Greenwood Friends School

Friends and acquaintances paid tribute to Dr. Mary Linley Hopkins during a memorial service at the Millville Friends Meetinghouse on May 13, 2007. Dr. Hopkins, longtime friend of Greenwood Friends School and member of the board of trustees since 1983, died in Bloomsburg Hospital May 2, 2007, at the age of 94.

Dr. Hopkins was a retired professor of nursing who had also served 13 years on the school nursing staff of Southern Columbia school district. She had been a resident of Bloomsburg's Balanced Care nursing home for several years, since being incapacitated by a stroke. Yet she managed to be present at many GFS functions and was a regular attender of board meetings. In 2004, she was honored at the dedication of the school's Mary Linley Hopkins Library. She was a member of the Millville Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.

The 2007 GFS spring musical on April 20 was tied to the year's thematic study, "The Power of Our Stories." It drew a large crowd to the Central High School auditorium, where the students performed with verve and enthusiasm, with an occasional sidelong glance or yawn. For pictures, click here.

You can also see pictures of the 2006 GFS spring musical, by clicking here.

Greenwood Friends School's students read pieces of original work at Young Authors' Night on April 11. Some students read poetry, others short stories, and some shared a line or two to share about a picture. An appreciative audience heard the readings in the school library.

GFS students have more to do at lunchtime than just eat. Chess and book clubs have been organized at the request of students.

Teacher Craig Muller is in charge of the weekly chess clubs. Middle schoolers meet on Mondays and Primaries and Intermediates get together on Tuesdays.

Parents Rejena Girton and Cindy Schultz lead monthly book clubs. The club for middle schoolers meets at 12 noon and the one for Intermediates at 12:30.

For Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, Greenwood Friends School students engaged in a variety of service learning projects.

Greenwood Friends School has installed a peace and meditation circle in the schoolyard in honor of Mary and William Ravdin, close friends of the school. The circle, about seven feet in diameter, is made up of large stones for sitting and climbing on. In the center is a young shadblow tree. This new addition to the campus will be dedicated in the spring, but students are already using it as a spot for meditation and recreation.