My Friend: A Connection Between Friends Schools

Pictured above: First and second-grade students sharing their "My Friend" projects with Mary Dowling, a Sandy Spring Friends School teacher, and Marian Dowling, a retired Sidwell Friends School teacher over Zoom.

This spring, first and second-grade assistant teacher, Mary Anne Peacock, wondered if she could adapt an activity she had led with younger students at Sandy Spring Friends School to her new classroom. Each week, Mary Anne led the class in a writing activity in which a different student -- a friend -- in the classroom was chosen. Students brainstormed what they noticed about their friend: “imaginative, a detailed artist, brave at trying new things, funny, and uses humor to help when things feel sad…and so much more.” Then Mary Anne would lead the group in writing a paragraph, learning how to group ideas into categories and organize their writing.  

One first-grade student shared:  

“I liked that we could tell them how much they mean to us. And maybe they didn't know what I like about them. And it feels so good to tell them.”

Another shared:

“I heard things that I didn't even know people think about me. Really nice things that I didn't even think about myself. It made me feel special.” 

Mary Anne is quick to share that she ran this activity with her longtime teaching partner at Sandy Spring Friends School, Mary Dowling, before adapting this activity this year with first and second-grade FSP teacher, Kate Cass.  

Kindergarten teacher at Sandy Spring Friends School and her mother, Marian Dowling, retired Kindergarten teacher at Sidwell Friends School, zoomed into the 1-2 Friends School of Portland classroom in May as students wrapped up their “My Friend” project. The classroom was filled with energy as students gathered on the rug to share what their classmates had written about them. One second-grade student shared:  “I want to stand up and share so that they know who I am, and what my friends say about me.”

Marian Dowling shared the story of how “My Friend” began. She recalled a little boy in her early years of teaching who was having a harder time. As the school year went on, Marian wondered how she might highlight someone who needed a little more positive attention. She remembers wondering, “Why is he a good friend?” And this is how “My Friend” began and then evolved over the years.  

Mary Dowling recalled that when she began teaching, she was looking for good ideas, and she recognized that her mom had some of the best ones! She began to adapt the “My Friend” activity for her class, until it became a staple part of the year for Mary Anne and Mary to run together. 

Mary Anne shared that the activity has been changed from a drawing activity to a paragraph writing project, as first and second-grade students are such good writers. She shared, “Students took time to see the Light in each other. Sometimes that can feel tricky. Learning and noticing each other, and then sharing what we notice about someone’s Light, makes someone feel special.”  

The first “My Friend” of the school year was Kate and the final “My Friend” was Mary Anne — both classroom teachers bookended the individual students. Students shared:  

Thank you for inspiring us, Sandy Spring Friends School and Sidwell Friends School!