the Light, the ability
to create positive change, and the capacity to dream.
EIGHTH GRADE
That of God in Everyone
Q:
Class of 2011
■ What does a focus on the Light within each
person at Buckingham Friends School require
of me?
■ What is necessary to offer equal opportunity for
growth to all members of our community?
■ How can I live life in the spirit of love, truth
and peace, answering to that same spirit in
everyone?
Queries & Testimonies
It is normal to be different.
FIFTH GRADE STUDENT
■ What does it mean to treat others the same
way I want to be treated?
4
STUDENT
Class of 2006 commencement address
I have a dream that my four
little children will one day live
in a nation where they will not
be judged by the color of their
skin but by the content of
their character.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
1929 - 1968
Always remember that you are
absolutely unique. Just like
everyone else.
MARGARET MEAD
Anthropologist
Class of 1915
The bear fact is that
They’re just like you and me
The only difference
Is they live in a tree.
STAN AND JAN BERENSTAIN
Buckingham Friends School grandparents,
from Berenstain Bears™ theme song,
PBS TV, 2003
Equality
5
Peace
C o m m i t m e n t t o N o n v i o l e n c e | O p p o s i t i o n t o Wa r
There never was a good war
or a bad peace.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
1706 - 1790
Blessed are the peacemakers:
for they shall be called the children of God.
MATTHEW 5:9
Q:
Peace is not only what we’re
looking for, it’s what we use to
get what we’re looking for.
■ How can elementary school children,
teachers, and their families take action
for peace?
THIRD GRADE STUDENT
Class of 2013
■ How can I resolve differences with others
so that no harm is done?
I love peace. It is peaceful.
FIRST GRADE STUDENT
Class of 2006
Peace is not only the total absence of any violence in our lives;
it is also our non-judgmental acceptance of the
whole human race as our family.
JOAN MACLATCHIE
Member of Buckingham Friends Meeting, 1924 - present
6
Queries & Testimonies
Peace
7
We cannot all do great things, but we can all do small things with great love.
MOTHER TERESA OF CALCUTTA
1910 - 1997
Never believe that a few caring
people can’t change the world.
For, indeed,
that’s all who ever have.
Q:
■ Why does God need us?
■ How can I help others in a way that respects
their dignity?
■ What can we do as a community to support
people throughout the world?
er
vice
S
Sharing | Caring | Giving
8
Queries & Testimonies
MARGARET MEAD
Class of 1915
And so tonight…I dare you:
To Give! To Think! To Care!
And give evidence that you’re
a giving, thinking, caring
person in the years ahead.
LINCOLN MERWIN
Buckingham Friends School
teacher, 2007 commencement address
Duty to the child is duty
to God; and neglect of one
is also neglect of the other.
EZRA MICHENER
Buckingham Friends School
teacher, during the mid-1800s
Service
9
s implicity
C l a r i t y | D i re c t n e s s | B a l a n c e
Q:
■ What changes should I make in my life to
focus on what’s really important?
Quakers tended to minimize
special celebrations as a rule,
intending to make every day a
celebration of Christ and every
day a time of thanksgiving.
’T
is a gift to be simple,
RICH ELDRIDGE
Buckingham Friends School
principal, 1981 - 1989
’Tis a gift to be free,
’Tis a gift to come down
Where we ought to be.
JOSEPH BRACKETT JR.
from the Shaker hymn ”Simple Gifts”,1848
■ How can I take action to prioritize the
natural over the material?
■ How can Buckingham Friends School
encourage simplicity in thought, in word,
and in action?
A person doesn’t have to say
many words, but the words
should be really meaningful.
SEVENTH GRADE STUDENT
Live simply,
so others can simply live.
MAHATMA GANDHI
1869 - 1948
Class of 2009
There is no greatness where
there is not simplicity.
LEO TOLSTOY
from War and Peace
published 1865-69
10
Queries & Testimonies
Simplicity
11
ntegrity
I
A u t h e n t i c | H o n e s t | Tr u t h - s e e k i n g | C o u r a g e o u s
Q:
We should show the children
how to be strong enough to stand
up against this bewildering world,
and hold their own.
PETER BARRY
Buckingham Friends School
teacher and principal, 1948 - 1989
Listen to your conscience.
It always knows what the right path is. You just have to let it speak.
EIGHTH GRADE STUDENT
Class of 2008
■ What can I do to earn the trust of others at
Buckingham Friends School?
Kids like to know
that they are trusted.
It makes us feel like adults.
■ What does it take to stick to my beliefs when
there’s pressure to do something I know is
wrong?
■ How do I deal with dishonesty in myself and
in others?
SEVENTH GRADE STUDENT
Class of 1982
Right is right
even if everyone is against it
and wrong is wrong
even if everyone is for it.
WILLIAM PENN
1644 - 1718
Speak the truth and
witness the power.
JEAN PARTRIDGE
Buckingham Friends School
kindergarten teacher, 1996 - present
Let your lives preach.
GEORGE FOX
1624 - 1691
12
Queries & Testimonies
Integrity
13
T
rees give us oxygen
And shade in the summer.
If there were no trees,
It would be a big bummer.
KINDERGARTEN
STUDENT
Class of 2009,
and his sixth grade big friends Class of 2003
Stewardship
C o n s e r v e | N u r t u re | S u s t a i n
Good things disappear slowly.
You don’t notice it until more
things disappear.
Then it could be too late.
FIRST GRADE STUDENT
■ What are my responsibilities as a citizen of
the world?
Q:
14
Queries & Testimonies
Class of 2015
■ Do I act on our responsibility to protect the
balance of humans and nature?
Why should man value himself
as more than a small part of
the one great unit of creation?
■ How can I respect animals, plants and
other living things?
JOHN MUIR
from A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf,
1916
■ What can I do to help care for Buckingham
Friends School now that will make a difference
in our next 200 years?
Stewardship
15
Worship
Meeting for
It is the sense of spiritual community,
started in the meetinghouse,
that nurtures a sense of community outside the meetinghouse.
PETER PEARSON
Buckingham Friends School
teacher and principal, 1973 - 2005
Silence | Reflection | Sharing | Listening
Once each week, students, teachers, and members of
the Buckingham Friends School community sit together
in our meetinghouse in gathered silence in the manner
of Friends. The silence may be broken by a young voice
offering a personal message about a pet, nature,
friendship, happiness and sometimes sadness. Meeting
for worship encourages students to develop the Light
within which guides them to a deepening understanding
of themselves as members of the world community.
Q:
16
Queries & Testimonies
■ What can I do during worship to deepen my
relationship with God and others?
■ How can time spent in silent worship guide the
rest of my life?
■ What does it mean when a community comes
together for meeting for worship?
While I sit here in the dark
I think about what’s in my ear
About what God’s trying to
say to me
While I sit here silently.
FIFTH GRADE STUDENT
Class of 2007
You should take what you
hear in the meetinghouse
with you when you leave.
To sit in silence is an amazing
dissent from the world we
live in.
SECOND GRADE STUDENT
RALPH LELII
Class of 2014
Quaker educator
from a Buckingham Friends School
Parent/Teacher Association meeting
2007
Be still, and know that I am God.
Psalms 46:10
Meeting for Worship
17
Buckingham
Friends
School
M
THE
FOUNDED 1794
ission of Buckingham Friends School is to inspire a lifelong love
of learning, nurture a respect for the Light in every person,
and foster a sense of spiritual community.
Our program delivers what we have come to call the
‘quiet curriculum’ – all the unspoken ways in which our
interactions as a community educate our students.
SCOTT BAYTOSH
Buckingham Friends School
head of school, 2005 - present
18
Buckingham Friends School
An essential part of Friends’ (Quaker) belief is that there is that of God in everyone. As a
Quaker school, Buckingham Friends School upholds this belief by providing opportunities
for worship and building a foundation of simplicity, non-violence, integrity, mutual respect,
and trust within our community. By having faith in our students and by guiding them, we
believe that as they grow they can develop an inner discipline that can sustain them
personally, and in academic and social settings. They learn to respect both each other and
the diversity of society. Buckingham Friends School endeavors to teach lasting values by
which the students can contribute positively to their local and world communities.
Buckingham Friends School Song
Alberta Lewis, Buckingham Friends School music teacher, 1946 - 1950
To thee, oh Buckingham, we bring
The eagerness of youth,
The open minds of children
Who are seeking after truth.
Our attitudes are thine to shape
Our habits day by day;
We look to thee, oh Buckingham,
For guidance on our way.
Instill in us a love for truth,
In thought and action too;
Teach us to have humility
In everything we do.
And when we leave these sheltered walls
To start upon life’s way,
We’ll all remember Buckingham
They peaceful, friendly days.
Mission
19
Additional Resources
You are welcome to use the Quaker resource library available at Buckingham Friends School and to visit our
website, www.bfs.org.
The following websites also offer additional information about the Religious Society of Friends,
Quaker meetings, and Quaker education.
quakersbucks.org
Bucks Quarterly Meeting
Learn where and when you can find a Quaker meeting for worship near your home. All school families are
encouraged to attend a meeting for worship to see what it’s like and to get to know the Quaker community.
Find out about First Day School (the Quaker version of Sunday School) and special events like Quakerism 101
for adults.
The Bucks Quarterly Meeting site provides links to the 14 local meetings in Bucks County including the four
meetings responsible for the governance of the school:
■ Buckingham Monthly Meeting - buckinghamfriendsmeeting.org
■ Doylestown Monthly Meeting
■ Solebury Monthly Meeting
■ Wrightstown Monthly Meeting
pym.org
The Philadelphia Yearly Meeting website provides a wealth of information about the greater Philadelphia
Quaker community and Quakerism in general, local meetings, workshops, special programs for youth and adults.
pym.org/education/children
Children’s Religious Education & Spiritual Life on the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s website provides support
for First Day School teachers and religious education committees and is a resource for parents and for meetings
as a whole.
friendscouncil.org
The Friends Council on Education provides services and advocacy for Quaker schools and their communities.
A section for students and parents provides information on Quaker schooling, access to literature, and a
directory of Quaker high schools and colleges, universities, and study centers.
afsc.org
The American Friends Service Committee carries out service, development, social justice, and peace
programs throughout the world. This organization won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947 for its work after
World War II and continues to serve communities around the world with a focus on sustainability and peace.
Buckingham
F
S
RIENDS
CHOOL
Kindergarten through
Eighth Grade
5684 York Road
where Routes 202 & 263 meet
P.O. Box 159
Lahaska, PA 18931
215-794-7491
www.bfs.org
©2008 Buckingham Friends School
All rights reserved.
A
&
QUAKER
s we leave this friendly place,
Love give Light to ev’ry face
May the kindness which we learn
Light our hearts till we return.
Sung at the end of meeting for worship just before
Buckingham Friends students and teachers shake hands.
VINCENT SILLIMAN
from As We Leave This Friendly Place
1894 - 1979
SPIRITUAL LIFE
Buckingham
F
S
RIENDS
CHOOL