Articles by sgeagan

by Caroline Bartholomew ’15, Anthony Candelori-Moraglia ’16, Sophie Geagan ’18, Beth Pipes ’18, and Evan Sweitzer ’20 As the Middle and Upper School newspapers worked together on this collaborative issue, we realized that there were many things that we did not know about each other. Until now, the different parts of our school have been separated, but now we are joining together as “OneFCS” to learn and share, respectively, about life as an upper schooler from the writers and editors of FOCUS. As middle schoolers who will soon be going to upper school, we were curious to learn what the upper schoolers had to say about life in the Upper School. SG, BP, and ES: What is the most important thing you have learned in your Upper School experience? CB and ACM: Learning to have an open mind. There are a lot of opportunities in Upper School, so students learn to…

In Dr. Zaradic’s eighth grade science classes, students have been writing weekly blog posts on topics that interest them. The Phoenix Inquirer, in collaboration with Dr. Z., selects a handful of these to feature on our website. We will continue this regular feature as more exceptional blog entries are written so that student learning can benefit, and be enjoyed by, the entire community.   “Need A Limb? Here’s A New One” by Evan Paszamant Imagine if you could replace old limbs and other body parts in your body with new ones? While the thought of that might seem fake, scientists have found a way to do it. In a hospital in north London, scientists are growing limbs and not from the ground! They are growing them using stem cells and a cake-like material. So far they have been able to create tear ducts, blood vessels and windpipes. Currently, they are beginning to create customized…

In Dr. Zaradic’s eighth grade science classes, students have been writing weekly blog posts on topics that interest them. The Phoenix Inquirer, in collaboration with Dr. Z., selected a handful of these to feature on our website. We hope to continue this practice as more exceptional blog entries are written so that student learning can benefit, and be enjoyed by, the entire community.   Chimps And Medicine by James Meyers I read about how some chimpanzees have been using plants to treat parasetic infections. Michael Huffman was watching some chimps in East Africa. He saw a mother chimp on a bed of leaves and sticks while the son climbed dangerously high. She was too sick to call him, so she ignored him. Later, she was able to get up and went over to a bush and removed some branches. Huffman was watching and saw that the chimp chewed on the…

On Friday, December 6, 2013, the Friends’ Central vocal and instrumental ensembles provided an enjoyable night full of music for our community.  Student musicians rehearse once or twice a week, culminating in two concerts per school year.  The Orchestra had no particular theme for their repertoire, and instead played a variety of pieces including “Shenandoah,” a beautiful, slow-moving song that they dedicated to Mrs. Quinn, who was “completely overjoyed and also deeply moved” by it.  The melody, played by oboist Anjali Gupta with assistance from pianist Galen Cassidy, was written and modified by Carl Bradley, the MS Orchestra and Jazz Band director. “This concert wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work and dedication Mr. Bradley put forth into this performance,” Anjali Gupta, eighth grade oboist, said. Mr. Bradley brings energy, focus, and responsibility to every practice and is a great inspiration to the growing musicians.

The 2013 Middle School Winter Musical, Once Upon a Mattress, is a twist on the classic fairytale The Princess and the Pea.  The company consists of students in grades six through eight in lead roles, the ensemble and the stage crew.  The cast rehearses three times each week, working hard to make their acting, singing and choreography a success.  The musical will be performed over the final weekend of the first trimester. In the play, the overprotective Queen will only allow a “real” princess to marry the Prince, and she gives every potential princess courting for his hand tests that are impossible to pass.  She finds herself facing a new and much more difficult situation when fun-loving Princess Winnifred arrives from her home in the swamps, setting off a stream of energetic musical numbers and comical scenes as the Queen does everything in her power to keep Winnifred from passing…