Middle School Intensive Learning Spotlight: Fifth Grade – “Living Out Quaker Values in Our Community”

Fifth grade students enjoyed a diverse range of activities during Intensive Learning in late March. The theme for the week was “Living Out Quaker Values in Our Community” 

“Our emphasis was on recreation and study outside of the typical class day which allowed students to better understand and step into Quaker leadership,” said Fifth Grade Teacher and Lead Advisor Monica Burrows.

Students participated on the first day in an all-day environmental learning experience at Fernbrook Farms in Chesterfield, a local working farm with an interest in educating young people in the beauty and power of sustainable practices. 

On Day Two, students learned how Quaker practices can guide a community through a lens that is near and dear to them: play! First they visited Strawbridge Lake Park in Moorestown to see how a local park was recently designed for its community. The second half of the day was spent with representatives from Studio Ludo to hear first-hand about how Quaker values were incorporated into the process and design for the new MFS Playscape.

Day Three saw students stay on campus for a special workshop from Walnut Street Theatre teaching artists. Students took part in theater games and practice to help fuel their ideas and they prepared to write their own skits on Quaker Values in preparation for performances on the final day of Intensive Learning.

The group was back on the road on Day Four as they traveled to YMCA of the Pines (formerly known as Camp Ockanickon) in Medford  to enjoy an outdoor experience that included adventure, team building activities, hiking in the scenic Pine Barrens, and plenty of recreation and fun (including canoeing, archery, pond study, and the “Swamp” challenge course) with lunch and dinner at the campsite before a return to campus around 8 p.m.

The week culminated with a half day on campus which featured performances of their Quaker Values skits to families. Students were very excited to perform on-stage skits that embodied the values we had been focusing on all week: simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship, said Fifth Grade Teacher Sarah Rotter. “The community piece was especially meaningful as we were able to welcome families on campus!”

“We were excited to offer a week that celebrated our Quaker practices and allowed students a chance to explore, learn, and bond together,” concluded Mrs. Burrows. 

This is one in a series of 2022 Intensive Learning Spotlights. For one week each March, regular classes are suspended for “Intensive Learning,” when Middle and Upper School students and teachers engage in an in-depth study of a specific subject, often involving off-campus research. This long-standing MFS tradition — which dates back to the mid 1970s — allows teachers and students to break out of the structure of formal class periods and traditional study for a time of experiential learning. Both students and teachers are encouraged to view themselves as life-long learners and students of the world around them.