By Sam Bitman and Shelby Deibler

The sun shined brightly on students’ smiling faces as they entered Stokes Hall, ready to kick off the 2019-2020 school year. On what was a hot September day at Moorestown Friends School, Upper School Students lined the halls once more, excited and confident.

While it’s easy to get the summer blues, one of the biggest things students said they looked forward to when returning to MFS was getting the chance to see their friends again. However, for some students it was more than seeing their friends that made them enjoy their first day.

“Coming back to MFS as a junior was a fun experience,” said junior Kat Johnson. “Being an upperclassman I felt the familiar excitement of the first day in a different way, one where I know I would be looked at as older and more mature. I enjoyed seeing everyone again and loved walking the halls of MFS once again.” 

In the freshman class, there are twenty-nine new students to Moorestown Friends School this year. There are six new students among the sophomore and junior classes.

This year’s oldest upperclassmen, the class of 2020, made sure to keep several MFS traditions alive. They quickly made sure that underclassmen knew that the senior benches outside of the auditorium would be used frequently. Additionally, every year the senior class spends the summer painting the hippo sculpture that sits outside the Lower School building. This tradition is a way for each class to leave its mark. The decoration for the hippo, chosen by the senior class officers, is a simple pink background with stars. 

Students began the day with a first period assembly, in which they were welcomed back by the Head of School, Julia de la Torre, and the Director of Upper School, Meredith Godley. Godley mentioned her excitement for the school year, and left students with a personal story reflecting on her experiences from the summer, passing on the message of “staying flexible and open to change.” 

“I thought there was a really positive spirit in the air on the first day of school.” Godley said. “From the laughs in opening meeting, to the number of people who shared meaningful messages in Meeting for Worship, there was a strong sense of community and engagement.” 

After the remarks made by Godley, students got to officially meet Mr. Will Miller. Miller is taking over as the new Upper School Dean of Students, replacing Mike Brunswick, who stepped down from the position at the end of the 2018-19 school year. 

“Being new to the MFS community means being unfamiliar with some of the technical and procedural aspects of my job. This is both exciting and a challenge. As students and faculty begin to learn more about me, they will see that I embrace challenges,” Miller explained. 

Miller said, “My mother taught me to always leave things better than I found them, so I tend to reframe challenges into growth opportunities every chance I get. And that’s precisely what I’m looking forward to this year. Building positive relational capacity with ALL members of our community is my number one goal. That’s my core. That’s my foundation. And if I can do that well, our students and faculty will accomplish things that no one member feels they have to accomplish alone. I believe that’s the mark of a vibrant community.”

“One special thing that happened to me on the first day was how intentional students were about making me feel welcomed,” Miller said. “Many popped their heads into my office to shake my hand and introduce themselves. It is in moments like these where I realize how fortunate I am to serve as the new Dean of Students here at Moorestown Friends School.”

As a new member of the Moorestown Friends Community, Miller quickly hit it off with the students, and even got a standing ovation.

In a story he shared, Miller explained that his nine-year-old son Mason had began asking him questions about his new job. When Mason learned that Miller would be talking to the entire student body on a stage, he told Miller that “[he] bet the students wouldn’t give you a standing ovation,” to which Miller replied, “I bet they will.” Miller proceeded to get all the students to give him a standing ovation while he captured the moment on video for his son.

 “The standing ovation was the highlight of my first morning here and I’d like to give a special thanks to my nine-year-old son, Mason, for inspiring it to happen!” said Miller. 

“My first day was lively! That’s the best descriptor I can give you. I believe it was Mike Tyson who said everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face. I’m admitting today that something as simple as lockers and combinations gave me quite a few left and right jabs on my first day, but I never went down for the count,” said Miller. “I want to thank Darlyn Medina, our Upper School Administrative  Assistant for coaching me in my Dean’s Corner. She is as pleasant, extremely helpful, and supportive of a person as you will ever meet. She definitely makes our office tick!”