October 2021

W or d sw or th "F I L L YOU R PAPE R W I T H T H E B RE AT H I N G S OF YOU R H E ART." W I L L I AM W ORD SW ORT H

M oor est ow n Fr i en d s Sch ool , M oor est ow n , N J

Th u r sd ay , Oct ober 7, 2021

2021-2022, I ssu e # 1

W el com e Back Foxes!

By Al i Ben jam in '23 I N TH I S I SSUE M FS N ew s Back to Sch ool (Page 1) Beek eepin g Cl u b (Page 1)

Sch ool Ch an ges Din in g H al l Update (Page 2) Pl aygr ou n d Update (Page 3) M FW M oved to Red Gym (Page 3)

Lawn sign on the oval welcom es M FS students back to cam pus. (Photo: Ali Benjam in ?23)

On Septem ber 9, 2021, M oor estown Fr ien ds Sch ool wel com ed al l 638 stu den ts back to cam pu s to star t th e sch ool year togeth er

for th e fir st tim e in over a year. After a 2020-2021 sch ool year fil l ed with ch an ges in l ear n in g m odes, pl exigl asscover ed desk s, an d on e

way h al l ways an d stair cases, com in g to sch ool on th e fir st day fel t al m ost n or m al .

Al th ou gh th er e was m u ch excitem en t su r -

Op i n i on A Letter to th e Pl exigl ass (Page 4)

r ou n din g th is r etu r n to cam pu s, th er e wer e al so sever al aspects of r etu r n in g to sch ool th at took som e adju stin g.

Sh el by Noel ?23 n oted, ?It?s defi n itel y been a h ar d tr an sition , bu t I fou n d it easier bein g in per son towar ds th e en d of l ast year ,so it m ade [th e tr an si tion ] a l ot sm ooth er.?

Du e to Covid-19 r estr iction s, m an y of th e sim pl e pr actices associated with com in g to sch ool wer e l ost, su ch as sm al l gr ou p discu ssion s an d ph ysi cal copies of assign m en ts. Noel n oticed, ?A ch al l en ge is or gan izin g th e h an dou ts becau se l ast year we didn ?t r eal l y get an y paper s so it?s been h ar d to r em em ber wh at fol der s ar e with wh ich [cl ass].?

Upper Sch ool h istor y teach er Steven Bau m an n h ad a u n iqu e exper ien ce with r etu r n in g to cam -

pu s th is fal l , as h e began h is M FS car eer in th e m idst of th e Covid-19 pan dem ic. M an y aspects of l eadin g a cl ass h ad to be adapted an d ch an ged, in cl u din g th e ph ysi cal teach in g en vir on m en t.

Bau m an n com m en ted on th is tr an sition : ?I th in k it?s been r eal l y good an d I?m r eal l y excited to h ave a cl assr oom th is year. W e?ve h ad som e gr eat discu ssion s in m y cl assr oom so far.?

Th e begin n in g of th e 2021-2022 sch ool year gave both stu den ts an d staff a sen se of m u ch n eeded n or m al cy? on e th at m an y h ope wil l con tin u e th r ou gh ou t th e year. Fu l l cl ass discu ssion s, spir it week , an d in per son assign m en ts ar e ju st som e of th e ways th e M FS com m un ity is sl owl y m ak in g its r etu r n to a stan dar d sch ool exper ien ce.

Keepin g u p with th e Beek eeper s

By Ju l ia Tou r tel l otte '23

H ear d in th e H al l way (Page 4)

W e h ave a Sp ot i f y ! @ M FS W or ds W or th !

Th is su m m er h as br ou gh t abou t som e big ch an ges with in th e Beek eepin g Cl u b, n ot on l y r egar din g th e bees, bu t al so to th e cl u b?s str u ctu r e itsel f.

M em ber s h ave been wor k in g dil igen tl y, visitin g th e h ive ever y 3 week s to en su r e th e bees, as wel l as th eir h ive, ar e wel l -m ain tain ed an d given th e r esou r ces th ey n eed to devel op.

Th e bees th em sel ves h ave m ade a l ot of pr ogr ess th is su m m er. Accor din g to Dan iel Sor ok in , th e col on y expan ded m u ch faster th an an ticipated, so m u ch so th at th e cl u b h as in stal l ed an oth er box, cal l ed a su per ,on top of th e or igin al box to pr ovide m or e space for th e n ew bees.

Th is r apid expan sion is seen as gr eat n ews to th ose in vol ved. ?Becau se of th e gr eat pr ogr ess th e

bees h ave m ade,?

Dan iel Sor ok in ?23 expl ain ed, ?we wer e actu al l y abl e to col l ect two fr am es of h on ey th at we ar e pl an n in g on givin g to th e adm in istr ation as a gift.?

Addition al l y,r ed r efl ector s h ave been in stal l ed as a bar r ier su r r ou n din g th e h ive for stu den ts to k eep a safe distan ce. ?You sh ou l d on l y pass th e r ed r efl ector s if per m itted to do so by M r. Newm an , Sam DeJoseph , Aidan Sh or t, or m ysel f,? com m en ted Sor ok in .

Th e beek eepin g cl u b itsel f h as u n der gon e a few n ew ch an ges as Agen da appoin ted th em as a stu den t gover n m en t su bcom m ittee at th e en d of l ast year. Th is wil l en abl e th e cl u b to act on ideas th ey oth er wise wou l d n ot h ave h ad th e appr oval to accom pl ish . Cl er k s

Beekeeping club wor king at their fir st m eeting this school year . Photo: Cam pbell M cH ale, Beekeeping Club Photogr apher .

ar e yet to be decided for th is com m ittee. Th e pr ocess wil l fol l ow th e for m at of n om in atin g com m ittees u sed for Agen da an d Diver sity Com m ittees.

Sam DeJoseph ?23 said h e is excited abou t th is ch an ge: ?I th in k

th at th e cl u b becom in g a com m ittee wil l h el p u s pr ogr ess fu r th er as a gr ou p, as we h ave l ots of ideas th at m ay n ot h appen if we h ad to wait for appr oval in th e cl u b settin g.? ?I'm l ook in g for war d to fu r th er

expan sion an d h on ey h ar vestin g,'' DeJoseph said, ?W e h ope to cl ean ou t an d r epl an t th e n ear by gar den beds wh ich wil l n ot on l y ben efit th e bees, bu t al so h el p to beau tify th e sch ool !?

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Life at M FS

Th u r sd ay , Oct ober 7, 2021

Su m m er Upgr ades By: Em m a Ver n ick '23, H an n ah Pu c '24, Ju l ia Tou r tel l otte '23, an d Ish aan Sh ah '22 Ph otos By: Ju l ia Tou r tel l otte an d Em m a Ver n ick

L ow er Sch ool Rai n bow Rep ai n t ed

Ten n i s Cou r t s Pow er w ash ed

Th e Lower Sch ool r ain bow was r epain ted two week s befor e sch ool star ted by Tyfan ee Pr att, a for m er assistan t teach er at M FS. Ted H ar n wel l , Dir ector of Ph ysical Pl an t, said, ?Th e stu den ts r eal l y en joy seein g it, an d it r eal l y br igh ten ed u p th at ar ea.?

Pr epar ation for th e fal l ten n is season began over th e su m m er with th e power wash in g of al l ten n is cou r ts. Th e pr oject took fou r week en ds to com pl ete. Ted H ar n wel l , Dir ector of Ph ysical Pl an t, said poor dr ain age on th e cou r ts cau ses pool in g, wh ich l eaves beh in d stain s th at r equ ir e power wash in g to r em ove.

Pl ay gr ou n d Con st r u ct i on

L ab 1 Ren ov at i on s Com pu ter Lab 1 u n der wen t n otabl e r en ovation s over th e su m m er to tr an sfor m th e l ab in to a m ak er space en vir on m en t.

Steve Kol ar is, Dir ector of Tech n ol ogy, spear h eaded th e pr oject, wor k in g with th e M ain ten an ce Depar tm en t to k eep expen ses to a m in im u m . Two br an d n ew 3D pr in ter s an d a l aser cu tter wer e am on g th e m an y tool s an d equ ipm en t added. Kol ar is said th e Tech n ol ogy Depar tm en t wan ted ?to cr eate a m or e h an ds-on an d cr eative appr oach in tech n ol ogy cl asses.?

Con str u ction on th e pl aygr ou n d began over th e su m m er. H ead of Sch ool Ju l ia de l a Tor r e star ted th e pr oject wh en th e pl aygr ou n d began to age an d n eeded r estor ation . de l a Tor r e expl ain ed: ?Th e pl aygr ou n d h as been ar ou n d for over 20 year s. An d so, with an y pl aygr ou n d, it star ts to deter ior ate. You cou l d star t to see th at th in gs wer e cr ack in g an d br eak in g.?

H i p p o Rep ai n t ed Stu den ts of th e cl ass of ?22 visited cam pu s on Au gu st 31st to r epain t th e h ippo, a bel oved M FS tr adition for sen ior s. Tr ish a Nel son , ?22, on e of th e sen ior s wh o pain ted th e h ippo, r efl ected on h er exper ien ce, ?it was a r eal l y l on g day,bu t it was r eal l y fu n .? Th is year ?s th em e r evol ves ar ou n d th e n ew Disn ey m ovie, ?Lu ca.?

M FS 2021, th e Retu r n of th e Din in g H al l By: Al icia Leu n g '24 After bein g u n u sed for a year du e to Covid-19, th e Din in g H al l m ade its an xiou sl y-awaited r etu r n for stu den t an d facu l ty u se in th e 2021-2022 sch ool year.

H owever ,it com es back with a few m odification s an d var ied r eaction s.

Som e of th e n ew ch an ges in th e Din in g H al l in cl u de n ew seatin g l im its, paym en t option s, an d gu idel in es. W h il e eatin g in side th e l u n ch r oom , on l y fou r stu den ts wil l be al l owed at each tabl e an d al l th e win dows wil l be open . Th er e

wil l be a l im it to th e n u m ber of stu den ts th at can eat in side, bu t th er e wil l stil l be th e option to eat ou tside, or in oth er spaces ar ou n d sch ool . Cash wil l n ot be accepted, an d stu den ts pu n ch in codes as a con tactl ess paym en t m eth od.

W h il e th e n ew ch an ges to th e Din in g H al l cr eate a differ en t atm osph er e th an befor e, stu den ts stil l expr essed th eir excitem en t for som e sen se of n or m al cy to r etu r n du r in g l u n ch tim e. Soph om or e Ol ivia Ner i sh ar ed h er en th u siasm for seein g th e space fin al l y back

in action : ?I?ve h ear d n oth in g bu t good th in gs abou t th e Din in g H al l , so I?m r el ativel y excited abou t it r eopen in g.

It?l l be n ice to h ave a l ittl e m or e n or m al cy again !? Ner i h as n ot u sed th e Din in g H al l befor e sin ce l ast year was h er fir st at M FS, so th is wil l be th e fir st tim e for h er to social ize an d in ter act with in th is space.

Stu den ts wh o h ave u sed th e Din in g H al l for a wh il e al so sh ar e feel in gs of excitem en t r egar din g th e n ews. Rom a Jh a ?22 tal k ed abou t h er appr eciation for th e

Din in g H al l ?s r etu r n , as it al l owed h er to fin al l y n otice th e ?l ittl e th in gs? sh e h ad m issed befor e th e space?s cl osu r e: ?A few days ago I was stan din g in th e l u n ch l in e waitin g, an d I th ou gh t abou t h ow m u ch I actu al l y Dining H all open for use in the 20 21-20 22 school year . m issed gettin g th at Photo: Alicia Leung '24 oppor tu n ity? stated an d PE teach er Er ick abl e to sit down , an d Jh a. ?So th at?s Cotter sh ar ed h is even tu al l y eat with defin itel y th e m ost sen tim en ts on th e th em .? H e bel ieves excitin g th in g, ju st Din in g H al l r eopen in g th at th e Din in g H al l ?s bein g abl e to be with as wel l : ?I am r eopen in g is ?r eal l y peopl e again .? extr em el y excited th at im por tan t for ou r Facu l ty,al on g with it is open .

It? s n ice to com m u n ity bu il din g,? stu den ts, said th ey ar e be abl e to gr ab food, an d seem s on e step eager to see th e see peopl e you cl oser to som e sen se Din in g H al l m ak e its n or m al l y wou l dn ? t see of n or m al cy. r etu r n . M iddl e an d th r ou gh ou t th e day, be Upper Sch ool H eal th

New Ch an ges

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M FSW ORDSW ORT H .COM | @ M FSW ORDSW ORT H | JOU RN A L I SM @ M FRI EN DS.ORG

Swin gin g in to th e New Sch ool Year as Pl aygr ou n d Con str u ction Con tin u es

By Lau r en Edel stein '22, an d Jor dan Gr abel l e '22

A sketch of the playgr ound?s expected outcom e. M FS Playscape Ar tist Render ing by Studio .

Pr ogr ess on the new Lower School Playscape as of Septem ber 17, 20 21. Photos: Laur en Edelstein ?22.

St ay t u n ed f or m or e u p d at es on t h e p l ay gr ou n d ?s p r ogr ess an d ch i l d r en ?s r eact i on s t o t h e p r oject by ch eck i n g m f sw or d sw or t h .com .

Refl ectin g on Refl ection Stu den ts?th ou gh ts on th e fir st M FW of th e year

By Din ah M egibow-Tayl or '24 After 18 m on th s of l oggin g in to Zoom s in stead of wal k in g in to th e M eetin gh ou se, seein g each gr ade l evel th r ou gh a com pu ter scr een in stead of th e opposite ben ch es, an d ver bal ?good m or n in gs? san s h an dsh ak es, th e Upper Sch ool exper ien ced th eir fir st M eetin g for W or sh ip sin ce th e pr e-pan dem ic wor l d, bu t with a k ey differ en ce: wor sh ip was h el d in th e Red Gym , n ot th e

M eetin gh ou se.

Th e ch an ge of settin g was n ecessar y becau se cu r r en tl y th e M eetin gh ou se h as a capacity of seven ty peopl e, m ean in g th at th e Upper Sch ool is u n abl e to gath er as a wh ol e in th at space.

Th e Red Gym can ser ve as a pl ace to h ol d wor sh ip becau se it is l ar ge en ou gh to accom m odate th e US stu den t body in fu l l .

It?s cl ear after th e fir st M eetin g, th ou gh , th at th er e wer e som e dr awback s to u sin g th e gym . Som e

stu den ts took issu e with th e seatin g ar r an gem en ts, as som e advisor gr ou ps h ad to sit on th e gr ou n d wh il e oth er s sat on bl each er s. ?[M FW ] in th e gym was good, bu t m y on l y com pl ain t wou l d h ave to be th at it was u n com for tabl e sittin g on th e fl oor for for ty m in u tes,? said Ben Batr a ?24.

Nin th gr ader An n a Th om pson , wh o exper ien ced M eetin g for th e fir st tim e, said th e seatin g, ?cou l d?ve been pl an n ed ou t a

l ittl e better ,? bu t ?over al l it was al r igh t.?

An oth er difficu l ty was th at th e ech o an d gr eat size of th e gym m ade it h ar d to u n der stan d an n ou n cem en ts an d dir ection s. M eetin g for W or sh ip for Bu sin ess Cl er k Lil y Bu ch dah l ?22, wh o del iver ed th e dail y an n ou n cem en ts, said, ?Th e acou stics wer e k in d of h ar d to wor k with ,? bu t despite th is obstacl e, ?it was n ice to be back with ever yon e.?

Fol l owin g th e an n ou n cem en ts, at th e en d of M eetin g as gr ade l evel s wer e dism issed, th er e was som e ch aos exitin g th e gym th at r esu l ted in ever ybody l eavin g at on ce. Saiya Patel ?22, a m em ber of W or sh ip Pl an n in g Com m ittee, n oted, "peopl e wer en 't fol l owin g dir ection s."

Sh e attr ibu ted th is to th e l ou dn ess of th e gym an d becau se ?peopl e wer en 't as focu sed as th ey wou l d be in th e M eetin gh ou se.?

Look in g towar ds

th e fu tu r e, m an y stu den ts said th ey wou l d l ik e to see differ en t types of M eetin g for W or sh ip, wh eth er th at be in differ en t l ocation s or differ en t gr ou pin gs.

Oth er s said th ey wer e excited for th e possibil ity of al ter n ative M FW option s, su ch as m editation an d dr awin g. ?Besides th e M eetin gh ou se, I'd l ik e to see gr ade-l evel M eetin gs or even advisor y [M FW ],? said Patel .

Fol l ow u s on In stagr am !

@ M FSW or dsW or th

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Opin ion

Th u r sd ay , Oct ober 7, 2021

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A Letter to th e Pl exigl ass

By Van i H an am ir ian '22 Vir tu al : Scr een s, cam er as, bed, sch ool , cl ass, sl eep, dogs, fou r wal l s of h om e.

In per son : m ask s, six feet, distan ce, separ ation , pl exigl ass.

Ju st l ik e th at ? th e sch ool year cam e ar ou n d again with n ew faces an d n ew r oom s, bu t som eth in g was m issin g: pl exigl ass.

It was a l on g year fil l ed with scr aped ar m s an d l egs; th e pl exigl ass al ways fou n d a way to scr atch som eon e wh il e th ey wer e stan din g u p to

gr ab a tissu e or on th eir way to th e bath r oom . Oh , h ow m an y bags wer e r ipped as th e pl exigl ass tor e open seam s al l owin g book s, l aptops, an d bl u e l igh t gl asses to fal l ou t.

Som e m ay say th at th e pl exigl ass h el ped u s get a ?n or m al ? sch ool year ,yet it ph ysical l y an d m etaph or ical l y stood between fr ien dsh ips, r el ation sh ips, an d side ban ter in th e cl assr oom . It was l ik e a wal l separ atin g

fr ien ds fr om fr ien ds an d m en tor s fr om stu den ts.

Th e pl exigl ass stood tal l on ou r desk s for th e 2020-21 sch ool year. It was a r em in der th at we wer e as togeth er as we cou l d be. W e tr ied to avoid it, l ean in g back to tal k to fr ien ds ar ou n d th e pl astic sh iel ds th at wer e m ean t to pr ovide safety. It tr ied to r em in d u s we wer e ph ysical l y safe, bu t th at cou l dn ?t ch an ge th e feel in g of wh at stu den ts wer e deal in g

with l ivin g in a pan dem ic.

Fr esh m en n ever r eal l y exper ien ced h igh sch ool , sen ior s wer e ch eated ou t of th eir fin al year ,an d pr esch ool par en ts l ear n ed h ow h ar d it is to teach a cl ass of fou r -year -ol ds fr om h om e. It fel t l ik e bar r ier s wer e bein g pu t u p so th at we wou l d be separ ated fr om on e an oth er , ph ysical l y bl ock ed fr om com m u n ication .

Togeth er M FS stu den ts wen t fr om

H ear d in th e H al l way

By M ich ael H u ettl '23, Al icia Leu n g '24, Aadit Pan de '23, an d Am ir M ash aqi '23

?M y favor ite h igh l igh t abou t sch ool so far h as been bein g abl e to h ave l u n ch with m y fr ien ds again , an d al so bein g abl e to bon d with teach er s m or e. It?s ju st an oth er step towar ds n or m al cy th at I?m h appy abou t.? -H im an sh u Sah or e ?24

?[Sch ool?s] a bit dif f er en t n ow. I?m an of f icer of t h r ee clu bs, bu t I?m get t in g acclim at ed t o t h e r espon sibilit y of t ak in g car e of t h in gs ar ou n d t h e ?I?d say m y back to sch ool exper ien ce h as been ver y positive becau se l ast year I was al l vir tu al so th is year it's good to com e back in -per son , see al l of m y cl assm ates, an d get u sed to h avin g n or m al sch ool again . I?m gl ad th at for m y l ast year of h igh sch ool I?l l h ave a good h igh sch ool exper ien ce.? -H ar ou n Sh ah ?22

sch ool, an d it ?s r ef r esh in g.? -David

cl assr oom to cl assr oom an d each en ter ed th eir in dividu al cage: th r ee wal l s attach ed to th e desk with stick y tack .

Th e pl exigl ass tr an sfor m ed r oom s fr om fr ee air space to en cl osu r es. It al l owed u s to l ear n , yet su ffocated u s, an d m ade u s feel tr apped.

Th e pl exigl ass was a m etaph or ,an exam pl e: it was pl aced th er e so we wou l d k n ow we wer e n ot in a n or m al year n or at a pl ace wh er e it was fu l l y safe

to l ear n in -per son . Its pr esen ce r em in ded u s of th ose of u s wh o h ad, or wer e im pacted dir ectl y,by COVID. Pr esen tation s on gl obal n ews an d Kah oot gam es an d col l abor ative wor k stil l con tin u ed .

Pl exigl ass can 't tak e away th e M FS spir it of th e cl assr oom n o m atter h ow isol atin g it cou l d feel at tim es.

?On e of m y f av or i t e t h i n gs f r om bei n g back t o sch ool i s bei n g a sen i or an d h av i n g ou r sen i or p r i v i l eges. W e?r e abl e t o go u p t ow n t o M ai n St r eet d u r i n g f r ee p er i od s an d l u n ch , an d al so w e?r e p l an n i n g t o h av e a l ot of sen i or bon d i n g act i v i t i es t h i s y ear l i k e h av i n g a bar becu e n i gh t , so I ?m l ook i n g f or w ar d t o sen i or act i v i t i es l i k e t h ose.? -K at h r y n Sebast i an ?22

M at u r o ?22

?M y back to sch ool exper ien ce h as been gr eat. I got to see al l of m y fr ien ds an d I got to be in sch ool an d it's better to be in per son th an on l in e.? -Der r ick Ph il l ips ?23

?A h igh l igh t is pr obabl y seein g ever yon e at sch ool an d in -per son l ear n in g an d pl ayin g spor ts.?

-Jacob Tom ?24

?On e th in g I?ve l ik ed is th at th e din in g h al l is back open . I don ?t n eed to br in g an d m ak e l u n ch ever yday,an d we can sit with ou r fr ien ds.? -M ich ael Kowal sk i ?23

?I've en joyed bein g back on cam pu s an d seein g peopl e I didn 't see l ast year.?-Nath an iel Rodwel l Sim on ?23

W or d sW or t h St af f CO EDITOR-IN-CH IEF - Van i H an am ir ian '22

ENTERTAINM ENT AND POP CULTURE EDITOR - Aadit Pan de '23

CO EDITOR-IN-CH IEF - Jor dan Gr abel l e '22

SPORTS COLUM NIST - Ish aan Sh ah '22

NEW S EDITOR/ POLITICAL COLUM NIST - Lil a Sm ith '22

PODCAST DIRECTOR - El in a Sh ah '24

SPORTS EDITOR - Esh a Patel '23

ASSOCIATE M ULTIM EDIA DIRECTOR - Ju l ia Tou r tel l otte '23

COPY EDITOR - Lau r en Edel stein '22

ASSOCIATE M ULTIM EDIA DIRECTOR - Em m a Ver n ick '23

COPY EDITOR - Al i Ben jam in '23

STAFF W RITER - Am ir M ash aqi '23

M ULTIM EDIA PRODUCER/ POP CULTURE EDITOR - Em m a Nei '22

STAFF W RITER - H an n ah Pu c '24

SOCIAL M EDIA DIRECTOR - Din ah M egibow-Tayl or '24

ADVISER - Dian a Day

OPINION AND EDITORIALS EDITOR - M ich ael H u ettl '23

ADVISER - Debr a Gal l er

ART DIRECTOR - Al icia Leu n g '24