New Arts and Humanities Electives for 2020-21

Justin LaBrusciano

February 21, 2020

Friends Select adds new electives each year based on popular demand and the topics teachers are most passionate about.  Next year, there will be two new history electives, a new art elective, and three new English electives.   Introduction to Economics, taught by Ralph Reinwald, will be offere...

FSS Art Students to Exhibit at Free Library of Philadelphia

Will Wang

February 20, 2020

FSS art students will exhibit at the Parkway Central Free Library from March 2nd to March 31st.  According to Deborah Caiola, “Two years ago, a group of FSS art students were able to present their works in an art institution, and the creativity these students exhibited during the project was tre...

Intersection of Rap and Academics

Zoe Tzanis, Lulu Nonemaker, and Adam Powley

January 27, 2020

Students Prepare for Winter Concert

Peter Ryan

January 17, 2020

After a semester of in-class rehearsals, the Upper School Instrumental Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, and Choir will make their first of three major performances on Friday, January 18th at 6:00 at the Upper School Winter Concert in the Blauvelt Theater. Although all three groups have performed at school...

Cats Was the Best Movie of 2019, and Here’s Why

Zoe Tzanis

January 16, 2020

Yes, Cats is plotless, pointless, and creepy, but that’s how it should be. With a 21% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and CGI (computer-generated imagery) deemed bad enough to warrant an immediate update, there are a host of self-proclaimed Cats haters out there. While disliking the distracting cat ears or uncomfor...

FSS Art Show Review: Highlighting the Individual

Peter Ryan

January 16, 2020

Friends Select states that its mission is to “balance between the individual and the community.” The current art show on display in the front hall, exhibiting art made by members of the class of 2020, accomplishes this ideal wonderfully: each portfolio prep student is given a full wall to present thei...

Metamorphoses: A Groundbreaking Friends Select Production

Annie Rupertus and Zoe Tzanis

December 13, 2019

On November 15th, Friends Select’s incredible thespians performed Metamorphoses, a collection of ancient myths written by Ovid and adapted by Mary Zimmerman almost 2,000 years later.  Although both performances were on days without school, many students still made the trip to see their peers perform. As th...

Music: From the Students

Adam Powley

December 4, 2019

This infographic portrays the variety of music tastes and preferences among Friends Select upper school students. A survey was sent out to grades 9-12, 44 of whom responded, in order to get the information for this infographic. It was designed in Adobe Photoshop using free use images....

Review: MAGDALENE by FKA twigs

Matt D'Annunzio

December 4, 2019

FKA twigs is making music for the future. Since the beginning of her career, her music has always felt one step ahead. FKA twigs doesn’t fit into one genre: she combines pop, electronic music, and many other influences into a unique genre in the likes of Björk and Kate Bush. Twigs has never released...

37 Years in Blauvelt Theater

Yannick Haynes

November 19, 2019

This infographic illustrates 37 years of productions in the Blauvelt Theater. Information was found in the Friends Select Archives with help from Dick Hoffman. The infographic was designed in Adobe Photoshop using images from the FSS Archives....

Review: Jesus is King by Kanye West

Matt D'Annunzio

November 17, 2019

Very few names are as simultaneously loved and derided as “Kanye West.” Last year was a watershed moment in Kanye’s career. As part of his “Wyoming Sessions”, he worked on two of the year’s most critically acclaimed albums: Pusha T’s Daytona, which he produced, and KIDS SEE GHOSTS, a collabo...

Cast and Crew Optimistic About Fall Play

Gabe Tarini

November 12, 2019

The final stretch of any theatre production is always stressful, but the cast and crew of Metamorphoses are comparatively at ease, despite the rapidly approaching opening night (November 15th).  "I think we're right on track for where we should be," says senior Michaela Fineman.  The students attr...