MMFS strives in all ways to create and maintain a peaceful community. MMFS defines its community broadly: it includes students, staff, faculty, trustees, parents or guardians, and any others with whom the school comes in contact. MMFS celebrates the value and importance of every member. MMFS conceives of a peaceful community, in part, as one in which all members can achieve their full potential. We embrace the tensions that can occur in a close community with an understanding that shared common goals create an environment in which different opinions, conflicting ideas, and common purpose can allow us to come to shared understandings.
Peace begins with building and fostering strong relationships among the members of the community. If trust, care, and respect underpin relationships, then conflict can be embraced as an opportunity for growth, rather than something to be avoided or feared. Within a peaceful environment, opportunities to take risks are encouraged and occur more readily as students and adults grow and learn.
The study of peace also permeates the curriculum. Coursework, mini-unit studies, read-alouds, school-wide celebrations, and classroom names reflect our active pursuit of peace. In classrooms and homerooms named for Quakers, as well as in advisory groups, coursework, Healthy Choices classes, and even sports teams, students learn to use conflict resolution skills and resolve conflicts peacefully.