Dear Alumni,
                  I am sending this letter to inform you about what Sandy Spring Friends School has been doing in relation to hurricane Katrina. It has been gratifying to have so many people from every part of the community express both a willingness to be of service and an offer of support to anything that we are planning. It is true that we all want to help. It has been difficult to be specific about turning our desires into action.

First, within a day or so after the hurricane we agreed to work with the following organizations in accepting students who have been displaced from schools: Friends Council on Education (FCE), Association of Independent Maryland Schools (AIMS), Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington (AISGW), and the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). In addition, I called my friend Woody Price, who is the head of Newman (the largest independent school in New Orleans) and told him we would be happy to receive any students who wanted to come to this area who had been displaced. Newman is one of 11 independent schools in the New Orleans area. He is personally now operating out of Houston (St. Johns School) and attempting to place all of his students in temporary schools until Newman can reopen.

Second, we have met with one displaced family and the daughter will be beginning our 9^th grade program tomorrow (September 15). She will be living in the dormitory and her family has been encouraged to let her remain here as long as they want. They understand this could be as long as the whole four years or as short as until she is able to return to her school in New Orleans. As of this writing, while we offered an apartment on campus in which the family could live, they plan to return to another location to be closer to other relatives.

Third, through the Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting we found out about a small public school system in Mississippi that we may be able to "adopt." We have been informed that this school system is attempting to reopen September 26, but that many of the students are going barefoot at this point. While plans are still evolving, we are trying to find out exactly how we can be of assistance to the entire system or to one of their six schools. This is one example of how our efforts are developing, even as I send this letter. As plans become more finalized, I anticipate that we will be working closely with the Community Service Committee of the Parents Association.

Finally, individuals, clubs, divisions, classes, etc. are organizing ways to either support what we are doing with what has been described above or to find other ways of providing assistance. Since we are stronger when we work as a community, we will attempt to keep you apprised of some of our efforts so that, if you choose, you may join us.

Sincerely,

Ken Smith
Head of School