Please Join Us for a 275th Anniversary Community Service Project on April 6!
Calling all volunteers -- we need your help! The 2023-24 school year marks the 275th anniversary of Wilmington Friends School. Throughout this year, we are celebrating our history while increasing opportunities to engage with the Wilmington community. Rooted in our history and practice of Quaker humanitarian service, we have chosen to reaffirm our commitment to addressing food insecurity and hunger in Delaware during this special anniversary year.
Wilmington Friends School
275th Anniversary Community Service Project
Saturday, April 6, 2024; 8:30-11:00 am
Wilmington Friends School, 101 School Road, West Gym
Examples of activities to-date include:
Participating in the Plant A Row for The Hungry program through the Wilmington Friends School organic community garden at Bellevue State Park
The lower school Food on Fridays program, providing essential food items to those facing food insecurity and promoting a sense of community and compassion for our lower school students
Homecoming drive to benefit the Ministry of Caring, the mission of which is to serve the needs of the poor with dignity, respect and love
Middle School Pie Bake, in which students peel, slice, prepare, and box over thirty pies for Wilmington’s Sunday Breakfast Mission
The Emmanuel Dining Room Lunch Program, in which Wilmington Friends School families make lunch for 160-200 people in need on a monthly basis
April 6th Community Service Project The culminating community service project for our 275th anniversary year will engage students, parents, staff, alumni, and community members with the goal of packaging 27,500 shelf-stable meals for families throughout Delaware. To complete this ambitious project, Wilmington Friends School will partner with The Outreach Program (https://outreachprogram.org/). The Outreach Program will provide packaging supplies, packaging equipment, certified Food Safe Event Coordinators, and training for this assembly line-style event. Shelf-stable meals may include: macaroni and cheese, Spanish rice, rice and beans, cheese rice, pasta with tomato basil sauce, apple cinnamon oatmeal and/or minestrone soup.
To ensure that the 27,500 shelf-stable meals reach their intended recipients, Wilmington Friends School will partner with The Food Bank of Delaware (https://www.fbd.org/) for receipt and distribution. The Food Bank of Delaware solicits, warehouses and distributes food through a state-wide network of hunger-relief partners, including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, and other community food providers. We need your help to make this happen! Click here to register as a volunteer!
This week kicked off with faculty meetings and professional development , along with a lovely event with our new parents and guardians. And student orientation day did not disappoint, with energy filling both campuses!
The WFS football team hosted the Special Olympics Delaware Flag Football Clinic on Saturday afternoon. WFS student-athletes and Special Olympians participated in a variety of drills together, working on their passing, receiving, and blocking skills!
Gavin Gray ’28 was one of three WFS students who participated in the UPenn Social Innovators Program this spring. This 12-week virtual program allows students to learn more about social entrepreneurship and earn a Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship from the University of Pennsylvania.
The WFS field hockey seniors ran a clinic for 5th through 8th grade students on Thursday afternoon. Participants worked on their dribbling, passing, and receiving skills throughout the morning.
New faculty and staff members began their orientation this week! Over the next couple of days, they’ll dive into the history of WFS, explore Quaker Faith and Practice, connect with their mentors, and enjoy activities like “Who’s Who?” and Friends Trivia.
“My kids had the benefit of learning from incredibly talented faculty, being part of a caring and loving community that truly values seeing people for who they are, and what they might not realize they can be.”
On the latest episode of the Quaker Matters Podcast, WFS Director of Athletics Brad Greenman breaks down his first year, the lessons that student-athletes learn through athletics, and his hopes for the 2026–27 school year.
The Class of 2027 participated in the College Counseling Office's annual Application 101, where students completed the Common Application and refined their essays. The workshop was led by Interim Director of College Counseling, Rose Gnade, who has served on the College Counseling team since 2017.
Who remembers when the Class of 1996 took over the parking lot to spell out their graduation year?!
This fall, the Class of 1996 will celebrate its 30th Reunion during Homecoming Weekend, October 23-24, 2026. We hope to welcome as many classmates back to campus to reconnect, reminisce, and celebrate together.
The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma is often considered the highest standard for college preparatory education. This year, more than 30 members from the Class of 2026 were IB Diploma candidates.
“I think that the experiential leadership experience, trying all these new things, was very, very helpful for me. I knew I felt ready going to a liberal arts college after this experience [at WFS] because of that…but then I think the most important thing to me, and this is where I think it’s foundationally and morally changed who I am, is just leading with empathy.”
Colton Loeffler ’29 participated in the Ulster Project Delaware this summer, a month-long program in July where American teenagers host Northern Irish teenagers while participating in team-building activities, embarking on exciting day trips, and creating lasting friendships- all while fostering peace.
When reflecting on the history of girls’ athletics at Wilmington Friends School, one name stands as a monumental pillar of leadership, transformation, and excellence: Natalie S. “Lee” Bush. Serving the school from 1966 to 1999 as the Director of Girls’ Physical Education, teacher, coach, and grade dean, Lee spent over three decades establishing a culture of empowerment that changed the trajectory for countless female student-athletes.
Drew Milford '00 (left) and Josh Galperin '00 (center) recently returned to campus for a tour with their classmate and Head of Lower School, Chris Loeffler '00!
“It is my hope that when families think about the role of music at Wilmington Friends, they think far past just the entertainment factor of the performance, but all of the influences that music has on their child’s complete education.”
While visiting Paris, Jimmy Butterfield ’20 and Liam Hudgings ’20 enjoyed a reunion at Fête de la Musique, the global free music festival held each June 21 to celebrate the summer solstice.
1st grade teacher Sia Willie won the Black Author Award from the Black Authors Association (BAA) for her children’s book, “Liberian Rice Bread. Be on the lookout for her book as it will be featured in Times Square later this summer. Congratulations on this amazing accomplishment, Sia!
Statement of Nondiscrimination as to Student Enrollment
Wilmington Friends School admits students of any race, color, gender, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students of these schools. Wilmington Friends School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national and ethnic origin in administration of their educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school administered programs.