03.27.20: Friday update

From: Julie Smith, Head of School
Subject: Friday update; Week Two recap; events in April and beyond

Dear Stanbridge Parents and Guardians,

TGIF. A reason to exhale, and a reminder that, yes, today is Friday. A side effect of extended sheltering-in-place is the sometimes disorienting sense of déjà vu, so rest assured that today is Friday—we made it through another week of distance learning. By all accounts, things went a little smoother this past week, with everyone settling-in to their home classrooms. There are still areas of improvement that we are working on, but thanks to the early feedback from students and parents, we were able to address some of the initial challenges and glitches of shifting to remote learning.

The improvements will be ongoing, so keep the feedback coming. As noted earlier this week, our distance learning model will continue through April given the updated school closure guidelines released on Wednesday (click here to read). With another five weeks of school from home on the horizon, all of us want to ensure that you and your children are able to make this situation work. Whether it be concerns about academics, the social-emotional element, or finding the right work-life balance personally, please reach out to let us know when something isn't going as expected or when your student (or you) need some extra time, support, or relief. I don't want to understate how immensely challenging this is for everyone within the Stanbridge community—students, parents, and staff alike—but the communal support shown thusfar is proof that we can and will get through this together.

So given the news of the campus closure extended through May 1, let me share with you how we plan to get through the next month of remote learning. There are a number of events on our April calendar that will be impacted by the closure, and after discussions with our teachers and Administrative Team this week, here are details on some of those key events:

• Right off the bat, there is a SPA meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 1. We still plan to hold a (virtual) parent meeting next week and are looking at optimal dates and times, potentially hosting an evening Zoom session given everyone's morning online crunch. There is a sense that many parents want to connect, and the upcoming SPA meeting will be a great forum to share stories, discuss the challenges and successes of remote learning so far, and touch base with some familiar faces whom you may not have seen for a while. Look for an email early next week with specifics and related links. 
• The end of the Third Quarter was today, which means quarterly report cards are on the horizon. Given the extra burden that many of our teachers have right now in adapting lesson plans for an even longer period of distance learning, while also managing their own family situations at home, report cards will be completed over our "Spring Break," April 10–17 and emailed to you the following week (more on Spring Break momentarily).
• Per feedback gathered during last year's Mid-Year Parent Survey, we had originally scheduled next Friday, April 3, to be a day for spring parent-teacher conferences. We still plan to hold conferences, though they will occur later in the month and, obviously, look a little different. We will be working with teachers in each division to setup one-on-one virtual conferences via Zoom or Google Hangouts, with an initial plan to start these sessions the week of April 20. There are some logistical challenges in scheduling conference times for all of our teachers, some of whom see students in every grade division, so we will be working to build that calendar in the days ahead and will share more information on sign-ups and schedules once details are solidified.
• Spring Break will also look different this year—or, more to the point, look more or less like these past two weeks. Our break is scheduled to start on Friday, April 10 and run through April 17. We will keep those dates as a Spring Break, but given that your student will still be home during that period, the term "break" is a relative one. To that end, while teachers will not run a standard academic schedule during that time, we are working with our entire staff to hold online social meet-ups and activities throughout that week. These optional sessions will not be tied to class curriculum, but they will still provide some structure and activity for your student so that you are not playing the role of sitter 24/7 all week. Again, the specifics are still being hammered out, and we will share once a clearer picture emerges.
• Sadly, one of the more high-profile casualties of the extended campus closure is the cancellation of our spring overnight experiential trips. Should we truly be able to return to campus the week of May 4, that gives us a full month to re-establish a sense of normalcy before graduation. Given the uncertain availability of some of the venues for our spring trips, and the condensed timeline to coordinate, plan, and prepare students, it was determined that this year's spring overnight trips should be cancelled.
• On a brighter note, we are merely postponing our Spring Sing concert, which was scheduled for April 9. Should we be back on campus in May, we will reschedule this event to be held in The Marilyn Center. If the closure is extended again, we have discussed various ways to gather in cyberspace and allow our students to share their voices, music, and moves online. At this point, a virtual Spring Sing is still a "Plan B" alternative—we are all hoping to be back on campus in May—but should that not come to pass, there will be a virtual Spring Sing, and we will release details on how that will run if and when necessary.
• Also looking ahead to the positive, we are proceeding with Summer School as scheduled. At this point, there is no indication that summer courses will not begin as planned the week of June 15. Should circumstances change that timeline, we will adjust our plans accordingly. Please ensure that, if your child is interested in a summer school class (or classes), you complete the enrollment form and mail in your payment (by April 9, if possible, as that is our initial sign-up deadline).

Yet another positive was the all-High School meeting that took place this afternoon. Head of High School Colleen McQuade organized this session to explain the revised schedule that our high school students will be using starting on Monday (it's linked on the Parent Portal). More than going over the details of the schedule, the teachers and students truly enjoyed the social aspect of seeing everyone together again as a group—it was a fantastic way to end the school week (because remember, it is Friday).

Understandably, some of the student questions during the High School Zoom meeting today turned to events on the calendar that we do not have clear answers on right now—specifically prom and graduation. As Matt and I noted earlier this week, there are simply too many unknowns to address those scheduled events with any certainty. It is everyone's hope that prom, end-of-year award assemblies, the Eighth Grade Graduation Dinner, Senior Graduation Luncheon, and the commencement ceremony itself will proceed as scheduled. But all of those events are weeks or months away, and right now each day seems to bring a new surprise. At this moment, I can only share that, as a staff, those annual traditions are on our minds as well and will be celebrated with the maximum pomp and circumstance that circumstances allow. As the bigger picture shifts into focus over the course of these next few weeks, we will have more clarity on school events beyond April.

So once again, I urge you to return to and focus on the present. In the post below, our division heads have shared their updates; a tradition that we are happy to bring back on a weekly basis. We continue to work toward finding the right balance of sharing-out information, and our strategy is to consolidate as much as possible in to these Friday evening updates. Urgent alerts will be shared in-the-moment, as necessary, but we are making a concerted effort to cut back on overwhelming your email inbox. Also, I hope you are able to follow the advice put out in last Friday's update: As much as you are able to, let this be the end of the week and the start of the weekend. Turn off your screens, spend quality time with your family, find some quiet time for yourself—turn-off, unplug, and unwind. I sincerely hope you are able to do that, and wish all of you the best for a restful weekend ahead.