There is so much to love about this time of year. Here are a few of my favorites.
 
Hot chocolate. Even better with marshmallows floating on top. Older brothers and sisters coming home for the holidays. My kids coming home for the holidays. Twinkly lights. A radio station that only plays Christmas songs. Ok, I listen to NPR but it’s still nice to know. 

I also love that going to a Chinese Restaurant on Christmas can be a family tradition.  And if we go someplace new during the Winter break, we use our Qibla compass to find the proper direction to pray.  And at work we have secret Santa games. And at home we have dreidels.  And we bundle up to go outside even when it is freezing to sing Christmas carols or to go to Midnight Mass.

Dear Rodney,
 
When I was named Head of School in 2010, Ken Smith, my predecessor, told me (not for the first time) that it was the best job in the world.
 
He was right. 

I would like to extend a warm welcome to everyone: faculty and staff, seniors, their buddies, all of the other students and any parents who have snuck in. (There are always a few.) My welcome goes to all of us who are glad to be back and, especially, those of us who are attending our first All-School Assembly. This is where are traditions are on display, our enthusiasm is evident and where we celebrate those of us who actually enjoy singing and dancing in front of a big crowd wowing us with how they make and share beauty....

[W]e are here for two vital things. One is to learn and to learn how to learn. The other is to connect; with each other and all those around you.

A few years ago, Tina and I were with our daughter Kiah in Akagera National Park in the eastern portion of Rwanda.  We were in a Toyota Rav4 stuck in a very deep mud puddle up to the axles. We were, maybe, 25 miles away, but it would take six hours to find the men and a truck to get us out. I had been meaning to ask both Tina and Kiah something so I turned it into a game.  It went like this:  If you could spend a year doing anything you wanted to do to make yourself happy, money was no object, you could go wherever you wanted and do whatever you wanted, what would it be?  That was the first question.  The second question was:  If you could spend a year doing whatever you thought would bring the most amount of light into the world, heal the planet, bring joy to people, correct ills, create beauty and money was no object what would it be?  The third question:  Would the two years be different? 

Welcome everyone to our graduation ceremony honoring the Sandy Spring Friends School Class of 2019. In particular, I want to recognize the parents and family members, the grandfriends and neighbors, the brothers and sisters and, of course, the incredible faculty who have come today to celebrate these young women and men who have earned not just a diploma from Sandy Spring Friends School but our respect and gratitude. Each of you, all members of the Class of 2019, have argued with us, debated us, irritated us, made us laugh, pointed out our mistakes, given us pause, amazed us, improved our minds and, now, you carry our hopes.   

As our nation’s attention continues to be hypnotized by sensationalist political tweets, Mueller reports, the burgeoning list of Democratic presidential candidates, and celebrity antics, the most relevant, shocking, and far-reaching news story of the century --  no, the millenium -- seemed to barely registered a blip on our public consciousness. I’m of course referring to the IPBES release of the “Summary for Policymakers of the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.”  Rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? And who is the IPBES, anyway? 

How many of you were here in 1960 for the ground breaking (or ribbon cutting) for either Scott House or Moore Hall?

How many of you were here for the ground breaking for the construction project in 2003 that transformed Sandy Spring Friends School?

I can draw a straight line across 58 years that lead us to this time, this place, this moment as we stand together able, now, in a way that is more real, more tangible and more exciting than ever to dream about a space that we have designed for inquiry, experimentation, innovation, advocacy, problem solving, collaboration, delight, discovery and sustainability. 

Words have been spoken and unspeakable events have occurred where the intent has been to roll back civil rights that recognize and protect LGTBQ+ people, brown people, black people, people who have been incarcerated, victims of sexual abuse, people who worship in synagogues and those who worship in mosques, and people who come to this country out of fear and persecution.
 
Not here.  Not in our house.  The Sandy Spring Friends School community affirms our shared commitment to protecting civil rights for all individuals. As a diverse community inspired by and dedicated to Quaker values of equality and inclusion, we stand in support of all of our brothers and sisters and their right to be accepted and respected in public life. We are a safe and welcoming space for all.  We are glad that you are here. 

It is with great joy that I welcome our Lower School parents, grand friends, students, faculty and staff to our Winter Holiday Assembly.

One of the things that happens this time of year is that the days get shorter and shorter.  Have you noticed?  We wake up and it is night and, sometimes, even before we get home from school, when we have something right after school, it is already dark.  So different from the summer when it seems that no matter how late we get to stay up, even when it is our summer bedtime, it is still light outside.

This is the time of year when light is most precious.