Commencement will take place on Saturday, June 10 at 7 p.m. at MFS.
Moorestown Friends School will hold Commencement for the 77 members of the 2017 graduating class on Saturday, June 10 at 7 p.m. at the school.
Commencement speakers will be Upper School Director Justin Brandon, as well as students Alexander Horn (Cherry Hill, attending Columbia University) and Mary Omilian (Burlington Township, attending Wagner College). 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 or pursue a gap year. This year’s chosen schools include Barnard College, Boston College, Bucknell University, College of William and Mary, Columbia University, Cornell University, Hamilton College, Haverford College, Johns Hopkins University, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, 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 Preschool, Prekindergarten, or Kindergarten.Eighteen members of the Class of 2016 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.
