On Friday, April 24, the oldest Lower School students from Friends Seminary, Mary McDowell Friends School, and Brooklyn Friends School gathered at Brooklyn Meeting for a shared Meeting for Worship. The gathering grew out of a collaboration led by Erin Gordon, Head of Lower School, Kara Kutner, Director of the Center for Peace, Equity, and Justice, and colleagues from Mary McDowell and Brooklyn Friends. Together, they imagined a morning that would give students a chance to mee

On March 19, eighth graders visited the DNA Learning Labs at City Tech in Brooklyn. This trip marked the second year the full grade visited the center and connected directly to their unit on DNA, giving students the chance to deepen their understanding through hands-on science in a university-grade lab setting. The DNA Learning Center prepares students and families to thrive in the gene age. As the largest provider of biotechnology instruction at the precollege level in the U

Over spring break, Friends’ Global Education program took Upper School students to Morocco for a deeply engaging educational experience grounded in cultural study, reflection, and exchange. Traveling with Kara Kutner, Joseph Sills, and Mouna Fdilat, students moved from Casablanca to Rabat to Marrakech, encountering sites that opened up conversations about history, religion, architecture, and daily life. From the Hassan II Mosque to the blue-and-white streets of Rabat, from Be

Congratulations to Friends Seminary’s 240th graduating class! Photos and video from year-end Class of 2026 events — including Commencement, Senior Celebration, and Athletic Awards — are now available here. Please note: Photo galleries are unlisted for privacy. Only those with a direct link — such as the ones in this article — can access them.

What do you get when you mix Lower School history with punk rock? A Grade 4 project that took colonial history out of the books and onto the stage. In Dot’s classroom, this culminating project grew out of students’ study of the Colonial era and the years leading up to the Revolutionary War. Students explored daily life in the colonies, the taxes and events that led to a war for independence, and the ideas that shaped a new nation. They watched parody music videos and Schoolho

The History Department is known for building courses around the questions and subjects that matter to students. That is clear in electives like History of Capital Punishment and Power, Politics & Citizenship—and in the fact that 80 percent of seniors choose to take history beyond the three years required. Case Study in Social History: Hip-Hop asks students to look at hip-hop not only as music, but as history: a social and creative force shaped by its time and by its powerful

The Fund for Friends is the heartbeat of Friends Seminary. It is the resource that keeps our classrooms vibrant, our programs strong, and our commitment to financial aid meaningful. Every gift — whatever its size — is a signal of belief in this School's Quaker mission, which guides and inspires students, faculty and staff. As the end of our fiscal year approaches, we are filled with gratitude for the members of our Grandparents community who have already made a gift. Your ge

On the occasion of their 51st anniversary graduating from Friends, the Class of 1975 Reunion Gift Committee announced they reached their 50th Reunion Gift goal. The six individual endowed financial aid funds associated with the Class of 1975 now have a combined value of $1.5 million — an increase of $350,000 through gifts, pledges, and endowment growth as of June 30, 2025. One member of the class, who served on the committee commented, “This has been such a meaningful opportu

The Hochman family in 2008. Left to right: Genie, Joel '09, David '74, Daniel '07, Stan and Lee. As an impressionable seven-year-old, David Hochman '74 has vivid memories of entering Friends Seminary for the first time in 1964 as a Grade 3 applicant. A sparkling new Hunter Hall had just opened, but like many good stories, this one began with rejection. There were no openings, so instead his parents enrolled him for Grade 6 at the now-defunct Downtown Community School. They wa

Dear Friends, I'm delighted to share this final edition of the Grandparents Newsletter for our 240th school year with you! In this issue, you’ll read about hands-on discoveries at the DNA Learning Labs for Grade 8 students, our Upper School students' journey through Morocco, and the impactful morning Grade 4 students spent in Meeting for Worship with students from Mary McDowell Friends School and Brooklyn Friends School. These stories are just a few examples of extraordinary

More than 450 members of the community gathered on March 5 at Guastavino's for the annual benefit themed The Light Between Us . Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of the community, net proceeds surpassed $485,000 through the silent auction, live auction, paddle raise and sponsorships. These funds will be dedicated to faculty professional growth and innovation that includes initiatives such as, collaborative curriculum design, conference participation and innovation grants

Dear Reader, Melting snow was not the only cause of celebration in March; we also had the opportunity to welcome Friends Seminary’s incoming 36th Head of School, Chris Singler, to campus. During his three-day visit, the first of a series, Chris met with students, staff, parents, trustees, and alumni. He is already starting to build relationships ahead of his official start on July 1 and looks forward to returning to campus again in April and in June for commencement. I hope