Moorestown Friends School, Moorestown, NJ
December 16, 2022
2022-2023, Issue #2
Catching up with Beloved Former MFS Teacher Steven Baumann
By Hannah Puc ’22 and Elina Shah ’22
In This Issue Features - Former middle and upper school history teacher Steven Baumann catches up with the WordsWorth staff. (pg. 1) - A look into two authors at MFS, Tara Wosiski and Robert Nasatir, each with recent publishings. (pg. 6)
Year Wrapped - Take a look at the various student created Instagram accounts covering student life. (pg. 2) - See the top BeReal’s from the school year including a special appearance from a cast member from the hit show Jessie. (pg. 3)
Gift Guide - WordsWorth found the top gifts for the clubs and committees at MFS. Check out our gift selections in our annual Holiday Gift Guide. (pg. 4 & 5)
Global Affairs - Catch up on the lastest news during the month of November. (Page 7)
Last year, Middle and Upper School history teacher Steven Baumann left Moorestown Friends’ School after two years. During those two years he taught US History, 19th Century History, and coached Boys’ JV Soccer. Baumann quickly became a favorite of the MFS community, and students were devastated to hear that he would no longer teach at MFS. Baumann now teaches at Phoenix Country Day School in Paradise Valley, Arizona. On November 17, WordsWorth staff members had the opportunity to catch up with him and see how he’s been doing. Even though he has moved to another school, he keeps memories from MFS with him. Baumann keeps his fox mug on his desk (pictured in the image above), along with selfies with MFS students, advisory photos, class photos and he has the Class of ’24’s spirit week artwork covering his office walls. Along with MFS mementos, Baumann’s soccer scarves and different kinds of tea line his office. Baumann also now includes his violin in teaching, which is something MFS kids loved. “I’ve been trying to bring the violin more into class, I think that was something [at] MFS that was really successful. I have this classroom set that I play when Napoleon gets exiled, I have some Irish tunes for that, and [I have music for] when the mines explode during the Industrial Revolution,” Baumann said. Baumann said he has experienced some “unexpectedly cool” things in Arizona, including the Peruvian apple cactus in his front yard, which produces flowers at night that are gone by morning and a fruit that “tastes like banana mixed with kiwi,” he said. “It’s really, really beautiful here … There’s a lot of nature around, and so I really appreciate that. And it’s [a] different kind of nature, like all the cactus and weird animals.” Baumann also commented on the different atmosphere of classrooms that are influenced by nature in Arizona: “It reminds
me in many ways of my high school experience growing up with classroom doors that open to the outside, and a lot more outdoor space simply because of the weather.” Overall, Baumann described the change as “a very positive transition.” One of Baumann’s motivations in moving to the west coast was to be closer to his family, and he has certainly been enjoying this opportunity. “During fall break I was able to drive back to my family … It is just about four hours to LA and then a couple more to my home. It’s always nice to stop in LA and have a meal and then go back to where I grew up,” Baumann said. He has future plans to spend time with family as well: “I’m gonna be running the Thanksgiving 5K in my hometown with my niece and two nephews. And then in the spring, my brothers and I are actually gonna go to Japan and hike across a part of Japan. So these are the, just, little kinds of opportunities that might not have been able to happen [living] on the east coast,” he continued. In Arizona, Baumann remains a history teacher, but now teaches all grades in high school. He teaches two ninth grade sections, one tenth grade section, and an eleventh/twelfth grade elective. His classes include Ancient Civilizations, Modern World History, and Latin American History. Meeting new people and making friends happened in an interesting manner for Baumann. He met people in the community by embracing some western culture.“When I grew up, I used to wear cowboy boots … and so one of the neat things of coming to the west is that I get to rediscover that part of me. So I went and got cowboy boots. That doesn’t sound like you’re meeting people, but in a way you are.” Baumann has also used his love for running as a way to connect with members in his school community. “I’ll be running the Rock and Roll Arizona Marathon in January, and there are actually several faculty members at school who are [also running in] it. We
Mr. Baumann poses for a picture showing off his MFS fox mug. Photo by Elina Shah ’24
have a little group who are training so that’s very nice. Just creating those links through running, I’ve met some interesting people,” he mentioned. Baumann has also met new people through his love for music: “One of the other members of [the] faculty is also a violinist, and he’s part of this theater corporation [where] they come together on one Saturday every month and they’ll just work through the whole Saturday, and then they’ll put on a musical at the end of the day and so that’s the kind of thing that I love to do where I can play the violin and meet people. Phoenix, thankfully, has a lot of opportunities for that.” Baumman has made sure to keep his connections on the east coast, staying in contact with another history teacher at MFS, Clark Thomson. “I was just emailing this funny Quaker map that I found to Mr. Thomson this morning … it’s good to have those connections,” he said. When asked about moving back to the east coast, Baumann is unsure about his future. “That’s an interesting question … I don’t know. I would never say that I won’t move somewhere … In fact I applied for a professional development opportunity for teachers in Hawaii this summer [and] who knows? Maybe I’ll love Hawaii,” he said. After all the moving and traveling Baumann has done, he said that he has learned one important lesson: “I kind of suggest that for everyone, you know, get to know people all over the world. You never know where you might end up.”
Controversy and Culture Take The Field in the MFS 2022 World Cup Extravaganza By Sophia Lalani ’25
Opinion - A review of a week of Sage Dining. (Page 8)
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The Upper School Agenda Clerks have created a new way for students to celebrate their heritage and culture through sports: the 2022 World Cup Extravaganza. The celebration will consist of four separate events that will celebrate both the diverse cultures present at MFS and the sporting event itself and was an idea presented by the clerks in the Agenda Committee meeting on November 10. The celebration, planned by Agenda co-Clerks Andrew Mercantini ’23 and Haila Desai ’24, will include a Red, White, and Blue Day, Potluck Lunch, Heritage Day, and community forum discussing the controversy surrounding Qatar’s hosting of the Cup. Additionally, the USA vs. Wales game was played in the Auditorium on November 21 for students to have the chance to support Team USA. In terms of addressing the current controversy surrounding Qatar’s position as the host of this year’s World Cup, there was a discussion on December 1 during Agenda to address the situation. Agenda co-Clerk Haila Desai mentioned that she “[doesn’t] want to celebrate the World Cup and make it this glorious thing without recognizing that there’s a serious issue,” referring to the human rights violations that have been alleged against Qatar
in recent months. She also noted that she “want[s] people to be educated … there’s obviously a huge problem with having it in Qatar because of the way the stadium’s built … [and they] want to talk about it and spread awareness about
Students watching the Brazil and Croatia in the World Cup in the DHC. Photo by Sophia Lalani ’25
[the problem] in our own community.” As noted by Desai, “One of the goals of this celebration is to give students a space to embrace their culture and heritage.” Diversity co-Clerk Avani Verma ’24 agreed that it will do just that: “I think that it [will help] to bring together different countries that many people support, and it [will also be] a chance to share your culture and your love for
your country through soccer.” Mercantini voiced his agreement with Verma’s sentiments: “I think the World Cup and it being a global experience is important because people’s heritage comes out, and it’s a fun time where you can celebrate where you’re from.” He also noted that he thinks the event will be “a great opportunity” for the school to celebrate different cultures. Mercantini noted that he hopes that this celebration will allow students to connect sports to culture and will be a repeated event in the future: “The World Cup’s every four years, but we have the Olympics and other sporting events. I think it’s important for students to be able to watch important sporting events going on around the world, and more importantly, connect them with their heritage.” Students have also expressed their excitement in welcoming the new celebration to the Upper School. Rosie Paznokas ’25 remarked that she’s “really excited about it … I feel like the World Cup is such an important time and when it happens, it’s so fun to be able to watch the games.” Paznokas also thinks that for the Upper School, “the celebration is going to be really unifying as a community, similarly to how [the World Cup] is unifying the world.”