Re-envisioning the MFS Playground

Julia de la Torre provided the following update on the playground project:

“Moorestown Friends School is about to embark on a year-long process to re-envision our playground. The current playground has been a source of joy for children for the past 23 years, but it is nearing the end of its life. We are taking the time this year to step back from our current space and envision the future of play and learning at MFS.

“We have engaged Studio Ludo and Metcalfe Architecture & Design as our design partners and have assembled a playscape working group to move the project forward. Our goal is to create an environment that stimulates creativity, independence, and problem-solving in an innovative and exploratory setting. At Moorestown Friends School, we believe that outdoor play should be a natural extension of the learning that happens in our classrooms. Building on our Quaker values, the new playscape will support children to play collaboratively, resolve conflicts peacefully, and connect to the simplicity of nature and their responsibility as environmental stewards. We look forward to seeing how our newly envisioned playscape will foster physical, mental, social, and emotional growth in our students.

“Studio Ludo and Metcalfe are launching their work this week through a visioning workshop with our Lower School faculty and staff. Next week, they will be facilitating workshops using a design thinking approach with students from Preschool through Grade 4 in an effort to better understand what adventures they dream of having outside.

“This is an exciting year to explore the power of play and craft a community space that facilitates student growth and exploration. We will share updates along the way and plan to open the new playscape in the 2020-21 school year.”