Cambridge Friends School Kicks Off 50th Anniversary Year with All-School Parade

From MarketWatch: Cambridge Friends School Kicks Off 50th Anniversary Year with All-School Parade
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sep 22, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- When Cambridge Friends School first opened its doors on September 23, 1961, the political climate in America was charged. The United States was in the throes of the Cold War with the Soviets, and less than a decade after the Korean War armistice, the Kennedy administration was deeply concerned about communist insurgencies in Vietnam. With nationalism and pro-war sentiment running high, a group of concerned parents from the Cambridge Monthly Meeting, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), envisioned an independent school based on Quaker principles. In 1961, Cambridge Friends School (CFS) opened to families of all races and religions. On Friday, September 23, 2011, 211 CFS students from Pre-K-grade 8 will honor their school's founding fifty years ago, walking in a grand parade from Cambridge Friends Meeting House to 5 Cadbury Road, Cambridge Friends School's home since 1964.

"CFS students of 50 years ago and those of today are not as culturally disparate as one might think," said Peter Sommer, head of Cambridge Friends School. "The commitment to social justice, stemming from Quaker principles such as equality, integrity and peace, remains the foundation of our core mission and philosophy. Our students attend a weekly Meeting for Worship, and our dedication to excellence in academic subjects and the arts is as strong in 2011 as it was in 1961. And while we have made great strides in honoring the civil rights of others, the reality is that our society still sees 'otherness.' Such perceptions make the values and vision of our school's founders equally relevant, five decades after we welcomed our first students."

The Parade

This Friday's all-school parade is the second in the history of CFS. On October 23, 1963, the entire school community walked in a parade from CFS's first location at St. James Episcopal Church in Cambridge to Cadbury Road for the groundbreaking ceremony for the new school building.

The parade route for September 23, 2011 will move from the school's conceptual birthplace at Cambridge Friends Meeting to its current location on Cadbury Road. Waving banners, flags and streamers, 211 CFS students will walk in the symbolic footsteps of the CFS students of 50 years ago, celebrating the proud history of the only Quaker school in Massachusetts.

Media Information for September 23

For more information on the parade route or to arrange pre-event or on-site interviews on September 23, please contact Maria Vetrano, Vetrano Communications, Tel: 617.876.2770, Email: maria[at]vetrano.com. The rain date for the parade is September 30.

About Cambridge Friends School

Cambridge Friends School (CFS), the only Quaker school in Massachusetts, is a co-educational elementary school enrolling 211 students in pre-K through grade 8. Established in 1961 under the care of Friends Meeting at Cambridge, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), CFS's mission is to provide an outstanding education. Guided by Quaker principles--universal values such as equality, simplicity, and peace--CFS engages students in meaningful academic learning within a caring community strongly committed to social justice. CFS encourages all students to develop their intellectual, physical, creative and spiritual potential and, through the example of their lives, to challenge oppression and to contribute to justice and understanding in the world.

For more information, visit: www.cfsmass.org or attend our Open House, November 5 from 1:00-3:00 pm. Call 617.354.3880 x 244 for more information.