School Life
Community Service
At Newtown Friends School, community service is an integral part of students’ academic and spiritual education. We foster habits of involvement and build students' empathy for those in need. It is our hope that these service experiences shape the decisions NFS students make throughout their lives.
Lower School
In the early years, community service introduces children to the needs of others and teaches them the value of service. Elementary School teachers integrate community service into the curriculum and each grade leads its own age-appropriate projects, that often involve the whole school.
- Students in our primary grades (Pre-k through second) learn about hunger. Pre-k and kindergarten students participate in a Trike-a-Thon for the Mercer Street Friends Send Hunger Packing program. First graders show off their developing literacy skills with "Read to Feed," a fundraiser for Heifer International. Second graders organize their own school-wide food drive for the United Way of Bucks County.
- Intermediate students (third through fifth) are ready to understand poverty at a deeper level. Third graders direct collection drives for preschool children served by Mercer Street Friends, a social service agency in Trenton. Fourth graders explore global poverty and lead the school’s annual Trick or Treat for UNICEF campaign. By fifth grade, students are ready to coordinate our Thursday soft pretzel sales and plan a Thanksgiving meal initiative for the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen.
Upper School
The Middle School service program expands on what is learned in Elementary School as it extends beyond the campus, giving students a basic understanding of social justice issues and encouraging them to challenge stereotypes and prejudices. All Middle School students participate in community service as part of their regular class schedule. Examples of community service in Upper School include:
- Sixth graders travel to neighboring Pennswood Village, where they may teach its residents new skills, like how to use an iPad, or learn something from a resident, like how to square dance or play croquet.
- Seventh and eighth graders participate in a service-learning course through which they identify a community need and design a project to meet it.
Newtown Friends School
Located In Newtown, Pennsylvania, Newtown Friends School is a Private School For Grades Pre-K-8th Grade.
