Homerooms and Advisory Study Hall
Homerooms will be divided in two sections for grades 5, 7, and 8; and one section for grade 6 given its smaller size. For morning homerooms (8:00–8:10 a.m.), students will be supervised by two grade-level advisors and will have staggered times to visit lockers after morning arrival. Our new schedule will still include an Advisory Group Study Hall at the end of the day during which students will meet with their small advisory group in a designated location.
Snack/Lunch
Students will eat snack and lunch in grade-level homerooms, supervised by faculty and with social distancing. One grade will be assigned to eat lunch in the courtyard at least once during the week if they choose, and students will be able to have recess outdoors as well. Students will not be required to wear face coverings when eating nor when outside at recess with six-foot social distancing.
Common Spaces
Our common spaces, such as the Middle School Lounge, have been rearranged to accommodate social distancing. Some hallways will convert to one direction. In order to prevent any congestion and respect social distancing, we will have staggered dismissal times for homerooms and classes to visit lockers. Students will be allowed to carry their backpacks with them from class to class to avoid trips to lockers.
-
Outdoor Spaces: In order to maximize our time outside, we have created an outdoor spaces calendar which allows each division to schedule access for classes, lunch, and recess.
Materials
In addition to our school supply list provided at the beginning of the summer, we are asking families to provide some additional supplies to remove the need for shared materials: glue sticks, colored pencils and markers (one pack of eight), scissors, tape, and a ruler.
Classrooms
We have redesigned our classroom layouts to accommodate six-foot social distancing between students. In order to accomplish this, we have reduced the occupancy of our classrooms and created new room schedules and classroom seating configurations. Sanitizer stations will be located in the front of all classrooms, and students will be asked to sanitize upon entering and leaving the classrooms. Furniture will be sanitized by teachers between classes.
Co-curricular Programming
In order to comply with the current limit on inside gatherings, we will hold House Games and Middle School meetings virtually. We will continue our club programming while maintaining cohorts and small groups.
Our field trips are an important part of our Middle School experience, and we are looking closely at each trip. Field trips that take place outside are being closely evaluated, while we are not making plans for trips that take place indoors at this time.
Family Events
We deeply value our partnership with families, and we have worked to develop a plan for advisor conferences, Curriculum Night, and our fall conferences that provides families with important information and feedback. Our advisor conferences will take place via
Zoom, and advisors will send out individual links to families. We will keep conferences scheduled for August 31 and follow the schedule that families signed up for through
Sign Up Genius.
-
Curriculum Night will offer a
Zoom meeting at each grade level with the grade-level advisors that will provide an overview of the year and information specific to that grade. Our faculty members will share video recordings of their class organization and structure, and we will share this information with families through email. This information will also be posted on Unified Classroom pages.
At this point, we plan to conduct fall conferences in October in the same manner as the August advisor conferences and include feedback on individual students from each teacher. We are in discussion with the
Educational Record Bureau (ERB) about their plans for fall standardized testing, and we will provide this information to families along with any anticipated schedule changes.
Remote Learning Access
Middle School students who are unable to be on campus due to COVID-19 related health concerns will have remote access to all of their courses. Students will follow the same schedule for both in-person and remote classes, and Zoom links, assignments, and materials will be provided via
Unified Classroom in advance of all class meetings. Students accessing their courses remotely are responsible for joining class at the designated start time and are expected to be engaged and present throughout the class period, just as they would in the classroom.
We recognize that the physical setup of our building and the structure of our classrooms will look different this fall. We are committed to providing the same robust learning experiences, and our faculty have worked hard this summer to re-envision their curricula with these guidelines in mind. Our experience in remote learning taught us that our students are resilient and they grow in independence. I have faith that they will rise to the occasion again as we walk through this challenge together. We know that all of us will spend this fall in various degrees of adjustment, and as community members, we must work together to ensure the health and safety of all.