I hope this letter finds you enjoying the coming of spring. As the rainy weather of the last couple of weeks has abated and the sun has shone through, we have experienced increased levels of energy and enthusiasm that may well take us right through to graduation.

This positive frame of mind is enhanced by a letter I received notifying us that we have been admitted to The Friends Schools League (FSL) beginning in 2005-06. The application process, which was long and rewarding, necessitated that we look at ourselves very closely and that the FSL look at itself as well. In addition to filing a lengthy letter of application, we were visited by two different committees, one consisting of Heads of School and the other of Athletic Directors. The following is a paragraph from the acceptance letter, which captures the essence of the league’s analysis of Shipley and our feeling about it:

We received a report from Dick Wade, from Germantown Friends School, on the Heads of Schools Committee and from Deb Surgi, from Moorestown Friends School, on the Athletic Directors committee’s visits to Shipley. The committees were impressed with the thoughtfulness of your application and by their conversations with students, coaches, and other staff, and with you. They appreciated Shipley’s openness, your keen interest in sportsmanship, and the education of the whole child, and the congruence of your philosophy with the core beliefs of the Friends Schools League. We are convinced that Shipley is in accord with FSL philosophy and guidelines, and that Shipley will strengthen our league in many sports.

As I am sure you recall, we thought long and hard before we decided to pursue membership in the Friends Schools League. Believing as we do that it creates an exciting opportunity for us to bring our girls and boys together in one league as we continue to strive for excellence on and off the field, we look forward to joining the league in 2005-06. As we prepare over the next year to enter the FSL, our girls will continue to compete in the InterAc League for Girls, and the boys will compete in the Keystone Conference for Boys. We look forward to having a banner year in those leagues and to maintaining into the future the relationships and rivalries that we have developed within them.

My thanks go to everyone who has played a role in this process. In particular, I want to thank Dan Serfass, our Athletic Director, for establishing the direction and doing so much of the work to make this happen, and Jackie Siscone, also of our Athletic Department, for doing the research that brought us to this decision. We look forward to a long and enjoyable membership in the FSL.

Warmest regards,

Steven S. Piltch
Head of School