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Field Trips Galore–But Wait, There’s More!

We eighth graders were on the road again! Following an hour-long bus ride on Tuesday, November 10th, we arrived at Paradise Farms, a team-building center for young people. While on our day trip, we did various activities from silently arranging ourselves in a line in order of birthdate to untangling a knot in a rope. We also went on a long hike, and climbed a wooden wall without handles. Paradise Farms, which is a primarily outdoors facility, was rainy during our visit. However, Cameron Mack ‘20 didn’t mind the unanticipated weather change. “I think the rain brought us closer, because we were all cold and wet together.” Mack also remarked, “The trip reminded me a lot of Echo Hill, but with fewer activities because it was shorter. I really liked it.” Cam later added somewhat jokingly, “My only disappointment was that it was called Paradise Farm, but there were no farm animals!” I, on…


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The School Store-y

We walk by it almost every day and you have heard about it, but do you really know much about it? I am talking about the FCS School Store. Under the coordination of Ms. Chris Ozbun, our school store boasts tons of merchandise ranging from FCS sweat gear to useful school supplies (pens, pencils, iPad accessories, magic markers and notebooks). I recently had the opportunity to speak to Ms. Ozbun about what’s popping in the shop. She shared that she was transitioning the shop into a room filled with winter inventory. In a couple of weeks, she plans of having plenty of winter things in stock, including jackets, sweatpants and sweatshirts. In the pipeline is also a boatload of “Secret Santa”-type gifts. One of these is the ever-popular Crazy Aaron’s Study Putty. Ozbun shares that this was a big hit last year. In addition, if you need (or want) goggles or sports equipment,…




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Christopher Columbus Revealed: The Deadly Truth Behind the Classic Story

WARNING! IF YOU LIKE THE “TRUE” COLUMBUS STORY, DON’T READ THIS. The True Story On October 12th every year, we celebrate (and have a day off for) Columbus Day, where we remember the story of Christopher Columbus, the humble explorer, sailing straight from Spain to discover America. Wait, time out. That’s not right. That’s not the real story. Though Columbus did come to America, his crimes – that many are oblivious to – are many. The truth is: Christopher Columbus was a greedy, lying, killing, racist jerk. Why? Well, let’s start with the beginning: why he wanted to travel west. The Beginning: The Fooling of Ferdinand Back in old 1492, Christopher Columbus was financed for his journeys by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. Columbus wanted a new path of trading with India, and not for the happiness of other people, but for the great and powerful substance that…



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Field Trips Galore!

If the corridors of Friends’ Central have seemed quiet and empty over the past couple of weeks, don’t worry; nothing bad happened. The seventh and eighth graders were on field trips! While the seventh grade was on their annual trip to Echo Hill Outdoor School, eighth graders explored the wonders of Washington DC. Some of the activities the seventh graders participated in at Echo Hill were boating, swimming, zip-lining, hosting an outdoor “cook-out,” playing classic field games, and going on a night hike. There were other activities, but too many to name. Most of the previous grades that went to Echo Hill have raved about the Outdoor School’s famous home-cooked cornbread. An anonymous seventh grader admitted, “The cornbread was really good.” Beach time before leaving Echo Hill pic.twitter.com/R5RtIilvdJ — FCS at Echo Hill (@EchoHillFCS) October 2, 2015 A great week FCS! pic.twitter.com/oHrtPGGSCv — FCS at Echo Hill (@EchoHillFCS) October 2,…


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Let’s Honor Connor!

Imagine this: You are sent to a foreign country with only basic to intermediate skills in this foreign country’s language. You must leave all of your friends, say goodbye to your family, and go to a new school. Well, for Liu Zhi Hao, better known as “Connor” at FCS, this situation is a reality. In the summer of 2014, Connor embarked on the journey of a lifetime: moving to the United States from China. Connor told me that he moved here to study. At first, he was a student at Valley Forge Military Academy. Liu said, “My parents wanted me to become a man at that school. However, I didn’t enjoy it. So, I came to Friends’ Central School instead. I feel this school fits my personality more, and there is a larger variety of subjects I can study. It is very exciting for me to learn another language. Sometimes…


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Turtle Talk with Terry

Hello, turtle lovers! I am excited to share today’s turtle fact: According to SparkPeople.com,  “Turtles cannot project their tongues out of their mouths. Flapping the loose skin under their chin or throat moves air over the Jacobsen’s organ and allows them to smell.” Fascinating! Stay tuned for next week’s turtle fact!


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Haiku? More like “BYE”-ku!

At the beginning of the one-to-one iPad program last year, there was an application that has been recently discontinued: Haiku Learning. It has been replaced by Veracross and eBackpack. This was a decision made by Mr. Crowley (Director of Technology), Mrs. Quinn (Middle School Principal), Miss Schwobel (Technology Coordinator & Librarian), and other officials last summer. One of the interesting things about this choice is that FCS was using Veracross during the 2013-2014 school year, but thought Haiku would be a better program in the long run. However, after returning from a Veracross conference this summer, Mr. Crowley learned about new Veracross features and amenities that were not available when the school had used it. After sharing this information with fellow staff members, Miss Schwobel said “it was a no brainer” to switch back to Veracross. Miss Schwoebel shared, “Throughout last school year, we, the Tech Department, had been getting…


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