Moorestown Friends School

Moorestown Friends School (also known as MFS) is a private, coeducational Quaker day school located in Moorestown, in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States.

As of the 2015-16 school year, the school had an enrollment of 670 students (plus 57 in PreK) and 81.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.3:1. The school's student body was 62.7% White, 16.0% Asian, 11.6% Black, 2.5% Hispanic, 0.2% American Indian / Alaska Native and 7.0% two or more races.

The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 1991. MFS is also a member of the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools and the Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools.

Awards and recognition
During the 1991-92 school year, Moorestown Friends School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.

In 2007, Barbara Quinn Kreider, chair of the science department and chemistry teacher, was recognized as the New Jersey parochial school teacher of the year, after her successful freshmen science program was rated number one in the country.

Historian James C. Scott dedicated his 1990 book Domination and the Arts of Resistance to Moorestown Friends School.

History 

In 1781, a two-acre lot, located near the intersection of Chester Avenue and Main Street, was purchased. In 1785, a stone schoolhouse was erected and Joshua Hunt was the first teacher. In 1784, a lot at the western side of the community was purchased and a brick schoolhouse was erected.

In 1827, the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, which the Moorestown Monthly Meeting is a part of, split into the Orthodox and Hicksite meetings. The Orthodox school stayed on the current site under the name "Moorestown Friends Academy", while a Hicksite school called "Moorestown Friends High School" a block away. The two schools recombined under the name "Moorestown Friends School" in 1920 at the current site.

Upper school
Upper school at MFS includes grades 9 through 12.

The total average SAT score for the Class of 2013 was 1886, made up of Critical Reading 630, Math 628 and Writing 628.

Community Service
All Upper School students must complete 50 hours of community service, and many participate in service trips to places like New Orleans, the Florida Everglades, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Tanzania. Faculty make an effort to engage students in their local communities, including the city of Philadelphia.

Clubs
Extracurricular activities at MFS include Agenda Committee (similar to Student Government), Algorithms Club, Animal Awareness Club, Badminton Club, Barbecue Club, Chess Club, Chinese Culture Club, Computer Club, Dance Club, Disney Club, Diversity Committee, Drama Club, Dungeons and Dragons Club, EA Sports Club, Environmental Club, Film Club, Fellowship of Christians (FOCUS), Future Educators, Gender Equality Forum, Girl Up Club, Girls in STEM Club, Literature Club, Martin Luther King Jr. Club, Model United Nations, Ping Pong Club, Poetry Club, Political Action Club, PRIDE Club (the Gay-Straight Alliance), Service Committee, Sit-Com Clubs, Sports Debate Club, Ultimate Frisbee Club, Worship Planning.

Middle school
Middle school at MFS includes grades 5 through 8.

Students take courses in English, Math, Social Studies, Science, and World Languages as well as in non-major courses such as Woodshop, Art, Music, Physical Education, and Health. Technology is an important component of education at MFS. Faculty advisors meet with middle school students daily to help them develop effective study skills.

Middle school extracurricular activities include choir, band, theater, student government, robotics, architecture, web design, and newspaper. The students also have a variety of sports to choose from. Each Middle School grade level has a unique outdoor educational experience.

Lower school
Lower school at MFS includes preschool through grade 4.

Beginnings at MFS

During the 2012-2013 school year, the early childhood program at Moorestown Friends School rebranded itself as "Beginnings at MFS" to stress the importance of preschool, prekindergarten, and kindergarten in a child's development.
"We consider the education of young children to be work of enormous importance. [...] This is a school where you will find an experienced, certified teacher with a Master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania leading a class of three-year-olds. 
 Furthermore, in our early childhood classes, we maintain a ratio of one teacher to just 7 or 8 students."

Academic technology
Moorestown Friends School has more than 450 computers and laptops throughout the school, consisting of five computer labs, ten laptop carts and three mini-labs. Five of the laptop carts are for general use and two are for the middle and upper school Science Department. Mathematics, World Languages, and the lower school each have their own dedicated computer cart. MFS is predominantly a PC school; however there are several Macs and iPads available for use at every grade level.

The school has a MacBook Pro cart for high-end graphical and media use and an iPad cart as well. They acquired high-quality video production equipment and created an editing studio capable of creating high, near-professional quality video.

Numonic's interactive whiteboards with mounted projectors are in every classroom. The MFS campus has Wi-Fi accessibility throughout the entire school, and all upper school students are able to connect with their own personal devices.

The MFS library houses a computer processing center for students to research and prepare written work. The library's online catalog is available via the network throughout the school or from home. Students are also able to check out laptops, iPads and digital cameras from the Library.

Diversity
33% of the student body are students of color.

The Camden Scholars Program
The Camden Scholars Program at MFS provides opportunities to students from the Camden City Public Schools in Camden, New Jersey. Recommended by guidance counselors at Camden Middle Schools, candidates apply to Moorestown Friends School, visit classes, and are interviewed.

Once selected by the Camden Scholars Committee and admitted, students receive a scholarship that provides virtually full tuition to MFS. Camden Scholars are encouraged to pursue their interests and develop their talents. Camden Scholars participate in clubs, serve as student leaders, are athletes and perform in plays. They go on overnight retreats and field trips. MFS has a Camden Scholars Coordinator who serves as a liaison to help participants adjust to their new learning environment and sustain a healthy and successful academic and extracurricular schedule. The school's Diversity Coordinator oversees student, employee and curricular diversity efforts throughout the entire school with the aid of a faculty/staff sub-committee.

Meeting for Worship
Each week, the MFS community gathers in the Meetinghouse, built in 1802, for Meeting for Worship. There are separate Meetings for each school division.

Friends believe that each person has within him/herself, with God's help, the ability to discern truth. Participants use this time to pray, or worship or simply reflect deeply on the world around them, according to their own faith traditions.

Since Friends believe that each person, no matter their 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 close the Meeting by shaking hands. At this point everyone is invited to briefly greet their neighbor before settling back into quiet for dismissal.

The Examined Life

The phrase "Examined Life" is drawn from Socrates' axiom: "The unexamined life is not worth living." The goal of such a life is to integrate a tough mind and a tender heart.

Moorestown Friends School's Examined Life Program has four components: Openness to a spiritual life, development and application of personal ethics in the community, critical thinking and development of resilience.

Athletics
Varsity and Junior Varsity sports include: baseball, basketball, cross country, field hockey, fencing, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis and swimming.

Middle School sports offered are baseball, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer and tennis.

MFS is a member of the Friends Schools League, which was established in 1981. Member schools are Abington Friends School, Academy of the New Church, Friends Central School, Friends Select School, George School, Germantown Friends School, Shipley School and Westtown School.  The Moorestown Friends School Foxes also compete as a member of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, which allows the school's teams to compete for state championships.

In keeping with Quaker philosophy, sportsmanship is stressed in all MFS athletics. The school's mascot is the Fox, named after George Fox, the founder of Quakerism.

In 2017, the Girls' Soccer team won the NJSIAA Non-Public B state championship for the first time in program history.. The Girls' Soccer team also won NJSIAA sectional championships in 2017 . In 2014, the girls' soccer team won the NJSIAA Non-Public B South championship, defeating Gill St. Bernard's School, 5-0. In 2015, the team repeated as the NJSIAA Non-Public B South champion, defeating Holy Spirit High School, 3-2 in double overtime.

The Boys' Soccer team won NJSIAA Non-Public B South titles in 2017  and 2015 . In 2016, they captured the program's first-ever Friends School League championship.. In 2015, the boys' soccer team won the NJSIAA Non-Public B South championship, defeating Holy Cross Academy (New Jersey) by a score of 2-0 in the tournament final.

The Girls' Tennis team won the Friends Schools League championship in 2017.

In 2017, the boys' tennis team won the NJSIAA Non-Public B South championship, defeating Rutgers Preparatory School 5-0.

The girls' lacrosse team won the overall state championship in 1980, defeating Moorestown High School in the tournament final.

The boys' cross country team were the 2007 South Jersey Non-Public B champions and state runner-up, which was the first cross country title in school history.

The girls' tennis team won the 2005 South B state sectional championship with a 4-1 win over Sacred Heart High School. The 2007 team reclaimed the title, defeating Bishop Eustace High School 3-2 in the tournament final.

The foil squad of the Moorestown Friends Boys fencing team won three consecutive foil squad state titles from 2004 to 2006. Senior John Gurrieri won the state individual foil title in 2006. Senior Erin Chen won the state individual saber title in 2016.

Notable alumni

 Mary Ellen Avery (1927-2011), National Medal of Science recipient for her pioneering research on RDS in premature infants.
 Gloria Borders, sound effects editor best known for Terminator 2: Judgment Day, for which she won an Academy Award.
 Jake Burbage (born 1992), actor
 Judith Faulkner (born 1943, class of 1961), CEO and founder of Epic Systems, a healthcare software company.
 Fredric Jameson (born 1934), literary critic and winner of the 2012 Modern Language Association Award for Lifetime Scholarly Achievement.
 Mustapha Khan, Emmy Award-winning film and television director, best known for such films and television shows as Imagining America, Sesame Street, and The Electric Company.
 Matt Langel (born 1977, class of 1996), head coach for the Colgate Raiders men's basketball team.
 Alice Paul (1885-1977), suffragist leader.
 Michael Rutter (born 1933), psychiatrist in the United Kingdom who has been described as the "father of child psychology".
 James C. Scott (born 1936), Sterling Professor at Yale University.
 Joseph Hooton Taylor Jr. (born 1941), astrophysicist and winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Bibliography
 Woodward, E. M. (1883), History of Burlington County, New Jersey, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, pp. 270-1

 Hartman, Neil, et al. (editors) (1986), Moorestown Friends School, a history, Moorestown: Moorestown Friends School (publisher), 80 pages

References

External links
Moorestown Friends School Website
 Beginnings at MFS (Moorestown Friends School Early Childhood Program)
School Data for Moorestown Friends School, National Center for Education Statistics

Category:1785 establishments in New Jersey
Category:Educational institutions established in the 1780s
Category:Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools
Category:Moorestown, New Jersey
Category:New Jersey Association of Independent Schools
Category:Private elementary schools in New Jersey
Category:Private high schools in Burlington County, New Jersey
Category:Private middle schools in New Jersey
Category:Quaker schools in New Jersey