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August 11, 2011


Dear Sidwell Friends School Parents,


The summer has been a busy one on our two campuses, with Auxiliary Programs hosting all sorts of activity ranging from academic courses to camps. This week I met the students in our new Transitions program, a two-week introduction to SFS for Upper School students new to our school. The Board of Trustees are working on drafts of the new Long Range Plan, incorporating the very good suggestions made by faculty, parents, and students.


Alex Inman, our new Director of Information Services, has been busy getting to know the SFS community (summer edition) and working closely with our Information Technology staff on the completion of an ambitions summer agenda. Alex brings a wealth of independent-school technology experience to our community, and soon we will all experience further acceleration of our use of digital technologies for communication and learning at Sidwell Friends.


I am pleased to announce that after a brief but intensive national search, we have hired Joanne Moore as Interim Lower School Principal. She has secured an apartment on Woodmont Avenue so that she will be only a few blocks from the Edgemoor campus. Her first day in the principal's office at Lower School will be August 22nd.


Joanne retired in June from Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa, Florida, after 20 years of service there as Director of the Lower Division. Berkeley Prep is a large suburban day school with over 1200 students, 400 in the Lower Division, with a strong and progressive academic program. Earlier in her career she served as Principal of St. Barnabas Episcopal School in Philadelphia after seven years of teaching German in Philadelphia Public Schools.


Joanne and her spouse, Earle Moore, have a deep appreciation for Friends education: their two daughters attended Germantown Friends School prior to the family's move to Florida. During her visit to Sidwell Friends in July, we could sense immediately that she has the experience and perspective to support our students and teachers in the coming year while we conduct the search for the permanent replacement for the irreplaceable Richard Lodish.


Today, Rich and I arrived in Beijing for the first of the special projects in his new portfolio of activities. He is leading our exploration of a new partnership with a private elementary school in China, a partnership that may lead to teacher exchanges, Skype conversations, and other mutually beneficial ties.


I hope all of you-and your children--have found time this summer for renewal, reflection, and recreation. A new school year is just around the corner. It promises exciting new conversations and new opportunities for exploration and growth-for our students, yes, but also for teachers and parents.


Sincerely yours,

Tom Farquhar

Head of School