We were honored to have award-winning slam poet and author Andre Bradford visit all three divisions at WFS! Through his "On Purposeful Empathy" programming, Andre stresses the importance of empathy, vulnerability, and the power of storytelling. He encouraged students to find strength in their own voices and embrace the impact of their own stories.
8th grade Chinese students recent visited Le Shio restaurant in Wilmington to practice their Chinese speaking skills and to learn how to order food in a restaurant!
Rick Grier Reynolds, who created the Global Peace and Justice course at WFS, returned today with Brian Winward, a returned citizen and long-time AVP facilitator, to discuss the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) with 9th grade students.
Ricky Singh, the first person to summit Mount Everest and complete 50 marathons in 50 states, recently visited the Asian Student Union Club to share how he got into running and the mindset that fueled his journey.
Upper School Power and Performance English classes, International Baccalaureate Higher Level Visual Arts students, Visual Art Majors, and 3D Design students traveled to Washington, D.C., for a research field trip that took them on a cultural odyssey!
The WFS College Office recently hosted a Case Studies program for juniors and their grownups. Prior to the program, students and adults were given three college applications to read.
“Wilmington Friends School provided me with the foundation for understanding what a community truly is. My teachers, coaches, and classmates helped me learn that a community is not necessarily a physical space but a feeling where everyone is valued and has a sense of belonging. Most importantly, my time at Friends formed my core belief that there is light in everyone and that every human being deserves to live a life of dignity.”
Upper School French students have been perfecting their language skills in the most delicious ways—French 2 students competed in a Top Chef Crêpes competition, while International Baccalaureate HL French students created a tarte au citron!
Happy Panda Day 2025! A new and beloved Lower School tradition on the day before Spring Break, students enjoyed a variety of activities, including visiting with a therapy dog, making special panda bookmarks and bird feeders, buddy reading, practicing Aikido and yoga, and completing several service projects.
Tuesday night’s International Baccalaureate recital showcased the talents of IB Music HL1 and HL2 students in an evening of vocal performances. Soprano vocalists Ella Morton ’25 and Piper Roskovensky ’26 presented a program of diverse repertoire featuring contemporary, traditional, and musical theatre selections.
International Baccalaureate chemistry, biology, physics, and computer science students visited the University of Delaware for a collaborative science project.
The Upper School Jazz Band recently had the opportunity to work with Blayne Salerni in a workshop on improvisation. Mr. Salerni, the band director at Smyrna Middle School, has led jazz improvisation workshops throughout Delaware for middle and high school students, as well as music educators
Braeden Mannering, the founder of 3B: Brae's Brown Bags, visited our lower school students to share his journey of creating a nonprofit that provides healthy snack bags to those in need. Braeden highlighted the importance of kindness, service, and how even young people can make a big impact in their communities.
This year, WFS lower schoolers were lucky enough to pair their studies of important figures in Black history with a visit from author Lesa Cline-Ransome, who has written many books about important people in Black history. Each class chose a book written by Cline-Ransome for their study. Class posters are currently on display in the lower school lobby!
As part of their IT Literacy course, 6th grade students are developing and analyzing surveys on topics related to middle school life, learning how to craft effective questions and interpret results.
As part of their unit on the constitution, 8th grade students recently met with Judge Eliza Hirst. Eliza and her colleague Paige Chapman delivered an engaging presentation focused on young people's constitutional rights.
“I believe my time at WFS prepared me for success at CWRU both academically and athletically. Academically, the high rigor of WFS courses like AP Physics gave me a great foundation coming into CWRU. However, I think the most effective tool I learned from WFS was building relationships with teachers. Building relationships with teachers at CWRU has helped me monumentally with assignments and exams.”
This school year, we launched an exciting Read-Aloud series where our Middle and Upper School Quaker Cares Club students visit the Lower School to share powerful messages about self-esteem.
WFS sixth graders visited Penn Museum last week in preparation for their upcoming social studies unit on Ancient Greece. Students toured galleries and participated in hands-on activities with artifacts to learn about culture and daily life in Ancient Greece.
Easton Martinenza ‘27, Elia Lichterman '28, and Kylie Poole '28 gained valuable leadership and advocacy skills at the Quaker Youth Leadership Conference (QYLC) held at Carolina Friends School, engaging in meaningful experiences centered on social change and environmental responsibility.
Upper school sports winter captains recently visited the lower school. During their visit, captains discussed the strategy behind their respective sports, demonstrated various drills that students could practice at recess or home, and got everyone in the lower school excited by leading them in some of their favorite cheers!
Last week, Chamber Singers participated in the annual Four-School Workshop and Festival Concert with choirs from Sanford, Tatnall, and Tower Hill schools.
Seventh-grade astronomy students are exploring key space-related concepts such as black holes, extraterrestrial life, and space exploration while demonstrating their understanding through research, collaboration, and multimedia presentations. Students are applying scientific reasoning, computational thinking, and math skills to analyze data, communicate findings, and expand their knowledge of the universe.
The HL IB Biology students were working on data collection for their internal assessment. Each student has formulated a research question and designed an experiment to attempt to answer the question. All the experiments are biological and include topics such as investigating plant propagation, germination, enzyme activity, fermentation, antibiotic resistance, and many others.
The WFS Upper School Student Run Production is a yearly tradition where students create, direct, produce (and often write) their own vision for the stage. This year’s production, Yellow Wallpaper, is being directed and led by two seniors. Yellow Wallpaper was adapted from the short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
8th grade students have been working hard on their annual musical. On February 28, students will perform, High School Musical, for the entire school to see. Each member of the class participates—as a member of the cast, pit band, stage crew, or technical crew.
“My experience at Wilmington Friends School set me up for success by providing challenging coursework that required critical thinking. Learning how I learned and figuring out a process that worked for me was one of the most important things because regardless of what you want to major in or what sport you want to play at a higher level, you will need to learn the information and how to apply it when it is necessary. Friends helped me facilitate my learning process, and I’ve continued to adapt and improve it based on the situation.”
Peace posters from the WFS Class of 2037 were on display as part of the 2025 Visionary Peace Youth Art Exhibition with Pacem in Terris at the Wilmington Library!
Our third Lower School Culture Quest of the year celebrated the Lunar New Year! Lower and middle school faculty and upper and middle school students led activities aimed at teaching students about the history and culture of the Lunar New Year through reading, crafts, and food!
For several years, Michael Anello, Executive Director of the Haiti Reforestation Partnership, has visited with WFS middle schoolers to speak about the organization's work and how reforestation has led to incredible environmental and community development in Haiti. We were recently forwarded this email from Michael, which speaks to our students and the power of even the smallest acts.
Kindergarten students celebrated El Dia de los Reyes (Three Kings Day) by wearing their "coronas" and leaving their shoes outside of their classroom in anticipation and hopes that the Three Kings would swing by WFS and leave treats! They were in luck!
Lower school students enjoyed a special Books and Breakfast this morning, where they connected with students from our middle and upper school affinity groups. Together, they explored stories about multiracial identity, engaging in discussions and reading books such as We Are A Garden, I Can Be All Three, and Take Me Out to the Yakyu, among others.
Our community had a blast at Lower School Family Night at the Quaker girls' and boys' basketball games where we also celebrated the 2024 WFS Field Hockey team!
Statement of Nondiscrimination as to Student Enrollment
Wilmington Friends School admits students of any race, color, gender, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students of these schools. Wilmington Friends School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national and ethnic origin in administration of their educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school administered programs.