Moorestown Friends School (MFS) will hold Commencement for the 72 members of the 2014 graduating class on Saturday, June 7 at 7 p.m. at the school.
Commencement speakers will be retiring English Teacher Paul Shallers, as well as students Ciani Green and Joseph Mulholland. Commencement speakers are selected 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 will matriculate at four-year colleges and universities. This year’s chosen schools include: Boston College, Boston University, Brandeis University, Bryn Mawr College, Bucknell University, Colby College, Cornell University, Davidson College, Dickinson College, Lehigh University, McGill University, New York University, Penn State University, Stanford University, Swarthmore College, Tufts University, University of Michigan, University of Notre Dame, University of Virginia, Wake Forest University, and many more.
The Moorestown Friends School Commencement ceremony includes a number of significant traditions.
Graduates have worn white dresses and formal men’s attire in lieu of caps and gowns since at least the early 1900s (MFS was founded in 1785). 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 Kindergarten. Eighteen members of the Class of 2014 are Originals.
The graduation ceremony is scheduled to be 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. In case of inclement weather, Commencement will be held in the Field House.
Photo: The Class of 2014 pictured on the first day of school this year.