Dear Flint Hill School Families,
The energetic pace of the school year continued during the last week with a number of successful events and achievements by our winter athletic teams.
On Thursday night, the Girls’ Varsity Basketball team celebrated Senior Night with two tremendous young ladies graduating this year; both girls have been true inspirations throughout their careers here at Flint Hill. The team has been on a run of late, and tonight they will play at Potomac, at 7:15 p.m., for the ISL Championship.
On that same evening, the Development Office hosted a very successful reception for past parents at Westwood Country Club. Many of our great families came back to reconnect with each other and with the School. It was so successful that it appears a new annual tradition has emerged.
During Town Meeting on Friday morning, the Upper School had the opportunity to hear an inspirational speech from Della Britton Baeza, the CEO and president of the Jackie Robinson Foundation. Della is the aunt of one of our Seniors, Sydney Britton, and she came to talk about the values that Jackie Robinson demonstrated as he broke the color barrier in professional baseball. The Jackie Robinson Foundation provides scholarships for outstanding students and is in the midst of creating a museum in lower Manhattan about Jackie Robinson and his life. Della enthralled the entire Upper School audience with her talk and presentation. After her presentation, in a more informal setting, a large number of students listened to her insights as she continued to share stories and advice.
On Friday night, the Major Minors, our nationally recognized a cappella group, performed their first concert of the year. A tremendous group of 20 musicians took the stage to sing beautifully together and also to showcase individual solos. They talked about their tour in New York last fall and how they truly have developed as a group throughout their journey. They will perform again in the spring during Arts Jam at the George Mason University Concert Hall. Following the amazing concert, our Ice Hockey team played in the playoffs for their conference title. They had a tough match and have had an incredibly strong season, having made it through the first round of the playoffs. The team has one final match this Friday, February 26, at 4:30 p.m., against Potomac for the Dominion Cup Championship.
Empty Bowls was the highlight of the day on Saturday. Upper School Ceramics teacher Julia Cardone, members of the Clay Club, students, parents, and faculty and staff who participated in this event truly made it one of the highlights of the year. When the doors opened at 11:00 a.m., people were already lined up, ready to make purchases, and to enjoy a bowl of soup and bread. The event was accompanied by music, demonstrations, and our own ceramic artists moving about to answer all types of questions.
Throughout the weekend, our Boys’ and Girls’ Varsity Swim teams took part in the Virginia Independent School Athletic Association (VISAA) State Meet, and they were both incredibly successful. Our Girl’s Swim Team finished in fourth place overall with 194 points. This is the highest placement at the VISAA State Meet in the history of the School. The meet also resulted in four new School records, two first place finishes, one Automatic All-America time, and one All-America consideration time. Only the top 100 swimmers in each event in the nation receive All-America honors. Earlier in the season at the Washington Metropolitan Prep School Swim Dive League Championship , Jasmine Hellmer ’18 also achieved an Automatic All-America time in 100 yard Butterfly with 54.37 (and broke Olympian Katie Ledecky’s meet record in the process!).
On Saturday night, the Boys’ Varsity Basketball team played in a hard-fought match against Potomac. They came back from a double-digit deficit to win the game with an enormous crowd of Flint Hill students, parents and even past parents that were there to cheer on our Huskies!
Adding to the excitement, 15 Middle and Upper School students performed at the District Honor Choir. Congratulations to all our students who participated and to Senior Michelle Pawlow ’16, who was selected for All-Virginia Honors Choir for the second year in a row!
Wow! What an array of activities. And I apologize as I’m sure I left some things out. Flint Hill truly is a vibrant place. Robotics competitions and a myriad of other events are in the near future. We talk about how the real strength of the program comes from engagement at every age level. As you can see, there is a constant stream of opportunities to engage, connect and learn from and with each other. As the year moves on, please don’t hesitate to check the School’s’ Weekly Newsletter for updates on events. Make certain that your calendars are up to date so you can join us whenever possible. It is hard to believe that this week marks the start of the final tournaments for winter sports and that our spring teams will soon be on the fields getting ready for their seasons. Time does not stop for us, and we need to learn how to manage, value and appreciate the time we experience together.
Join me again in congratulating all of the students, faculty, staff, coaches, and parents who work at School every day to bring our unique culture to life. Go Huskies!
Best wishes to you!
Sincerely,
John M. Thomas
Headmaster