WFS teachers Karen Horikawa and Katy Kenney recently presented about their spring 2024 sabbatical experiences.
Karen, a middle school science teacher who has been at WFS for 25 years, traveled to the Galapagos Islands, England, and Arkansas, studying biodiversity, Quakerism, and family history. In the Galapagos, she visited the Charles Darwin Research station and learned more about the iconic species of the area, including iguanas, sea lions, and more. In England, Karen was able to follow George Fox (the founder of Quakerism's) footprints and see where he had meetings with historical figures like William Penn. Finally, along with family members, Karen traveled to Jerome Concentration Camp where her family was held following World War II. She remarked on the gift of time given to her by the sabbatical and the opportunity to expand her knowledge on a number of personal and professional areas.
Katy, an upper school English teacher who has also been at WFS for 25 years, spent her sabbatical looking at generation (human-generated thinking and learning) and storytelling. She visited writing centers at several different schools and researched podcasting and digital storytelling, thinking of the lived experience in terms of sounds rather than seeing, reading, and talking. She visited many museums, looking at their curriculums for high school teachers. Lastly, Katy read 83 books (often with her dog, Mouse, keeping her company), and found several new books for our upper school students to explore.
A beloved holiday tradition at WFS is our sixth grade pie bake for Wilmington's Sunday Breakfast Mission. Students lovingly peel, slice, prepare, box, and finally deliver more than 30 apple pies for those in our greater community.
The WFS World Languages Department is currently attending the national ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) conference in Philadelphia.
Students from the WFS middle school Youth in Government club recently traveled to Dover to participate in the State Junior Youth in Government Model Legislature.
Congratulations to our community members who shared their talents at last night's Informal Concert! This concert is designed to showcase the talent of our students, parents, and faculty in an informal, yet serious, chamber concert or recital format.
WFS students L-T Alleyne '26, Sofía Hasse-Mas '25, Charlotte Kass '26, and Kayla Turman '26 recently attended the Baltimore Student Diversity Leadership Conference (BSDLC) at Sandy Spring Friends School.
Anya Agarwal '25 recently wrote an article for The Whittier Miscellany (our student-run newspaper) about the South Asian history curriculum she helped develop that will be implemented next spring in middle school social science classrooms! (Pictured is middle school social science teacher, Tara Agne).
Members of the Wilmington Friends Model UN Club, led by faculty advisor Nick Childers, recently attended the St. Andrews Model UN Conference and participated in various simulations.
Lower school students are again participating in the Traveling Mural Project, which began in 2018, allowing students to connect with other schools, classrooms, and libraries.
The Upper School Quakerism and Thee class recently welcomed three guest speakers to deepen their understanding of prison reform and Quaker contributions to the movement.
Five WFS students recently participated in Share the Stage, a benefit concert for the Autism Research Foundation, where neurodiverse musicians perform and collaborate with professional and student musicians to create truly inclusive, inspiring, and fun performances.
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.