On Wednesday, September 3, SSFS opened its doors for its 58^th first day of school! An overcast sky cleared just in time for morning drop-off as 608 students—grades PK3 through 12—made their way to class. 

This year promises to be a busy one. Last April, Head of School Tom Gibian announced that he would be retiring at the conclusion of the 2019-20 school year. Since then, the Board of Trustees Head of School Search Committee, with the help of Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, and an Advisory Search Committee—made up of faculty, staff, students, parents, and alumni—have been busy with the search and look forward to announcing the finalists later this month.

Construction of the new Upper School building is also well underway, and we’ve made huge progress since groundbreaking last fall! At this point, erection of the steel structure and decking have been completed; infrastructure to support utilities between floors has been installed; mechanical, plumbing, and electrical infrastructure has been finalized; and outer walls have been erected. In fact, we just celebrated the “topping-off” of the new building in August. Read about it below!

As always, we have several fall events coming up and we hope to see you back on campus. On Friday, November 29, the day after Thanksgiving, we have the annual Alumni Soccer Games & SSFS Turkey Trot 5K. This signature event is always a huge draw for SSFS alumni, as well as faculty, staff, current students, parents, and friends of the School. Family in town for the holiday? Bring them along, show them around campus (be sure to stop by the new Upper School construction site!), run (or walk) in the Turkey Trot, or simply grab a snack, some hot apple cider, and a seat on the sidelines.

And don’t forget FriendsFest on November 9! FriendsFest (formerly Winterfest) is one of the largest all-school events during the school year. With a variety of artisans on site, this is a great opportunity to get a jump on your holiday shopping. You can even pre-order wreaths, poinsettias, pies, and turkeys for your holiday celebrations.

Finally, we are looking forward to our annual College Care Package mailing. Each fall, the SSFS Office of Alumni Relations sends care packages full of SSFS goodies to college-age alumni who submit their college mailing addresses. So, if you are a member of the Classes of 2016-2018, keep an eye on your email for further details!

We have a busy fall ahead, and we look forward to seeing you soon!