A more than 30-year-old tradition took place in the borough on the morning of Sept. 29.
The enduring monarch butterfly parade at the Haddonfield Friends School once again delighted schoolchildren who participate annually by dressing up and walking around town, joined by family and the broader community.
Jill Horner has a deep personal history with Haddonfield Friends School as co-chair of its PTO. She attended the school as a child and now has a sixth-grade son there. Her older son also attended, and years later, still talks about “monarchs and their migration to Mexico.”
That appreciation for the “lovely” monarch butterfly extends across town.
“A lot of merchants come out of their stores,” Horner says, “and then all of the people who are having coffee or strolling down the street tend to join in the parade. Even the firefighters step out of the firehouse to cheer on the kids.”
All the support, she adds, contributes to “the students’ sense of accomplishment with everything they’ve learned. It brings all of the learning to life, so that the children can feel proud walking down the street wearing their butterfly wings.”
The parade is among the decades-old traditions at Haddonfield Friends.
“Our goal,” Head of School Matthew Sharp points out, “is for joyful and inquisitive young minds to carry the light of confidence, critical thinking, creativity and stewardship in a diverse community of learners.”
The students write lessons and create posters, and they take milkweed home to attract the monarchs every year. Before the parade, they gather in the Meeting House to make a presentation. Eighth-graders join the activities to show their support, as does the rest of the community.
“For me, it’s a beautiful, well-rounded, hands-on learning experience,” notes Horner, “passing on values and traditions that make our school so special. It is one of my favorite events of the year, regardless of whether or not my child is involved any longer.”
Horner also appreciates the PTO for making an already tight-knit community even more enjoyable.
“That’s the joy of our PTO,” she observes, “because we can tailor events and activities to what the families and the kids really enjoy.”
In addition to his leadership role, Sharp is also a Haddonfield Friends School parent whose two sons shared their parade experience.
“One is in eighth grade, and the other is in high school, yet they still talk about it,” he marvels. “I appreciate the tradition that has been going on for decades, because it gets the students involved in science and critical thinking.”
Before they participate in butterfly play, students examine milkweed with their microscopes, look at the eggs, spend time with hands-on projects in the school’s garden and also learn about the monarch’s life cycle.
“… There is a lot of milkweed growing all around us, and in July, August and September,” Sharp explains. “We leave it, label it and then we can see the eggs getting caught. The first week of school, we are ready to look through the microscope. Since it starts in kindergarten, it’s such an awesome experience.
“My kids loved it,” he continues. “All of the parents also rave about it.”
The project – in which kindergartners and eight-graders are buddies – finally culminates in the parade, before which students gather at the Meeting House and head to the graveyard.
“I love how the entire school is involved,” Sharp says, “and that the parents, eighth-grade buddies and the community are also involved.”
