Sandy Spring Friends School Community News: Fall 2010

S A N D Y S P R I N G F R I E N D S S C H O O L

Community News Fall 2010

SSFS Welcomes Tom Gibian, New Head of School

Tom joins the Class of 2011 at the Adventure Park

during the senior retreat

Community News is a publication for the alumni, faculty, parents, students, and other friends past and present who make up the many communities of Sandy Spring Friends School.

Published twice a year by the Advancement Office:

Karl GedgeAssistant Head forExternal Relations

Judy AverbachDirector of the Annual Fund

Anne BallMarketing Consultant

Dave BurgevinArchivist

Sarah MargolisPublic Relations Consultant

Mary MazzucaDirector of Alumni Relations andPre-Primary Admissions

Margaret RosserDirector of External Communications

© 2010 Sandy Spring Friends School16923 Norwood RoadSandy Spring, Maryland 20860301.774.7455www.ssfs.org

Cover: Tom Gibian joins the Class of 2011 at the newly-opened Adventure Park during their senior retreat on the first day of school. (Photo by Margaret Rosser)

Table of Contents

The SSFS Community News is now available online: http://issuu.com/ssfs_comm_news/docs/cn_fall_10. If you would like to have Community News delivered to your email inbox instead of your home mailbox, please send an email request with your

full name to [email protected], and for each subsequent issue, you

will receive an email with a link to the new Community News.

We’ll save resources, as well as printing and mailing costs, and you can receive the Community News hot off the

virtual press!

Get the Community News delivered electronically!

Message from Tom Gibian, Head of School 1

Some Little-Known Facts About Tom Gibian, by his siblings 2

New Faculty and Staff, 2010-2011 4

Fall 2010 Admissions Update, by Louise Steinfort 7

Summer Immersion Program Turns Two, by KB Beck 8

Summer Programs @ SSFS 10

Summer Service Trips

Middle Schoolers in Acadia, by Stephanie Thliveris 12

Upper Schoolers in South Africa, by Scott Carneal & Students 14

Snapshots From Sandy Spring 16

The Annual Fund at SSFS, by Judy Averbach 17

2009-2010 Annual Report 18

The Science Program at SSFS, by Toni Evans and Laurel Flyer 24

Alumni in the Science Field 25-26

David Kahn’s Russian Literature Class for Parents & Alum 27

Western Civilization Class Time Capsules, by Ari Preuss 27

Alumni Notes 28

1Fall 2010

Message from the Head of School

Tom GibianHead of School

I am delighted to be able to write my first note as the new Head of School for the Community News. As I have had an early peek at this issue, it occurred to me that I should probably start by introducing myself.

In this issue you can read about my life growing up as recounted by my sisters and my twin brother, and a short bio detailing my job history. That is one kind of introduction, but what I’m really interested in is sharing experiences and making connections with the Sandy Spring community. Teaching and learning are often about finding and celebrating the threads that connect us, that inspire our hopes and dreams, and that for the past almost 50 years have brought us together to pursue an idea that a few people had and to help nurture it into a very special place and a terrific Quaker school.

The idea of introductions and making connections got me to thinking about how I usually get to know new people I meet. When I visit people in their houses for the first time, I like to look at their bookshelves and see what kind of books they like, to see if I might like the same books. I also like to see if they have any photographs taken at Disney World where someone in the family is being hugged by Mickey or Donald, because in my house we have a photo where someone in our family is being hugged by a six-foot fluffy cartoon character. Sometimes there is a picture of the family posing in front of some really old church where there are cobblestone streets and an old guy selling postcards, and I try to guess what city the picture was taken in, to see if perhaps I’ve been there before, too. I do this because I want to connect with the people I am getting to know. It’s fun to figure out connections. A couple nights ago I was at a dinner in New York with people I didn’t know, and one of the guests was 95 years old. He had escaped from Berlin in 1938. When he heard my name, he told me that he had been best friends with my Uncle George when they taught together in Northampton, Massachusetts, 50 years ago.

There are many, many invisible threads that bind us together. Even though I’m new here, these threads are already in place. I hope that reading through this issue, where you will see articles about other new faculty and staff, about our expanded international summer program, about the places our students are going near and far to help make a difference, about the sciences and literature courses being taught here, and about members of our community of all ages, that you too will feel this connection.

2 SSFS Community News

There's a New Sheriff in Town...

Tom loved packing his pistols as a kid, but by the time he was 18 he had hung up his holsters and registered as a conscientious objector. Below are a few other little-known facts about Tom from back in the day to give you a glimpse of the man he has become, as recalled by the three of us, his proud sisters and brother: • As a baby and young child, Tom was always the noisy one, the talkative one. His fraternal twin, Dave, was quiet and thoughtful. He would let Tom cry loudly for the both of them. In their toddler twin-speak, Dave named Tom “Cotton,” the soft one, full of fun and always ready to make new friends.

• Cute though they were, when they were young Tom and Dave were more trouble than they were worth as far as their two sisters were concerned. They almost met an early end when they cut off the arms and legs of a favorite doll. They were without remorse: “How else are you supposed to make a robot?” was their only explanation.

• Tom was an enthusiastic ball player and sports fan. Tom and Dave would play baseball in the backyard. As they got better, they could hit the ball pretty far, so they switched to whiffle balls, and to hitting black walnuts in late summer. Walnuts fall still enclosed in strong thick green husks, but as the husk ages/rots, it gets soft and oozes a deep brown stain, staining the bat, their hands and their splattered t-shirts. Our mother was not happy. (Walnut stains don’t wash out.)

• Tom really wasn’t exceptionally athletic as a kid, although he thought he was. But he could spend hour after hour hitting those baseballs, whiffle balls, and walnuts, and that paid off. He demonstrated this store of determination and perseverance by learning to play the marble labyrinth game with his toes, by winning the “Most Improved Player” award at tennis camp, and later by completing two marathons. The ability to master skills through practice did not extend to his trombone playing, however.

• We followed the Senators in the summer and the Baltimore Colts in the winter. (Redskins tickets were much harder to get in spite of the Colts having Johnny Unitas.) Tommy liked following the Colts, and while they had some great seasons, they mostly fell short of getting to the Super Bowl.

The Senators were perennial cellar dwellers. So Tommy’s loyalties were to the home town team, rain or shine, win or lose.

• Tom might have been an SSFS alum (like his sisters) if SSFS were then the kind of school that it is now – or maybe if it had just had a baseball team. Instead, he and Dave went to Sherwood from the end of 4th grade through 12th grade, joining the first class of Montgomery County public school students not to have experienced a segregated classroom. (Montgomery County schools were segregated until the year their class started elementary school.) Tom is a product of the richness of the Sandy Spring community: Sandy Spring Friends Meeting and Sherwood. (Although why he decided to spell his name “Thom” for a while cannot be explained.)

• On Sundays we went to the Friends Meeting, later joining as a family. As children, we struggled mightily in Meeting for Worship and did only a little better in First Day School. In the winter, Tom and Dave would count the number of teeth on the zippers of their parkas and collectively focus their thoughts on willing someone on the facing bench to make the first move to shake hands.

• It was through his years at Catoctin Quaker Camp that the expression “there is That of God in each of us” became real for him. In 1969, a football injury knocked him out of summer practices, and Barry Morley asked him to be a counselor at Catoctin. For the next four summers and ever since, the spirit of the camp has been present in his life. As a counselor, Tom earned the nickname "Pathfinder" because he and his co-counselor Mimi Ligon (SSFS class of ’71) frequently discovered new

By Barbara, Janet, and Dave Gibian

Tom as a little boy, ready for action.

Tom (left) with his twin brother Dave and sisters Janet ('69) and Barbara ('67).

3Fall 2010

routes to their intended campsites – not on purpose, but because they regularly got lost. And they just as regularly returned with their campers recounting tales of the interesting people they’d met and wonderful adventures they’d had along the way.

• We were raised by parents who nurtured our individuality at the same time that they taught us the importance of family (both close and distant) and community (embracing friends, the Friends Meeting, the greater Sandy Spring community, and, through ever-expanding circles, the world). Each of us has embodied what we learned in a unique way, shaped by temperament, personality, and life experiences.

Tom has evolved from sheriff to pathfinder, to family man and business leader, and now the Head of Sandy Spring Friends School. Congratulations, Tom!

Thomas R. Gibian comes to Sandy Spring Friends School after 10 years as chief executive officer, managing director, and founding partner of Emerging Capital Partners (ECP). ECP is the largest fund manager working across the African continent with offices in Johannesburg, Tunis, Casablanca, Abidjan, Lagos and Douala as well as Washington, DC. Tom managed the daily operations of the firm and oversaw its rapid growth from its beginning in 2000. Prior to returning to the Washington area, Tom was Executive Director in the Asia-Pacific Region of Goldman Sachs (Asia) Limited from 1992-1995. Tom joined Goldman Sachs in 1987 as vice president. Prior to 1987 he was with Salomon Brothers, begin-ning in 1983. Throughout his career, Tom has focused on staying true to his Quaker values and using them in the business world. Having served on the boards of both Sandy Spring Friends School and Sidwell Friends School, he has dedicated his vol-unteer efforts to the governance of Quaker schools.

Tom has a keen appreciation for the enormous importance of practicing and being known as a person of high personal and professional integrity. Through his work in Africa and Asia, Tom has learned how to advance a collective venture in many dimen-sions simultaneously by building strong teams where trust and com-mitment are high; expanding institu-tional relationships through outreach and imagination; and communicat-ing extensively with stakeholders, including current and prospective clients. He also handled vital re-sponsibilities from budgeting and supervision to crisis management, and inspired outstanding results by

modeling visionary leadership that does not call attention to itself.

Tom grew up in Sandy Spring and is a member of Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting, where many of the School’s faculty, staff, students and parents have been part of the community. He graduated from Sherwood High School, received a bachelor’s degree with honors from the College of Wooster in Ohio, and received an MBA in finance from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

Tom’s college senior Independent Study at College of Wooster was entitled “Dissent and Experimen-tation in American Schools, 1900-1960.” He taught at Wooster High School and received a secondary school teaching certificate. After college he was a community orga-nizer and, later, administrator in a local anti-poverty agency.

Tom has shared with the commu-nity, “I do not know of anything more important that I can do over the next ten or so years than to draft a vision of what the School can become and to lead it to reach its full potential... to offer a bal-anced world-class educational program to a diverse and energetic group of youngsters while, perhaps most importantly, to hold tight to the unmatchable ethos that has characterized the School ever since Brooke Moore’s vision led to its founding in 1961.”

Tom is married to Tina Grady, a graduate of Sandy Spring Friends School. They have a son and a daughter, both of whom have at-tended Quaker schools.

Tom strikes a more reflective pose in his older years.

New SSFS Head of School, Tom Gibian


New Faculty and Staff for 2010-2011

Katy Baytosh is our new Direc-tor of Residential Life. In this role, Katy has primary responsibility for the board-ing program and on-campus support for the

boarding program. Katy earned her bachelor’s degree in American Stud-ies from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in New York, completed an ESL teacher apprentice program at Harvard University, and earned her master’s degree in teaching from West Virginia University. Katy brings a rich background to the campus in teaching, program development and leader-ship, and experience with international and American students. Katy and her family have moved into Earnshaw House (upper level) on campus. Katy’s husband Scott is serving as the Lower School Technology Coordinator.

Julie Borsetti joins us as the Technical Di-rector for the performing arts program. She is teaching the Stagecraft class and working with faculty and

students in the staging of shows and productions. Julie is also serving as the Upper School Community Service Coordinator and is living on campus in the lower level Earnshaw apartment. Julie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater from Towson University and a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Portland (OR). She brings extensive experience in both profession-al theater (direction, production, design) and teaching to SSFS.

Chris Hill joins us from the Friends Com-munity School and is teaching in both the History and English de-partments. Chris holds a Bach-elor of Science

in Liberal Arts from Frostburg State University and a Master of Liberal Arts in Writing from Johns Hopkins Uni-versity. Chris is also currently working on a second master’s degree in English from Middlebury College. Chris has taught in settings ranging from middle school to college level and is a pub-lished writer.

Megan Hoover is the Residen-tial Counselor for the dormi-tory program. She is typically on campus two evenings each week. Megan earned her Bach-

elor of Arts in Human Services and Psychology from Elon University and her Master of Arts in Counseling from Catholic University. She has several years of counseling experience with a diverse range of populations and age groups.

Josh Moffatt (SSFS ’02) joins the History department and is living on campus. We are excited to have an alum of the school – and in a sense a

protégé of Ari’s and Bob’s – as part of the faculty. Josh serves as a member of the Ninth Grade Team and will be

coaching lacrosse this year. Josh earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Wheaton College and his Master of Arts in Teaching from UMBC. Josh has most recently been teaching in the Baltimore school system and coaching lacrosse at the Barnesville School.

Nate Whitman, who is teaching mathematics and coaching, earned his bachelor’s degree in po-litical science and economics from the University of Richmond and

his Master of Liberal Arts from St. John’s College in Annapolis. Nate has a great deal of experience in teaching upper level mathematics and coaching at the high school level, most recently at the Jemicy School in Owings Mills, MD. Nate will be involved with coaching and has signifi-cant experience in outdoor education, including serving as a leader for the High Mountain Institute and for NOLS.

Some current people are moving into new roles this year, as well:

Aaron Chan joined us in January to work primarily with our new inter-national students who enrolled midyear last year. Aaron is staying on in a full-time teaching role in his-

tory and in English as a Second Language (ESL) in the International Student Pro-gram. Aaron joined us from the District of Columbia school system and has several years’ experience teaching ESL, his-tory, and English at the high school and middle school levels. Aaron has a strong and varied academic background, includ-ing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and

In the Upper School:

5Fall 2010

Religious Studies from UCSD, a Master of Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion, a TEFL certificate from ITC International in Prague, and a Master of Education in Secondary Education from George Mason University.

Elizabeth Dos-chek steps down as math teacher and department head, but she joins Vickie Gar-ner and Frances Lambrecht in the College Coun-seling Office

part-time as the Assistant Director of College Counseling. In addition to her math chops, Elizabeth holds a Master’s degree in counseling from UMD.

Andrew Eden (SSFS ’04) contin-ues this year as assistant coach for the men’s varsity soccer team, but he has moved onto campus and is also serving as a

member of the dormitory staff this year. We are pleased to have Andrew back in an expanded role. Andrew graduated from Goucher College with a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Music.

David Jones (SSFS ‘03) has moved from a teaching intern-ship last year to a full-time teaching posi-tion this year. David is teaching Spanish I and II

and coaching in the Upper and Middle Schools. David graduated with a B.A. from Bowdoin College in 2007.

In the Middle School:

Meredith Rabil, new MS move-ment teacher, was the substi-tute movement teacher during Hannah Kerr’s recent maternity leave and left quite an im-

pression on both students and faculty. Meredith graduated from University of North Carolina with a bachelor’s of art in Dance Studies and Performance con-centration in Dance Education. Mer-edith’s experience includes teaching at the Black Rock Arts Center and chore-ography for the HomeSchool Talents. We are glad she was able to work with our schedule and continue her relation-ship with Sandy Spring Friends School.

Sheri Rider Jobe, new As-sistant to the MS Head, has a bachelor’s degree in Eng-lish Literature from Hampton University in Virginia, and

a Masters of Education in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Lan-guages from University of Manchester in England. Sheri’s experience includes being an adjunct college professor, an English as a second language teacher in an elementary school, and a Middle School teacher in West Africa. Sheri also served as the assistant to the Middle School Head at Greene Acres School. Sheri and her husband Dauda are parents to two new SSFS students in kindergarten and the sixth grade.

Eric Powell joins the 7/8 team as our new math/science teacher. Eric has a degree in physics from Bridgewater

College; expe-rience in cur-riculum devel-opment from James Madison University, and Environment Based Learn-ing from Mary Baldwin Col-

lege. Eric comes to us from Stuart Hall School where he served as the math department head and science commit-tee chair person. Eric taught math and science in both the Middle and Upper Schools there. He also coached soccer and wrestling and is coaching soccer here this year.

New Technology Staff:

Scott Baytosh joins the Tech-nology and the Lower School staff this year, and rejoins Sandy Spring Friends School after being away for 12 years.

After serving as the Director of Tech-nology for SSFS from 1995-1998, Scott moved to Colorado, where he joined the Alexander Dawson School, first as their Lower School Technology Coor-dinator and later as the Middle School Dean of Students and then the middle and Upper School Academic Dean. He returned to the east coast to become the Director of Studies for Friends Acad-emy, a Quaker PK-12 school on Long Island. In 2005, Scott was appointed Head of School for Buckingham Friends School, a K-8 Quaker School in Bucks County Pennsylvania. Eager to spend more time with his family and return to the classroom, Scott was excited by the opportunity to return to Sandy Spring Friends School as our Lower School Technology Coordinator.


Scott has a Masters of Arts Manage-ment from Carnegie Mellon University, a Masters of Education from Johns Hopkins University, and his B.A. from Wesleyan University. He is married to Katy Baytosh, our new Director of Resi-dence Life, and has two children: Zach, a current sixth grader, and Seneca, who is three.

Brian Wilkin-son is our new Technology Resource Coordi-nator. He works mainly with the Upper School, but, like all the tech people, he helps out where

needed. Originally a math and science teacher, Brian did his undergraduate work at the University of New Hamp-shire, where he majored in biology. He received his Master's in Technology for Educators from Johns Hopkins University. Before coming to SSFS, Brian worked at the Duke School in Durham, North Carolina, and locally at the Potomac School. Brian lives in Columbia with his wife and daughter, Jade, who is in the first grade at SSFS.

New Athletic Dept. Staff:

Amanda Hill is teaching Lower School Physi-cal Education. Amanda joins us after teach-ing within the Archdiocese of Washington for the past year.

Prior to coming to Sandy Spring Friends School, Amanda earned her master's degree in General Educa-tion from Elmira College (NY) while serving as the women’s basketball

New Faculty and Staff for 2010-2011

assistant coach. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Movement and Sports Studies with certification in Physical Education from Springfield College (MA). Amanda brings three years of collegiate coaching experience, most recently as an assistant at Catholic University, to her role as varsity girls head basketball coach.

Lisa Lodovici is co-teaching MS Health with MS counselor Lauren Keller, and is also the certified athletic trainer at SSFS for both the MS and US ath-letics. Lisa has a

bachelor’s degree in Physical Educa-tion-Athletic Training from Salisbury University and is just one class away from completing her Masters in Health Science at Towson University. She comes to SSFS after 9 years of working as an athletic trainer for the University of Maryland Medical System.

Geoff Yam-marino joins us to teach Lower and Middle School Physi-cal Education. Geoff received his Bachelor of Science degree from Frostburg

State University in Health and Exercise Science, and in May 2010, he graduated from McDaniel College with a master's degree in Physical Education. He has been a strength and conditioning coach and personal trainer for both individu-als and teams. He currently lives in Mount Airy, Maryland, with his wife Patti, daughter Alyssa, and son Ryan.

Familiar Faces, New Roles

Jen Cort, formerly the Director of Student Support Services, is now Middle School Head.

In addition to her role as Assistant Head of Upper School, Karen Cumberbatch has also taken on a new role as Head of Student Life.

Donna Kellogg, former Administrative Assistant to the MS Head, is now Executive Assistant to the Head of School.

7Fall 2010

Admissions Update

Believe it or not, now is the time to think about school for next year!

Admissions is what keeps a school thriving! The admissions staff at San-dy Spring Friends School has success-fully weathered another challenging year, exceeding budget numbers with an opening enrollment of 571 students.

The School has continued to enjoy healthy enrollment in spite of economic uncertainties and shifting demograph-ics. What gives Sandy Spring Friends School the edge in this challenging market, especially with families often applying to multiple schools? The ad-missions staff believes there are several reasons. Visiting the campus is the first important step. No other school in this area offers this much acreage, plus state-of-the-art facilities. Our safe,

tranquil environment is enhanced by the residential components: the Upper School boarding program, and faculty and staff housing.

Secondly, prospective families observe the positive rapport between faculty and students when they visit. The admissions staff helps to establishe this rapport and partnership from the beginning of the application process. Parents quickly realize we want to know their child well in order to help them make the right school match.

Third, interwoven in the curriculum and all activities is the emphasis on Quaker values which, simply put, has to do with treating each other and our environment with acceptance and respect.

Finally, an important aspect of our School is the balance between the academic rigor, the inclusive athletics,

and the wide variety of arts offerings. These and many other special quali-ties about Sandy Spring Friends School combine to encourage every student to follow the School’s motto, “Let Your Lives Speak.”

Do you know a family who might be considering a Quaker education for a child? We are well underway with the current school year, but the admis-sions office is always thinking one year ahead. Now is the time for them to visit the School and begin the application process.

Open Houses are scheduled for two Sat-urdays from 10 am to 12 noon: October 23rd and December 4th. The December 4th Open House coincides with our Par-ent Association’s Winterfest. Weekday visits to see classes in session are also offered on Wednesdays, November 10th, January 12th, April 6th, and May 4th, starting at 9:30 am.

2010-2011 Admissions Staff

By Louise Steinfort, Director of Middle School Admissions

The Admissions staff welcomes Mary Mazzuca and Dawn Griffith on board to help with Lower School Admissions this year.

In addition to her role as Director of Alumni Rela-tions, Mary Mazzuca will be working with admis-sions in the pre-primary grades (Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten).

Dawn Griffith, Director of Financial Aid, will also be taking on the role of Director of Lower School Admissions for grades 1-5.

Louise Steinfort continues in her role of Director of Middle School Admissions, and Kent "KB" Beck is the Director of Upper School and International Student Program Admissions.


Summer Immersion Program Expands in Year Two

The second year of the Summer Im-mersion Program, or SIP, (formerly

called Summer ESL) cannot be accused of experiencing a “sophomore slump;” there was nearly a 200% increase in participants this summer!

Last summer, 15 students, all from China, and all newly-enrolled SSFS stu-dents, came for the six-week program as a way of giving them a “jump start” to being students in the U.S. The pro-gram served as a wonderful introduc-tion to American culture and language enrichment for our students. After the program proved successful, increased efforts were put towards expanding the program beyond our own students.

This past summer, almost three times as many students from six different countries took part in SIP during July and August. Although SIP is still a young program in the life of SSFS's 50-year history, reports and reviews make it clear that the 2010 Summer Immersion Program not only provid-ed a rich introductory experience for 43 students, but that the prospect for continued growth and enhancement of this program and its potential looks bright for next summer and beyond.

SIP is a multi-faceted program pro-moting Eng-lish language develop-ment. While the primary focus is on academic English in order to prepare participants for college preparatory level course-work, much of the stu-

dents’ activities and time is focused on listening and speaking the language in an immersive environment. A variety of experiential learning opportunities allow students to develop and apply their English language skills while be-coming acculturated to life, including the educational system, in the United States. Trips off campus extend and enhance this classroom learning. Students lived in the Westview Dor-mitory on campus most of the time, sharing the campus and intermin-gling with the Summer Friends Day Campers, as well as two other resi-dential groups on campus. We also had a small group of Chinese middle school students with us who were able to enjoy a couple weeks of Sci-ence Adventure Camp with American students as part of Summer Friends Day Camp.

For the Upper Schoolers, the regular daily activities included morning class time, and a rotating afternoon period of speaking and listening activities such as Reader’s Theater, skits, comic-strip acting, spelling bees, and cho-rus. The latter created quite a sound and gave the campus’s 1861 Meeting

House windows quite a “shaking,” es-pecially with their favorite song, “Take Me Home, Country Roads”!

Students finished the afternoons with some type of physical activity. The favorite (other than basketball for the Chinese boys!) was the aerial experi-ence at The Adventure Park, newly opened on the SSFS campus.

Most weekday evenings, the students had a study hall to do homework and to read. Any time students could find a reason to talk or make food, they did, which resulted in wonderful discus-sions and delicious tasting opportuni-ties from different cultures.

Off-campus day visits included swim-ming and barbeques; ice skating; going to the Kennedy Center; putt-putt golf-ing; visits to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and the Johns Hopkins University cam-pus; a trip to Six Flags; and a day at the beach in Ocean City, MD. The major trip this year for SIP participants was to New York and Massachusetts. Enroute to Niagara Falls, students visited the Hershey factory and Corning Glass. Boston stops included Quincy Mar-ket and Harvard. We also visited the campus of Yale University on the way to New York City. The Statue of Liberty ferry was enjoyable, but nothing could excite the students as much as all the action in Times Square. On Broadway, we especially enjoyed the singing wait staff at Ellen’s Diner: our watiress had been a former student in Middle School at SSFS! (Really!) One afternoon students chose to attend either a Met’s baseball game, participate in a theater in the park program, or attend a Broad-way show (FELA!).

One of the ways of increasing the diversity of nationalities and to bring in more non-SSFS students to our program was to partner with other institutions and programs. A “natu-

By KB Beck, Director of Upper School Admissions and Summer Immersion Program

9Fall 2010

ral” fit was to partner with our fel-low Quaker schools, and we were fortunate to have students from both Ramallah Friends School in Pales-tine, and Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie, NY. We also partnered with AFS Intercultural Exchange Pro-gram and had six students from Spain join us. So, our program included students from Spain, Palestine, China, Thailand, Tibet, and Vietnam.

The 2010 SIP teachers and staff were an international group, as well. All five were Americans, but each had been working/living in different re-gions of the world: Michael Beck came from Vancouver, BC, returning for a 2nd year to teach Level One; Christina Massey, who taught Level Two, had been in China; Kristen Drake, who worked with the TOEFL Prep class, had been in Germany; and Lewis Caskey, fresh from a research proj-ect in the South Pacific/ Papua, New Guinea, served as Activities Direc-tor. Additionally, coming from Olney Friends School in Ohio (well, almost a “foreign” place, right?!) was Ben Irie, who had been a part of Georgetown Prep’s Summer ESL for a number of years, and who taught Level Three for

SIP. Two SSFS alumni, Leo Shen (’07) and Mark Lin (‘08), served as interns and assisted in a variety of capacities. I took a break from my school year responsibilities as Director of Upper School Admissions here at SSFS to lead the SIP program as Director.

Tom Gibian’s opening remarks to the SSFS faculty this fall included an acknowledgement that our campus and history has so much to offer to us, as a School, a community, and beyond. Tom said that the various programs created and developed both during the school year and in the summer have become “a part of us – of who we are.” I got goose bumps as I heard him articulate this, and I put the SIP program in that context. Upon further reflection, I’ve become more aware of both the awesome responsibility of what this potentially means, while simultaneously feeling a surge of momentum to find more ways to draw upon the people and talents in this community, to work toward an even better and more successful Summer Immersion Program for 2011.

I invite you to contact me in order to consider how you, too, could join in

and participate in some capacity for next summer. As one of our Span-ish students, 14-year old Santiago, exclaimed after returning from an activity where he was interacting with some of our neighbors at Friends House, “That was fun! I enjoyed that!” Perhaps you, too, could be a part of the fun in next summers SIP @ SSFS!

SIP students took classes on campus, and took a trip to New York and Massachusetts to visit colleges and see the sights.


Bill Mena, Director of Auxiliary Programs, set an ambitious agenda

when he arrived on campus at the beginning of last school year. When summer finally rolled around, his year-long plan for a bustling cam-pus came to fruition with Summer at Sandy Spring leading the way. Besides Sandy Spring’s own Summer Programs, Bill welcomed a number of outside programs onto our campus.

Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (CTY) returned to cam-pus for two three-week sessions, each drawing approximately 275 students.DC United Soccer Camp held several sessions on the SSFS fields, including some sessions with residential options using Westview Dormitory.

Camp Jam’s Music Camps came to SSFS for the first time, with day ses-sions for the younger campers (ages 7-10), residential sessions for the older campers (ages 12-17), and a rocking final concert at the Performing Arts Center!

Math Tree focused on interactive and fun ways to keep rising first through seventh graders’ math skills sharp, in-cluding sharing games, multiplication tricks and even number theory!

Coach Harwood of the Olney Boys and Girls Club hosted three sessions of his Basketball Camp at SSFS. The Washington Mystics Basketball Camp also returned this season with instruc-tional sessions headed by coaches, players and staff from the Mystics for boys and girls ages 5 through 16. And the University of Maryland Soccer Camp held its day camp for girls ages 6 -14 on campus in June.

But Sandy Spring’s own summer pro-grams stole the show this summer.The six-week Summer Immersion Pro-gram for new international students

was introduced this year (see related story, page 8-9), providing interna-tional students, many of whom have recently begun attending SSFS, with a great opportunity to become more comfortable with English and with American culture, and to visit some of the United States’ great cities and landmarks.

The School relaunched what used to be Summer Friends Camp in a new format as Summer at Sandy Spring, a program designed to give local kids from pre-school through 10th grade fun and flexible options. Summer at Sandy Spring almost doubled the enrollment of last year’s camp, while also setting new marks in diversity and revenue.

“We really worked to update every-thing to make our camps more user friendly and to provide one-stop shop-ping for families,” Bill reported. “We added lunch in our dining hall for all campers, which made our par-ents and campers very happy. We also offered online registration with credit cards, making it much easier for busy parents to sign up and confirm their registration immediately. Over 80 per cent of our parents used this option. And we expanded before and after care hours so our busiest parents had more flexibility in their schedules.”

Summer at Sandy Spring was even able to lower fees from last year. “All in all, our changes for this summer resulted in more vibrant program-ming and a happier experience for both campers and their families,” Bill concluded.

“We ended with a lot of momentum,” he said, “and we’re looking forward to carrying that forward into 2011!”

Summer Programs Keep SSFS Campus Humming

Adventure Park Open

Within 5 wooded acres is one of the largest aerial forest ropes parks in North America, called the Adven-ture Park at Sandy Spring Friends School. The Adventure Park con-sists of 10 separate courses for ages 7 and up. This Adventure Park at SSFS is fun, exciting and safe for all participants. There are platforms installed in trees and connected by various configurations of cable, wood, rope and zip lines to form bridges. Groups of bridges link together to form separate courses.

The Adventure Park at Sandy Spring Friends School is all about active participation. It is a fun outdoor activity that allows partici-pants to enjoy nature, get exercise, and challenge themselves. The courses are designed for everyone to enjoy; they are designated Yel-low, Green, Blue, Black and Double Black, similar to ski trails. The park operates from mid-March to late November. Please visit the web site for more details and infor-mation at www.sandyspringadven-turepark.org.

11Fall 2010

On any given day this past summer there were easily more people on

campus than during the regular school year.

And SSFS alum Francis Zell ’00 met most of them.

In his second year as full-time Camp Director (he started working at the camp as a counselor in 1998), Francis was in charge of some 750 summer camp enrollees.

One of the reasons that the camp ran so smootly was that so many of the Friends Camp staff and counselors were familiar with the camp and SSFS. Francis estimates around 60 percent were either past students or faculty or had some other SSFS connection. The 2010 Summer at Sandy Spring season ran from June 14 through Au-gust 20, with the one- and two-week sessions for Middle School age and

older students repeating many previ-ous favorites: rocketry, jewelry-mak-ing, culinary arts, creative visual and performing arts, the always-popular trip camps, and, of course, a wide va-riety of sports offerings ranging from Morley Games to PolÓn Pride soccer, sports conditioning, basketball, flag football, volleyball and yoga.

For the pre-K through grade 5 camp-ers, there was a revamped program this year with added activities and community-oriented programs, and even more sports opportunities. The campers honed computer skills in the SSFS tech center, tried hands-on-science in the School’s science lab, and enjoyed water relays, water balloon races and other hot weather games.

“Attendance in that age group nearly tripled from past years,” Francis noted.

Boys and girls alike were delighted

with a new course in fashion design (fully enrolled at 30 students in two sessions), where they learned to use sewing machines to make outfits for the end-of-the-session fashion show. Francis recalls some of the outfits were “memorable!”

Another very-welcome addition: the camp purchased a giant blowup wa-ter slide that made many afternoons more bearable in the record-setting heat of the summer of 2010.

And in the aftermath of the severe thunderstorms that disrupted electri-cal service throughout Montgomery County several times during the summer, Francis just shakes his head and grins.

“I still don’t believe it,” he says. “We never lost power.”

Francis Zell helps out at the Fishing Camp. Campers cool off during a camp carnival day on the giant water slides.


Summer Service Trip: Acadia

After 12 hours and 690 miles of a traveling caravan, our Sandy Spring Friends School Middle School stu-dents, parents and staff arrived at the Acadia National Park along Maine’s southeastern shore, the site of our SSFS Middle School 2009-2010 Na-tional Park Service trip. This excursion proved to be an adventure rich with service and one rewarded with spec-tacular landscape, ocean habitat, and mountainous terrain.

This year our service experience included improving 1500 feet of “car-riage roads;” removing the invasive specie, Lupine; and felling trees to clear official view areas along the Park’s Outer Loop road.

“Cleaning Rockefeller’s Teeth.” That’s the tradition and practice among the Island’s Park Rangers and “Friends of Acadia.” Granite boulders, chiseled into large cubic broken-stone masses called coping stones, line much of the 45 miles of carriage roads. Without care and attention, these roughened stones become overgrown with weeds and en-courage rills to eat away at this careful-ly-designed road system. Our students “flossed” Rockefeller’s teeth and filled in rills and pits - what an effort of labor and accomplishment dedicated to this wildly successful task!

The Acadia lupine, as lovely as they are, are considered an invasive, exotic species that choke out complex native plant life and habitat. Lupine thrive in the Mount Desert Island’s soil and have successfully overcome stone garden walls and have moved into the local habitats. Using loppers to cut plant stems, SSFS students filled dozens of bags in a single morning’s work. Driving home the concept of native ecosystems, the Park Rangers led our group through one of the few remaining old-growth hardwood and spruce forests on the eastern seaboard.

Spectacular and still, these forests re-quest respect and convey the message of fragility and magnificence.

A plethora of trees that obscure popu-lar views has come under the watch-ful eye of the National Park Service. For this reason, another of our service days included felling beech trees that had grown to block popular views. Using saws of varying sizes, students chopped, hauled, and cleared beech trees from pullouts overlooking the bay. This task gave an immediate re-ward as tremendous views opened up and offered us a sense of the original road-builder’s vision.

Woven in among our service days, we explored Mount Desert Island’s fan-tastic terrain. Our bike trip along the stone carriage roads took us by lakes and through forests, allowing students first-hand experience with the topog-raphy of the island. Midway along this 10-mile route, we found ourselves at the site of the sought-after Jordon Pond House “popovers” - a great place to eat and cool our feet in view of the Penobscot Mountains.

The museum tours through the Whale Museum in Bar Harbor and George B.

Door Museum of the College of the Atlantic educated us on the natural habitats that oc-cupy this diverse landscape. Diver Ed, an eclectic and engaging “ol’ Mainer,” took us out in Frenchman Bay and ferried us by the Bar and Porcupine Islands. After anchoring by the breakwaters of Bald Porcupine Island, Diver Ed

dove to the bottom of the bay, and with his high-definition underwater camera, entertained us with a variety of oceanic life (lobster, sea cucumbers, and sea stars). That afternoon, we visited Sand Beach where students either braved the frigid Maine water temperatures or hiked the Beehive trail with its strenu-ous climbs, narrow paths and steep inclines!

Each day’s end was a time for more play, feasting, and calm. Our gourmet pizzas grilled over a campfire matched the excellence of other delectable tastes, including our home-cooked vegetarian burritos with fresh sauteed vegetables and garlic sauce. The unforgettable lobster feast at Toni and Bruce Evans’ gracious home on Goose Cove was cer-tainly one of our treasured evening ad-ventures. Reel Pizza dinner theatre in Bar Harbor, games and stories around the campfire, and other crazy moments tempered with laughs and quips filled our evenings with memories that will likely last a lifetime.

The night of June 25, 2010, with the moon just one day shy of full, we held our final Meeting for Worship atop Cadillac Mountain. Granite boulders formed 420 million years ago and

By Stephanie Thliveris, fomer Middle School Science Teacher

13Fall 2010

SSFS Athletic Clothing Benefits Kids in Kenya

softened by eons of wind and water provided a place to open our worship. The wind carried an air of reverence and gathered our adventures together as we spoke in silence and with our voices, all acknowledging, in our own way, our personal light within this magnificent piece of earth.

Our abundant thanks to Hunter McKay, John Roome and Rob Crim for their com-passion, sense of humor, and willingness to spend a week in the wilderness with our middle schoolers! In peace, Stephanie Thliveris, Dana Harrison and Steve Powers

Deb DeArmon, parent of Jamie ‘09 and Lillie ‘05, visited Kenya this past summer, and had an opportunity to donate sports jerseys from the SSFS athletic department that were no longer being used. All the athletic clothing went to Kitui Village school in Kenya. Deb writes, “This is the nearly self-sustainable community out in the Kenya bush where 64 grandmothers and 640 grandchildren live. The kids came to school on a Saturday to receive our donations. They were so thrilled that the teachers had the students put the jerseys right on and challenged our group to a football match!”


Summer Service Trip: South Africa

For the third time in four years, an SSFS group visited Kurland Village and Amakhala Game Reserve on a 22- day service learning trip to South Africa. The 14 rising juniors and seniors and Art DeJohn, Upper School Science teacher and I arrived in South Africa on July 19 with over $7,000 worth of donations. We spent over two weeks in Kurland working with young children in the Creche preschool, cooking food for Breads of Heaven soup kitchen, and having fun with pensioners in the Masizakhe Senior Center. In the afternoons, students taught after school classes in soccer, basketball, dance, drama, and social skills. The group then spent five days with conservation center director Jennifer Gush on the game reserve where we enjoyed many safaris and led activities with children and young teenagers from the Isipho Safe House. Many of the trip’s service activities were coordinated by Katie Rutherford, from Dollars For Change. Below are a few reflections from five members of the trip.

Jacob Oppler ‘118,100 miles away from Maryland, nested in the Crag Mountains, Kurland Village has two basketball poles with two weathered backboards, two old iron hoops, and 14 boys, eager to learn how to play basketball. The young basketball players of the Crags Primary School don’t own a pair of Nike Air Jordan’s or don LeBron James replica jerseys. Throughout our first week on the crumbling basketball court, Kevin and I pounded out fundamental drills that would, in any high school practice, bore us to sleep. Surprisingly, the boys took every advantage of being trained by “professionals,” and exploited the “boring” drills by challenging each other to be the fastest or the most skilled. After a while, Kevin and I saw real improvement in the boys. We also saw some of the students gain trust from us, and a few times solicit our help as older, understanding peers.

Drew Carneal ‘11During our first soccer practice, Brae-dan and I handed out jerseys for the kids to wear as pennies (or “bibs” as they call it in South Africa). During the session, I could tell that the kids were delighted to be wearing the shirts be-cause the whole time, they played as if they were representing the team name across the front of their chest. At the end of our practice, we asked the play-ers to put the jerseys we had loaned them back in the bag. It was difficult to take the shirts away from the kids after seeing how happy they were to put them on. In the process of doing so, a boy took off an AC Milan jersey we had given him and turned to me and said, “If I come to practice every day, will you give me this jersey to keep?” Shocked at the sincerity of the question, I responded with “yes” right away, for our main goal in coaching soccer wasn’t to make the kids better players, but for them to show a level of commit-ment while having fun. A jersey any of us could have bought at a thrift store for five dollars was now the motivation for this child to devote two hours of his day to soccer for several weeks.

Moyra Schauffler ‘11Dust, dirt, dependence, and dogs make up Kurland Village.

Everywhere you go you see dust fly-ing from running children or rolling cars. Dirt is in piles around the town-ship. The feet of the locals are covered with it because shoes are a luxury not all can enjoy. However, all of the chil-dren come to school every day looking their best no matter what is happening at home.

Kurland Village is filled with depen-dence. Intricate family webs weave their way through the village. If you ask one child, they can point out at least three of their cousins. Families build on to each other’s shacks so that they can each have a fair chance at some kind of shelter. Neighbors de-pend on other neighbors for food and other necessities. When I see Kurland I don’t just see a township in South Af-rica, I see a tightly-bound community like the one we have at Sandy Spring.

The dogs of Kurland are something on their own. They are different from

By Scott Carneal, Upper School English Teacher

The group with students at the Creche preschool.

15Fall 2010

any other dogs I have ever met. They seem to have their own community that is separate from Kurland itself. Although families have their own dogs, each dog will wander over to the neighbor’s house and just sit in the sun. Like the people in Kurland, the dogs also have the “bad apples” that will look for a fight whenever possi-ble; but as the good people in Kurland take care of each other, the good dogs look after each other as well.

Adriana Rossell ‘11Kurland has an organization called Masizakhe that meets at a church and hosts what they call the “Pensioner’s Club.” There the older people of the village meet three times a week to eat breakfast and lunch and to play games and enjoy the company of others. The women and men range from around 60 to almost 90 years old, and they are the most agile old people I have ever met! They would run, throw, and kick balls, and even fake people out when playing catch. One of the ladies became annoyed with one of the men that was playing because he was act-ing like a teenage boy and pretending

that he was bet-ter, so she faked him out, and when she threw the ball it went straight into his chest before it bounced up into his chin.

Erica DeJohn ‘11One memory that stands out to me is when I was dancing with some of the kids at the primary school after I fin-ished playing soc-cer. The kids were pulling others in to try to get them to dance with us. I really enjoyed dancing with them as more and more kids from other activities started to join in. There were little kids that came, and they were dancing too. We were dancing to different songs and some of the kids were showing off their dance moves. We were in there for a while and it was nice to see all these kids dancing all

Cooking food at Breads of Heaven soup kitchen.

over the place and smiling. We started playing Justin Bieber, and all the kids knew the song and were singing along. It was nice to be able to share some-thing in common even though we have such different lives.

You can see more photos and read the daily entries at the archived blog here: http://wordpress.ssfs.org/

Soccer practice with Braeden Kelly ‘12 and Drew Carneal ‘11.

Adriana Rossell ‘11 and Amelia Oliver ‘11 enjoying the company of the “Pensioner’s Club.”


Snapshots from Sandy Spring

It's been a busy fall here at Sandy Spring Friends School! Below are images from some of our all-school events: the Parent Association's Friends Day, Spirit Week, and Community Day. Be sure to visit our online photo gallery for more images of the year: http://www.ssfs.org/galleries/

17Fall 2010

The 2009-10 school year was one of many successes, including the highest Annual Fund in the school’s history. Thank you to our entire extended

SSFS community – including parents, alumni, faculty and staff, grandparents, students, parents of former students, and so many others – for showing your commitment to SSFS with a gift (or in many cases, several gifts!) to the 2009-10 Annual Fund. With the participation of close to 800 donors, the school raised $537,838 for our curricular and co-curricular programs.

Monies raised through the Annual Fund are critical for the school. Purchasing new computers and technology, offering state-of-the-art professional develop-ment for teachers, upgrading equipment for arts and athletics, maintaining adequate financial aid, ensuring that resources used on campus are to the fullest extent possible “green,” and helping to provide the resources needed to main-tain our day-to-day operations, facilities and grounds, are all made possible by a strong Annual Fund.

The following pages list the roll call of donors who generously supported the 2009-10 Annual Fund.* Whether you are a donor who has given for years or you are a new donor, a donor who gives $10 or $10,000 or more, every gift is impor-tant and makes an impact. And, if you are not included on this list, the good news is that the 2010-2011 Annual Fund is now underway, and we welcome the opportunity to partner with you this year as we enhance our philanthropic programs.

This year, our goal is an ambitious $550,000. We are confident that the strong belief in the power of a Sandy Spring Friends School Education, in Quaker val-ues, and in all that defines the SSFS experience will help us to achieve success. The Annual Fund is the cornerstone of philanthropy at Sandy Spring Friends School, and it continues the tradition of giving that has helped to define the school since its founding almost 50 years ago when Friends made two donations – a gift of $100 and 4 acres of land – to start the school. We greatly appreciate all that you do to enhance this spirit of generosity.

To find out more about the Annual Fund, please contact Judy Averbach at 301-774-7455 x164 or by email at [email protected]. We welcome the opportu-nity to partner with you on our philanthropic and alumni programs.

The Annual Fund at Sandy Spring Friends School:Every Gift Makes an Impact

* Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this report. Please notify the Advancement Office of any corrections at 301.774.7455 x164 or [email protected].


AlumniAlice Abrams ‘66 Katharine O. Adams ‘71Martine Adler ‘77Richard W. AldredBill Alterman ‘69 and Sue AltermanDavid S. Alterman ‘66Anonymous ‘71Julie A. Arnold ‘95Justin J. Aronson ‘91Anthony B. Bagdy ‘83Brenda Balenger ‘78James Bancroft ‘84Paul M. Barringer ‘71James R. A. Beebe ‘63Thomas Bernard ‘66 and Liza Bernard ‘68Craig Blackburn ‘82 and Joyce BlackburnLaura M. Bostwick ‘89Jill K. Brooks ‘84Sarah Brown ‘71 and Michael BrownChris Buckstein ‘96 and Marie BucksteinMark C. Butterfield ‘77Brian Carroll and Brooke Carroll ‘83Leslie A. Clary-Bauer ‘87Class of 1980 Reunion GiftIvan Davidowitz ‘78Jeffrey Davidowitz ‘74James A. deVeer ‘74Christiane DeWitt ‘75Sonja Dupourque ‘86Vindhya Ekanayake ‘01Sharon J. Ezzone ‘89Judith B. Farquhar ‘64Cynthia Farquhar ‘65Allen Fetter ‘80Winston Fisher ‘92Carrie F. Fletcher ‘94Erica A. Fletcher ‘92John Fogarty ‘76 and Sarah ShiffertRichard M. Fox ‘88 and Mindy Lou RichlenThomas Gibian and Christina Grady ‘80Peter T. Gordon ‘75Tara Goss ‘03Sarah Green ‘00Charles Greene ‘80 and Kelly Greene ‘85Amelia Greer ‘02David Gurowsky and Miriam Gurowsky ‘66Ann Hancock ‘74Jeanie Hathaway ‘71Jill E. Hayes ‘05Suzanne Healy ‘95

Carla J. Herman ‘69Brett Hesser ‘81Paul Hilli and Lucy Hussman ‘80Kelly Hines ‘08Jonathan R. Hoch ‘99Ian R. Hoch ‘05Kate S. Holbrook, ‘96William Holland ‘73Sara L. Holliday ‘97Murray Hood and Louise Hood ‘ 75Ziyad Hopkins and Michele Clark ‘87Patrick B. Horning ‘84Janet C. Hough ‘69Donald L. Howard ‘78Timothy Hussman ‘77 and Julie HussmanAshton Imlay ‘08Bonnie Imlay ‘03Jarrett Alexander Jackson ‘04Dr. Lent C. Johnson, III ‘70Philip T. Johnson ‘73David Richard Jones ‘03Celia K. Joughin ‘70Betsy Kantt ‘83 and Laura StreetStephen L. Kaplan ‘74Dana M. Karlin ‘77Steff Kerr ‘89 and Hannah Kerr ‘95Stephan M. Koplowitz ‘74Serge Korepin and Stefanie Croyle Korepin ‘01Vera B. Koutsoyannis ‘71Patricia Lane ‘67Margaret R. Lawson ‘71M. Cary Leahey ‘70 and Patricia MosserTanya Lehky ‘74Leslie A. Leviton 89Jamie A. Little ‘96Nina S. Livingston ‘84Carl Lynch and Mary Claire Lynch ‘79Gavin Patrick Maguire ‘02David Mapes ‘79Graham McKee ‘05Aaron W. Meisner ‘84 Leo Menestrina and Martha Menestrina ‘64Kristina Millhiser ‘99Linda M. Morley ‘84Shannon M. Morris ‘92Richard Noonan ‘69 and Michele NoonanEvan A. North ‘01J. Brendan O’Conor ‘05Severin G. Olson ‘85Gladden P. O’Neill ‘68Mary L. Pacey ‘66Ronald Palenski and Ruth Palenski ‘70

Peter L. Pastan ‘75Stephen O. Pastan ‘73Alan Pohoryles ‘88Sally G. Pore ‘65Margery J. Prazar ‘65Richard P. Price ‘80Robert Dallas Reider ‘03Dana Reitman ‘73 and Roger ReitmanRoxanne P. Richardson ‘96Anne U. Richardson-Gould ‘66Joel G. Richon ‘78Rex Riley ‘80 and Carol RileyMark D. Rivera ‘83Andrew Robertson ‘69Christopher A. Rupp ‘89Virginia Russell ‘63William Savage ‘71Michael Schaps ‘92Molly Schauffler ‘72Sarah E. Schenck ‘83Susan W. Schneider ‘72Sarah Schneiderman ‘72John M. Schoffstall ‘69Jenifer A. Sincevich ‘96A. Katie Smillie ‘72Scott Snow ‘77Elinor J. Splitter ‘72John F. Squires ‘72Phoebe Stern ‘05Jason A. Sulkin ‘97Julie B. Sulkin ‘91Scott Sulkin ‘95Shoshanna C. Sumka ‘90Patrick B. Summar ‘79Rusty Suter ‘66Patrick Tedrow ‘05Elizabeth J. Terrell ‘77Derek G. Turner ‘98Michael P. Vallely ‘77Mark W. Vorkink ‘01Stephen C. Wales ‘67Jonathan K. Weekley ‘86James Wesson and Nancy Wesson ‘74David Williams and Priscilla Williams’70Lee R. Wilson ‘63Henry S. Winokur ‘70Timothy W. Wolfe ‘71Jennifer A. Wolfe ‘63Aaron Wright ‘83 and Cathy WrightLisa D. Yntema ‘70William Young ‘65Francis Zell ‘00

2009

-201

0 An

nual

Fun

d: Th

ank

you!

Thank you for your support!The Annual Fund includes restricted, unrestricted, and designated funds.

Please note that names appear only one time under the primary constituency. Bolded names indicate donors who have contributed for 5 consecutive years or more.

19Fall 2010

2009-2010 Annual Fund: Thank you!

Board MembersStephanie BurgevinAmy E. Christianson ‘81Michael W. DeHart ‘71Stephen Eller ‘87 and Jennifer EllerDoug Farquhar and Terry FranklinThomas Farquhar and Mary Grady Carolyn C. FinegarBarbara GaffiganBarbara M. Gibian ‘67Dennis Hannon and Linda DelaneyCharles and Eleanore HarkerJohn Hartge ‘72 and Ellen HartgeScott Henry and Anne ShanamanJohn HinesAnne HirshfieldCharles Horning ‘88 and Marybeth HorningFred and Alkia JonesDavid and Jodi LeeserMichael and Cynthia McKeePeter Ligon and Anita LigonCurt and Piper MoffattOliver and Patricia MolesRalph and Laurita PorteeHarold Pskowski and Ellen Pskowski ‘71Elizabeth S. Segal

Businesses/CorporationsOlney Boys and Girls Community Sports Association, Inc.American Express Company Employee Giving ProgramAmerican Express Charitable FundAmerica’s CharitiesChevron Humankind Matching Gift ProgramCisco FoundationCombined Federal Campaign of the Na-tional Capital AreaHyman, Phelps and McNamara, P.C.Morgan Stanley Smith BarneyO’Conor and Co.. LLCOutdoor Venture Group - SSFS, LLCSchwab Charitable FundTarget CorporationVerizon FoundationWachovia Foundation Matching Gift ProgramWells Fargo Matching Gift Program

Faculty/StaffBetty LunaMichael AckersonPatrick AltekrusePeter Austin and Elizabeth ThorntonAndrew and Judy AverbachJohn and Sharon BellJames and Brenda BenjaminKent Beck and Karen Lehman

Ron and Linda BrockGeorge BrockmanAaron ChanElizabeth A. ChannerJim and Linda CooperTimothy and Charlotte CroftLynn DarmanRobert and Gretchen DejterElizabeth DonelsonElizabeth DoschekHeather EngleBruce and Toni EvansSusan FainAimee FarleyLarry Fisher and Gwen HandlerMary K. FryCarylton GanongVictoria GarnerKarl and Joanie GedgePamela R. GilmerRuthann GregoryDawn GriffithTom and Cathy HarrisonDavid and Rachel HicksonRobert and Ruth HochRich and Salli InnesDavid and Deborah KahnAlexandra Kahn-JohnstonLauren KellerBrooke KershawMark and Marjorie KramerFrances LambrechtMichele LeeBrendan and Ilene LeesErica LevyLori LigonRob and Mary MazzucaBarry and Susan MerrittCarolyn MillerAriel NeaderthalAri and Nancy PreussTakisha ReeceLynda ReeseMatt and Margaret RosserJennie RountreeKate SantorineosJean-Michel and Paummi SarrazinBryan and Michele SeithLee SelbyErica Wilmore-Falu ShadowsongElisa ShapiroJane ShaughnessyJeffrey SmithKen and Jan SmithAngela SomersJohn Staehle and Jane Staehle ‘65Michael and Louise SteinfortMichael and Linda SulkinVictoria TrapaniAthena WhitePaul WilliamsMary Gail WillieMontanna WilsonMichele Winger

FoundationsCitigroup FoundationCommonweal FoundationCommunity Foundation for the National Capital RegionDavidowitz FoundationThe Kiplinger FoundationNelson Talbott Foundation

FriendsAgnes Irwin SchoolAnna Marcus Irrevocable TrustAnonymousAnonymousMichael and Linda ArensteinCharles AshleyBarr and Jeanne AsplundhPeter E. Baker and Susan B. GlasserDebbie BaumsteinArash and Rebecca BehraveshBobbi C. BenedictJohn BenzingPeter and Judith BerkmanBenjamin C. BradleeJohn and Joan BrennanJoseph and Edna BriscoeJohn and Judith BrittinghamDeborah CarrRobert and Brenda CattellAlyscia CharleryLakhmir ChawlaGraydon ClouseCommunity Foundation of New HavenNathan and Catherine CroneAnne ElsbreeJohn Erdmann, IIILucretia W. EvansMike and Doris FeinsilberFood, Drug and Cosmetic Division, American Society for Quality, Inc.W. Byron and Elizabeth ForbushJoseph Gilbert and Brooke LaverellDavid GilesEdward and Caroline GilpinCraig GoebelGolds Gym Staff / Melissa MendezPhil and Liz GroutDennis and Carolyn GurtzDr. and Mrs. HandelmanBetty HerndonCharles and Phyllis HopkinsKenneth and Tracy Ann HornbakerMichael Janser and Andrea TodaKeller and Heckman, LLPDaniel and Martha KimballRichard and Justine KinghamMarjorie KinkeadThomas and Elizabeth KirkAlan KirschenbaumArabelle KossiakoffChery LafermanIsabel LangsdorfPatricia B. Lansdale


Charles LeeStefanie LucasBarry and Sharon MacklinChristina MartinCecilia MeisnerMen’s Varsity Soccer Program at SSFSHermine MoskowitzMargaret MossS.B. and Louisa MygattArchie NahigianHelen NashMargaret NicklasW. Patrick NoonanForrest and Anne PattersonPersonal Care Products CouncilWilliam PetersonDonna PetruskaTara PotterJohn and Nancy RapoportBob Remes, Carliner and Remes, P.C.Patricia RobbinsRichard M. SandovalSenior Class GiftKathy SheehyMary E. SheridanDavid and Barbara SilvermanLinley SmithFred and Pat SpahrSSFS Parents AssociationArthur SteinbergChuck and Mary StephensArthur StockerSally and Leonard TaylorNancy H. TaylorJames R. ThomasSarah TipsonJosephine TorrenteAnthony and Linda TseHelen TworkovJohn and Katherine TysonRobert and Janice WatsonHarry and Pearl WilliamsWoodside Pediatrics

Grandparents and Alumni GrandparentsDr. and Mrs. John D. AndersonDonald and Ann ByrneGeorge and Susan CarnealDr. and Mrs. Melvin E. ClouseEvelyn and Cedric CumberbatchNancy CurroDonald and Dorothy DunbarTim and Sally EllerJames and Sybil FanningAnonymousLeonard and Gloria GrantMartin and Roberta GreenfieldMartha HaleJohn and Doris HardtJean Harrison

Elizabeth S. HartgeEmmett W. Hines Jr.Carol F. Horning Woehrle and Harry WoehrleEdward and Alice KondisMr. and Mrs. Robert J. KrinerSusan MillsJune MoseleAnonymousRichard PorteeAlbert and Sue PostlewaitSusannah PrindleRichard and Chrissy PurkissRudolph and Ernestine ReidAl and Ellen RossVincent and Lois RouxElizabeth ScheimanBob and Marianne Smythe Jerome and Sue TaylorWanda Van GoorHarvey and M. Jean WarnickJerry and Beth WilliamsJanney and Jean WilsonThomas and Suellen WilsonJack WinterJohn and Kerin Yates

Meetings/Meeting MembersRoger Aldridge and Nancy SherwoodBaltimore Yearly MeetingBethesda Friends MeetingRanimor A. ManningSandy Spring Friends MeetingRoger and Bertha StarrRoger and Myra Wolcott

ParentsRussell and Nancy AdiseKyung Hwan Ahn and Sunhee YoonZohair and Neelofar AlamPaul Albert and Sara JoslynJay and Jill AlexanderBruce and Lisa AllenPatrick and Nina AmatoLuther and Amy AmpeyClaudia ArnoldDavid Auerswald and Jennifer C. MaehrMatthew and Anita BainesMarcus Barbour and Tina TrentWill and Katherine BarryJosé and Laurie BautistaAmanda Ross BenedickTom Benkart and Joan MarshallAnonymousOlivier Blondel and Maritza McIntyreRichard and Joanna BoalesEric Bond and Alexandra EscuderoMiche and Diane Booz

Jackie BrownVictor H. Bullen and Brooke FarquharDavid C. BurgevinJohn Butler and Barbara PlattJohn and Shinae ByhowerC. Paul and Darlene ByrdDavid and Karen ByrneBarry and Suzanne CalogeroRebecca Carli-MillsScott and Katharine CarnealBruce Caswell and Lauren DeichmanEarl Catterton and Kimberly SargentLaurel ChiatAlbert and Anna ChinByong Chul and Young Mi RyuSuck Young Chun and Gwan Yeon MoonThomas P. ClouseMary R. CochettiRoger CochettiAndrew and Jessica CohenNoah and Dana ConnellJames Conway and Diane DeSuaHardy M. CookJeff and Jean CooperPatricia CopeGeorge and Jennifer CortRobert and Cheryl CrimRegan and Aria CrumpCleon and Karen CumberbatchCharles and Martha CunninghamAnthony Daley and Nancy GallagherMark Davis and Ann TranWilliam H. Davis and Lisa B. Penkowsky ‘83Arthur DeJohn and Caren ChangRoyal and Julie DellingerKen and Letitia DenaburgAlan Denniston and Kathleen LandersKeith Dixon and Peggy MooreSylvia DoyleJennifer DreyfusThomas and Amy DroletStephen and Caroline ElmendorfBen and Nathalie ErulkarJosé and Leslie EspinoKevin Esser and Kathleen A. BittingerMax Etheart and Deborah HennenOlu and Ayanna EzeaniPaul Fagiolo and Sharon BurkeXiaoYang and YongHua FanHamid Faruqee and Susan Courtney-FaruqeeKaytura FelixAnonymousJason and Valerie FisherDavid and Laurel FlyerPeter and Diane FlynnEvelyn FrazierRodger and Reena FriedmanHarry Furukawa and Tina SungBarry and Patricia GallagherEdmund and Elizabeth GlabusLarry and Susan Gordon

2009

-201

0 An

nual

Fun

d: Th

ank

you!

Every Gift Makes an Impact...

21Fall 2010


Joe Gorin and Beth CraddockKenneth Gorton and Ligia Molina-GortonDouglas Greenfield and Elaine QuintanaPaul G. Griffin and Suzanne M. LevinMatthew and Stacey HamillDavid Hamod and Jean SwiftJae Myoung Han and Na Young KimQingyuan HanRobert Hanisch and Susan NeffJoan Warren and Joyce HanulaPhilip and Susan HardtKaren HarrisDana Harrison and Stephanie ThliverisJanel and Patricia HinoMax Holland and Tamar GutnerKevin and Deborah HopsonGregory and Stacey HughesRobert and Annie JaegerNigel and Cosette JamiesonAndrew Jaques and Susan DarrowRoxanne JarrettMario and Cherry JeanCharles and Carmen JohnsonRoo and René JohnsonJulie JohnsonCharles and Carmen JohnsonR. Rima JolivetAldona and Charles JosephWu Sik Ju and Min Sook EumSean and Mary JumanChip Junkin and Brooke Junkin-MillsDonna KelloggJacinta KellyJames Kessler and Susan KiddRichard and Brenda KingKathryn KirmayerGeorge and Heidi KlimesJonathan KlontzJames and Jill KnerrJonathan Kramer and Ruth ChemerysRona KramerRobert and Candice KrinerMatthew and Hilary KunkinJohn F. Kunz and Karan KvernoOh Gyu Kwon and Hwa Gyung KimScott Lassman and Tracy ZorpetteRobert and Loriann LaurenzanoMitchell and Michelle LaytonAllan Lazarus and Judith SpreiSeok Hee LeeBrad and Dorothy LeissaNeil Levine and Kate BrennanK. Sloane Halloran LewisJeremy and Diane LichtensteinDavid and Jenny LingelbachThomas LydonMark Maceira and Emily Canter MaceiraSteven and Sarah MargolisPeter and Lisa MartinRudy and Janet MazariegosTed and Susan McAdamsBill and Anita McArthurWilliam and Yanina McConaty

James and Elizabeth McCulloughJohn and Denise McDanielHunter and Kathleen McKayRobert and June McSwainDeepika MehtaBill and Michele MenaKevin Merida and Donna BrittMarie MichaudRobert and Lisa MikkelsonTimothy and Elizabeth MilbrathConchita MingTetsuo Miyabara and Barbara ChapmanLaura Miyoshi and Lori WilsonMark Mollenhauer and Marianne EichenbergCraig and Laurie MoloneyDavid and Johanna MoraffArthur and Kathleen MorrishBryan and Kathleen MurrayJason and Fatima NasconeMark Nauman and Sherry MurphyTamara NiedomanskiFrank and Leah NiepoldColeman and Bonnie O’DonoghueDavid Oliver and Galina Mikhlin-OliverArnold Oppler and Amy CurtisJohn Paige and Ann HeardJeffrey Palmer and Lee Anne Myers PalmerChoonsoo Park and Hyunsoon SongDavid and Tammar PaynterMary Anne PeacockScott and Shannon PerichGary and Holly PertmerStefano Petrucci and Laura HickokClaude and Jeanne PierrelouisRobert Pleasure and Patricia GreenfieldKenneth and Ann PollackEduardo and Jody PolónDaniel and Christine PowersStephen and Christine PowersRick and Sue PresentRobert Price and Michelle Puhl-PriceAmy and Robert RagerFrederic RichardsonShields RiggsAnonymousShahzad and Rebecca RizviAJ and Lisa RobinsonThomas and Ronaleen Roha John Roome and Katherine RichardsJason and Nikki RosewagMark and Elizabeth RoushBahman Rowhani and Azin BekhradJean-Baptiste and Rosalind SawadogoWilliam Schauffler ‘74 and Jennifer Schauffler Aungthu and Carol SchlenkerDavid and Susan SchlessMark and Julie SchweberErin ScottDavid Serota and Bela MeghaniUday and Lalitha ShankarA. Udaya Shankar and Carol Whitney

Santosh and Manjul SharmaDuk Shin and Hyo Soo ParkJoseph Shlaferman and Judy ZinsBrad and Susan SiegelPerry and Meredith SkeathSteven and Kristin SloaneKaren SmyersRonald and Cheryl SpritzerNorman St. Amour and Lai-Fong LeungRobin and Christy StebbinsVictoria Stewart-MooreThomas and Alix StockJan Stolwijk and Deborah RoseGordon Stoner and Cindy RoseJohn and Elizabeth StoutMonica Stringfellow-DraperAlan Sultan and Jessica WeissLibin and Xiaoyan SunAlexander Tait and Suzanne BorenzweigJonathan and Alisa TalismanDavid and Madeline TaylorLarry and Susan TaylorJeremy and Stephanie WarnerHarvey and Christina WarnickCharlie and Suzanne WeissJanet R. WesterveltJon and Julie WilloughbyGeorge and Ashley WilsonBruce and Sarita WinterAlan and Kathleen WrightElliot and Lori YadinGeoffrey Yates ‘ 82 and Michelle YatesJohn and Mimi YoumansPaul and Donna ZankowskiPhilip and Marla Zipin

Former Board MembersAnonymousMarion and Rick BallardJames and Elizabeth BullardMichael and Lois ClarkElizabeth H. FarquharThomas and Laura GibianLou and Merida HarringtonTom Harvey and Pat PowersRobin Hiscock and Linda GunterJuan Jewell and Susan CozzensGraham and Janet JohnsonJeff Jones and Susan StracquatanioHerbert and Sarah KinneyJean Ladson Sam LeggJohn and Martha LigonFabia and John MahoneyJack and Tonda MatthewsStephen H. McNamara (deceased)AnonymousJohn and Mary PriceAlan E. Reider and Linda Dallas ReiderNed Stowe and Amy Schmidt Stowe

For Sandy Spring Friends School


Former FacultyW. Gordon Barnhart, Jr.Cheryle and Elson Oshman BluntKarin R. KlingStanley E. SmithHoward and Rosalind Zuses

Parents of Alumni and Former StudentsJack and Toby AltermanAnonymousAnne H. BallSusan and Robert BardAmar Bhattacharya and Rita KhannaWilfred Brunner and Joyce JewellJabez McClelland and Catherine ChowRobert H. ConnamacherCarl and Nancy CostelloJames and Marcia CroylePeter CurtisJim and Deb DeArmonJohn and Priscilla deVeerDavid and Janet EdsonIrwin and Laura FeuersteinChristian Feuillet and Amy RossmanWalter and Kathleen FoleyDonald and Sandra GarrattAlbert and Mary GentryMorris and Margaret Goldstein Linda GordonJames and Ellen GranumHarold GreenbergGregory and Phyllis GreerMichael and Phyllis HammerJoseph Hashmall and Barbara MachteyFrank and Lisa HathewayJohn and Jane HayesJames and Elaine HefflerEdward and Nancy HelmeJoseph and Charlotte HennessyGary Hines and Alison Leadbetter-HinesCraig and Eileen HollanderAlbert and Gail HolmGeorge Howe and Eleanor Howe ‘74Michael and Jean HoytCaroline HussmanChristopher Imlay ‘71 and Rita KruhmJarrett W. JacksonJoseph and Andrea KerrEdward and Diane KilduffGregory and Kathryn KnudsonPeter and Patricia KarasikKaren KrausenPeter Ma and Janet AdamsCharles and Barbara MalloneeLouise W. MarshHolley P. MattsonCarolyn McNamaraBrian McLaughlin and Donna FirerSusanne McLean

Larry MeisnerPhilip and Mary Lynn MellingerDavid and Anne MenottiH. Todd and June MillerAnne B. MorleyGreg Mort and Nadine Masone-MortDan Mullaney and Jessica C. LandmanJim Mundell and Nancy SmithD. Warner and Cheryl NorthJerry and Marian O’ConorRichard and Patricia O’MearaRichard and Elizabeth OstermanJerry and Dianne OstrowPhilip Palley and Kathryn StackhousePeter and Nanette RadueBrooke RandolphJames and Sharon SariThomas and Cynthia SchneiderDaniel E. SchultzMark and Vickie ShankRobert ShaperoAdrienne M. SmithMichael and Nancy St. LouisSandra SternRichard and Mary SummerourRichard and Sally TedrowStephen and Susan TerrioRonald Tipton and Rita MolyneauxMichael TomanKatharine TruaxEric Wassermann and Janell SchweickertLawrence A. Weekley Jr.Nathan and Judy WeiGraeme Wistow and Cynthia JaworskiDonald and Susan Woodruff

Annual Fund VolunteersMarcus BarbourBruce CaswellTom ClouseUpty ClouseJennifer EllerBarbara GaffiganKevin and Deborah HopsonCharlie and Marybeth HorningChip JunkinSarah MargolisLaurie MoloneyJerry and Marian O’ConorEduardo PolónLaurita PorteeBim Schauffler ‘74Alan Wright

And a special “thank you” to Parents As-sociation volunteers who gave their time, treasure and talent. Your efforts are greatly appreciated and helped to strengthen the Annual Fund and so many programs that benefit SSFS! PA volunteers listed here:

Nancy AdiseNina AmatoAnita BainesMatthew BainesJan BalkamMarcus BarbourKatherine Wingfield BarryKathy BittingerOlivier BlondelDeborah BonsackPeter BorloDave BurgevinJohn ByhouwerRebecca Carli-Mills Brenda Carter-KingAnna ChinAl ChinTom ClouseKim ColderJean CooperJeffrey CooperJohanna CoweyCheryl CrimVincent CrispinAria CrumpSusan DarrowSanchita DasPam DeFosseLauren DeichmanKeith DixonJeanne-Marie Duval-PierrelouisKevin EsserAyanna EzeaniSusan Courtney FaruqeeValerie FisherEvelyn Frazier Rodger FriedmanReena FriedmanBarbara GaffiganJean GearonElizabeth GlabusSusan GordonPat GreenfieldPaulette GunterWinston GunterSusan HardtKaren HarrisLaura HickokHope HillRichard HilpertHeather HoerleRobin HolmesNancy HorakGreg HughesNoreen JamesAndrea JarrellCherry JeanJulie JohnsonRene JohnsonRoo JohnsonEvette JonesAnn JonesEdna Josell

2009

-201

0 An

nual

Fun

d: Th

ank

you!

Every Gift Makes an Impact...

23Fall 2010


Aldonna JosephBrooke Junkin-MillsJane KellerSusan KiddVas KodaliCandy KrinerStacey KuhlmanJohn KunzKathy KurzKaran KvernoCatherine LaVoieMichelle LaytonTrish Layton SmithAllan LazarusBrad LeissaDorothy LeissaSloane LewisDan LoebEvis Noel LongCarolyn LonserChristine LucasEmily Canter MaceiraMonica MaddenJennifer MaehrSarah MargolisRudy MazariegosJohn McDanielGinny McDonaghBela MeghaniWendy Mettger

Peggy MooreSherry MurphyKathleen MurrayWinnie NeunzigSusan O’BrienPhil PalleyLee Anne PalmerBob PavlakBridget PavlakDavid PaynterAnn PollackKen PollackJody PolónLaurita PorteeMichelle Puhl-PriceKatie RichardsHelen Freeman RiggsJanet RileyKathy RipleyRichard RipleyLisa Clayton RobinsonRonnie RohaTom RohaCindy RoseNikki RosewagJason Rosewag Denise RouxGlen RubinoHilary SachsKim Sargent

Jennifer SchauflerBim SchaufflerCarol SchlenkerJule SchweberAnne ShanamanSteven SloaneJan SmithHeidi SorensonJudy SpreiKristin SteelLiz StoutJeff SuttonMadeline TaylorSaleanma Thurman-BeyAnn TranKiki VargasHarvey WarnickJoan WarrenJessica WeissSarita WinterBruce WinterLiz WoodKathy WrightMichelle YatesMimi YoumansDonna ZankowskiPaul ZankowskiKelly ZimmermanAnne Laurent Zimmerman

The 2010-2011 Annual Fund Needs Your Participation!Please help us reach or exceed our goal of $550,000 to benefit the curricular and co-curricular programs at Sandy Spring Friends School. Each and every gift makes an impact.

For Sandy Spring Friends School


A central tenet of Friends' beliefs holds that truth is continually being revealed to us, and this belief informs our educa-tional practices here at SSFS. This belief fits particularly well with the process of scientific inquiry. The body of scientific knowledge is continually being revised and refined as inquiry and invention add to what we know, and it is so vast that no one can comprehend it all. And in this information age, it is all avail-able at the touch of a screen. But what to make of it all? So we begin our ap-proach to science instruction with some queries. How can we partner with the students to give them a grounding in key scientific principles to serve as a basis for discernment as to what is ac-curate and worth knowing and what is not? How can we foster the habits of mind and teach the appropriate skill set so that our students can at least make informed decisions as voters and con-sumers in this world, and at best make their own significant contributions in science-related fields? How can we in-still in our students the ability to solve problems? To think for themselves? To ask the right questions? The journey begins in Lower School as the resources of this campus are put to use in turning the children’s natural cu-riosity to questioning, posing problems, gathering data through all their senses,

and self-reflection. The first grade goes on a sock walk around the pond, then their socks and their attendant hitch-hikers are put in a bag and watered to see what will grow. They docu-ment their findings in their journals through pictures, writing, and photos with teacher assistance. In third grade they fly paper gliders and air rockets, manipulating the straw, clay, and fins to apply what they learn about lift and drag in the process of creation and in-novation. They study the human body through comparison of the bones re-covered from owl pellets to the human skeleton. With the support of another of our resources, parents in science-re-lated occupations, the students visit the brain imagery center at Montgomery General Hospital to see applications of technology in digital imagery of the nervous system. In the Middle School, students con-tinue to interact with their environment through pond and stream studies, striving for increased accuracy and precision in their data gathering on water quality, openness to new ideas presented by the data, and the ability to think flexibly. Science at its best is a collaborative process where the ideas and inspirations of all are valued. They learn to listen with understanding and to think interdependently as well as

independently. They record, reflect upon, and take ownership for their learning through the use of interactive science notebooks. Given a straw, some clay, and a dropper they are asked to determine the relative salinity of three samples of colored water. Some weeks later they are using remote data collect-ing devices to determine which sample of food had the highest caloric content. In the Upper School the students con-tinue to reach beyond the borders of our school and community through our unique intersession program and sum-mer service opportunities. They gain real world experience and apply what they know as they compare stomata on the leaves of different trees in the Ama-zon rainforest, examine rock strata in Death Valley, view the environmental and community devastation by moun-taintop removal in West Virginia, and prepare ground for nesting Galapagos Tortoises at the Darwin Research sta-tion. They use their problem-solving skills for social change by participa-tion in programs such as Learn Serve International. Within the school com-munity, students in different classes collaborate with each other, such as the Geology and AP Environmental Sci-ence class members testing soil samples from campus for nutrient levels. Upper School students also use a case study approach to examine the ways in which environmental issues affect politics, economics, policy, and human rights in other countries. Schoolwide, the ninth grade students share their expertise with lower and middle schoolers through the Pond Extravaganza on Earth Stewardship Day. All divisions took part in the local Green Cup, an effort to reduce electricity usage and improve recycling. Our students can be found attending Howard Hughes Medical Institute Holiday Lectures and the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine. As you walk across our campus you may find AP chemistry

The Science Program at SSFSBy Toni Evans, Middle School Science teacher, and Laurel Flyer, Upper School Science teacher

The US Geology class taking soil samples. Middle Schoolers work on their solar cars.

25Fall 2010

Alums Pursuing Careers in the Sciences

Catherine Hoyt, OTD ’03 has known that she wanted to help children since her days as a foster sister to the many babies her family cared for while she was growing up in Kensington, Mary-land. Hoyt has taken her love for kids and her lifelong interest in science and channeled it into her career in occupa-tional therapy.

Receiving her doctorate in May 2010 from Washington University in St. Louis, considered one of the top OT programs in the country, Hoyt recently presented her research on cognitive development in children with sickle cell disease to the conference of the World Federation of Occupational Therapy in Chile. “It was exciting to present my work in Chile. I love occu-pational therapy because it’s a field of medicine that focuses on the function-ality of the whole person. ”

Hoyt feels that her experience at Sandy Spring Friends School helped to foster her interest in science and to broaden her world view. “SSFS helps students excel in what they are good at. The School challenges kids person-ally and academically.” Her interna-tional adventures on intersession (she went to Mexico and the Dominican Republic) sparked a love of travel. Hoyt did several study abroad pro-

grams in Ecuador, Mexico and Gua-temala both as an undergraduate at Juniata College in Pennsylvania and as a graduate student at Washington University.

Currently, Hoyt is in Baltimore at the Kennedy-Krieger Institute, part of Johns Hopkins University, working with children with traumatic brain injuries. This fall, she plans to return to Washington University to continue her research with development on children with sickle cell disease.

Even as she is focusing on wrapping up her work in Baltimore and mov-ing back to St. Louis, her accomplish-ments continue. Most recently, Hoyt’s research abstract was accepted for a poster presentation at the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America's 38th Annual Convention in late September.

students working on Saturday experi-ments and physics students using Lego NXT robotics and an MIT design pro-gram to understand the algorithms and ideas of programming processes that are behind all modern science. As a private school, we have the benefit of small classes, and we work in part-nership with our students in learning science by doing science; students develop critical thinking skills and problem solving ability by designing their own labs and investigations. The strength of our program may be in its depth and range. As students progress through their years at SSFS, the guid-ing principles that tell us to approach the study of science as a process spiral through the curriculum. Although our

curricula meet with and are aligned with National Science Education Standards, we go beyond the letter of the standards to imbue them with a spirit of purpose and action that reflect who we are as a Friends school. As John McE-wan ‘11 said,“The SSFS science program develops the autono-my of the student as a thinker and scientist, from the age of four and beyond.”

Third graders on a hike observe wildlife at the creek.

Catherine Hoyt ‘03


Patient care is a top prior-ity for Lent C. Johnson, III, M.D. ’70. “While my patients don’t expect me to be their cardi-ologist, they do want me

to weigh in on their care. I’m glad I’m able to help them with their decisions,” he says. In a day when patient care is parsed out to specialists, without con-sultation to their primary care physi-cian, Lent serves as a shining example of a doctor who sees his patients as individuals. “It’s the ordinary things that make a big difference in people’s lives. Helping families improve their lifestyles and life expectancy is my favorite part of being a physician.”

Lent, a graduate of Bowdoin College in Maine and Howard University Col-lege of Medicine in Washington, D.C., works hard at balancing patient care with his responsibilities as President of the Missouri State Medical Association and Medical Director of the Hannibal Clinic, the Blessing Hospice-Hannibal, and Willow Care Nursing Home. “Be-ing in a small town allows me to be involved in many areas of medicine. You have to learn to regulate your time,” Lent says.

A native of Spencerville, Maryland, Lent learned all about being part of a small community during his days at Sandy Spring Friends School. “Sandy Spring allowed me the opportunity to have a lot of personal contact with teachers and my classmates. It was a unique experience.”

These days his emphasis on personal contact is focused on his patients at the

Hannibal Clinic, where he and his wife, Sandra Ahlum, were two of the earliest physicians in the group. They joined the practice in 1982 as two of only 10 doctors on staff. “When we started, Hannibal Clinic was the one of the only places that offered regional medical care.” They chose the Hannibal Clinic after their residency at the Method-ist Hospital in Indianapolis to fulfill a public health obligation to serve rural communities. They have stayed ever since, and the Clinic has more than 50 physicians on staff with more than 90 physicians in the area.

Lent enjoys his time spent with pa-tients, as well as his time with his fam-ily. He and Sandra have two children: Emily, 27, who is finishing her dental residency and getting married in Octo-ber, and Cliff, 25, a graduate student in the doctorate program in astronomy at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Lent Johnson ‘70

Keir Soderburg ‘96Keir Soderberg, Ph.D. ’96 has enjoyed learn-ing in and about nature since his time at SSFS. However, these days, Soderberg, a Germantown native and brother of Jenka ’93, spends his days researching in the arid ecosystems

of southern and eastern Africa, study-ing the causes and implications of the periodic droughts affecting the region. “It’s a great opportunity to add to the established knowledge about the critical details of the region’s water cycle,” says Soderberg.

The current project on the ecohydrology of Kenya’s semi-arid savannas, funded

by the National Science Foundation, is undertaken in a newly-established field laboratory – the only one of its type in Africa. For the next year, Soderberg will divide his time between doing active research in Kenya as a postdoctoral re-search associate with Princeton, writing about his findings, and mentoring local undergraduates who have an interest in ecosystem geochemistry and hydrology. Working with the undergrads is part of what he feels is most rewarding about his time in Africa. He is excited by their “thirst for knowledge,” and he sees his career heading in a direction that takes a more active role in creating academic exchanges between the United States and Africa.

As an undergraduate at Princeton University, Keir developed an interest in Africa and geochemistry. While there, he decided to pursue a degree in environ-mental engineering, a career path he felt was in line with the values he learned at SSFS. “Sandy Spring Friends School helped shape the way that I see the responsibility of scientific disciplines to society. Being surrounded by nature gives you a unique perspective on how to interpret the environment that sus-tains us,” says Soderberg.

After graduation from Princeton, Soderberg participated in “Princeton in Africa,” a University-sponsored project that places recent graduates in service opportunities across the African conti-nent to “develop young leaders commit-ted to Africa’s advancement.” There he served as an assistant lecturer at Univer-sity of Cape Town while pursuing his masters in environmental geochemistry.

After receiving his master’s degree in 2003, Keir attended the University of Virginia to pursue his doctorate degree. He completed his studies this past spring after finishing his thesis on the role of coastal fog as a source of water and nutrients in the hyper-arid Namib Desert.

Alums Pursuing Careers in the Sciences

27Fall 2010

Russian Lit Class with David Kahn: Not Just for High Schoolers Anymore

High school is not ending at 3:25 on Wednesdays these days,

and those students heading to class don’t just look older – they are older. They are off to Russian Literature AP. Wednesday evenings, however, it’s not Advanced Placement Russian Lit. – it’s Russian Literature for Aged Parents. English teacher David Kahn is offering a night-time version of the Russian Lit. class he has taught for years. “Par-ents used to tell me, during Back to

School Night, that the class sounded fascinating, and that they wished they could take it. I decided to call them on it,” he said. “Well – that’s one of the reasons. Actually, I thought it might be fun to do the same thing for adults that I do during the day for students. And part of me was hoping that maybe

the parents of some of the kids tak-ing the course this year would take the evening course, doing the reading along with their kids. Some see this new 'Moodle' thing as the answer to all problems in education; I think parents talking to kids at the dinner table about books they have been reading is, while an outdated idea, still a good one.” “We’re covering the same material the high school class covers,” said David. “We’re just doing in 90 minutes what

Time capsule documents to be mailed to alumni

the kids do in a week. When I told my high school class about the evening version, they insisted I require the same papers, too. I told the parents I’d give them the paper topics, and they could write the essays if they wanted to. But they didn’t have to. I did get an e-mail from a recent grad, how-ever, who took the course and whose mother is taking it now; she thinks I should require the papers. Kids can be cold.” The class meets weekly on Wednes-day evenings for 90 minutes. Right now the course is planned as just a one semester course. “We’ll see what happens, who’s still standing after Christmas,” David said. “We might go on to Term II and Russian Litera-ture of the 20th Century. I’ve had a request to do an American literature class next year, and was thinking it might be fun just to do Beowulf and Chaucer; it would be like I’d died and gone to heaven.” Whatever happens second semester, it looks like adult education has begun at Sandy Spring Friends School.

Every year during the last week of school, after semes-ter course reviews and before the final examination, sophomores in Western Civilization class participated in the traditional Time Capsule project. They were given a whole class period to write at top speed, without worry about spelling or syntax, about dozens of topics, describ-ing their current hopes, fears, friends, fiends, fashions, foods, fantasies, family feuds, and dreams of college. This totally confidential document was folded, stapled, and self-addressed. They were stored in a big old fashioned steamer trunk in my attic and are now - mirabilis dictu! - about to be returned to the authors, wherever possible, with class pictures and exceptional essays. Reactions and responses are heartily welcome. For the 50th anniver-sary of the school, Reflections of the Decades by 20th Century Alumni could be a nice touch. ~ Ari Preuss

Ari and Nancy Preuss sort through Time Capsules, written by Western Civilization students since 1970. Look for yours in the the mailbox soon!

SSFS parents have been getting the Dave Kahn experience during their Wednesday evening Russian Lit classes.


Alumni Notes

Alumni Notes are just a snapshot of what’s happening with your fellow alums!

For more updates from alumni written in their own words, log in to our Web site:http://alumni.ssfs.org.

If you have a milestone in your life, please send in photos! We want to share special moments.

1963Jim Beebe retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in October 2009. He is enjoying retirement in Albuquer-que, NM.

1965The Arizona Humanities Council has placed Tom Miller on its roster of speakers. Tom will be giving talks at li-braries and schools about the best writ-ing to emerge from the U.S. – Mexico border in the last 100 years. He will also speak about three-time Pulitzer prize-winner Thornton Wilder’s secret life in 1962 – 1963.

1971Ellen Campbell Pskowski’s story “Idlewild” is online in The Midway Journal (www.midwayjournal.com), out of St. Paul, MN. Ellen lives in Rockville, MD.

1972Michael Garin and Mardie Millit performed, “Sleepless…In September” every Monday in September at the Metropolitan Room in New York.

Victoria Baylor Raabe (photo, left) is proud to announce the mar-riage of her son, Ted. He married fiancée Caitlin in Loudon County, VA.

1973Nora Odendahl is working on a book project: a two-volume introduction to assessment of learning. Testwise: Under-standing Education Assessment considers the historical and contemporary con-texts of testing, explores societal effects, and explains the central principles, practices, challenges and tradeoffs. The first volume will be published by Row-man & Littlefield Education in Decem-ber 2010, and she is now working on the second volume.

1975Louise Tate Hood and her husband, Murray Hood, took their four adult children with their spouses/significant others, and their grandson to Kauai, Hawaii, in August. She writes, “it was a rare opportunity to all be together and a great adventure for all.”

1983Eva Mergner writes, “The biggest news here is that Joy (2 ½) is one year out of chemo and doing very well. She is a toddler with a capital T. Her big sister Sophie is starting ninth grade this fall. We dream of a Quaker school in Pittsburgh.”

1986Abigail Wurf has retired as a profes-sional dancer, choreographer and teacher. She is now a life and creativity coach. For more information, you may

alumni notes...

Alumni notes are compiled by Mary Mazzuca, Director of Alumni Affairs

Sandy Spring Friends School reserves the right to edit Alumni Note submissions. Editors strive to ensure the content of the edited submission retains the key points of the original message. Alumni Notes are submitted to Sandy Spring Friends School from various sources. While Sandy Spring Friends School strives to ensure the accuracy of Alumni Notes, the School is not liable for false or incorrect submissions.

29Fall 2010

visit her Web site at abigailwurf.com.

Melissa Mueller Blake reports that she was married to Ernest Blake in Ithaca, NY, in a small ceremony in January 2010. Suzanne Johnson, class of 1986, was in attendance. They followed this with a large wedding in August 2010, also in Ithaca, which Sean Compagnucci (class of 1986) attended. Melissa and Er-nest are also the proud parents of Benja-min Felix Blake, born June 23, 2010.

1991Jessica Dailey (Moore) and her husband, George Dailey, opened their second restaurant, Centro Tapas, in Bal-timore’s Federal Hill neighborhood in March 2010. The restaurant specializes in Spanish and South American tapas dishes accompanied by a selection of wines and beers from the region. In addition to Centro Tapas, located on 1444 Light Street, Baltimore, Jessica and George also own On the Hill Café in the Bolton Hill neighborhood of Baltimore.

1993Jenka Soderberg is beginning a John S. Knight Fellowship for journalists at Stanford University, focusing on the use of mobile technology in the newsroom. She’s worked as a media activist and organizer for the last eight years, setting up media centers and radio stations in many places - from Chiapas, Mexico to Canada to Spain to Palestine. To see Jenka’s profile please visit: http://knight.stanford.edu/fel-lows/2011/soderberg/

1994Kara Pokras writes to say that she and her family are excited to welcome Calvin Jacob Thomas, who was born on August 24th, 2010, weighing in at 9lbs, 10oz.

1996This summer Roxy Richardson won an international title elimination Muay Thai match. She added to her fitness and health certifications by becoming a Certified Metabolic Typing Advisor and a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition-ist. This fall she is expanding her busi-ness, RoxyFit, by moving to a bigger location, hiring additional trainers and offering more classes and services.

1998 Erin Macklin Fox and her husband, David, are still liv-ing in Las Vegas, NV. Erin writes that David, “is enjoying his job with Cirque

Du Solie’s show Ka. I am enjoying my days at home with our girls. Emma turned 4 in July and Cari turned 1 in July. We also adopted a Queensland Heeler this past spring. His name is

Copper. We are looking forward to our journey home this November to visit with family and friends.”

April Hall-Hough and her husband bought a home in Westminster, MD, where they live with their two boxers, Tiggy and Paisley. April works for the Social Security Administration and teaches horseback riding lessons on the weekend. April writes, “I have been busy competing my horse all year; this is her first year competing and my first year eventing!

2002Gavin Maguire was officially pro-moted to Captain in the United States Army on August 1, 2010. Gavin is now stationed in the U.S. working on the Battalion Staff of the 716 MP Battalion.

2003Catherine Hoyt’s research abstract was recently accepted for a poster presenta-tion in the Sickle Cell Disease Associa-

Louise Tate Hood ‘75 with her family in Hawaii.

Eva Mergner ‘83 with daughter Joy.

Melissa Mueller Blake ‘86 with new husband Ernest Blake.

Roxy Richardson ‘96 with her crew at RoxyFit.


Alumni Notes

tion of America's 38th Annual Conven-tion in late September.

Marielle Hsu is living in San Francisco and works for a start-up company. She enjoys spending time with friends “dancing all night, hosting and bar-tending parties, falling in and out of love, going on adventures across the countryside, meeting family in China, bridesmaid-ing for a friend, and light-ing the lamps of Black Rock City.”

2006Gabrielle Quintana Greenfield gradu-ated from Brown University this May with a B.A. in Public Policy and Ameri-can Institutions. During her time at Brown, she worked at a Providence commercial radio station, 95.5 WBRU, as the Assistant Program Director, intern trainer, and host of the "Afternoon BRU" program. This summer she interned at the Democratic National Committee.

2009Suzy Mirvis recently returned from

South Africa, where she spent a month volunteering at the Vervet Monkey Foundation. There she cared for or-phaned, injured and abandoned vervet monkeys. She worked directly with the monkeys and learned a great deal about wildlife conservation. The Foun-dation is always in need of volunteers and runs completely off volunteer labor and donations. If anyone is interested in volunteering, please contact Suzy at [email protected].

In MemoriamSSFS was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of Melissa Spearing Trout ‘89, who died on August 26, 2010, following a long battle with cancer. Jessica Balsam ‘89 recently shared that, even on her most difficult and painful days, you could “hear” Melissa smiling. Another classmate and friend, Kristin McNary ‘89, wrote, “As long as I knew her, [Melissa] was the very embodiment of ‘it’s how you look at it.’ She had a positive, uplifting attitude about absolutely everything.”

Following her graduation from SSFS, Melissa attended Colgate University ‘93, earning a B.A. in Psychology. She continued her education with a Master’s degree in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University ‘99. Melissa worked at the National Institutes of Mental Health in the Office of Communication and Public Liaison throughout her professional career.

Melissa is remembered by her Sandy Spring teachers and mentors as a student who embodied the values of the School and “Let her life speak” in every way. She looked for the “Light” in every living thing and had a unique gift for helping others discover the “Light” within themselves. Former classmates and friends of Melissa are invited to post remem-brances and messages on the alumni web site. Contributions may be made in Melissa’s memory to LifeWithCancer.org.

Former faculty/staffBill Moody and his wife, Janet, divide their time between Bethesda, MD, in the winter and Lake Tahoe, NV, dur-ing the summer. They are involved in writing; music; church; travel to France, Malta and Sicily; and community activities.

April Hall-Hough ‘98 is competing her horse in Westminster, MD.

Suzy Mirvis ‘09 volunteered at the Vervet Monkey Foundation in South Africa.

31Fall 2010

Alumni Weekend 2010Alumni Weekend 2010 was a resounding success, starting off with more than 300 people coming to SSFS to visit with friends and to say farewell to beloved members of our SSFS community at the Big Band Dance Friday night honoring Dana Harrison and Stephanie Thliveris, Ari and Nancy Preuss, and Ken and Jan Smith.

The 3rd Annual Wildebeest Stampede kicked off Saturday’s events. This year the Mini Stampede was introduced as part of the event so that our younger runners could take part in the fun. 2010 saw the race’s largest running field yet, with 97 runners combined. Saturday afternoon, alumni and their families enjoyed Meet-ing for Worship; an alumni art class, hosted by Gwen Handler; Alumni Strawberry Cowbake honoring Ari and Nancy Preuss; an international student panel; and the Alumni Lacrosse and Alumni Beestball games. During the Alumni Lacrosse Game, there was a formal dedication of the Preuss Field Scoreboard. Following the games, alumni were able to take part in a sneak peek tour of the new Adventure Park at Sandy Spring Friends School.

Saturday evening, reunion classes celebrated their milestones with each other. The Class of 1980 hosted one of the largest reunion parties in the School’s history, with more than 100 people in at-tendance.

We are looking forward to seeing you all back next year on June 3rd and 4th for Alumni Weekend 2011!


Alumni Notes

From the Archives

Don’t Miss...

November 4, 2010New York Alumni and Friends Reception Welcoming Tom Gibian

November 10, 2010Philadelphia Alumni and Friends Reception Welcoming Tom Gibian

November 18, 2010Boston Alumni and Friends Reception Welcoming Tom Gibian

November 26, 2010Alumni Soccer Game

January 5, 2011Young Alumni Luncheon

June 3-4, 2011Alumni Weekend

If you would like to know more about any of these events, please visit our Web site at http://alumni.ssfs.org or contact Mary Mazzuca at 301-774-7455, x107.

Below are some recently-scanned photos from the archives. Dave Burgevin, School Archivist, could use your help in iden-tifying names and faces. Take a look and contact Dave at [email protected] if you can identify these Springers:

Student rock bandVoodoo Love Gods >>

<< 1979-1980Tennis team

1978-1979Swim team >>

<< Science Class

Even as a ninth grader in the Community House, Allen Fetter Ph.D. ’80 knew that Sandy Spring Friends School was a special place. “Sandy Spring had such a positive effect on me. There was such inclusion and encouragement. It’s something I’ve benefit-ted from my entire life,” Allen says.

So when it came time to plan their estate, he and wife Danielle, wanted to make sure they remembered SSFS. “As a child, I was raised to understand the importance of giv-ing back to institutions that are important to you. I think the general idea of giving back was also an implicit part of my education at Sandy Spring.”

By making a planned commitment, Allen become a member of Friends Forever, the School’s planned giving society. Friends Forever is a special group of individuals who have demonstrated their support for the future of Sandy Spring Friends School by including SSFS in their wills, or through a personal tax deferred commitment.

Allen has been a strong supporter of the School for years, even as his career has carried him all over the world. A graduate of Guilford College, University of North Carolina, and University of Kansas, Allen did his postdoctoral research in Brazil, where he lived with his wife and two children from 1999 to 2004. Even while in school and living abroad, he made the commitment to give back to the Annual Fund. “I think it’s important for people to know that even when they can’t give a lot, it’s important to give what you can and to make it a habit.”

Allen returned to the U.S. in 2004 to accept a position with the Nuclear Regulatory Commis-sion, where he is a Senior Project Manager working on environmental reviews for new reactor sites. Even today, Allen sees how his SSFS education benefits him on a daily basis.

“Sandy Spring Friends School taught me that everyone deserves to be treated with the same level of respect. Everyone brings something different to the table, regardless of age, back-ground or number of advanced degrees.”

Friends Forever: Planned Giving at SSFS

Allen Fetter with his family. Allen says, “As a child, I was raised to understand the importance of giving back to institutions that are important to you.”

16923 Norwood RoadSandy Spring, MD 20860

NON-PROFIT ORG.

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

SANDY SPRING

MARYLAND

PERMIT NO. 122

Community News is printed on FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paper stock, made from recycled and post-consumer materials.

OPEN HOUSEAdmissions

Saturday, December 4th, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noonMeet faculty and students, visit classrooms, tour the campusStop by the Summer Camp Open House, too!

Stay for the Parents Association WINTERFEST, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.Holiday greens and baked goods, local artisans and vendors, children’s craft activities, live performances at the coffee house,lunch at Dad’s Diner

Documents

Sandy Spring Friends School Community News: Fall 2010