eople?” said Janeah Alexis, a ninth grader new to SSFS from Brooklyn, NY, in reference to why she didn’t get a first friend. That’s what a lot of new ninth grade students have been asking lately.

First Friends was started by the admissions office in the mid 1990’s to help new students and their families get to know SSFS. It started in the lower school and then moved up to the middle and upper school.

“It was an attempt on the part of admissions to connect new students and their families to current Sandy Spring students and families,” explained Victoria Garner, college counselor. The program is supposed to be a resource for students and parents to ask questions if needed and create a friend/buddy that will look out for a new student the first days or weeks of school. They are in the same grade as the new student as well.

But this year, something different happened. New ninth grade “A Better Chance” (ABC) and “International Student Program” (ISP) students were left out in the cold. With Mecha Inman, who was in charge of ABC and boarding students’ First Friends, leaving for her new job and Bim Shcauffler, who’s in charge of ISP First Friends, enrolling new ISP students, a first friend couldn’t be provided for everyone.

“I thought the assignments had been taken care of,” Inman said.

“The closer enrollment happens to the beginning of the school year, the less likely it is for them to have First Friends,” Schauffler explained. That’s why so many new ninth grade ISP and ABC boarding students do not have First Friends.

While most new ninth graders who didn’t receive a first friend got through the first weeks of school pretty well, this minor slip-up made people question the First Friends program.

Schauffler feels the First Friends program should have more events or gatherings for new students and First Friends to bond.

Schauffler stated, “It would help to integrate ISP students if there was more of a program.”

Karen Cumberbatch, who is in charge of tenth and eleventh grade match ups, had an enthusiastic response to how she could make the First Friends program better.

“I need to explain more about what the need and expectation is to students who are First Friends,” said Cumberbatch. This includes following up with students after school starts and making sure the students are comfortable with their matches.

Senior Allyson Howe remembers when she was a First Friend to Erin Stevens back in second grade. “We went swimming,” Howe remembers with a smile, “but when you’re younger, your parents are more involved,” Howe explained.

“I would still want a first friend if I started ninth grade over, because my first friend made me feel a part of the school community,” new freshman Jacob Pleasure said.

Some students have already considered being a first friend next year. “It is a good idea,” said ninth grader Jack Espino, “It gives you someone to talk to and an easy way to make friends.”

Some new students, although they said their First Friends were great, didn’t have much contact with them during the summer.

Molly Siegel, a freshman, expressed that having a first friend was “helpful once I got to school, but we didn’t do anything before school started. I didn’t know we were supposed to.”

One of the other main problems this year is the number of returning students. In tenth and eleventh grade, this was not a problem, but for ninth grade it was. With this year’s ninth grade class being so large, the new students out numbered the returning.

Cumberbatch attributed everyone not being paired with this issue.

“Usually there are enough willing students. In ninth grade, the problem was the numbers,” said Cumberbatch.

Though there were problems with this years First Friends, organizers still see the importance in the program.

“Over the eight years I’ve been doing ISP First Friends, we’ve made progress,” Schauffler said.

Cumberbatch feels that First Friends is a “real vital use. Drawing attention to it can help the improvement of the program.”

Sara Brigham, who is now in charge of First Friends for day, boarding, and ABC students said, “I would love feedback about the program.” This includes good and bad news or information. Feedback can come from anyone First Friends, new students, and returning students.

“The concept is good,” Cumberbatch acknowledged as far as the First Friends program itself.

There isn’t an exact explanation for the mistake that happened this year. It was a terrible misunderstanding, which has already been acknowledged and apologized for.

“I want to offer my sincere apology to all boarding and ABC students and to SSFS. The oversight was in no way intentional,” Inman said.

The admissions office has already started trying to fix the situation for anyone who is interested. Brigham stated, “I would love to set something up now for the students who didn’t receive First Friends. It may seem late, but [we could] at least try to have you all feel a part of the program.”