Weekly Newsletter Emailed Each Sunday During the School Year.
May 31, 2020 Virtual All-School Assembly SSFS students, faculty, staff, and parents enjoyed a virtual visit together for the All-School Assembly (via Zoom) on Friday, May 29 at 9:00 am. The assembly began with a welcome and an introduction from this year's Torch Clerk, Michel Ruiz '20, who announced the selection of next year's Torch Clerk, Irene Denniston '19. (Congratulations, Irene!) Irene provided some inspiring and hopeful words for our community during this challenging time. We then watched a 2019-2020 end-of-year slideshow, and heard remarks from Head of School Tom Gibian. We enjoyed several virtual musical and dance performances: Brenda's Lower School instrumental music class students each took turns on their instruments to play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"; Upper School Dance Class members premiered a dance performance video (choreographed and edited by sophomore Emily T.), as well as a video collage of their virtual dance class during Spring 2020 #TheShowMustGoOn); and the Upper School Instrumental Music class members performed their collaborative video of "Tank" (with incredible video editing by senior Jack T.). The Senior class presented their class gift: the Ben Uzzell Scholarship Fund, and we shared the Upper School Handbells class's collaborative version of "The George Fox Song," followed by a special piano version by Upper School Arts teacher Bryan Seith, who is retiring after 40 years of teaching at SSFS. (We'll miss you, Bryan!) The assembly ended with upbeat songs and dancing, while teachers and friends held up signs of congratulations for our 5th and 8th graders (who are moving up to the next division) and for our remarkable graduating Class of 2020. Walk in the Light, everyone!
Dive Into This Week's News Read The Latest News Across Our Divisions On The SSFS Website.
News At Your Fingertips Your Mobile-Friendly Email Digest of our Weekly Must-Know Information And More. All-School "Must-Know" Info for May 31, 2020
The calendar information below is for all-school, multi-divisional, and/or Parent Association events and activities in the coming weeks. Please see the Lower School, Middle School, or Upper School sections for division-specific "must-know" info, or visit the Calendar web page to see the full calendar. Please note that Zoom meeting URLs are only provided in direct emails to families (such as this), and on the password-protected portal pages of the website.
Because of your support, this past week's annual auction was a huge success! We thank you for your participation, donations, time, talent and Community building! Special thanks to auction co-clerks Michelle Alonso and Alice-Ann Beachy, who collaborated with awesome Auction Committee members to make this event super special during this time of uncertainty. Harry Leeser, Margaret Rosser, Julie Mendez are all rock stars who shined brightly in working effortlessly to contribute in their own special way. We sincerely appreciate the work of Lauren Mossman who juggled so many hats and quickly and seamlessly moved us to an online instead of live experience to ensure the auction was successful. Thank you so much! In Head of School Tom Gibian's most recent blog post, "The One About the Pandemic of Racism," Tom writes: "As a school community, what do we want to be known for at this time? That we rose to the occasion. We sought advice from experts, we viewed every decision through the prism of compassion. We never forgot to put the health and safety of all members of our community first. We remained true to our mission. We kept our promises. But there is another pandemic ravaging our country, one that is routinely dismissed and quickly forgotten despite its lethal nature: systemic racism. This scourge deserves—requires—the same urgent attention we are giving to Covid-19." Read the full blog post here. We know that our families have many questions about SSFS's plans for the coming fall. As a follow-up to our email sent on April 30, SSFS sent out an updated communication on Wednesday, May 27 with a link to a web page that provides videos and downloads highlighting the work that we have been doing to plan and prepare for the coming academic year. As previously noted, we hope to be able to start school on campus in September, although with significant social distancing measures in place for the health and safety of all. SSFS feels that we are uniquely prepared to support our community by providing a quality education with safe social distancing in place. Thanks to all who were able to attend the follow-up live Zoom meetings with each of the division heads on Thursday and Friday, May 28-29. Please be sure to review the videos, and, as always, we will continue to communicate with our families on a regular basis as we know more. Meanwhile, please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns. ICYMI: Please join us on Wednesday, June 3, 6:30-8:45 PM (EST) for a Virtual Project Presentation Program. See the Senior Passion Project web page for program information, which includes brief presentations from each of our 12 seniors, as well as questions from panelists. It looks to be a special and entertaining evening! We invite everyone to help us celebrate the culmination of this very special capstone program. Zoom Meeting Info: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87434109432?pwd=YWFCSnBTY3VQdURlemdPaEFiOWIzZz09 Meeting ID: 874 3410 9432 Password: 12Beests We are excited to announce that the Sandy Spring Friends School yearbook signing tradition is alive, and it’s fully digital this year. Everyone can get personalized end-of-the-year signatures from your friends & teachers with Jostens Yearbook Digital Signing Pages! Digital Signing Pages give every student in our school the chance to create virtual signing pages, invite their friends to leave messages, and print out the final pages to keep with the yearbook as a permanent keepsake. (Note: more information will be sent soon from each division about yearbook pick-up and distribution.) This is free for every student! Click the link below so you can get started with your yearbook signing. https://yearbooksigning.jostens.com Looking for a summer getaway? “Reading is a vacation for the mind.” ~ Dave Barry SSFS students, faculty, staff, and parents enjoyed a virtual visit together for the All-School Assembly (via Zoom) on Friday, May 29 at 9:00 am. Click here to read more... ICYMI: While we've been away from campus, construction on the new Upper School building has been proceeding. See all the progress and take a floor-by-floor virtual tour with David Hickson and Julie Mendez. It's looking great! ICYMI: As we continue to celebrate Ben Uzzell’s life, members of the senior class have created a ‘YeahBen4L’ t-shirt. The idea of this shirt was to create something that Ben himself would wear, thus giving everyone who purchases a piece of Ben to hold with them forever. That very idea aligns with the print on the shirt ‘YeahBen4L”. The “#10” on the back of the shirt was his jersey number in basketball. Ben was extremely passionate about basketball and consistently excelled in it. The t-shirt provides an opportunity for those who purchase to donate to The Ben Uzzell ‘20 Scholarship Fund. Five dollars of every purchase will go to the The Ben Uzzell ‘20 Scholarship Fund (but note you are always welcome to donate directly to the fund). This t-shirt not only supports the scholarship, but allows for Ben’s legacy to live on. Sending a big thank you to all who purchase. ICYMI: Associate Dir. of Communications Julie Mendez has created a landing page to help the SSFS community stay connected as we navigate our off-campus Virtual Learning experience. See the landing page here, and check out the "Virtual School in Action" web page, which features stories of how our community continues to thrive, find their passions, connect, and live up to our School’s motto, “Let Your Lives Speak.” Be sure to check out the 'Beest message board, showing notes from community members! See a list of links to our virtual learning environment, FAQS, and resources here.
Lower School "Must-Know" Info for May 31, 2020 Below is information about upcoming LS and all-school activities and events in the coming weeks. For questions or more information about an event, please contact Pam Gilmer, LS Administrative Assistant, at ext. 112 or pam.gilmer@ssfs.org, or visit the Calendar web page to see full calendar.
If you have not yet signed up for your End of Year Virtual Parent Teacher conference, please click here to schedule a time to meet with your child’s teacher. These conferences will take place throughout the week of June 1-5. This is a time for parents to have another touchpoint conversation with their child’s teacher to close out the year. SSFS’s first ever “virtual” do-it-yourself-at-home Field Day was a huge success! We were blown away by the number of photos and videos that were sent, and we had almost the entire LS present for the opening ceremony via Zoom! The smiles, giggles and joy were bursting from the media that was sent our way, so a video compilation with everything collected has been created! While we were not together in person on campus participating together, it brings comfort knowing you were able to carry on our tradition as best as possible given the circumstances. A HUGE thank you to all LS families for embracing this opportunity and creating lasting memories for your child. Enjoy the video! Watch all the way to the end to see which LS teacher had a great game of Cat and Mouse with her dog! Can you guess who it was? LS Interim Head Courtney Benson and the LS Admin team hosted three parent Zoom meetings to share information about the ongoing plans for the academic year 2020-2021. Each of the sessions were geared to a different age group and were well-attended. The plan is to host another round of virtual gatherings over the summer to keep everyone informed of the ever-changing plans. Videos with the May 27 updates are available online here.
Middle School "Must-Know" Info for May 31, 2020 Below is information about upcoming MS and all-school activities and events in the coming weeks. For questions or more information about an event, please contact Erin Ryan, MS Administrative Assistant, at ext. 160 or erin.ryan@ssfs.org, or visit the Calendar web page to see full calendar.
Under the direction of our arts teachers, Middle School student artists have been hard at work in their home “studios” creating content in all mediums, including digital, musical, and recorded performances. We are excited to share their creative endeavors with the community, and will be sending a link to students and families on Friday morning for their viewing and listening pleasure. Stay tuned for an email from Michelle Puhl-Price to be sent on Friday morning. Middle School students have spent the past six weeks enjoying exploring and enjoying a variety of electives, all of which concluded this week. Kristin McCarthy hosted a photojournalism elective to answer the question: What does this time of quarantine look like around you? Liz Donelson provided a Fitness with Friends offering, and led participants through a full body workout including planks, push-ups, squats and more. Sounds fun, right? Pinki Shah hosted a weekly online game of Scattergories, challenging students to beat her in this ultimate and fun thinking game. Erin Ryan led students in baking a different dessert to share (or not) with their family each week. Projects included fudge, chocolate chip cookies and a classic white cake with buttercream icing. Finally, David Blake gathered virtually every Friday afternoon with student participants for Role Playing Games like Dungeons and Dragons, and Pathfinders. A great time was had by all who chose to participate. The Middle School Virtual Mixtape has continued to grow each week during our time of online learning. Students and faculty/staff have submitted some really interesting content. Click here to check it out!
Upper School "Must-Know" Info for May 31, 2020 Below is information about upcoming US and all-school activities and events in the coming weeks. For questions or more information about an event, please contact Kerry Foley, US Administrative Assistant, at ext. 109 or kerry.foley@ssfs.org, or visit the Calendar web page to see full calendar.
ICYMI: Please join us on Wednesday, June 3, 6:30-8:45 PM (EST) for a Virtual Project Presentation Program. See the Senior Passion Project web page for program information, which includes brief presentations from each of our 12 seniors, as well as questions from panelists. It looks to be a special and entertaining evening! We invite everyone to help us celebrate the culmination of this very special capstone program. Zoom Meeting Info: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87434109432?pwd=YWFCSnBTY3VQdURlemdPaEFiOWIzZz09 Meeting ID: 874 3410 9432 Password: 12Beests Thank you again to all the students for their flexibility and patience with the 2020 AP exam changes. Click here for information on make-up exams and the release of exam score reports. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Jenai Bell with any questions. ICYMI: Friday, May 22, marked the last day of classes for our seniors! There are still a number of activities scheduled in honor of the amazing Class of 2020, though. Be sure these events are on your senior’s calendar. Zoom meeting info is available on the Parent Portal page. ICYMI: While we've been away from campus, construction on the new Upper School building has been proceeding. See all the progress and take a floor-by-floor virtual tour with David Hickson and Julie Mendez. It's looking great! ICYMI: Head of School Tom Gibian recently sent an email to all Upper School students; in it, Tom stated that "these times demand an SSFS Virtual School Soundtrack Project, where faculty and staff join me in sharing songs that alert us to the common bond we share, that have opened our eyes. We'll be sharing out videos on a weekly basis via Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube." See the video submissions from Tom Gibian, Kwame Darko, and Bob Hoch here. See the Spotify playlist here. ICYMI: As we continue to celebrate Ben Uzzell’s life, members of the senior class have created a ‘YeahBen4L’ t-shirt. The idea of this shirt was to create something that Ben himself would wear, thus giving everyone who purchases a piece of Ben to hold with them forever. That very idea aligns with the print on the shirt ‘YeahBen4L”. The “#10” on the back of the shirt was his jersey number in basketball. Ben was extremely passionate about basketball and consistently excelled in it. The t-shirt provides an opportunity for those who purchase to donate to The Ben Uzzell ‘20 Scholarship Fund. Five dollars of every purchase will go to the The Ben Uzzell ‘20 Scholarship Fund (but note you are always welcome to donate directly to the fund). This t-shirt not only supports the scholarship, but allows for Ben’s legacy to live on. Sending a big thank you to all who purchase.
Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting invites all SSFS families for Meetings for Worship at SSMM, and other community events and activities throughout the year. Please see the May 31 Silent Announcements for information and details about SSMM goings-on in the coming weeks. Questions? Please contact the SSMM office at ssmm.rsf@gmail.com. Thank you! Bella Vita Farm in Brookeville, MD, is continuing to take online orders. Click here to order fresh pastured eggs, fresh lettuce, micro greens, kale, herbs, and more! "Olney Together" is a grass roots effort founded by an SSFS parent to help families in the area facing challenges due to the COVID crisis. Olney together: 1. supports existing organizations with people power and 2. Fills in the gaps when other organizations are overwhelmed. Families in need who can usually get food/diapers/formula through other channels (or could pay for it themselves before being laid off) now need support. For more info, to volunteer, or to express need, please visit the website. Contact Joslyne directly with questions. This is an optional, opt-in virtual bulletin board for all members of the SSFS community to share resources and announcements about topics not part of the traditional school day or school related events (think: finding babysitters, repair service recommendations, hiking groups, etc.) Please fill in this quick online form to opt in.
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