Elementary School

Meet the Staff: Steve Fragleasso

K-8 PE Teacher, Steve Fragleasso (pr: frag-lee-AH-so) joined the Friends School team in January this year, bringing the joy of outdoor education to our students. Learn a little bit more about him in this brief interview.

Where are you from and where do you live now? 

I was born and raised in Golden, Co. Its proximity to trails and mountains shaped my future. Since then, I have bounced around the Colorado area a little, spending about two years in Lakewood and the past 9 years in Boulder. I just moved to Lafayette with my partner, Megan, where we bought a house.

Personal stats (family): 

I have one younger sister who has a 1 and 4 year old that I take on adventures often. My father still lives in my childhood home in Golden. 

What did you do before working at Friends School?

Before coming to Friends School I worked with a handful of organizations that got kids outside learning about camping, climbing, biking and other outdoor activities. One of those organizations is Avid4 Adventure and it is where I plan to continue to spend my summers.

What do you think will be interesting, fun or challenging about your job at Friends School?

When guiding and working with summer camps, I only get to spend about a week with the same kids before they are on to the next thing. I’m very excited to get the opportunity to work with students for longer periods of time. 

What’s an interesting fact about you? 

When I was 26, I attempted to hike the Colorado Trail solo only a few months after being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I overcame a large learning curve and I hiked from Denver to Gunnision in 18 days. In Gunnision I had to end my hike because of early winter storms.

What’s your favorite kind of music, favorite band, book, movie, food – you pick?

My favorite food is coconut lemongrass green curry.

FlagGirl Productions

We love hearing stories about the ways our students are spending their time away from the remote classroom. This week, guest blogger and Friends School mom Chelsea Flagg, describes some of the amazing performances her three daughters have been putting on the last couple months from home. We’re excited to attend one of their Sunday afternoon plays.

Haiku and Petal Practice

Springtime means flowers, but what is “Petal Practice” and how can we use it to soothe ourselves during our time apart? Third grade teacher, Krysten Fort-Catanese shares this practice as well as the art of Haiku as part of third grade social and emotional literacy.

The Shakespeare Experience

Are Shakespeare’s words really relatable in today’s world and can 4th graders actually learn something about themselves when studying his centuries-old prose? Farren Wyner answers these questions as she shares her renewed love of Shakespeare with her students.

Still Learning Together While Apart

Now more than ever, our teachers are collaborating and making connections for kids so that this time of remote learning continues to be project based with lots of creativity, challenge and discussion. See what first graders created when math teacher Erika Norman combined geometry with art.

Friends Together, Friends Apart

Friends Board Chair, Jenny Donovan shares excerpts from Honor and our three division directors about all the exceptional things that have been happening at Friends School since remote learning began.

Meet the Staff: Front Desk Coordinator Jana Bledsoe

She’s the heart of our elementary school and knows every student and their families by name. She’s worn many hats at Friends School over the last 20 years, but there’s a lot more to know about Front Desk Coordinator, Jana Bledsoe.

With Design Thinking, The Sky’s The Limit!

Creative problem-solving skills prepare our students to tackle small and large challenges both inside out outside our school walls.Friends School uses Design Thinking to teach our students how to deconstruct problems and design innovative solutions, and what parents can do to support this at home.

Honoring individuality: more than icing on the cake

Student birthdays are celebrated a little differently at Friends School. Students are treated to deliciously, sweet, kind and funny words of appreciation for their classmates on their big day. One mom shares her experience in witnessing her own child’s celebration.

Volunteer Profile: Bill Flagg

Bill Flagg is a full time dad and entrepreneur and he finds volunteering at Friends School to be rewarding. Lou Bendrick sat down with Bill recently to find out what he loves about Friends, why he volunteers, what he’s reading and what’s in his refrigerator.

The Immigration Project

Friends actively teaches empathy from preschool through eighth grade. Fifth grade teacher, Emma Thomas, discusses what it looks like to raise critical thinkers and changemakers who are able to take that empathy off the playground and into the wider world?

Read, Read, Read Some More

Friends Librarian, deana harragarra waters, loves books and reading. So do her students. When she asked our 5th graders about the value of reading, they had some great answers.