Author: staff
Athletics
Athletics are an important part of my life throughout the year. I’m on my school’s Cross Country and Squash teams, and I’ve taken up Crew during the Summer in a private program. In addition to these, I enjoy the treadmill and walking outdoors as often as I can!
At Friends Seminary, competitive spirit and Quakerism are mutually reinforced when kept in the perspective of integrity and team effort. Students are encouraged to pursue personal goals through cooperative effort and in pursuit of a common objective. We try to teach them that improving oneself is the most important goal one can set and that teachers, mentors and peers can all be a source of strength and knowledge. Sport is a microcosm of life, and the lessons of cooperation, discipline, responsibility and sportsmanship are lessons of life as well as of athletics.
Family Travel
Out Door Activities
Theater & Dance
In addition to my academics, athletics and music, I also enjoy participating in theater and dance.
I took formal ballet lessons for quite a few years, danced in our town’s Nutcracker many times, and now participate frequently in my school’s dramatic and musical stage productions.
My school believes that Dance Education provides a structure that grows with the child, giving them an opportunity to develop both their critical and creative thinking skills.
My Music
I am very fortunate to come from a musical family. My father and mother both grew up playing the piano and value music very much. I’ve been lucky and blessed that my parents have always taken me and my siblings to many concerts, musicals, operas, and ballets growing up.
Since my parents both had wonderful experiences with music, they encouraged me to play and instrument also. From a young age, I chose the violin because the sounds this instrument make (when played well!) are the most beautiful on Earth in my opinion (icon of beautiful sunrise or birds and music notes or something) and the curved figure and fittings of the string instrument are a work of art by themselves.
I really enjoy studying the violin and viola and sharing my results!
Playing Corelli's Christmas Concerto with Gemini String Orchestra - December 2019
I’ve been studying the violin since about age 4, and I added the viola around age 10. My Dad even accompanies me on the piano sometimes, which is always fun. I plan to continue studying and playing these instruments my whole life, as I really enjoy the challenge, and when a scale, arpeggio, exercise or piece of music comes together and I play it well, it’s like no other feeling on Earth! The violin and viola really allow me to express my emotions musically and I love playing as a soloist and in orchestras. I’ve been very lucky to have an exceptional violin and viola teacher in my life for many years as well as an outstanding conductor and mentor.
I was invited to sing in the Mandarin talent competition at the Long Island Chinese American Association 2018 Lunar New year celebration at Tilles Center in Brookville, NY!
Singing "Simple Gifts" at Matinecock Meeting House with my sisters and brother for a Friends Academy holiday event.
I’ve also done quite a bit of singing with a few lessons along the way, both solo and in choruses and musical productions. I really enjoy this and plan to continue singing throughout my education.
Please check out my “Violin and Viola Progress Videos” in the links below!!
Girl Scouts
I am also a very active participant in Girl Scouts and as a current ninth grader, I have the opportunity to try and achieve my Gold Award, which is the highest Girl Scout Honor. For my Gold Award project, I decided to take my current STEM program at La Fuerza and expand it globally! I am working with the Girl Scout organization as well as with my Girl Scout leader to find new ways to expand this project to be available to anyone, all around the world My program curriculum can be shared worldwide and is adaptable to being used in person, over video conference, or over the web. I will create an online curriculum which will be added to my Instagram, YouTube, and Webpages and this can be shared all over the country and the globe.
Throughout both of these programs, I have really come to know the staff and families at the program and have been involved in setting up various activities for them to be a part of the community. From celebrating holidays at the Quaker Meeting House with them to playing in the park or watching movies, it is such a rewarding feeling to watch them grow in all their different skills. Even if none of these students pursue science, the skills of developing curiosity, asking questions, and keeping an open mind will translate into anything they might do in the future!
Quaker Faith and Service
I love taking my passions and transforming them into something that can help people in my local community and hopefully the world. I really enjoy thinking about science and doing science research, and I saw a need in my community to take this interest and use it to help others. As a practicing Quaker, I am very involved in my Meeting House and as a leader in the Meeting House’s Peace and Social Justice Concerns Committee, where I organized and delivered a mentor-ship program at a local organization called LaFuerza Unida. This is a non-profit organization supporting the community needs of native Spanish Speaking and ESL students living on Long Island. Through this mentor-ship program, I would provide homework assistance to these children and help them have a better understanding of the English language even through our conversations.
As a practicing Quaker, I have been taught that service and community are important characteristics in creating change for the better in this world. I feel it is important to help others, and often, there are citizens within our own communities who are in need. As I learn more about the education gap between people at different income levels, I see an opportunity to educate and inform. I took the initiative to create and deliver a unique STEM curriculum for the after school program. Starting in 2018, my program taught these children about science and technology, while also keeping in mind the unique learning needs of non-native English speakers. Throughout the program, I continually strive to give these children the same opportunities and path for success as any other child in STEM and Science.
Mandarin Study
Translation
Thank you for visiting my website! I am 14 years old and in 9th grade. I’ve been learning Mandarin since 6th grade. I love studying Mandarin with my classmates and learning more about the Chinese culture. In my classes we learn a lot about Chinese culture in food, music, theater, and celebrate some traditional holidays. I love singing in Chinese and sharing my interest. I speak Chinese wherever I can to really learn the language. I really hope to go to China one day and learn all about it!
Award for excellent performance in The "Little Golden Mic" Chinese Language Competition
LI Youth Talent Show - Certificate of Participation in LI Youth Chinese Culture Talent Show
6th Grader Avery sang at the Lunar New Year Celebration at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts.
When it came time to choose my second language at school, I chose Mandarin because it’s the most-widely spoken language on planet Earth, and with a long 5,000-year history, there is so much to learn about this rich culture, history, and language!
I’ve been very lucky to have a really wonderful Chinese teacher, who has also been a mentor of mine. She nominated me for a few contests where I spoke, sang, and even delivered traditional poetry in Mandarin in front of live audiences. I plan on continuing my study of Mandarin for the long term, I and hope to travel to China and utilize my Mandarin skills during my career and entire life! Please check out a few of my Mandarin Adventures in the links below!!
Mandarin Characters
感谢您访问我的网站！ 我今年14岁，九年级。 我从六年级开始学习普通话。 我喜欢和同学们学习普通话，并更多地了解中国文化。 在课堂上，我们从饮食，音乐，戏剧中学习了很多有关中国文化的知识，并庆祝了一些传统的节日。 我喜欢用中文唱歌，并分享自己的兴趣。 我会尽我所能真正地学习中文。 我真的希望有一天能去中国学习有关它的一切！
在学校选择第二语言的时候，我选择了普通话，因为它是地球上使用最广泛的语言，并且已有5,000多年的悠久历史，因此对于了解这种丰富的文化，历史和 语言！ 我很幸运有一位非常出色的中文老师，他也是我的导师。 她提名我参加了一些比赛，我在现场观众面前说，唱歌，甚至用普通话讲传统诗歌。 我计划长期继续学习普通话，我希望能到中国旅行并在我的职业生涯和整个人生中运用自己的普通话技能！ 请在下面的链接中查看我的一些普通话冒险！
LICAA 2019 Lunar New Year talent contest
Studying at home and producing a video for class
Science and Experimentation
The reason I really love learning and doing hands-on science starts with the fact that there’s never an end to what we can learn about the world around us! Whether that’s in something as simple as understand why the states of matter work as they do or outlining an experiment around the large and global problem of Climate Change and Green Energy. We need to work together to bring renewable, clean energy solutions into practice on a scale that will reverse the course we’ve put Earth on, and I know that science and math are the way to make that happen.
Avery Davis (7th Grade) recently competed in the Long Island Science Congress.
To have the opportunity to be a part of the solution to these world-wide and major issues is an amazing feeling and right now at least, I think my future will be spent in this pursuit.
My love of science developed around the age of five when I was first introduced to various camps or science classes. I was so eager to take my newfound curiosity about the world to ask questions and figure out why things work. Science to me is the best way students can express their interest in creative and resourceful ways and really learn and understand more about the world around them in an organized and effective way, using the scientific method.
