Traditions and Celebrations

All-School Gatherings

At 9:00 on Friday mornings the school community comes together for Gathering.  We all look forward to this community building opportunity to share and learn from each other.  Responsibility for leading Gathering rotates through the classrooms.  Each week one class presents something of interest to the assembled group.  A Pre-K class might share a recent field trip experience through drawings.  A class might share a skit that they have written based on a classroom theme.  Students might model conflict resolution skills or teach a song.  Young students look up to older students as role models and grow in confidence.  Older students develop leadership skills.  Gatherings help us all get to know each other better and learn about the work and play of each class.  We end most gatherings with singing.  Parents are welcome to join us.

LFS Celebrates International Day of Peace

Pre-K Buddies

Community is an important aspect of the LFS experience.  Everyone in the school knows everyone else. Many meaningful relationships grow out of the Buddy program.  Each year the older students buddy up with Pre-K students.  The students visit each other once a week in the classroom to read, do puzzles together, play outside together, talk, and share snacks.  They get to know each other as friends.

Playground Picnic

The Playground Picnic is scheduled on a Friday in September.  At 6:00, following the After-School program, families begin to arrive on the front playground with their picnic suppers in hand.  The Playground picnic offers returning families an opportunity to reconnect with each other and an opportunity to connect with new LFS families.  Children enjoy running and playing with their new and old friends.  We usually end the evening with a group activity such as square dancing or a cooperative games session.

The Book Fair

The school librarian organizes a Book Fair each year and parent volunteers help to staff the event.  A wonderful selection of literature for children is displayed and sold, usually in the Meeting House, for several days.  All proceeds benefit the LFS Library.

Grand Friends Day

Grandparents and other friends are frequent visitors to the school but once a year we plan a very special day for these special guests to see Lansdowne Friends School in action.  Grand Friends get to know each other, experience Meeting for Worship with the students, spend time with their special students in the classroom, and enjoy all-school activities.  We all look forward to this special day.

All-School Pasta Lunch

Before winter break, students and teachers celebrate together at the traditional all-school pasta lunch.  Each individual brings in an item from home and together we create the meal which, in addition to pasta, may include various types of home-made bread, butter (shaken from cream), fruit and vegetables, dip, and juice.  Students make place cards and set the tables.  We sit in Worship Sharing groups, filling the auditorium for this popular school event.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

There is no official school on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day but many LFS families come to school for a morning of service.  Teachers organize a variety of jobs suitable for a range of ages and students, parents and teachers work together.

Service Learning

In the area of service, our goal is to enable our students to be successful members of our school community and to build the  foundation of knowledge and skills needed for active participation in their ever-expanding world.

For over twenty years Lansdowne Friends School students have been cooking food for people in need.  Once a month classes rotate the responsibility of cooking a pasta meal for the Life Center of Delaware County.  Members of Lansdowne Monthly Meeting and other F/friends cook additional food and deliver the food to the shelter each month.

All-School Theme

In addition to classroom themes, students are engaged in one all-school theme each year.  During the all-school theme, each class focuses on a different aspect of a particular theme.  The all-school theme provides opportunities to learn together and share information in mixed-age groupings.

Language Arts Fair

Once a year the auditorium is transformed into the LFS version of a coffee house with the works of student authors displayed throughout. Parents and guests are invited to read the "published" works of the students or to hear the authors read.  A schedule of student authors is made available to parents prior to the event.

May Fair

We're not sure when it started but the May Fair has been happening for many, many years and is an anticipated community event.  Organzied by the LFS Parent Group, the lively day includes family fun, games, great food, entertainment, crafts, vendors and more!