Living, and Filming, Spring at Olney Friends School

Dear Friends,

If indeed “work is love made visible,” as Khalil Gibran tells us, then mid-April is high season at Olney Friends School.

Spring has brought yellows, purples, reds, and many shades of green to replace the browns, whites, and grays of winter. The ground is saturated with rain; it’s too wet to plant on the farm. Nights are sometimes near freezing, but days are warm enough that we’re opening windows! Last week, we hosted a film crew, including summit speaker Aaron Woolf, for three days. During shooting, we had just one day of sunshine: but it was enough to film all the outdoor shots. (More on the film below.)

Six months later, we are watching the effects of the summit gathering continue to unfold: 

Teachers are meeting to shape a more intentional approach to international education at Olney Friends School. The life of the farm is increasingly integrated into the college preparatory program. The number of visitors to campus is on the rise, and more and more are becoming ambassadors for the school locally, regionally, and nationally.

In the first three-quarters of April alone, we hosted 27 ninth graders from Columbus International High School studying local food production; 45 members of the Barnesville Area Chamber of Commerce; a naturalist complete with visiting wildlife (box turtles, snake, owl); the above-mentioned film crew from New York and Vermont; and several admissions guests. During the same time, three Olney Friends School students toured locally with a 7’ x 13’ map they built of Captina Creek watershed. Several international students represented Olney Friends School at a local cultural fair.

At a conversation with board members back in January, several boys at one dinner table kept insisting the best word to explain what made Olney Friends School, well, Olney Friends School — was “deep.” (“It’s just deep,” they insisted.) Last week, hosting movie-maker Aaron Woolf, who not only filmed but also taught a mini-film making class, who not only “gets” Olney but is committed to helping others to “get” it too, we found ourselves circling around themes of love of learning, love of land, and love of lasting friendships.  

As the board of trustees interviews candidates for head of school, and as we begin to see, experience, and imagine how the next chapter of Olney Friends School’s life is likely to unfold, we invite you to stay with us on the journey. Do you live in New York or in Washington, DC? Join us for a gathering. Prefer to read an article? See Abby Chew’s recent piece in Independent School magazine describing the Olney Friends School summit, “Remembering the Ground in Common Ground.”

Or pour a cup of coffee, settle back, and get to know filmmaker Aaron Woolf through his talk at Olney’s summit this fall, “Where’s My #*&! Jetpack? The World They Promised Us and the World We Want to Create.” We can’t wait to show you Aaron’s collaboration with students on a short video (perhaps 5-7 minutes) about the school. We’ll share it as soon as it’s ready, in the fall.

In gratitude,

The Olney Friends School staff