We provide a creative and challenging academic program supported by the Quaker belief that there is that of God in everyone. From age 3 through 5th grade, PMFS builds and affirms a community grounded in cultural competency and social responsibility.
Our core values of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship (SPICES) are woven into the educational and cultural fabric of who we are and what we do.
Students collaborate with peers and teachers, using inquiry and reflection to solidify understanding and prepare them for success as lifelong learners.
Students develop a solid sense of self and social responsibility through connecting and communicating with others, and persevering to solve problems and resolve conflict collaboratively.
Second graders practiced more than comprehension skills in Library class recently as they listened to the children’s version of the popular middle grades book Wonder, a story about a boy with a unique face and a huge heart named Auggie. The students used text-to-self connections and practiced putting themselves in someone else's shoes and shared beautiful ideas on how they can make everyone feel included at school.
Our third and fifth grade classes connected their Science and Social Studies learning to the real world during a field trip to Norristown Farm Park. With guidance from Environmental Educator Rebecca Blackletter, students explored how water moves through the environment, including precipitation, runoff, and absorption into the soil. They also learned more about watersheds and examined how land, water, and natural resources have shaped the area's history, agriculture, and the relationship between people and their environment.
Our Kindergarten students are developing language skills in oh so many different ways. Imaginative and guided play support reading and writing skills; when acting out a doctor’s visit or taking an imaginary 20-hour road trip to the desert, kindergarteners are creating characters, settings, and a sequence of events. These growing skills of organizing ideas and telling a story with a beginning, middle, and end will assist with reading comprehension and writing in the years ahead.
Kindergartners are also expanding descriptive language by looking at objects found in nature through a microscope. Students share what they see, using rich words and making comparisons like “the bumpy texture looks like a snake skin” or “it looks like corn on the cob.” A favorite description when peering at objects has been a joyous exclamation of “this is amazing!”
Students in Music class have been working on vocal exploration and steady beat. Pre-K students practiced using their Four Voices (speaking, whispering, shouting, and singing) with the help of some finger puppets. Fourth and fifth graders, on the other hand, sang a Halloween song that helped practice playing a chordal steady beat on xylophones and included a spooky “ooooh” melody to practice their singing voices.
One of the beginning of year rituals in 4th grade is exploring the history of Plymouth through campus walks. One of the favorite spots for fourth graders to explore is the graveyard, where students have noticed and discussed the gravestones and those who are buried beneath them. Combining history with math and art, students created crayon rubbings of the names and years imprinted on gravestones, which they will discuss further as a group and display in the Fourth Grade classroom windows.
The PTO provides a pretzel snack every Wednesday for all students, faculty, and staff. Families can pay-what-you-wish to contribute to the costs. Contact pto@pmfs1780.org with any questions.