MFS Examined Life

Moorestown Friends School At A Glance Service Learning and Service Program Service to the community is another main aspect of living an examined life.

Service learning, which involves both personal reflection as well as an understanding of the importance of service, is an integral part of life at MFS. The school aims to provide a service learning model that includes three components: understanding the reason for the service, participating in the service, and reflecting on the impact of the service on oneself and on society.

The service learning program helps students recognize the many ways there are to serve, and the enjoyment to be found in service with hope that this becomes a life-long commitment. This enables students to gain an understanding of why service is necessary and to develop skills in to provide service to others in a dignified and meaningful manner beyond their scholastic career. Service learning opportunities begin in Lower School with experiences in classrooms and Quaker Education classes. In addition, fourth grade students can participate in a Service Club. This continues through Middle School where students also have the option to participate in a Service Leadership Activity once a week. By Upper School a Service Committee organizes projects for all Upper School students. Students may also enroll in a service learning course; some examples of these courses are: Hospice and Health Care Service (coordinated with the Samaritan Healthcare and Hospice); Service Leadership; and a service advocacy course.

MFS expects that through service learning, students: • learn how to identify and meet community needs; • learn to intentionally reflect on the underlying structure that creates real change; • develop or work with programs that address the identified needs and understand the context of those needs; • reflect on both the outcome of the service and the internal experience; • and share their reflections in some way with the broader community.

Service Trips: One week out of each school year, as part of the Middle and Upper School week of Intensive Learning, some students and faculty partake in various service trips to locations such as Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Everglades.

Students and faculty alike immerse themselves in their surroundings and conduct service projects such as working on old buildings in a pueblo in Mexico, helping to rebuild and maintain schools in Costa Rica, and clearing out the swamps of the Florida Everglades. Service learning trips help students and faculty gain a stronger understanding of the importance, impact, and depth of community service.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service: Hundreds of volunteers of all ages gather to partake in various service activities to celebrate the life of Dr. King. The day begins in the Moorestown Friends Meeting House with Meeting for Worship, coordinated by students, in honor of Dr. King. Volunteers then disperse to projects at activity centers throughout campus.

Mission Statement Moorestown Friends is a community rooted in Quaker values and… dedicated to the pursuit of educational excellence for a diverse student body within an academically rigorous and balanced program emphasizing personal, ethical and spiritual growth.

Thanksgiving Happening: Students from Prekindergarten to 12th grade, faculty and staff join together for a unique day of fun and fellowship in celebration of Thanksgiving. The MFS community is broken into many assigned mixed-age groups of students, faculty and staff to create crafts such as paper bag turkeys, tissuepaper flowers, leaf wreaths The Thanksgiving Happening brings together students of all ages for a day of fun and fellowship. and much more. All crafts are delivered to South Jersey nursing homes and continuing care facilities by faculty, staff and parent volunteers. The day concludes in the Gymnasium with song, prayer, a Thanksgiving story and Meeting for Worship. Thanksgiving meals, which are collected by the MFS community in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, are distributed to New Visions Community Center of Camden.

Student/Faculty Ratio: 9:1

Robotics Outreach: The MFS robotics program has developed an extensive outreach program in which high school students visit several middle and elementary schools such as KIPP Freedom Academy in Camden and Blankenberg Middle School in West Philadelphia. “The students decided to greatly increase our outreach effort inside and outside MFS and they have done a great job,” says robotics faculty advisor Tim Clarke.

Moorestown Friends School

Total Enrollment: 713 (Preschool - Grade 12)

Diversity Moorestown Friends School is committed to fostering an environment that is both diverse and inclusive. 33% of the student body is made up of students of color. A wide variety of religious faiths are represented as well. In keeping with the Quaker philosophy of honoring each individual, students representing different ethnic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds are challenged daily to respect and learn from one another.

The Examined Life Program:

Let Your Life Speak

The Arts Moorestown Friends’ comprehensive program in musical, visual and performing arts allows students to explore and develop their gifts, while at the same time helping students recognize the spiritual dimension of the arts.. Young artists learn through hands-on instruction by talented faculty members in drawing, painting, ceramics, woodworking, photography, jewelry design, theater, voice, instrumental music and other arts disciplines.

Athletics MFS coaches stress the importance of good sportsmanship and a strong sense of ethics when competing in interscholastic athletics. They also work hard to help athletes realize the value of resilience in training and in competition. Varsity and junior varsity sports include: baseball, basketball, field hockey, fencing, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis and swimming. Middle School sports offered are baseball, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer and tennis. At the high school level, MFS competes in the Friends Schools League and is eligible to compete in state playoff competition as a member of the NJSIAA. The Friends Schools League is a diverse community of Independent Schools drawn together by a common Quaker vision of the value of healthy competition in athletics, in the context of strong community and shared values, as a powerful setting for growth and learning.

For more information, call (856) 235-2900 or visit mfriends.org Moorestown Friends School 110 E. Main St. Moorestown, NJ 08057 (856) 235-2900 www.mfsgreatkids.org Committed to Academic Excellence & Personal Growth Since 1785

“e unexamined life is not woh living.”

– Socrates

What is the Examined Life Program?

• The "Examined Life" is the school's signature spiritual and ethical education program. Students learn critical thinking skills, develop an openness to the spiritual life, discover how to become resilient, and explore ethical behavior and decisionmaking. The silence and shared messages of weekly Quaker Meeting for Worship give students the opportunity to reflect, pray, and be still. Through numerous service learning initiatives as well as their daily experiences in the MFS community, students put into practice the skills and key components of the Examined Life Program.

• Moorestown Friends School believes that the goal of an examined life is to integrate a tough mind and a tender

Four Foundations

Four Foundations (cont.)

Meeting for Worship

There are four foundations of the "Examined Life," which are consistent with Quaker values and testimonies.

3. Resilience: The ability to bounce back from disappointment or tragedy is an essential human skill necessary to living a full life. Teaching students about resilient individuals and helping them to discover their own resilience will allow them to enjoy their lives and to rise above many of the obstacles the adult world presents. At MFS this area includes developing social competence, conflict resolution, and service.

Each week, the school community gathers in the Meeting House, built in 1802, for Meeting for Worship. There are separate Meetings for each school division. The form is simple. The group settles into silent reflection. Friends believe that each person has within him/herself, with God’s help, the ability to discern truth. Participants use this time to pray, worship, or simply reflect deeply on the world around them, according to their own faith traditions.

Since Friends believe that each person, no matter his or her age, is able to discern truth, all are welcome to speak from their hearts if so moved. It is expected that their words will be listened to from the same deep connection to the Spirit and provide insight for the listeners. When the Meeting for Worship is over, students on the facing benches will close the Meeting by shaking hands. At this point everyone is invited to briefly greet their neighbor before settling back into quiet for dismissal.

1. Critical Thinking: At the root of academic knowledge is a curiosity and interest in the world around us. At MFS we recognize that the knowledge we teach in the academic disciplines begins with curiosity but is developed and improved by the application of critical thinking. We teach students to become skillful observers, gatherers of complete data, judges of the quality of information, and accurate and precise problem solvers.

A critical thinker: • seeks knowledge and remains open to continuous learning; • communicates with clarity and precision; • problem solves and analyzes implications ; • persists; • demonstrates craftsmanship; • and explains the relationship between past, present and future.

heart. Our students go out into the world as compassionate problem solvers enlightened by spiritual discernment and are able to draw on

2. Openness to the Life of the Spirit: We endeavor to give students the ability to recognize the value of inner experience and the connection to something greater than ourselves. A person living an examined life is aware of how these moments bring fullness to life and help us live through difficult times, develop personal integrity, and allow us to think creatively. The life of the Spirit includes diverse elements such as prayer or meditation, experiencing the arts, and appreciation of nature and what we experience in our own faith traditions.

the power of their intellects to make moral and ethical decisions.

A person who is open to the Spirit: • seeks meaning and purpose in life; • seeks creative outlet for expression; • strives for self-awareness; • engages in reflection; • sees the inherent value in others and all of life; • and works to resolve conflict.

A resilient person: • copes well with change, disappointment, and uncertainty; • develops a connection to the future; • practices making thoughtful decisions; • takes responsible risks; • helps others in need; • and works as an effective team member and communicates well with others, especially in difficult situations.

4. Ethics: At the heart of ethics is a series of questions that lead us to reflect on our actions: What is my relationship to others and the world around me?

How should I treat others? What am I responsible for? What is the impact of my behavior? MFS presents a variety of opportunities to examine these types of questions from Lower School through Upper School. At each division level, students are introduced to ageappropriate discussions of the meaning of ethics, ethical dilemmas and philosophic discussions of ethics, and processes for making and evaluating ethical decisions.

An ethical person: • strives for integrity; • understands the importance of empathy and compassion; • thinks about what it means to be a good person and acts upon this; • examines moral issues in the community; • strives to be fair-minded and recognizes the long-term implications of ethical decisions; • will take a moral stand in a group; • and develops moral leadership.

What Meeting for Worship Means to Me… “Meeting for Worship is so much more than forty minutes of silence to me —Meeting for Worship is a period of time that allows me to heal.”

– Dave White, Class of 2011

“[Meeting for Worship] is imagination’s safe haven, strong in the silence, elated in the shadows.”

– Samantha Saludades, Class of 2011

“[During Meeting for Worship,] we feel, experience, and embrace the outpouring of emotion. We relate to each other, even in the silence, because we feel the spark in the room, the energy that hovers above our heads in the rafters, keeping watch over our prayer.”

– Maeve Kelly, Class of 2009

“My only religious influence has come from the teachings at Moorestown Friends School.

They have taught me that I am free to think what I want of the world, and that I can make a difference.”

– Ailsa Stevenson, Class of 2011

“It’s this that I’m most thankful for: how Meeting for Worship, in its simple nature, intimately makes each and every member of Moorestown Friends feel right at home.”

– Emma Baiada, Class of 2010

“A place of solitude, a place of tranquility, a separate building for separate thoughts …

Every Wednesday [at Meeting], I have a chance to recoup and rejuvenate.”

– Lorenzo Gibson, Class of 2012

What is the Examined Life Program?

• The "Examined Life" is the school's signature spiritual and ethical education program. Students learn critical thinking skills, develop an openness to the spiritual life, discover how to become resilient, and explore ethical behavior and decisionmaking. The silence and shared messages of weekly Quaker Meeting for Worship give students the opportunity to reflect, pray, and be still. Through numerous service learning initiatives as well as their daily experiences in the MFS community, students put into practice the skills and key components of the Examined Life Program.

• Moorestown Friends School believes that the goal of an examined life is to integrate a tough mind and a tender

Four Foundations

Four Foundations (cont.)

Meeting for Worship

There are four foundations of the "Examined Life," which are consistent with Quaker values and testimonies.

3. Resilience: The ability to bounce back from disappointment or tragedy is an essential human skill necessary to living a full life. Teaching students about resilient individuals and helping them to discover their own resilience will allow them to enjoy their lives and to rise above many of the obstacles the adult world presents. At MFS this area includes developing social competence, conflict resolution, and service.

Each week, the school community gathers in the Meeting House, built in 1802, for Meeting for Worship. There are separate Meetings for each school division. The form is simple. The group settles into silent reflection. Friends believe that each person has within him/herself, with God’s help, the ability to discern truth. Participants use this time to pray, worship, or simply reflect deeply on the world around them, according to their own faith traditions.

Since Friends believe that each person, no matter his or her age, is able to discern truth, all are welcome to speak from their hearts if so moved. It is expected that their words will be listened to from the same deep connection to the Spirit and provide insight for the listeners. When the Meeting for Worship is over, students on the facing benches will close the Meeting by shaking hands. At this point everyone is invited to briefly greet their neighbor before settling back into quiet for dismissal.

1. Critical Thinking: At the root of academic knowledge is a curiosity and interest in the world around us. At MFS we recognize that the knowledge we teach in the academic disciplines begins with curiosity but is developed and improved by the application of critical thinking. We teach students to become skillful observers, gatherers of complete data, judges of the quality of information, and accurate and precise problem solvers.

A critical thinker: • seeks knowledge and remains open to continuous learning; • communicates with clarity and precision; • problem solves and analyzes implications ; • persists; • demonstrates craftsmanship; • and explains the relationship between past, present and future.

heart. Our students go out into the world as compassionate problem solvers enlightened by spiritual discernment and are able to draw on

2. Openness to the Life of the Spirit: We endeavor to give students the ability to recognize the value of inner experience and the connection to something greater than ourselves. A person living an examined life is aware of how these moments bring fullness to life and help us live through difficult times, develop personal integrity, and allow us to think creatively. The life of the Spirit includes diverse elements such as prayer or meditation, experiencing the arts, and appreciation of nature and what we experience in our own faith traditions.

the power of their intellects to make moral and ethical decisions.

A person who is open to the Spirit: • seeks meaning and purpose in life; • seeks creative outlet for expression; • strives for self-awareness; • engages in reflection; • sees the inherent value in others and all of life; • and works to resolve conflict.

A resilient person: • copes well with change, disappointment, and uncertainty; • develops a connection to the future; • practices making thoughtful decisions; • takes responsible risks; • helps others in need; • and works as an effective team member and communicates well with others, especially in difficult situations.

4. Ethics: At the heart of ethics is a series of questions that lead us to reflect on our actions: What is my relationship to others and the world around me?

How should I treat others? What am I responsible for? What is the impact of my behavior? MFS presents a variety of opportunities to examine these types of questions from Lower School through Upper School. At each division level, students are introduced to ageappropriate discussions of the meaning of ethics, ethical dilemmas and philosophic discussions of ethics, and processes for making and evaluating ethical decisions.

An ethical person: • strives for integrity; • understands the importance of empathy and compassion; • thinks about what it means to be a good person and acts upon this; • examines moral issues in the community; • strives to be fair-minded and recognizes the long-term implications of ethical decisions; • will take a moral stand in a group; • and develops moral leadership.

What Meeting for Worship Means to Me… “Meeting for Worship is so much more than forty minutes of silence to me —Meeting for Worship is a period of time that allows me to heal.”

– Dave White, Class of 2011

“[Meeting for Worship] is imagination’s safe haven, strong in the silence, elated in the shadows.”

– Samantha Saludades, Class of 2011

“[During Meeting for Worship,] we feel, experience, and embrace the outpouring of emotion. We relate to each other, even in the silence, because we feel the spark in the room, the energy that hovers above our heads in the rafters, keeping watch over our prayer.”

– Maeve Kelly, Class of 2009

“My only religious influence has come from the teachings at Moorestown Friends School.

They have taught me that I am free to think what I want of the world, and that I can make a difference.”

– Ailsa Stevenson, Class of 2011

“It’s this that I’m most thankful for: how Meeting for Worship, in its simple nature, intimately makes each and every member of Moorestown Friends feel right at home.”

– Emma Baiada, Class of 2010

“A place of solitude, a place of tranquility, a separate building for separate thoughts …

Every Wednesday [at Meeting], I have a chance to recoup and rejuvenate.”

– Lorenzo Gibson, Class of 2012

What is the Examined Life Program?

• The "Examined Life" is the school's signature spiritual and ethical education program. Students learn critical thinking skills, develop an openness to the spiritual life, discover how to become resilient, and explore ethical behavior and decisionmaking. The silence and shared messages of weekly Quaker Meeting for Worship give students the opportunity to reflect, pray, and be still. Through numerous service learning initiatives as well as their daily experiences in the MFS community, students put into practice the skills and key components of the Examined Life Program.

• Moorestown Friends School believes that the goal of an examined life is to integrate a tough mind and a tender

Four Foundations

Four Foundations (cont.)

Meeting for Worship

There are four foundations of the "Examined Life," which are consistent with Quaker values and testimonies.

3. Resilience: The ability to bounce back from disappointment or tragedy is an essential human skill necessary to living a full life. Teaching students about resilient individuals and helping them to discover their own resilience will allow them to enjoy their lives and to rise above many of the obstacles the adult world presents. At MFS this area includes developing social competence, conflict resolution, and service.

Each week, the school community gathers in the Meeting House, built in 1802, for Meeting for Worship. There are separate Meetings for each school division. The form is simple. The group settles into silent reflection. Friends believe that each person has within him/herself, with God’s help, the ability to discern truth. Participants use this time to pray, worship, or simply reflect deeply on the world around them, according to their own faith traditions.

Since Friends believe that each person, no matter his or her age, is able to discern truth, all are welcome to speak from their hearts if so moved. It is expected that their words will be listened to from the same deep connection to the Spirit and provide insight for the listeners. When the Meeting for Worship is over, students on the facing benches will close the Meeting by shaking hands. At this point everyone is invited to briefly greet their neighbor before settling back into quiet for dismissal.

1. Critical Thinking: At the root of academic knowledge is a curiosity and interest in the world around us. At MFS we recognize that the knowledge we teach in the academic disciplines begins with curiosity but is developed and improved by the application of critical thinking. We teach students to become skillful observers, gatherers of complete data, judges of the quality of information, and accurate and precise problem solvers.

A critical thinker: • seeks knowledge and remains open to continuous learning; • communicates with clarity and precision; • problem solves and analyzes implications ; • persists; • demonstrates craftsmanship; • and explains the relationship between past, present and future.

heart. Our students go out into the world as compassionate problem solvers enlightened by spiritual discernment and are able to draw on

2. Openness to the Life of the Spirit: We endeavor to give students the ability to recognize the value of inner experience and the connection to something greater than ourselves. A person living an examined life is aware of how these moments bring fullness to life and help us live through difficult times, develop personal integrity, and allow us to think creatively. The life of the Spirit includes diverse elements such as prayer or meditation, experiencing the arts, and appreciation of nature and what we experience in our own faith traditions.

the power of their intellects to make moral and ethical decisions.

A person who is open to the Spirit: • seeks meaning and purpose in life; • seeks creative outlet for expression; • strives for self-awareness; • engages in reflection; • sees the inherent value in others and all of life; • and works to resolve conflict.

A resilient person: • copes well with change, disappointment, and uncertainty; • develops a connection to the future; • practices making thoughtful decisions; • takes responsible risks; • helps others in need; • and works as an effective team member and communicates well with others, especially in difficult situations.

4. Ethics: At the heart of ethics is a series of questions that lead us to reflect on our actions: What is my relationship to others and the world around me?

How should I treat others? What am I responsible for? What is the impact of my behavior? MFS presents a variety of opportunities to examine these types of questions from Lower School through Upper School. At each division level, students are introduced to ageappropriate discussions of the meaning of ethics, ethical dilemmas and philosophic discussions of ethics, and processes for making and evaluating ethical decisions.

An ethical person: • strives for integrity; • understands the importance of empathy and compassion; • thinks about what it means to be a good person and acts upon this; • examines moral issues in the community; • strives to be fair-minded and recognizes the long-term implications of ethical decisions; • will take a moral stand in a group; • and develops moral leadership.

What Meeting for Worship Means to Me… “Meeting for Worship is so much more than forty minutes of silence to me —Meeting for Worship is a period of time that allows me to heal.”

– Dave White, Class of 2011

“[Meeting for Worship] is imagination’s safe haven, strong in the silence, elated in the shadows.”

– Samantha Saludades, Class of 2011

“[During Meeting for Worship,] we feel, experience, and embrace the outpouring of emotion. We relate to each other, even in the silence, because we feel the spark in the room, the energy that hovers above our heads in the rafters, keeping watch over our prayer.”

– Maeve Kelly, Class of 2009

“My only religious influence has come from the teachings at Moorestown Friends School.

They have taught me that I am free to think what I want of the world, and that I can make a difference.”

– Ailsa Stevenson, Class of 2011

“It’s this that I’m most thankful for: how Meeting for Worship, in its simple nature, intimately makes each and every member of Moorestown Friends feel right at home.”

– Emma Baiada, Class of 2010

“A place of solitude, a place of tranquility, a separate building for separate thoughts …

Every Wednesday [at Meeting], I have a chance to recoup and rejuvenate.”

– Lorenzo Gibson, Class of 2012

What is the Examined Life Program?

• The "Examined Life" is the school's signature spiritual and ethical education program. Students learn critical thinking skills, develop an openness to the spiritual life, discover how to become resilient, and explore ethical behavior and decisionmaking. The silence and shared messages of weekly Quaker Meeting for Worship give students the opportunity to reflect, pray, and be still. Through numerous service learning initiatives as well as their daily experiences in the MFS community, students put into practice the skills and key components of the Examined Life Program.

• Moorestown Friends School believes that the goal of an examined life is to integrate a tough mind and a tender

Four Foundations

Four Foundations (cont.)

Meeting for Worship

There are four foundations of the "Examined Life," which are consistent with Quaker values and testimonies.

3. Resilience: The ability to bounce back from disappointment or tragedy is an essential human skill necessary to living a full life. Teaching students about resilient individuals and helping them to discover their own resilience will allow them to enjoy their lives and to rise above many of the obstacles the adult world presents. At MFS this area includes developing social competence, conflict resolution, and service.

Each week, the school community gathers in the Meeting House, built in 1802, for Meeting for Worship. There are separate Meetings for each school division. The form is simple. The group settles into silent reflection. Friends believe that each person has within him/herself, with God’s help, the ability to discern truth. Participants use this time to pray, worship, or simply reflect deeply on the world around them, according to their own faith traditions.

Since Friends believe that each person, no matter his or her age, is able to discern truth, all are welcome to speak from their hearts if so moved. It is expected that their words will be listened to from the same deep connection to the Spirit and provide insight for the listeners. When the Meeting for Worship is over, students on the facing benches will close the Meeting by shaking hands. At this point everyone is invited to briefly greet their neighbor before settling back into quiet for dismissal.

1. Critical Thinking: At the root of academic knowledge is a curiosity and interest in the world around us. At MFS we recognize that the knowledge we teach in the academic disciplines begins with curiosity but is developed and improved by the application of critical thinking. We teach students to become skillful observers, gatherers of complete data, judges of the quality of information, and accurate and precise problem solvers.

A critical thinker: • seeks knowledge and remains open to continuous learning; • communicates with clarity and precision; • problem solves and analyzes implications ; • persists; • demonstrates craftsmanship; • and explains the relationship between past, present and future.

heart. Our students go out into the world as compassionate problem solvers enlightened by spiritual discernment and are able to draw on

2. Openness to the Life of the Spirit: We endeavor to give students the ability to recognize the value of inner experience and the connection to something greater than ourselves. A person living an examined life is aware of how these moments bring fullness to life and help us live through difficult times, develop personal integrity, and allow us to think creatively. The life of the Spirit includes diverse elements such as prayer or meditation, experiencing the arts, and appreciation of nature and what we experience in our own faith traditions.

the power of their intellects to make moral and ethical decisions.

A person who is open to the Spirit: • seeks meaning and purpose in life; • seeks creative outlet for expression; • strives for self-awareness; • engages in reflection; • sees the inherent value in others and all of life; • and works to resolve conflict.

A resilient person: • copes well with change, disappointment, and uncertainty; • develops a connection to the future; • practices making thoughtful decisions; • takes responsible risks; • helps others in need; • and works as an effective team member and communicates well with others, especially in difficult situations.

4. Ethics: At the heart of ethics is a series of questions that lead us to reflect on our actions: What is my relationship to others and the world around me?

How should I treat others? What am I responsible for? What is the impact of my behavior? MFS presents a variety of opportunities to examine these types of questions from Lower School through Upper School. At each division level, students are introduced to ageappropriate discussions of the meaning of ethics, ethical dilemmas and philosophic discussions of ethics, and processes for making and evaluating ethical decisions.

An ethical person: • strives for integrity; • understands the importance of empathy and compassion; • thinks about what it means to be a good person and acts upon this; • examines moral issues in the community; • strives to be fair-minded and recognizes the long-term implications of ethical decisions; • will take a moral stand in a group; • and develops moral leadership.

What Meeting for Worship Means to Me… “Meeting for Worship is so much more than forty minutes of silence to me —Meeting for Worship is a period of time that allows me to heal.”

– Dave White, Class of 2011

“[Meeting for Worship] is imagination’s safe haven, strong in the silence, elated in the shadows.”

– Samantha Saludades, Class of 2011

“[During Meeting for Worship,] we feel, experience, and embrace the outpouring of emotion. We relate to each other, even in the silence, because we feel the spark in the room, the energy that hovers above our heads in the rafters, keeping watch over our prayer.”

– Maeve Kelly, Class of 2009

“My only religious influence has come from the teachings at Moorestown Friends School.

They have taught me that I am free to think what I want of the world, and that I can make a difference.”

– Ailsa Stevenson, Class of 2011

“It’s this that I’m most thankful for: how Meeting for Worship, in its simple nature, intimately makes each and every member of Moorestown Friends feel right at home.”

– Emma Baiada, Class of 2010

“A place of solitude, a place of tranquility, a separate building for separate thoughts …

Every Wednesday [at Meeting], I have a chance to recoup and rejuvenate.”

– Lorenzo Gibson, Class of 2012

Moorestown Friends School At A Glance Service Learning and Service Program Service to the community is another main aspect of living an examined life.

Service learning, which involves both personal reflection as well as an understanding of the importance of service, is an integral part of life at MFS. The school aims to provide a service learning model that includes three components: understanding the reason for the service, participating in the service, and reflecting on the impact of the service on oneself and on society.

The service learning program helps students recognize the many ways there are to serve, and the enjoyment to be found in service with hope that this becomes a life-long commitment. This enables students to gain an understanding of why service is necessary and to develop skills in to provide service to others in a dignified and meaningful manner beyond their scholastic career. Service learning opportunities begin in Lower School with experiences in classrooms and Quaker Education classes. In addition, fourth grade students can participate in a Service Club. This continues through Middle School where students also have the option to participate in a Service Leadership Activity once a week. By Upper School a Service Committee organizes projects for all Upper School students. Students may also enroll in a service learning course; some examples of these courses are: Hospice and Health Care Service (coordinated with the Samaritan Healthcare and Hospice); Service Leadership; and a service advocacy course.

MFS expects that through service learning, students: • learn how to identify and meet community needs; • learn to intentionally reflect on the underlying structure that creates real change; • develop or work with programs that address the identified needs and understand the context of those needs; • reflect on both the outcome of the service and the internal experience; • and share their reflections in some way with the broader community.

Service Trips: One week out of each school year, as part of the Middle and Upper School week of Intensive Learning, some students and faculty partake in various service trips to locations such as Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Everglades.

Students and faculty alike immerse themselves in their surroundings and conduct service projects such as working on old buildings in a pueblo in Mexico, helping to rebuild and maintain schools in Costa Rica, and clearing out the swamps of the Florida Everglades. Service learning trips help students and faculty gain a stronger understanding of the importance, impact, and depth of community service.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service: Hundreds of volunteers of all ages gather to partake in various service activities to celebrate the life of Dr. King. The day begins in the Moorestown Friends Meeting House with Meeting for Worship, coordinated by students, in honor of Dr. King. Volunteers then disperse to projects at activity centers throughout campus.

Mission Statement Moorestown Friends is a community rooted in Quaker values and… dedicated to the pursuit of educational excellence for a diverse student body within an academically rigorous and balanced program emphasizing personal, ethical and spiritual growth.

Thanksgiving Happening: Students from Prekindergarten to 12th grade, faculty and staff join together for a unique day of fun and fellowship in celebration of Thanksgiving. The MFS community is broken into many assigned mixed-age groups of students, faculty and staff to create crafts such as paper bag turkeys, tissuepaper flowers, leaf wreaths The Thanksgiving Happening brings together students of all ages for a day of fun and fellowship. and much more. All crafts are delivered to South Jersey nursing homes and continuing care facilities by faculty, staff and parent volunteers. The day concludes in the Gymnasium with song, prayer, a Thanksgiving story and Meeting for Worship. Thanksgiving meals, which are collected by the MFS community in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, are distributed to New Visions Community Center of Camden.

Student/Faculty Ratio: 9:1

Robotics Outreach: The MFS robotics program has developed an extensive outreach program in which high school students visit several middle and elementary schools such as KIPP Freedom Academy in Camden and Blankenberg Middle School in West Philadelphia. “The students decided to greatly increase our outreach effort inside and outside MFS and they have done a great job,” says robotics faculty advisor Tim Clarke.

Moorestown Friends School

Total Enrollment: 713 (Preschool - Grade 12)

Diversity Moorestown Friends School is committed to fostering an environment that is both diverse and inclusive. 33% of the student body is made up of students of color. A wide variety of religious faiths are represented as well. In keeping with the Quaker philosophy of honoring each individual, students representing different ethnic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds are challenged daily to respect and learn from one another.

The Examined Life Program:

Let Your Life Speak

The Arts Moorestown Friends’ comprehensive program in musical, visual and performing arts allows students to explore and develop their gifts, while at the same time helping students recognize the spiritual dimension of the arts.. Young artists learn through hands-on instruction by talented faculty members in drawing, painting, ceramics, woodworking, photography, jewelry design, theater, voice, instrumental music and other arts disciplines.

Athletics MFS coaches stress the importance of good sportsmanship and a strong sense of ethics when competing in interscholastic athletics. They also work hard to help athletes realize the value of resilience in training and in competition. Varsity and junior varsity sports include: baseball, basketball, field hockey, fencing, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis and swimming. Middle School sports offered are baseball, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer and tennis. At the high school level, MFS competes in the Friends Schools League and is eligible to compete in state playoff competition as a member of the NJSIAA. The Friends Schools League is a diverse community of Independent Schools drawn together by a common Quaker vision of the value of healthy competition in athletics, in the context of strong community and shared values, as a powerful setting for growth and learning.

For more information, call (856) 235-2900 or visit mfriends.org Moorestown Friends School 110 E. Main St. Moorestown, NJ 08057 (856) 235-2900 www.mfsgreatkids.org Committed to Academic Excellence & Personal Growth Since 1785

“e unexamined life is not woh living.”

– Socrates

Moorestown Friends School At A Glance Service Learning and Service Program Service to the community is another main aspect of living an examined life.

Service learning, which involves both personal reflection as well as an understanding of the importance of service, is an integral part of life at MFS. The school aims to provide a service learning model that includes three components: understanding the reason for the service, participating in the service, and reflecting on the impact of the service on oneself and on society.

The service learning program helps students recognize the many ways there are to serve, and the enjoyment to be found in service with hope that this becomes a life-long commitment. This enables students to gain an understanding of why service is necessary and to develop skills in to provide service to others in a dignified and meaningful manner beyond their scholastic career. Service learning opportunities begin in Lower School with experiences in classrooms and Quaker Education classes. In addition, fourth grade students can participate in a Service Club. This continues through Middle School where students also have the option to participate in a Service Leadership Activity once a week. By Upper School a Service Committee organizes projects for all Upper School students. Students may also enroll in a service learning course; some examples of these courses are: Hospice and Health Care Service (coordinated with the Samaritan Healthcare and Hospice); Service Leadership; and a service advocacy course.

MFS expects that through service learning, students: • learn how to identify and meet community needs; • learn to intentionally reflect on the underlying structure that creates real change; • develop or work with programs that address the identified needs and understand the context of those needs; • reflect on both the outcome of the service and the internal experience; • and share their reflections in some way with the broader community.

Service Trips: One week out of each school year, as part of the Middle and Upper School week of Intensive Learning, some students and faculty partake in various service trips to locations such as Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Everglades.

Students and faculty alike immerse themselves in their surroundings and conduct service projects such as working on old buildings in a pueblo in Mexico, helping to rebuild and maintain schools in Costa Rica, and clearing out the swamps of the Florida Everglades. Service learning trips help students and faculty gain a stronger understanding of the importance, impact, and depth of community service.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service: Hundreds of volunteers of all ages gather to partake in various service activities to celebrate the life of Dr. King. The day begins in the Moorestown Friends Meeting House with Meeting for Worship, coordinated by students, in honor of Dr. King. Volunteers then disperse to projects at activity centers throughout campus.

Mission Statement Moorestown Friends is a community rooted in Quaker values and… dedicated to the pursuit of educational excellence for a diverse student body within an academically rigorous and balanced program emphasizing personal, ethical and spiritual growth.

Thanksgiving Happening: Students from Prekindergarten to 12th grade, faculty and staff join together for a unique day of fun and fellowship in celebration of Thanksgiving. The MFS community is broken into many assigned mixed-age groups of students, faculty and staff to create crafts such as paper bag turkeys, tissuepaper flowers, leaf wreaths The Thanksgiving Happening brings together students of all ages for a day of fun and fellowship. and much more. All crafts are delivered to South Jersey nursing homes and continuing care facilities by faculty, staff and parent volunteers. The day concludes in the Gymnasium with song, prayer, a Thanksgiving story and Meeting for Worship. Thanksgiving meals, which are collected by the MFS community in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, are distributed to New Visions Community Center of Camden.

Student/Faculty Ratio: 9:1

Robotics Outreach: The MFS robotics program has developed an extensive outreach program in which high school students visit several middle and elementary schools such as KIPP Freedom Academy in Camden and Blankenberg Middle School in West Philadelphia. “The students decided to greatly increase our outreach effort inside and outside MFS and they have done a great job,” says robotics faculty advisor Tim Clarke.

Moorestown Friends School

Total Enrollment: 713 (Preschool - Grade 12)

Diversity Moorestown Friends School is committed to fostering an environment that is both diverse and inclusive. 33% of the student body is made up of students of color. A wide variety of religious faiths are represented as well. In keeping with the Quaker philosophy of honoring each individual, students representing different ethnic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds are challenged daily to respect and learn from one another.

The Examined Life Program:

Let Your Life Speak

The Arts Moorestown Friends’ comprehensive program in musical, visual and performing arts allows students to explore and develop their gifts, while at the same time helping students recognize the spiritual dimension of the arts.. Young artists learn through hands-on instruction by talented faculty members in drawing, painting, ceramics, woodworking, photography, jewelry design, theater, voice, instrumental music and other arts disciplines.

Athletics MFS coaches stress the importance of good sportsmanship and a strong sense of ethics when competing in interscholastic athletics. They also work hard to help athletes realize the value of resilience in training and in competition. Varsity and junior varsity sports include: baseball, basketball, field hockey, fencing, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis and swimming. Middle School sports offered are baseball, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer and tennis. At the high school level, MFS competes in the Friends Schools League and is eligible to compete in state playoff competition as a member of the NJSIAA. The Friends Schools League is a diverse community of Independent Schools drawn together by a common Quaker vision of the value of healthy competition in athletics, in the context of strong community and shared values, as a powerful setting for growth and learning.

For more information, call (856) 235-2900 or visit mfriends.org Moorestown Friends School 110 E. Main St. Moorestown, NJ 08057 (856) 235-2900 www.mfsgreatkids.org Committed to Academic Excellence & Personal Growth Since 1785

“e unexamined life is not woh living.”

– Socrates

Moorestown Friends School At A Glance Service Learning and Service Program Service to the community is another main aspect of living an examined life.

Service learning, which involves both personal reflection as well as an understanding of the importance of service, is an integral part of life at MFS. The school aims to provide a service learning model that includes three components: understanding the reason for the service, participating in the service, and reflecting on the impact of the service on oneself and on society.

The service learning program helps students recognize the many ways there are to serve, and the enjoyment to be found in service with hope that this becomes a life-long commitment. This enables students to gain an understanding of why service is necessary and to develop skills in to provide service to others in a dignified and meaningful manner beyond their scholastic career. Service learning opportunities begin in Lower School with experiences in classrooms and Quaker Education classes. In addition, fourth grade students can participate in a Service Club. This continues through Middle School where students also have the option to participate in a Service Leadership Activity once a week. By Upper School a Service Committee organizes projects for all Upper School students. Students may also enroll in a service learning course; some examples of these courses are: Hospice and Health Care Service (coordinated with the Samaritan Healthcare and Hospice); Service Leadership; and a service advocacy course.

MFS expects that through service learning, students: • learn how to identify and meet community needs; • learn to intentionally reflect on the underlying structure that creates real change; • develop or work with programs that address the identified needs and understand the context of those needs; • reflect on both the outcome of the service and the internal experience; • and share their reflections in some way with the broader community.

Service Trips: One week out of each school year, as part of the Middle and Upper School week of Intensive Learning, some students and faculty partake in various service trips to locations such as Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Everglades.

Students and faculty alike immerse themselves in their surroundings and conduct service projects such as working on old buildings in a pueblo in Mexico, helping to rebuild and maintain schools in Costa Rica, and clearing out the swamps of the Florida Everglades. Service learning trips help students and faculty gain a stronger understanding of the importance, impact, and depth of community service.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service: Hundreds of volunteers of all ages gather to partake in various service activities to celebrate the life of Dr. King. The day begins in the Moorestown Friends Meeting House with Meeting for Worship, coordinated by students, in honor of Dr. King. Volunteers then disperse to projects at activity centers throughout campus.

Mission Statement Moorestown Friends is a community rooted in Quaker values and… dedicated to the pursuit of educational excellence for a diverse student body within an academically rigorous and balanced program emphasizing personal, ethical and spiritual growth.

Thanksgiving Happening: Students from Prekindergarten to 12th grade, faculty and staff join together for a unique day of fun and fellowship in celebration of Thanksgiving. The MFS community is broken into many assigned mixed-age groups of students, faculty and staff to create crafts such as paper bag turkeys, tissuepaper flowers, leaf wreaths The Thanksgiving Happening brings together students of all ages for a day of fun and fellowship. and much more. All crafts are delivered to South Jersey nursing homes and continuing care facilities by faculty, staff and parent volunteers. The day concludes in the Gymnasium with song, prayer, a Thanksgiving story and Meeting for Worship. Thanksgiving meals, which are collected by the MFS community in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, are distributed to New Visions Community Center of Camden.

Student/Faculty Ratio: 9:1

Robotics Outreach: The MFS robotics program has developed an extensive outreach program in which high school students visit several middle and elementary schools such as KIPP Freedom Academy in Camden and Blankenberg Middle School in West Philadelphia. “The students decided to greatly increase our outreach effort inside and outside MFS and they have done a great job,” says robotics faculty advisor Tim Clarke.

Moorestown Friends School

Total Enrollment: 713 (Preschool - Grade 12)

Diversity Moorestown Friends School is committed to fostering an environment that is both diverse and inclusive. 33% of the student body is made up of students of color. A wide variety of religious faiths are represented as well. In keeping with the Quaker philosophy of honoring each individual, students representing different ethnic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds are challenged daily to respect and learn from one another.

The Examined Life Program:

Let Your Life Speak

The Arts Moorestown Friends’ comprehensive program in musical, visual and performing arts allows students to explore and develop their gifts, while at the same time helping students recognize the spiritual dimension of the arts.. Young artists learn through hands-on instruction by talented faculty members in drawing, painting, ceramics, woodworking, photography, jewelry design, theater, voice, instrumental music and other arts disciplines.

Athletics MFS coaches stress the importance of good sportsmanship and a strong sense of ethics when competing in interscholastic athletics. They also work hard to help athletes realize the value of resilience in training and in competition. Varsity and junior varsity sports include: baseball, basketball, field hockey, fencing, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis and swimming. Middle School sports offered are baseball, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer and tennis. At the high school level, MFS competes in the Friends Schools League and is eligible to compete in state playoff competition as a member of the NJSIAA. The Friends Schools League is a diverse community of Independent Schools drawn together by a common Quaker vision of the value of healthy competition in athletics, in the context of strong community and shared values, as a powerful setting for growth and learning.

For more information, call (856) 235-2900 or visit mfriends.org Moorestown Friends School 110 E. Main St. Moorestown, NJ 08057 (856) 235-2900 www.mfsgreatkids.org Committed to Academic Excellence & Personal Growth Since 1785

“e unexamined life is not woh living.”

– Socrates