Notes from Pages Lane

Students made crowns and Lower School Librarian Ruth Malwitz read 2021 Caldecott Medal winner We Are Water Protectors to second graders as part of World Read Aloud Day. This winter, Liam Jesunas ’34 and Madi Hughes ’21 represented MFS in the 2020 US Chess/ChessKid K-12 Showdown, the virtual replacement for the canceled National K-12 Grade Championships. Over 2,800 players entered the event, representing almost every state, making it the largest Grade National Championship ever. Liam finished undefeated in his bracket and Madi finished in the top 25 of her bracket.

January 13

The fourth grade led a virtual assembly for the first, second, and third grades, which included a scavenger hunt, an art project, a read-aloud of I Am Human: A Book of Empathy by Susan Verde. As the elders of the Lower School the fourth graders looked for opportunities to demonstrate their leadership skills. As leaders, these students were excited to have an active role in fostering community.

November 24

A modified Thanksgiving Happening took place in person and virtually. While grades did not mix this year, Lower School classrooms and Middle and Upper School advisories still celebrated this uniquely MFS tradition.

Students Find Ways to Grow MFS Quaker Model UN Conference During Pandemic

The Quaker Model United Nations Conference III (QMUNC III) took place virtually on November 2022, hosted by Moorestown Friends School. The keynote speaker was Megan Schmidt, Quaker U.N. representative at the Quaker United Nations Office in New York. The concept of a Model United Nations conference based on the Quaker testimonies was the brainchild of Anna Goula ’18. Although the topics have changed from year to year, each QMUNC committee is based around one of the SPICES: simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship. This year’s topics included the Korean War, post-World War I reparations, black market organ trafficking, the Venezuelan humanitarian crisis, gender-based violence in refugee camps, and the 2015 Paris Climate Accords. Combined with traditional Model United Nations procedures, QMUNC allows delegates to consider, discuss, and debate world issues with Quaker values in mind.

When Kayla Patel ’21 (pictured above left) and Christine Chandran ’21 decided to design and plan the third iteration early in 2020, they had no way of knowing that a pandemic would change everything.

Change, it did. “Once the pandemic started, we started thinking about how the conference could take place virtually,” said Christine. “We did some practice runs, working with MFS Summer Programs students to help figure out how we could plan a MUN conference virtually.”

The dilemmas they faced, and eventually solved, included things like how to adapt parliamentary procedure to the virtual space, how to provide communications tools for delegates to conduct meetings and conversations, and much more. “We wanted to incorporate a worldwide community,” said Christine. “But, there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes.”

The secretaries-general spent hours on phone calls and email exchanges with students and faculty from other Friends schools, some of whom had no familiarity with how Model UN conferences worked. “We had delegates and schools participate whom we never had met or communicated with before,” said Kayla. “There were times when we were trying to explain what Model UN was to teachers and they mistakenly thought we were fellow teachers.”

They created a virtual conference with international participants from Lebanon and Costa Rica and doubled the number of delegates and schools from previous conferences. “Once we started realizing the power of a virtual conference, we began to bring in schools from beyond the Philadelphia area, across the U.S., and even some international schools,” said Kayla. Over 100 students spent three days participating in the event.

As restrictions on gatherings loosen, the two are anxious to see how QMUNC student leaders approach future conferences.

“Even as in-person learning and events come back, it may not be feasible for schools to travel,” said Kayla. “We can now operate in the in-person and virtual spheres.”

Where Is She Now? QMUNC Founder Anna Goula ’18

Anna Goula is currently a junior at Hamilton College studying philosophy and world politics. She is President of Hamilton United Nations. Anna returned to the Clinton, NY campus this spring after spending time remotely in Washington state during the pandemic. “Even with the pandemic, my classes remain rigorous and engaging.” Anna reports. “I test for COVID three times a week along with the Hamilton community to maintain a healthy on-campus bubble. While the pandemic changed my college experience in ways that I could have never imagined, I am so grateful for the resources and infrastructure that Hamilton College has been able to provide.”

She has followed her young QMUNC successors as they carry on the legacy of QMUNC. “MFS has always fostered an environment which encourages students to face challenges head on and lead with grace and dignity,” reflected Anna. “Christine Chandran and Kayla Patel, along with the other leaders involved in QMUNC III, demonstrate what MFS students are capable of when faced with adversity. Not only were students able to successfully plan and run a fully remote conference during the pandemic, but they also showed what the power of community can provide in a time of uncertainty.”