A New Year Begins
Getting started this year will be quite a bit different than any other start I have experienced in my 18 years as Upper School Principal. After a strange summer with more ups and downs than a rollercoaster ride, we have finally arrived at a new school year. While 2020 may well continue to provide more surprises and challenges, I know our community is up to the task. I am confident we have chosen a cautious and wise course of action to ease into what will be an unusual school year.
We know we will rely on remote learning for the first two weeks, so teachers and students can settle back into their Zoom worlds and get to know each other that way. I believe CA teachers and students excelled in this mode last spring, taking full advantage of the positive things offered by remote learning and navigating around the shortcomings. Teachers have learned additional strategies to be even better effective in a virtual environment. We will get the academics underway and build up some momentum before returning to campus on August 31.
Once we return to campus, we do hope to maintain a sense of normalcy, even with all the precautions and social distancing measures in place. Students will be able to interact and build relationships with their teachers. Most important from an academic standpoint, certain aspects of school that are superior in person will spring to life: hands-on projects in science, the arts and the innovation lab, collaborative work with peers, and a full range of athletics. (Our boys golf, boys tennis and co-ed cross country teams have been able to get underway already, and students have relished those opportunities.)
I couldn’t be prouder or more impressed with our teachers, who have been hard at work preparing for multiple possibilities and dedicated to make whatever scenario work. Although most teachers took some much-needed time away, no one had their usual summer break. The result is that there are new and innovative ideas coming through in every discipline. I know that students will benefit from their teachers’ dedication and preparation.
One of the key traditions that we will maintain as soon as we can open features the Seniors greeting the incoming Freshmen at the front of the building. The enthusiastic welcome with decorations, costumes, and a lot of cheering sets the tone for a positive school year. We will need to divide the groups into two (Rockies/Mustangs), but the way I see it, that just means double the fun! We will share many photos of this annual event on the day it occurs.
Just as this tradition infuses joy and fun into the school year, we will be looking for multiple ways to celebrate our Seniors, bring the community together, and enjoy our time together, even if we are wearing masks and staying a little farther apart. In this weekly blog, I will keep everyone posted on the many exciting ways that Colorado Academy’s Upper School develops “curious, kind, courageous, and adventurous learners and leaders.”
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