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Moorestown Friends School held Commencement for the 76 members of the 2015 graduating class on Saturday, June 6.

Commencement speakers were Drama Teacher Mark Gornto, as well as students Aliya Williams and David White. Commencement speakers are selected each year by members of the senior class. MFS does not compute class rankings or designate valedictorians/salutatorians. Traditionally, one male and one female student are selected along with a teacher, and it is considered an honor to be chosen.

All graduates are matriculating at four-year colleges and universities. This year’s chosen schools include Bates College, Boston College, Bryn Mawr College, Case Western Reserve University, University of Chicago, Colby College, Cornell University, Emory University, Franklin & Marshall College, Georgetown University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Lehigh University, University of Michigan, New York University, Penn State University, Princeton University, and many more.

Eight students will compete in intercollegiate athletics at the following schools: Catholic University of America, Colby College, Drexel University, Drew University, Florida Atlantic University, Franklin & Marshall College, Howard University, and the University of Mary Washington.

The Moorestown Friends School Commencement ceremony includes a number of significant traditions each year. Graduates have worn white dresses and formal men’s attire in lieu of caps and gowns since at least the early 1900s. Quaker secondary schools traditionally do not use robes, which are an outgrowth of clerical garb. Another tradition is that the Head of School reads the diploma of one of the “Originals” — students who have attended MFS since Preschool, Prekindergarten, or Kindergarten. Fourteen members of the Class of 2015 were Originals.

The graduation ceremony was held outside, with seniors exiting from the front of the Upper School and walking around the driveway known as The Oval to the group seating area.

 

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