Dear Fellow Members of the Brookwood Family: Students, Teachers, Families, and Trustees,

Thank you for your continued interest in and support of the School.  The Board of Directors is grateful for all that you do. 

As you know, we have been working for some time to recruit a long-term headmaster.  We are grateful for any input you may have given us and for the faculty who have played a role in this process, including meeting with us about their questions and concerns.

Through this process, we identified several candidates who seem well qualified to run the school.  We recently invited two to visit the school and meet with many of you.  We have had significant feedback and the reviews for both candidates were for the most part extremely favorable, which made the decision difficult.  After much consideration, deliberation, and debate, the Board of Directors has unanimously selected Mike Notaro to become our next headmaster.  He has graciously accepted, and we have received his signed contract.  Mike will start June 1, 2006, and we are excited that Mike and his family will be joining the Brookwood family.  With his contract now in-hand, I wanted to inform you of this as quickly as possible, not waiting until after the Christmas Holidays. 

During the next several months, Mike will be spending as much time as possible in Thomasville meeting with as many of you as he can in an effort to familiarize himself with the school, you, and the community.  He wants to be as well indoctrinated as soon as possible so that he will hit the ground running in June.  Please help with this process by spending time with Mike and his family.

For those who do not know, Mike is coming to us from Tuscaloosa, AL where he is currently Head of the Upper School and Associate Headmaster at Tuscaloosa Academy, a school very similar to Brookwood.  In this capacity, he has functioned as interim headmaster on more than one occasion.  Mike has a wonderful family.  His wife Mary Nelson and daughters Hannah (12 yrs.) and Rosie (7 yrs.) are very excited about moving to Thomasville.  They plan to be very involved in both the school and the community.  They will be visiting Thomasville and Brookwood again in January.

Please help in welcoming the Notaros to Brookwood. Mike's email address is mikenotaro@comcast.net.    I am sure he would love to hear from you.

We all have a lot to be thankful for during this holiday season. Brookwood is no exception.  Not only will we welcome a future headmaster, but the campus improvement plan is well under way.  We have a wonderful student body and the best faculty we have ever had.

The annual meeting for the school will be in February 2006.  At that time, we plan to announce and exhibit the plans for the future and the official kickoff of our capital campaign.

Thank each and every one of you for your continued support and pride in Brookwood School.  My best to you and your family during this Holiday Season.

Sincerely,

Chip Hancock
Chairman
Board of Directors