Moorestown Friends School, Moorestown, NJ
DECEMBER 15, 2017
2017-2018, Issue #2
GIFT GUIDE 2017 INSIDE
WHOLE LOTTA SOUL
Soul Food Fest Celebrates 20th Anniversary By Andrew Rowan ‘19, Editor-in-Chief; Chloe Jones ‘18, Editor-in-Chief; Esha Nittoor ‘20, Print Edition Editor; Liah Morban ‘21, Staff Writer; and Jayson Rhone ‘21, Staff Writer
In This Issue Not sure what to get the MFS Athletes on your gift list? WordsWorth has you covered in our 2017 Holiday Gift Guide. Page 2 and 3
COMMUNITY Get to know the maintenance staff! The Maintenance staff shares their favorite aspect of MFS, their craziest traffic stories, and how we can all make their jobs easier. Page 1 and 4
For two decades, Soul Food Fest has brought together the Moorestown Friends School community as a way to enjoy people’s company and people’s different cultures. The event is organized and hosted by the Martin Luther King Club. Originally starting as a multicultural lunch held only for the members of the MLK club, Soul Food Fest has evolved into an MFS tradition meant to bring people together. “It’s important for people to be able to come together around food. When you bring in food you’re also bringing pieces of you and your culture along with it,” explained Middle School Dean of Students Tina Corsey. Corsey originally ran Soul Food Fest. Corsey explained that when Soul Food Fest was starting out, people would say they didn’t know how to cook soul food. “We would tell them that soul food is not fried chicken and [that] type of food, but [it’s] food that makes them feel happy and represents who they are.” Organizing a lunch for over 300 people is no small feat. Starting in late October or early November, the MLK club begins to brainstorm ideas for different foods and roles during the event. MLK members are encouraged to
CONGRATS! Print Edition Editor Esha Nitoor ‘20 received an honorable mention for her “Lone Cross Country” runner story in the National Scholastic Press Association competition.
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Photo courtesy The Cupola / Moorestown Friends Yearbook
The 1997 MLK Club, who put on one of the first Soul Food Fests.
contribute as much as they can by donating food and other utensils, MLK Secretary Han Nguyen told WordsWorth. “We delegate roles such as runners, playlist makers, servers, etc. to make sure that we have a well rounded and prepared team so that the [lunch] runs smoothly.” For this year’s 20th anniversary, the Martin Luther King Club prepared new T-Shirts and wristbands. MLK Club Treasurer Mya Corsey explained how the club wanted to get new t-shirts to make the 20th anniversary special: “We’re trying to make it a bigger deal this year than it usually is.” The club picked a design for the T-shirt out of three options. The wristbands were a new idea the club had this year, according to Mya Corsey. MLK Club President Moises Cosme told WordsWorth what makes Soul Food Fest special
“When you bring in food you’re also bringing in pieces of you and your culture along with it.” for him: “What warms my heart the most is the thought that a plate, as small as it may be, can come to represent our community as a whole. On one plate, you can have an infinite variation of foods from different cultures.” “It’s awesome because MLK club puts it together but the whole school makes it
Get to Know the MFS Maintenance Staff Larry Brandimarto is the Maintenance Supervisor and has been with Moorestown Friends for 27 years.
What do you like about working at MFS? The kids, the teachers, even the outside people - neighbors, my guys - it’s just a whole family type of atmosphere; it’s different from where I worked before, where it was constantly doing different things and having problems with other people, but here it’s just like a growing family. You don’t mind coming here. Seeing you guys with a smile on your face, and things like that, that makes it for me.
Photo courtesy Diana Day / MFSWordsWorth
Has there been a moment in your career that stood out to you? Has there been anything in particular that you have observed at MFS that touched you? Every year was like a moment to me, because
Students enjoy the buffet at Soul Food Fest in 2013 happen,” said current MLK Club Advisor Lauren Duwell. Director of Diversity and Inclusion Karen Washington said that part of what has continued to make Soul Food Fest such a great event is the fact that so many people continue to make it a success. “There’s always so much excitment about it.” At the end of the day, Soul Food Fest is a time for celebration and community. “It’s one of those events ... that brings people together ... to celebrate [each other],” said Tina Corsey. She added how it is great to have teachers, students, and alumni stopping in to enjoy the food and talk to each other. It is clear that Soul Food Fest has made a lasting impact on life at MFS. “We hope that this tradition can continue for generations,” concluded Nguyen.
VIDEO STORIES Be sure to check out MFSWordsWorth.com for new video stories coming soon.
What makes a ‘good day’ at work? When everything goes right, guys show up on time. They’re here and there’s no problems with the school. What made you choose your job/ choose MFS? It was an opportunity of taking over a school that I always wanted to do. I was a boilermaker before that and I wanted to be around kids and people. The school was in bad shape at the time and I knew I could turn it around.
Photo courtesy Kat Clark/Moorestown Friends Marketing & Communications
School Security: Is MFS Safe? Photo by Andrew Rowan ‘19, Editor-in-Chief & Fox Tracks Executive Producer
(From left to right): Arnell Palmer, Val Soto, Larry Brandimarto, Kerry Slimm, and John Barbadoro when I got here, the school was in pretty bad shape, and every year we did something completely different: we changed the windows; we changed the lockers; we did different things. I mean, there were some big moments for me, but it wasn’t like we came to a school that was brand-new. It was a really old school that we had to redo completely. Every year would probably [special to me]. What are your hobbies? Favorite TV shows? Pets? Books? I fish and hunt during the winter and summer. We have a dog and I love animals. I’m not really big into TV. If I do watch TV, it’s whatever my wife wants to watch. How can we make your job easier? Put trash in the trash cans. Don’t write on the walls or partitions and [don’t knock] the ceilings out in the locker rooms. This is your house too, this is all of our house that we have to live in too. What would you and your team want as a Holiday Gift? We have everything, I make sure these guys have everything. I would say, get some more time off during Christmas. Read about the rest of the maintenance staff on Page 4.
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