Friends Students Connect at Inaugural NY Quaker Schools Conference

On March 3, eight Upper and Middle School students — William K. '27, Michael '27, Adela '28, Gloria '28, Maya '29, Theano '29, Mila '30, and Sara '30 — joined chaperones Kara Kutner and Eric Quiñones for the first-ever New York Quaker Schools Conference. The conference, entitled Creating a Closer NY Quaker Community and hosted by Friends Academy on Long Island, brought together students and faculty from Friends Academy, Friends Seminary, Brooklyn Friends, Mary McDowell Friends, and Oakwood Friends. It was a special opportunity for community building, learning from peers, service, and Quaker worship.

Highlights of the day included a panel discussion with Black Quakers, service activities that ranged from working with preschoolers to making sandwiches for community fridges, and student-led breakout spaces (one was led by our own Michael '27), in which students explored issues related to Quakerism and how it is lived out at our schools. There was also origami, Quaker trivia, and a sing-along! The day culminated with a truly beautiful candlelit Meeting for Worship.

The entire Friends Seminary cohort enjoyed this meaningful day and the opportunities it provided to make connections across our Quaker communities. Sara reflected, “The Quaker Schools Conference was so fun, and I made so many great memories and new friends. My favorite part of the day was the candlelit Meeting for Worship because it was cool to see their meeting house lit up with candlelight and sit with the people from all of the other schools. I also found the breakout rooms really interesting because we got to talk with kids from other Quaker schools and learn new things.”

We look forward to participating in the second annual NY Quaker Schools Conference next year!