Alexandria Friends School (AFS) is a private, non-profit Friends "Quaker" middle and high school (grades 6-12) located at 3830 Seminary Road in Alexandria, Virginia, USA. It was founded in 2006 by faculty and staff from Thornton Friends School's Alexandria campus, which closed at the end of the 2005-2006 school year. The school will temporarily close its high school in 2012 and accept applicants for 6th and 7th grade only for the 2012-2013 school year. Each year thereafter, grades will be added until grade 12 is once again enrolled.
Alexandria Friends School is operated in accordance with the practices and principles of the Religious Society of Friends ("Quakers"). In 2009, the original Thornton Friends School of Silver Spring, MD, ceased operations. Alexandria Friends School is now the only school operating on the Thornton model.
In the Friends tradition of service to others, each student completes forty hours of community service for each year she or he is enrolled in the school. Students sign a statement of commitment which includes a pledge to tell the truth (Integrity).
Like most "Quaker" schools, AFS includes Meeting for Worship on a regular basis (twice a week for twenty minutes each time) where the community of students and staff gathers for silent reflection. Sometimes there is a query or question posed to guide that reflection.
The school’s academic curriculum includes courses in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), English, history, and electives such as art and sports. Each school day ends with "Renaissance" classes featuring popular electives in its aftercare program.
Famous quotes containing the words friends and/or school:
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—Samuel Butler (1835–1902)
“He had first discovered a propensity for savagery in the acrid lavatories of a minor English public school where he used to press the heads of the new boys into the ceramic bowl and pull the flush upon them to drown their gurgling protests.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)