Buckingham Friends School, a private Quaker school in Lahaska

Lahaska, Pennsylvania

Lahaska is an unincorporated community in central Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies just east of Buckingham and west of New Hope on Route 202. Lahaska is home to one of the most popular shopping areas in the region, Peddler's Village, as well as Buckingham Friends School, a...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 was founded in 1794. The current Quaker Meetinghouse was built in 1754. The school started out as a small schooolhouse. 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. The school provides for grades K-8. Upper School curriculum includes: Advanced algebra

Algebra

Algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning the study of the rules of operations and relations, and the constructions and concepts arising from them, including terms, polynomials, equations and algebraic structures...

, Chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

, Astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

, Geology

Geology

Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...

, American History, Model Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

, Art

Art

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....

, World Religion, Biology

Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

, Sex Education

Sex Education

Sex education is an aspect of modern Western secondary education. It may also refer to:* Sex Education , a 1988 young adult novel by Jenny Davis on the American Library Association's list of Top 100 banned books...

, and Music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

.

Philosophy

The school emphasizes growth of the students academically, intellectually, spiritually, and ethically by engaging students, their families and the Quaker community in the educational process. Students are given the opportunity to become well-grounded in core Quaker values such as non-violence, integrity, simplicity, mutual respect and trust. The school does this by offering activities that promote clear and careful thinking, accountability, the value to one-self to be found in serving others, the value of creativity, and a love for learning. This prepares them to seek and achieve greater success in life.

The warm atmosphere and small classes provide for a community in which children can grow, learn, and become their own person, with room to make decisions for themselves and find their own individual views. Although each class attends a forty minute meeting for worship on Thursdays, there are a wide range of religious views within the school community.

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 Montmorillon, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, St. Petersburg, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, Haiti

Haiti

Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

, Honolulu Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

, Melbourne, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, Nanchang, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, and Rio Blanco, Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

. The first school was in Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

, Russia. Former schools in countries include South Africa and India. They are looking at a school in Kenya for a future relationship. In 2008, students went to Hawaii and France. In April 2009, an Earth Summit will occur with all the schools staying at Buckingham Friends School.

General information

Base Religion: Quaker

Students: approx. 175

Grades: K-8

Classes Per Grade: 1

Extracurricular Activities: Music, Art, Woodshop, Photography, Acting, and many others.
Sports: Basketball, Softball, Field Hockey, Yoga, Soccer, and Lacrosse.

Principal: Rusty MacMullan
Website: http://www.bfs.org