By Brendan O.
Administration
The Administration has been very busy this month with changing the seven “families” into six “houses.” The reason for the change is simple. “You have one foot in the child world and one foot in the adult world,” said Dr. Rita Argiros, Vice President of Administrative Affairs. The term “house” is meant to give the students a sense of independence. The administration is trying to “honor the transition into the adult world,” she added. The students and staff in the houses will still refer to each other as their family.
Dr. Argiros is also setting up a dog training classroom where there will be K-9 training classes. Her hope is to be able to teach the training more formally. She is also hoping to be able to use video equipment to review actual dog training sessions out in the field while in the classroom. Dr. Argiros has also created a partnership with an animal rescue society, called Life Long Tails that puts dogs up for adoption. Dr. Argiros hopes to allow the school to become a foster home for dogs.
Robin Ducey has stepped down as the principal of The Family Foundation School. Ducey still remains the principal of the middle school and will chair the fine arts department of the school. The new principal of FFS is Ann Janauer.
The administration has been very busy restructuring a lot of things such as the new activity periods which were designed to give the students more time to get their work done as well as some time to relax and have fun.
Admissions
FFS welcomed five new families in the month of July and eight new families in the month of August. Jeff Brian, Vice President for External Affairs and Director of Admissions, traveled to the state of California this month to visit several schools and seven treatment programs as well as visit with an alumnus and his family. Educational consultants have visited the school along with visitors from the NYC “Center for Living” and “Wellspring.”
Athletics
The athletics department welcomes James “Willly” Williamson as the new athletic director for FFS. The school will miss Bill Musgrove, the former athletic director, who left the school this week. “Bill was a wonderful athletic director,” said Robin Ducey. The athletic department has been preparing for the upcoming boys and girls soccer season. Williamson and Carlton Williams are the new boys soccer coaches, and Scott McDonald and Donna Broce are the new girls soccer coaches. The athletics department will be very busy this month.
Performing Arts
The Performing Arts Department has been busy getting ready for this year’s fall musical My Favorite Year. “We’re doing Fantastic,” said Tom Kovaleski, director of performing arts here at FFS. “The show contains a wonderful song and dance number that parallels some of the students stories,” said Kovaleski. He has been busy designing the costumes and set with the help of Pam Allen and Jackie Petriella. “Happy endings abound in this wonderful musical based around the recording of a live TV comedy/variety show set in 1954. The “Big Day” of the performance will be on Family Day, September 12th following a community showing on September 11th.
Maintenance
The maintenance department is finishing up the new girls dorm. They have also been doing other work such as putting in additional drainage, re-doing trailer 14, re-doing some bathrooms and floors, and fixing the ceiling in the old Family Two. “We’re busy fixing what you guys break,” said Ed Anderson, the head of the maintenance department, with a wry smile. “We’ve got a lot of little renovations to do,” he added. Overall, Anderson said that the maintenance department is doing well.
