Sandy Spring Friends School
SSFS is a progressive, coed, college preparatory Quaker school that equips and empowers students from Preschool (age 3) through 12th Grade to Let Their Lives Speak.
Uniquely Sandy Spring
At A Glance
coed
map
140+
Pastoral acres in the heart of Montgomery County
teacher
8:1
Student-teacher ratio
diversity
53%
Students identify as Students of Color
globe
6
Countries represented
SSFS News
Congratulations to our Middle and Upper School winter team athletes and coaches on a successful winter sports season! From basketball to climbing, swimming to ice hockey, the 'Beests played hard, had fun, and showed SSFS's signature 'Beestly team spirit!
Finishing 22-3-1 in the MABL, including victories in the Championship Round over Whitman, Wootton, and Rockville high schools, SSFS capped off another remarkable academic competition conference season. Next up, and sporting an impressive overall record of 29-6-0, our 'Beestly Quizards are headed back to WETA's television studios in Arlington, VA to compete in the It’s Academic semifinals on Sat., Apr. 5.
The SSFS Speech Team participated in the 85-school WACFL Speech League Metropolitan Championship (MetroFinal) on Sat., Mar. 1. After only the 4th year of competing, our team ended the 2024-25 season and MetroFinal as Co-Champions (SSFS and Our Lady of Good Counsel tied with 192 points)! SSFS students qualified for Nationals in six events, with seven other students selected as alternates. Huge congratulations go to the participants and coaches!
Ten Upper School students participated in the annual GDS Student Summit on Sexual Assault & Consent, where high school students from the DMV region and beyond gather to raise awareness and promote change on a national level, helping to eradicate sexual assault and promote a culture of consent-based interaction. Recently, these students led peer-to-peer presentations to help educate and empower their classmates.
While Upper School Intersession Week has been a part of SSFS's curricular programming since the School's early days, Middle School Immersion Week is a more recent addition, beginning in 2015-2016. Similar to the Upper School's Intersession (and occurring during the same time period—next week), Immersion Week offers dedicated time for experiential and immersive learning. Students rotate between three workshops, selected based on their interests. It's a great opportunity for them to interact with new students/teachers, learn more about various topics of interest, and have fun!
Welcome to Women’s History Month! This year’s theme, according to The National Women’s History Alliance, celebrates “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations.” At SSFS, we will celebrate with a variety of engagements for students intended to spark learning and discussion. Please join the School and the National Women's History Alliance this month in celebrating “the collective strength and influence of women who have dedicated their lives to education, mentorship, and leadership. Through their efforts, they have served as an inspiration for all generations—both past and present.”
We recently sat down with Sean Hamer to find out what drew him to education (and away from an engineering career), what off-campus hobbies he enjoys pursuing, and what he’s most looking forward to as he relocates from West Coast to East this summer to join the SSFS community.
See some of the many instances of curious, engaged students participating in hands-on learning activities around every corner and in every division, from the Preschool classroom's "Valentine's Science" experiments, to the Upper School's AP Environment Science class's "Value of a tree" project.
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