Hello! My name is John Fahey. I became the Assistant Director of the Boarding Program at Sandy Spring Friends School (SSFS) in 2018 after working at a boarding school in the Boston area for 20 years. And, because we're always working to improve the Boarding program, I am excited to have the opportunity to share my knowledge and ideas to offer a more meaningful experience to all our boarding students.
My primary role is running the day-to-day program and my work has an impact on almost all areas of our students’ dorm experience. In addition, I manage the Dorm Staff Master Schedule, communicate with the Health Center on student-related concerns, and supervise students during regular Dorm shifts. But if you ask the students the most important areas I oversee, they would likely say it’s the food and off-campus trips!
How do I support our students when it comes to food services and off-campus trips? Well, it’s my responsibility to ensure our students’ voices are heard and to make the services we offer better.
For example, just recently, I met with the Director of Boarding and the Food Service Director to discuss ways to improve meals for student-athletes who occasionally eat dinner later than everyone else because of their sports engagements. We also considered ways to enhance the evening snack options for both of our Dorms (Westview and Norwood House). Lastly, we shared the students' request for a wider variety of options at breakfast.
We deeply understand the importance of spending time away and make off-campus trips a priority. I coordinate these weekly trips by using an app called Boardingware, which gives me the ability to create and share schedules with students and staff. We offer trips to the town of Olney on Wednesday evenings, on Saturdays, and on Sundays. There are two weekly shuttles to Rockville on Saturdays, and other excursions if needed. For example, over the past two weekends, we organized groups of students who wanted to go to a concert; we brought boarding students to a day student’s birthday party; took students to off-campus testing; and brought a number of people to both a volleyball try-out and a boxing class.
I hope this has given you a snapshot of how we work hard to improve the boarding experience for your student here at SSFS. It is truly a pleasure working with each of them.
If you have questions, please contact me at John.Fahey@ssfs.org or (301) 774-7455 x132.