Olney Friends School Celebrates 150 Years At Barnesville Campus
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BARNESVILLE — It’s almost time for classes to start, but it isn’t too late to enroll in a school like no other. Olney Friends School, located at the edge of Barnesville, is a place where high school students from all across the country and around the world learn and grow together.
Its rigorous academic program is shaped by Quaker values that allow every type of student to be themselves and fit in. Situated on a 350-acre, USDA-Certified Organic Farm, the school serves three meals a day that often feature meat and produce raised on site.
Students who are so inclined are welcome to get their hands dirty and help to grow that food by participating in Farm Team. Olney also offers more traditional sports, such as basketball, volleyball, soccer, cross country, and track. Athletic activities culminate each March with the annual gymnastics exhibition, or “Gym Ex” - one of the many traditions that have shaped Olney over its 150 years in Barnesville.
As a coeducational school for students in grades 9-12, Olney offers five- and seven-day boarding options for students whose homes are many miles away or even in another state or country. But it also welcomes students from Belmont and surrounding counties to commute to classes on a daily basis.
Olney students complete all the core classes needed for college admission, leading to a 100% acceptance rate. But it also offers exciting electives and opportunities for students to practice life skills and experience new things, ranging from blacksmithing to tapping maple trees for sap to make syrup or even crocheting something they might want to wear. All the while, those students are also learning how to collaborate with others, how to resolve conflicts in a productive way, and how to live a life of purpose.
“At its best, a school teaches young people how to live with integrity, listen, take responsibility, and find joy in working together,” Head of School Christian Acemah said. “… It manifests in daily routines, students caring for one another, faculty guiding students as they push themselves out of their comfort zones, and a community choosing consistency over spectacle.”
Olney features rolling admissions, so students who start the year on the wrong foot at their local schools still have the chance to make a change and discover how Olney can work for them.
To enroll or explore and learn more about Olney Friends School, visit olneyfriends.org or call 740-425-3655.