Kindergarten Explores Their Feelings

Kindergarten has started a unit on feelings. They looked at five faces and asked themselves, “What do we think each of these faces is showing? Have I ever felt any of these feelings before?” The class was then told short stories and expressed their feelings by standing near the face that showed how they felt. Such activities are integral to learning to express emotions, and help students as they grow in confidence at using “I-Messages” in resolving conflicts.

Early Language Learning

A language is best learned starting… as young as possible! At PMFS, our friends in Pre-K and Kindergarten learn Spanish orally, using stories, songs, and movement to incorporate specific vocabulary and lay a groundwork for the years to come.

Meet the School Committee

Jessica Lember

Jessica Lember, parent of Aydin L. (Class of 2020) and Annika B. (Class of 2024), has been a PMFS parent for nine years. Jessica grew up in Elkins Park, PA and is a graduate of Cheltenham High School. She attended Earlham College and received her B.A. in Psychology.  During a post-college position as a research assistant on a national study of child care and child development, Jessica found she was inspired to become an elementary school teacher. She received her Masters in Elementary Education from Temple University in 2002.

Jessica began her elementary teaching career at Friends Select in 2001.  She has taught for over ten years, working with Kindergarten through 2nd grade at Friends Select, Friends School Haverford, and Greene Street Friends School.  Currently she is in her fifth year at Germantown Friends School, where she is an assistant kindergarten teacher. 

During her time as a parent at PMFS, Jessica has supported the school in a myriad of ways. She has served as a Class Parent, was a member of the Capital Campaign for the Emerson Building, served as PTO Co-Clerk from 2014-2016, co-chaired the annual Family Fun Night, has lead tours during Open Houses, staffs the PMFS Admissions Outreach table at area events, and has been the Parking Chair for Strawberry Festival for several years.  She was honored to join PMFS’s School Committee in 2019 because she is a strong believer in the education, experiences, values, and community that children are steeped in at PMFS. As a School Committee Member, Jessica serves on both the Marketing subcommittee and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion subcommittee.

Jessica and her husband, John Bies, reside in Mt. Airy with their children. They appreciate being surrounded by trees and old homes and funky people. Jessica is a lifelong avid reader, with a special place in her heart for great Intermediate and Young Adult literature. She is also known as a prolific pocketer of “cool rocks.”