The New FSMH Logo

Friends School Mullica Hill is thrilled to share its new logo. The logo is part of a bigger story. Allow me to explain …

The FSMH Mission Statement
During the 2017-2018 school year, I announced the Board of Trustees and Faculty & Staff were engaged in a strategic visioning process to set a course for the foreseeable future.  Through this process, we affirmed the school’s core values and approved a new mission statement, which was shared at that time:

Friends School Mullica Hill empowers students to achieve their full potential and become responsible global citizens by providing a comprehensive academic program infused with Quaker values in a diverse and inclusive learning community.

Strategic Goals
The visioning process continued over the next three months and concluded in May with the approval of three strategic goals that will guide all of our actions and decision making moving forward:

• Provide an exemplary and innovative academic program that prepares students to be responsible and engaged global citizens.
• Deepen our identity and actions as a Quaker school to prepare students to pursue lives of meaningful purpose.
• Sustain and strengthen a community that honors diversity, equity, and inclusivity.

Eleven Strategies
The Board also approved eleven strategies, all of which support the achievement of one or more of the above goals.  Some of these strategies have already been put in motion as we continue to provide a challenging, vigorous, and innovative academic program by building on our strengths and implementing the best possible research-based programs.  Last year’s implementation of Math in Focus is an example of this strategy in action.  This year, the curricular areas of writing and global learning will receive a comprehensive review and revision.  The school will also continue to support teachers in their professional growth and to ensure that all learning spaces are technologically equipped to support collaboration and interactive learning.  

In support of the goals related to Quakerism and diversity, we are instituting two groups that will welcome the involvement of parents, faculty & staff members, and trustees.  The Quakerism Committee will be charged to nurture and enhance the Quaker foundation and values of the school and to support service learning.  This committee will be clerked by Mike Ayers, a long-serving trustee and former clerk of Woodstown Monthly Meeting. The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Committee will provide ongoing assessment, dialogue, and program development in these areas.  Monika Shealey, a parent of two current students and Dean of the School of Education at Rowan University, has agreed to clerk this committee.

A New Logo
The new FSMH logo, adopted in September 2018, is inspired by one of the tiles on the “SPICES” mosaic wall in front of the Hanshi Deshbandhu Building. The student-created tile, featured on the Equality mural, captures a leaf-like design that is symmetrical, simple, and inspired by nature. The leaves, which reach a point together in the center of the circle, symbolize unity, community, and diversity as they come together to form a cohesive union.

As the FSMH Mission statement explains, FSMH strives to empower students to achieve their full potential and to become responsible global students. The leaf-inspired design symbolizes this growth, and the color palette of blues and greens represents this growth in a global environment. FSMH provides its students with a comprehensive academic program infused with Quaker values in a diverse and inclusive learning community.

– Matthew H. Bradley, Head of School