Dear Flint Hill School Families,

Can you believe another exciting school year is about to start? It is obvious wherever you go! There are back-to-school posters and sales in our favorite stores, and on TV, commercials are beginning to remind us that another school year is around the corner. I hope that everyone had a wonderful summer and had the chance to get plenty of time to rest and relax, in preparation for the start of what will be an action-packed school year ahead.

I want to welcome back all of our returning Huskies. We have a huge number of families who are returning this year, and our attrition rate for this year is the lowest it has ever been in many years. This is a tremendous testament to all the hard work that our faculty, students and parents contributed to making last year such a successful year. I also want to extend a special, warm welcome to all our new Huskies. I know everyone will be working hard to make you feel like a part of our “school family” as quickly as possible.

Last year ended with a tremendous sense of energy that continued through the summer. We had a very successful year with the Annual Fund and graduated an outstanding group of Seniors who will soon leave home to attend 75 different colleges and universities. At the start of the summer, one young lady learned that she had been awarded All-American status in girls’ lacrosse. Our aerial robotics team won second place overall and best overall high school, during the 2018 drone competition sponsored by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI). Sixty-six schools entered the competition, 63 of which were colleges and universities from around the world, and only 51 of those schools qualified for the demo portion of the competition. Flint Hill’s team chose to be the first to perform with its hovercraft. The team accomplished all the required tasks, flying 3 miles in 16 minutes, and outperforming schools like Virginia Tech, McGill, Cornell, Stanford, Harvard, a number of universities of California, the Naval Academy, and Embry-Riddle to come in second to The Université of Desherbrook of Canada. The Virginia Tech team, which came in just 1,000 points behind Flint Hill in third place, had three  Flint Hill alumni leading the way! And two other college teams, Christopher Newport and the McGill University of Canada, each had former Huskies as members of their teams! Their showing was a huge testament to the strength of our Math, Science and Innovation programs and our students’ sheer commitment and passion.

As we look forward, your engagement as we get this new year underway will be critical. Flint Hill is a school that never sits on its laurels or maintains the status quo. There is always a sense of momentum, looking forward and entrepreneurialism. You will hear more about that regarding our Campus Master Plan. Our application to build a new Middle School on the Upper School Campus passed the first hurdle in July and was approved by the Fairfax County Planning Commission. In September, we will go before the Board of Supervisors. As we get closer to that date, we will keep you informed of the status and any support we may need from the Flint Hill community.

I look forward to seeing everyone at the start of the school! Please get into the habit of reading through this newsletter, in depth each week, and keep an eye on your inboxes for any other communications, from the School, to help you get ready for the start of the year. Please know that together, as part of the Husky team, we will work hard to make 2018-2019 one of the very best school years in Flint Hill’s history.

Best wishes to you!

Sincerely,

John M. Thomas
Headmaster