Buckingham Friends School, an independent

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

school in

Lahaska Lahaska is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in central Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies east of Buckingham Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Buckingham and west of New Hope, Pennsylvania, New Hope on U.S. Rou ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

was founded in 1794. The current Quaker Meetinghouse was built in 1768. An addition was put on in the 1930s, followed by the gymnasium in 1955 and the lower school building. Another addition was built in 2002/2003. In 2015, the Lower School was fully renovated. The school provides for grades K-8. Upper School curriculum includes: Advanced

algebra Algebra () is one of the broad areas of mathematics. Roughly speaking, algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics. Elementary a ...

Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

Astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

Geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

American History The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densely ...

, Model

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

English Language Arts English studies (usually called simply English) is an academic discipline taught in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education in English-speaking countries; it is not to be confused with English taught as a foreign language, which is ...

, Sustainability Workshop,

Art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

, World Religion,

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

, and

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

Mission

Buckingham Friends School honors the Light within each person, inspires scholarship and spiritual community, and instills the value of caring for others and our world.

Philosophy

As a Friends school, we believe that each individual contributes in unique and important ways to our community. As educators, we nurture the inherent promise of each student, demonstrate our faith in their abilities, and challenge them to develop the motivation and discipline necessary for personal, social, and academic success. We teach for life inside and outside the classroom through projects and experiences relevant to the reality of today and the potential of tomorrow. Each student is expected to take responsibility for their work; to strive for high levels of achievement; and to participate fully in a variety of academic, artistic, and athletic pursuits. We foster a loving and structured environment in which young people look forward to being together, and where accomplishment becomes a shared celebration. We encourage children to maintain a balanced approach to life, to view mistakes as learning experiences, and to address challenges with creativity and confidence. Our students work hard, respect themselves, recognize each other's humanity, and welcome the diversity of society—building self-awareness and a set of personal values that will guide their contributions to the local and global community for the rest of their lives.

The JEM program

The JEM (Joint Environmental Mission) program started in 1991. It is a foreign exchange program with an environmental theme. The exchange includes schools in St. Petersburg,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

; Belgaum, India; Honolulu,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

; Ngong Hills, Kenya; Melbourne,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

; Nanchang,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

; Montmorillon,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

; and Rio Blanco, Amazon Rainforest,

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

. The first school partnership began with School #213 in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia. Every 4–5 years a gathering of all JEM partner schools occurs to discuss one of the five environmental themes: Water, Soil, Light, Air, and peace. The last "Earth Summit" was held at Buckingham Friends School in April, 2013. This program has sustained itself over decades connecting with of students and families from around the globe.

General information

Base Religion: Religious Society of Friends (Quaker)
Students: approx. 170
Grades: K-8
Classes Per Grade: 1
Extracurricular Activities: Music, Art, Woodshop, Photography, Acting, and many others.
Sports: Basketball, Softball, Field Hockey, Yoga, Soccer, Cross Country, and Lacrosse.
Head of School: Paul Lindenmaier Website: http://www.bfs.org

External links

{{Authority control Private elementary schools in Pennsylvania Schools in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Private middle schools in Pennsylvania Quaker schools in Pennsylvania