What Happens During Meeting for Business
Repost
We came in from the rain after recess, took off our shoes, got a drink of water, and then made our way into the meeting space. We sat in silent expectation for the clerk to begin the meeting. On a whiteboard was our agenda, full of topics and items that had been accumulating for the month.
After everyone sat down and began to settle into their seats, one friend stood up and made her way to the table in the center of the space. She lit the candle and flipped over the sand timer. The meeting had begun. For two minutes, we shared in the silence; stilling our bodies, calming our minds, and beginning to weave together into our familiar community pattern.
After the silence, the clerk invited friends to share any acknowledgments they had with the group. First, as is our tradition, we acknowledged any members who were not present, holding them in the Light, knowing that we would be making decisions in their stead and with them in mind. Next, four or five friends took turns acknowledging others for helping them with work or conflicts, playing with them at recess, or simply being a good friend. Among our older friends, there was also a sharing of gratitude for their field trip that day.
When everyone had finished, the clerk moved us into announcements. We understand that announcements are for sharing information or reminders with no discussion afterward. If discussion is needed, we add the topic to a future agenda. The announcements were brief; a teacher let us know we now had a diluted soap solution for washing our snack dishes to reduce waste, and a couple of friends reminded everyone to walk calmly into the meeting space to avoid people getting pushed.
Now it was time to begin the proper agenda. Topics ranged from a new library system and trying an outdoor Meeting for Worship to helping out more during chores and going for walks at recess. After each topic was introduced by the person who added it, anyone in the meeting could contribute; sharing thoughts, feelings, and either approval or disapproval.
The role of the clerk, beyond guiding the meeting, is to listen for the sense of the meeting: the moment when hearts and minds feel clear enough to move forward together. Since we do not vote, decisions must be acceptable to all. If unity isn’t reached, we wait, reflect, and return to it later after more time for “seasoning.”
A notable moment came when a friend shared that others were hitting the gaga ball too hard and that it hurt when they were hit. This was met with nods and agreement, especially from younger students. What followed was a thoughtful conversation about inclusion in games, awareness of our different sizes and sensitivities, and empathy for one another. It wasn’t just about being gentler; it was about understanding. What feels like a hard hit to one person might not to another. The group discussed a few ideas and ultimately decided that clearer communication between players would help everyone feel safe and heard. No new rules, just more kindness, patience, and awareness. That was the agreeable outcome.
Other topics led to more practical solutions. An ad hoc Fundraising Committee was formed, with two fifth-year students as conveners, to brainstorm ways to raise money for new recess equipment. A group volunteered to rewrite names on snack bowls that had worn off in the wash, and we decided to use those bowls at lunch as well; to cut down on dishwashing chores and encourage more stewardship and independence.
But the most remarkable part of Meeting for Business isn’t just the decisions we make—it’s who is making them. The children lead the meeting. They come up with most of the agenda, raise concerns, propose solutions, and speak from the heart. Every child has a chance to speak and nearly all did. Adults participated, but as equals. We have to raise our hands too!
Meeting for Business is a regular and sacred time to practice building community. Students feel ownership of their school because they have ownership. They may not make every policy or financial decision, but they shape the culture, and they help hold each other lovingly accountable when things drift.
At the end of the meeting, another friend made their way to the center, lit the candle, and we shared another couple of minutes of silence—ending the way we began. And with that, the student offered,
“There is no way to peace,”
and we all answered together,
“Peace is the way.”
Then we went about the rest of our day.
By: Canaan
The Start of Middle School Microeconomics
I haven't been at the school long but I think you’ve all heard me talk about micro-economics as a foundational component of Maria Montessori’s vision for middle school. The whole Montessori curriculum is rooted in hands-on learning. Through materials and some self-guided work, students can learn with visual examples, tactile experiences and trial and error which solidifies the information more deeply. Montessori believed that this was possible with a classroom environment that is curated perfectly to support the students in this experience. This is why someone could enter into a Montessori classroom on two sides of the globe and see a very similar layout. The classroom strives to create an environment for students to be educated not just by a teacher, but by the space, themselves and their peers. From ages three to twelve, guides work to create this atmosphere inside the classroom. In adolescents, we begin to broaden our idea of a classroom.
This means that it is the job of the guide to start to think how we can curate the outside worlds to support the adolescent in joining us, as adults, in this new bigger community. There are many parts of this; finding more mentors that practice relevant professions related to our classwork, taking more field trips and outings, and of course micro-economies.
You will hear more about all these throughout the year, but the focus of our first few weeks of school has been starting our micro-economic project. If you’re not new to Friends-Montessori you’ll be familiar with Maria’s Pizzeria, the business run by the 6th grade students. They provide pizza to the students on Fridays. The middle school business will differ in two big ways, students will have more responsibilities and they will be interacting with both students and adults.
A new responsibility is calculating different types of costs. With pizza, each week is the same but with sandwiches there will be more variation as we change the menu.
To help the students learn some of these new skills, last Wednesday we had an accounting professor join our class. I was incredibly impressed by the students' engagement and focus. They exceeded all our expectations in grasping new and complicated concepts. Prior to this, we created a list of sandwich options and took a trip to Harris Teeter where we collected a list of prices that we could use in our calculations. These calculations helped the students determine how to price their sandwiches and how many they needed to sell to reach their fundraising goal. He even created a specific spreadsheet just for our class to more easily track everything we need.
by: Maddy
Finding Inspiration Through Podcasts
As we start these weekly write-ups, I’ve been thinking about what I want to share. Of course, I’ll share things that are going on in the classroom and on campus at large, but I wanted to take the opportunity in this first issue to share a few things that brought me joy this summer. More specifically, I wanted to share some of what has brought me joy about being back in the classroom and back in community with all of you.
If you know me, you know that I’m a huge auditory and verbal learner. I adore podcasts and audiobooks as a primary way of consuming new information. This summer, three things came across my radar that I wanted to share with you all as adults.
On Being with Krista Tippett
A podcast I come back to often is On Being, hosted by deep thinker and theologian Krista Tippett. Canaan and I listened to a recent episode together this summer where Krista was in conversation with Jason Reynolds around the topics of hopelessness, the virtue of stamina, and showing grace to ourselves.
This conversation was breathtaking and felt particularly important for how we show up in community, especially in these times. It is radical in its warmth and truth. It’s not a conversation you can walk away from without thought or movement.
Jason Reynolds is a New York Times bestselling author of more than 20 books for children and young adults. From 2020–2022, he served as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Among many honors, he has received the Newbery, Printz, and Coretta Scott King Awards and was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2024. He is also on the faculty at Lesley University in the Writing for Young People M.F.A. Program.
You can listen anywhere you get podcasts or on the On Being website:
Jason Reynolds: On Hopelessness, the Virtue of Stamina, and Showing Grace to Ourselves
Armchair Expert: Experts on Experts
Another podcast I listen to often is Armchair Expert, and in particular, their Wednesday episodes called “Experts on Experts.” The last two episodes have stayed with me, and I believe they hold staying power for our community as well.
Marc Brackett
Marc Brackett was a recent guest. You may recognize Marc from his written works, Dealing with Feeling, Permission to Feel, and RULER. Marc Brackett is a psychologist, professor, and founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.
The conversation revolves around why avoiding emotion is harmful, how precisely naming a feeling changes what you can do with it, and why the best emotional allies listen instead of trying to fix. This conversation is vulnerable and open-hearted. It serves as an invitation toward understanding and compassion while also providing tools for moving into action and practice.
Marc Brackett on Armchair Expert
Chris Young
Chris Young was the most recent guest on the podcast, and his story and his work have incredible importance and power behind them. Chris is the author of the recently published book The Wound Is Where the Light Enters, a compilation of the memoir he began writing during his time in prison.
Chris was pardoned from two life sentences in 2023 by President Trump and speaks radically about how family is a verb, how hope is a drug worth taking, and how freedom begins with imagining beyond your circumstances.
These conversations span Chris’s life and represent so many other life stories in which socioeconomic status, capitalism, and our prison system were built to—and continue to—cause harm in our communities. Chris speaks powerfully about what it might mean to imagine something beyond those systems and circumstances.
https://armchairexpertpod.com/pods/chris-young
One note: The first part of the Armchair Expert podcast is the interview and conversation, while the second part is a time of chitchat with the co-hosts. I’m mainly pointing you all toward the interview portion.
I hope you find something here that stays with you, challenges you, or simply brings you a little joy. I’m grateful to be back in the classroom and, perhaps even more so, grateful to be back in community with all of you.
With care and consideration,
Cara Beth
As we start these weekly write-ups, I’ve been thinking about what I want to share. Of course, I’ll share things that are going on in the classroom and on campus at large, but I wanted to take the opportunity in this first issue to share a few things that brought me joy this summer. More specifically, I wanted to share some of what has brought me joy about being back in the classroom and back in community with all of you.
If you know me, you know that I’m a huge auditory and verbal learner. I adore podcasts and audiobooks as a primary way of consuming new information. This summer, three things came across my radar that I wanted to share with you all as adults.
On Being with Krista Tippett
A podcast I come back to often is On Being, hosted by deep thinker and theologian Krista Tippett. Canaan and I listened to a recent episode together this summer where Krista was in conversation with Jason Reynolds around the topics of hopelessness, the virtue of stamina, and showing grace to ourselves.
This conversation was breathtaking and felt particularly important for how we show up in community, especially in these times. It is radical in its warmth and truth. It’s not a conversation you can walk away from without thought or movement.
Jason Reynolds is a New York Times bestselling author of more than 20 books for children and young adults. From 2020–2022, he served as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Among many honors, he has received the Newbery, Printz, and Coretta Scott King Awards and was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2024. He is also on the faculty at Lesley University in the Writing for Young People M.F.A. Program.
You can listen anywhere you get podcasts or on the On Being website:
Jason Reynolds: On Hopelessness, the Virtue of Stamina, and Showing Grace to Ourselves
Jason Reynolds
Armchair Expert: Experts on Experts
Another podcast I listen to often is Armchair Expert, and in particular, their Wednesday episodes called “Experts on Experts.” The last two episodes have stayed with me, and I believe they hold staying power for our community as well.
Marc Brackett
Marc Brackett was a recent guest. You may recognize Marc from his written works, Dealing with Feeling, Permission to Feel, and RULER. Marc Brackett is a psychologist, professor, and founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.
The conversation revolves around why avoiding emotion is harmful, how precisely naming a feeling changes what you can do with it, and why the best emotional allies listen instead of trying to fix. This conversation is vulnerable and open-hearted. It serves as an invitation toward understanding and compassion while also providing tools for moving into action and practice.
Marc Brackett
Chris Young
Chris Young was the most recent guest on the podcast, and his story and his work have incredible importance and power behind them. Chris is the author of the recently published book The Wound Is Where the Light Enters, a compilation of the memoir he began writing during his time in prison.
Chris was pardoned from two life sentences in 2023 by President Trump and speaks radically about how family is a verb, how hope is a drug worth taking, and how freedom begins with imagining beyond your circumstances.
These conversations span Chris’s life and represent so many other life stories in which socioeconomic status, capitalism, and our prison system were built to—and continue to—cause harm in our communities. Chris speaks powerfully about what it might mean to imagine something beyond those systems and circumstances.
Chris Young
One note: The first part of the Armchair Expert podcast is the interview and conversation, while the second part is a time of chitchat with the co-hosts. I’m mainly pointing you all toward the interview portion.
I hope you find something here that stays with you, challenges you, or simply brings you a little joy. I’m grateful to be back in the classroom and, perhaps even more so, grateful to be back in community with all of you.
With care and consideration,
Cara Beth