Teacher Margaret's "View From My Window" - October 7th

This Wednesday, our Meeting For Worship was uncentered, to use a Quaker term; unsettled would be a non-Quaker equivalent. The susurration of children's voices never completely became still. Meeting had all of the usual elements: children sat with their buddies, I welcomed everyone to the beginning of meeting, we took a few centering breaths, Ms. Fielding led us in singing “Demos Gracias”, we attempted to settle into worship, from the near silence our 8th-grade friends stood and read three new queries for us to consider, we settled back into worship and towards the end finished with our new ending practice - turning to those to the left and right and saying “thank you for worshipping with me”. We never quite centered or gathered. Friends describe some Meetings as “gathered”. Some Wednesday worship is like this week’s, others have this short, incandescent, weighty sense that we are all aware of each other and part of something bigger than ourselves. In these gathered meetings, even our youngest friends' hands, bodies, voices are resting and participating. And yet, from the students’ perspective, this Wednesday was a great day. They were grateful to be worshiping outside, to be with friends, to sing together, and then return to a day of learning and joy.

We are continuing our consideration of the testimony on integrity this month. Our Eighth Grade students have written new queries on integrity. I hope you will talk about them with your children and see how you and your family answer them.

How can I hold myself and others accountable for being our authentic selves?
What does integrity look like in the midst of change?
How do I practice integrity in the digital world?

As a part of our year-long theme of seeking a society with equity and justice for all, students in grades 5-8 had a special speaker on Tuesday. Bobby Trice from Friends Committee on National Legislation spoke via ZOOM on the work of FCNL and what it means to exercise our civic right (and responsibility) to petition our government. He shared his own story of how he came to his current work. He related instances of young people, like WFS students meeting with their elected representatives to share concerns and in a few cases influence the outcome of an issue. Like Vedra Chandler’s presentation, Bobby Trice's presentation gives our students another window into a way to live a life with integrity.

Third Grade students are beginning to explore what you can do with a 3D printer. Teacher Josh gave them a demonstration today and will be teaching them how to design and print their own widget.
3rd grade 3d printer demo

PreK artists at work. They recently completed tree studies with Teacher Lisa.

Warmly,

Margaret

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What I am reading:

Dear Primo by Duncan Tonatiuh

Masquerade by Terry Pratchett

The Barren Grounds by David Robertson