News & Events

You may recall from our August 25th FriendsMail that DEIJB Coordinator, Jennifer Barfield, is sharing the gift of literature in rather peculiar places around town—barbershops! Inspired by a recent TikTok challenge, Jennifer connected with a number of local shops and salons, gifting crates of books to inspire young readers who might otherwise be uninterested or intimidated by books in formal educational settings. We've now made our way into J B's Barber Shop, Just Cut It, and Quail's Quality Cuts! 

You know the stereotype of English teachers as grumpy old guys wearing tweed blazers with elbow patches always ruminating about hidden symbolism in Tolstoy and Hemingway novels? Yeahhhh, that’s pretty much the opposite of Kaylie Saidin (pronounced like Poseidon, minus the Po). She’s our Middle School Language Arts teacher by day and surf instructor/trivia night host/guitar-playing band mate by night.

Time to dust off those encyclopedias, open up your Wikipedia browsers, and binge-watch Jeopardy reruns (the OG ones with Alex Trebek of course). We're gearing up for an adults-only night out at Longleaf with a not-so-spooky Friday the 13th trivia tournament. Team up for the ultimate knowledge test, complete with door prizes, giveaways, and ultimate bragging rights. 

With so many exciting announcements and achievements happening around campus, we decided to use the 2022-2023 Annual Report as an opportunity to celebrate our year-in-review, including spotlights on Longleaf Center and our ongoing DEIJB commitments; highlights across Preschool environmental education, Lower School place-based learning, and Middle School service-learning; a commemoration of the 2023 graduating class and interview with 2016 alumna Emma Brinkley; and, of course, recognition of each and every donor who uplifted the mission of our school.

When Emma Brinkley joined Friends School in 2008 as a 1st grade student, she didn’t foresee herself as a ceramics artist or as an aspiring art teacher. In fact, Emma's first encounter with ceramics isn’t quite what you would expect: “I was really bad at it," she chuckles. “Like, really bad. You can't fake it when your pottery keeps turning out wonky.” But rather than shying away, Emma dove headfirst into the challenge, determined to conquer the art form that initially eluded her. Today, she celebrates the opening of A Little Twisted Studio, a pottery business that she runs alongside her mother, Lori Brinkley, a therapist who practices in the same space. For both Emma and Lori, the studio is more than a business; it's a community—a place where artists and soul-seekers come together to create and grow, uplifting one another no matter their stage in life.