- Moorestown Friends School
-
Moorestown Friends School 
Location 110 East Main Street
Moorestown, NJ 08057Information Type Independent School Established 1785 Head of school Laurence (Larry) Van Meter Faculty 81.0 Grades Preschool - 12 Enrollment 668 (in K-12 as of 2009-10, plus 32 in PreK) Student to teacher ratio 8.2:1[1] Color(s) red and blue Website School website Moorestown Friends School (also known as MFS) is a private Quaker school located at East Main Street and Chester Avenue in Moorestown, New Jersey. As of the 2009-10 school year, the school had an enrollment of 668 students (in K-12, plus an additional 32 in PreK) and 81.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.2.[1] The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 1991.[2]
The school is a member of the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools[3] and the Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools.[4]
Moorestown Friends School is one of the sites used by the Summer Institute for the Gifted and by ESF Summer Camps.
Contents
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[5], the highest award an American school can receive.[6][7]
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.[8]
History
Moorestown Friends School was created in 1785 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). The original building stood in what is now Maple Shade Township, New Jersey. It was built before any public school was established in Moorestown. Soon after, another building was erected on the current site, next to the Moorestown Meetinghouse.[9]
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.
Athletics
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 school is also a member of the NJSIAA, 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.
The 2007 field hockey team won the Friends Schools League, downing Shipley School 2-0, marking the school's first field hockey league championship since 1985 after title game losses in 1987 and 1994.[10][11]
The 2007 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.[12][13]
The girls tennis team won the 2005 South B state sectional championship with a 4-1 win over Sacred Heart High School.[14] The 2007 team reclaimed the title, defeating Bishop Eustace High School 3-2 in the tournament final.[15]
The foil squad of the Moorestown Friends Boys fencing team won three consecutive foil squad state titles from 2004 to 2006.[16] Senior John Gurrieri won the state individual foil title in 2006.[17]
Middle school athletics
MFS offers a variety of athletics for the middle school, including boys/girls soccer, baseball, boys/girls lacrosse, Coed tennis, girls/boys basketball, and field hockey.
Notable alumni
- Alice Paul (1885-1977), suffragist leader.[18]
- Joseph Hooton Taylor, Jr. (born 1941), astrophysicist and winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physics.[19]
References
- ^ a b Moorestown Friends School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed July 24, 2011.
- ^ Moorestown Friends School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools. Accessed July 24, 2011.
- ^ School Search, New Jersey Association of Independent Schools. Accessed July 24, 2011.
- ^ Listing of ADVIS member schools, Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools. Accessed July 24, 2011.
- ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed March 28, 2011.
- ^ "CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department", Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."
- ^ Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test" The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
- ^ Camilli, Danielle. "MFS science teacher wins top N.J. honor", Burlington County Times, October 4, 2007. Accessed March 6, 2008.
- ^ "About MFS History". Moorestown Friends School. http://www.mfriends.org/07/about_history.php. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- ^ Staff."No early exit from playoffs for Holy Cross" m Courier Post, November 3, 2007. Accessed July 24, 2011. "Friends League In the conference tournament championship game Moorestown Friends added another triumph to its already successful season... For the first time in 22 years the Foxes collected the championship by earning a 2-0 win over Shipley, Pa. The last Moorestown Friends tournament title came in 1985."
- ^ 2007-08 "Foxes Win Friends League Field Hockey Crown, 2-0 over Shipley", Moorestown Friends School 2007-08 Sports News Archive, November 2, 2007. Accessed July 24, 2011. "The Friends Schools League field hockey title is back in Moorestown for the first time since 1985. Sophomore Heather Moore scored a goal and added an assist to lead the Foxes to a 2-0 victory over two-time defending champion Shipley School.... It was the fourth MFS appearance in a Friends League field hockey championship match. The Foxes lost in the final in 1987 and 1994."
- ^ Melohis, Ted. "Denson, Engel help Friends make a little history", Burlington County Times, November 6, 2007. Accessed July 24, 2011. "Denson and Engel helped make history yesterday leading Moorestown Friends to the first South Jersey championship in the program's eight-year history."
- ^ "Boys Cross Country Team Finishes Second at State Championship Meet", Moorestown Friends School 2007-08 Sports News Archive, November 12, 2007. Accessed July 24, 2011. "Paced by senior Sean Denson (6th) and sophomore Bob Engel (9th), the Foxes finished second in the NJSIAA State Non-Public B race at Holmdel Park on Saturday. It is the highest finish in school history for a cross country team."
- ^ 2005 Girls Team Tennis - South B, NJSIAA. Accessed July 17, 2007.
- ^ 2007 Girls Team Tennis - South B, NJSIAA. Accessed October 26, 2007.
- ^ Staff. "Foxes foil squad captures third straight state title", Burlington County Times, February 26, 2006. Accessed July 24, 2011. "John Gurrieri, Mario Ponticello and Paul Gray teamed together to win the third consecutive New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Foil Squad championship for Moorestown Friends."
- ^ Staff. "Friends' Gurrieri takes state fencing title", Burlington County Times, March 12, 2006. Accessed July 24, 2011. "John Gurrieri, a Moorestown Friends School senior, won the NJSIAA Individual Fencing Tournament yesterday at Rider University."
- ^ "Alice Paul Biography.". Lakewood Public Library: Women in History. http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/paul-ali.htm. Retrieved 2006-05-01.
- ^ Seife, Charles. "Spin Doctor: Nobel Physicist Joseph Taylor Takes the "Pulse" of Dying Stars", Princeton Alumni Weekly, October 11, 1995. Accessed October 26, 2007. "As a high school student at Moorestown (N.J.) Friends, Taylor excelled in mathematics, a subject he pursued at Haverford College before switching to physics."
External links
- Moorestown Friends School Website
- Data for Moorestown Friends School, National Center for Education Statistics
New Jersey Association of Independent High Schools Academy Charter • Blair • Collegiate • Community • Craig • Delbarton • Dwight-Englewood • Gill St. Bernard • Holy Angels • Hudson • Hun School • Kent Place • Lacordaire • Lawrenceville • Monmouth • Montclair Kimberley • Moorestown Friends • Morristown-Beard • Mount Saint Dominic • Mount St. Mary • Newark • Newgrange • Noor Ul-Iman • Oak Hill • Oak Knoll • Oratory Prep • Peddie • Pennington • Pingry • Princeton Day • Purnell • Ranney • Rutgers Prep • Saddle River Day • Saint Benedict's • Saint Dominic • Seton Hall Prep • Solomon Schechter • St. Aloysius (defunct) • Saint Elizabeth • St. Philip's • Stuart Country • Villa Victoria • Villa Walsh • Wardlaw-Hartridge
Categories:- 1785 establishments in the United States
- Blue Ribbon schools in New Jersey
- High schools in Burlington County, New Jersey
- Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools
- Moorestown Township, New Jersey
- New Jersey Association of Independent Schools
- Private schools in New Jersey
- Quaker schools in New Jersey
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