Dear SDS Learning Community,

Schools are hubs of activity. From the trickling of faculty in the predawn hours to the headlights of the last car off campus at night, our campus hums. If one were to watch a timelapse video from the sky over our campus, I bet it would resemble a beehive. 

All of this activity takes a tremendous amount of support. In those predawn hours, our maintenance and facility staff arrive to begin their days - James Allison, Brian Grigg, and Cardinal Greenridge are on campus first making sure everything is up and running. Throughout the day they are working to make sure our campus remains running at top speed. As they roll out, our Extended Day team, led admirably by Beth Ryan, Logan Simpson, and Missy McMahon, prepare for the second half of the school day program. From 2:30 to 6:00, they support over 200 students in homework completion, snacks, recess, and afterschool activities. 

As our Extended Day rolls on, our Athletic Team, led by Mike Cerino and supported by Graham Brewer, Bridget Duesterhaus, Joel Sansbury, Jon Green, and other off-season Program Heads, begin the work of supporting multiple afternoon matches and practices. An additional 200+ students participate in games, matches, and events each season. 

Finally, on game days and other major event days, we benefit from the support of our Parents' Community - as we did last night at our Parents' Community Griffin Tailgate. There were toddlers galore decked out in new SDS swag and peppered with face paint and Griffin tattoos. I want to thank Cole Reutter for her leadership of Parents' Community and Perrin Patterson and Mary-Stewart Loring for their steadfast contributions to events like this which bring our entire Griffin community together. 

It is after weeks like this and knowing how many people give so much of themselves to make it happen, it is easy to say: Go Griffins! 

Sincerely,