Upper School at MFS - A Letter to Prospective Students and Families

What do You Want Your Education to be?

Thoughts for future Upper Schoolers and their families.

As you may know, Moorestown Friends has the highest SAT scores of any school in South Jersey. When you consider this along with our college placement list and the array of AP classes we offer, you get a pretty good sense of the quality of the education here.

However, as Director of the Upper School at MFS, I know there are many aspects of Moorestown Friends that are just as important, but much harder to sum up in a statistic.

As you and your family consider the high school that’s best for you, I would like to tell you about a few of these things.

First, you should know that some of the most important things you’ll learn here will never show up on a multiple-choice test.

I’m speaking about the skills of critical thinking and creative problem solving—the ability to analyze complex data, develop original ideas, and express yourself in strong, clear writing.

These are powers that go beyond mastering facts and repeating them back.

You build these skills by taking part in debates and discussions. By designing a science experiment rather than merely following steps in your lab book. By building robots, and making movies, and simulating an entire presidential primary election. This can be challenging, but it’s also what makes learning really interesting.

Second, you will find more choices and special opportunities at MFS than you can imagine.

If you think about your education as a way of nourishing your intellect, then MFS offers you a feast: more than 50 elective courses to choose from each semester—from neuroscience to chamber music to forensic science; real, excellent experiences in the arts—many choices in music, visual art, and drama, all treated as important major subjects and none threatened by budget cuts; academic competitions—from the Deborah Heart Challenge and the Ethics Bowl to history, science, and math contests; independent studies—the chance to work one-on-one or in a small group with a faculty member to explore a special interest; capstone research experiences—an honors opportunity in the junior and senior years allowing you to pursue a major project—anything from fashion design to dentistry for the disabled; senior projects—four-week internships that take students into ad agencies, law firms, rehab hospitals—in short, anywhere your interests lead.

110 E. Main Street

Moorestown, NJ 08057-2949 Phone: (856) 235-2900

www.mfriends.org

What do You Want Your Education to be?

Moorestown Friends School

Third, there are just as many options outside class.

I don’t have space to tell you all the things you can do, but there are a few key points you should know:  We have the clubs and sports you would expect (soccer, swimming, the school news-

paper) plus some you wouldn’t (fencing, robotics, and the Gender Equality Forum).  You will have the chance to compete here. 70 percent of Upper Schoolers play at

least one sport. We have opportunities for everyone—for highly competitive athletes and for those who are just trying a new sport.  People here do it all—play basketball and play a part in the musical, run for student

government and run cross country, make great art and make a difference through community service.

Fourth, by choosing among all these opportunities, you can make your education something completely unique.

At MFS, you will uncover and explore things you’d love to learn more about. Then you can pursue these interests in real depth.

Consider a few examples of recent MFS students: A math and music whiz who studied the physics of amplification in electric guitar pick-ups. A creative writing student who penned her own historic novella. An actor who had leads in multiple plays, directed his own production, and performed with our Concert Choir and a cappella group. With the Intensive Learning program, you can travel near and far for service and learning experiences in the Pine Barrens, Philadelphia, Cuba, Costa Rica, Hawaii, and much more.

Yes, these are special opportunities. But at MFS, they are not unusual opportunities. They are the kind of sky’s-the-limit learning adventures open to any student who’s interested. As you might imagine, they also provide the raw material for some phenomenally impressive college applications. In a world where every college-bound high schooler is trying to stand out from the crowd, MFS gives you every chance to do just that.

Before I close, there is just one more aspect of our school I’d like to tell you about: the community you will be part of at MFS. Because our school is smaller than most high schools—and our classes are much smaller— learning is a personal experience, and our teachers develop real and deep relationships with each student. And, because this is a place where it’s cool to be smart, to have lots of varied interests, and to achieve at a high level, our students feel free to be themselves and to excel.

If you would like to learn more about our school, the best way is to come see Moorestown Friends for yourself.

Sincerely,

Justin Brandon Upper School Director