Learning and Growing Together as One Community
Dear Ellis Family,
As I write this, we are just wrapping up our fourth week of school, with the vast majority of our students attending on campus and others connecting with their classes from home. Given the unpredictable nature of the coronavirus, every day that we can operate on campus this year is a gift. I am so thankful to all the members of our school community—teachers, staff, students, families—who are working hard to make this possible. If we do have to shift to fully remote at any point, these first weeks together have provided a wonderful foundation of relationship building between teachers and students, enhancing our ability to learn together all year long, regardless of any shifts in our modes of operation.
As I write this, we are just wrapping up our fourth week of school, with the vast majority of our students attending on campus and others connecting with their classes from home. Given the unpredictable nature of the coronavirus, every day that we can operate on campus this year is a gift. I am so thankful to all the members of our school community—teachers, staff, students, families—who are working hard to make this possible. If we do have to shift to fully remote at any point, these first weeks together have provided a wonderful foundation of relationship building between teachers and students, enhancing our ability to learn together all year long, regardless of any shifts in our modes of operation.
Many aspects of school have to be different this year—masks on everyone all the time, social distancing everywhere, group gatherings limited in size. It has been remarkable to watch students and teachers adjust to our new routines. Their diligence about following health protocols is a wonderful reflection of their care for each other, and their desire to be able to continue to learn in community.
Many aspects of school, however, have not changed, and one of the most important of those at Ellis is that commitment to learning in community. It begins with our very youngest learners. Our pre-kindergarten classrooms begin each day with a team meeting, and students learn early on about the important balance between following the team plan vs. following their own plan. Group projects abound throughout our curriculum—at every grade level and in every subject matter—whether it be engineering design projects for juniors or creation of an original play by fifth graders, varsity soccer players training hard together for competition, or Lower School students working collaboratively to prepare for the beloved Lower School musical.
Yes, these days some members of a team are on campus, and some are at home, and students on campus have to remain six feet apart, presenting new challenges to all of us as we work to include everyone and connect across those distances. This kind of challenge can be frustrating to everyone, as we miss the ease of sharing a worktable with our partners or plopping down in the library on our comfy couches to discuss a project. But in true Ellis fashion, our teachers and students are tackling this challenge with creativity, and developing new and different ways to stay in community and to stay connected, whether it be socially distanced science experiments or Zoom breakout rooms for discussion between remote and on-campus learners. As always, teachers and learners at Ellis are rising to the occasion!
With my best regards,
Macon
Back
Many aspects of school, however, have not changed, and one of the most important of those at Ellis is that commitment to learning in community. It begins with our very youngest learners. Our pre-kindergarten classrooms begin each day with a team meeting, and students learn early on about the important balance between following the team plan vs. following their own plan. Group projects abound throughout our curriculum—at every grade level and in every subject matter—whether it be engineering design projects for juniors or creation of an original play by fifth graders, varsity soccer players training hard together for competition, or Lower School students working collaboratively to prepare for the beloved Lower School musical.
Yes, these days some members of a team are on campus, and some are at home, and students on campus have to remain six feet apart, presenting new challenges to all of us as we work to include everyone and connect across those distances. This kind of challenge can be frustrating to everyone, as we miss the ease of sharing a worktable with our partners or plopping down in the library on our comfy couches to discuss a project. But in true Ellis fashion, our teachers and students are tackling this challenge with creativity, and developing new and different ways to stay in community and to stay connected, whether it be socially distanced science experiments or Zoom breakout rooms for discussion between remote and on-campus learners. As always, teachers and learners at Ellis are rising to the occasion!
With my best regards,
Macon
