Dear Students, Parents, Faculty, and Staff:
We hope you are healthy and well and enjoying these final weeks of summer. As the 2020-21 school year approaches, you can expect to receive at least one email per week outlining important details about the start of school as we continue to refine our plans for reopening. While there are still many logistical questions left to answer, we appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate this process as a community.
Opening of School Schedule
I am pleased to share that the School calendar has now been updated for the upcoming school year. You can find the calendar in the School Life section of our website and can also use the clickable blue link at the very top of our website's homepage to go directly to the calendar.
Additionally, we have created a calendar to help with identifying which cohort will be on campus each day through December. Regarding school cancellations due to inclement weather, the schedule will not change, rather than the custom in years past of pushing forward the seven-day cycle once students returned to campus. This will allow our community to plan for transportation, child care, etc. based on the published calendar.
Important Dates and Acclimation Days
Below you will find important dates pertaining to the gradual start to the 2020-21 academic year. The goal of the acclimation days is to further build community. There will be a special schedule for those days that allows students to meet with each of their classes. On those acclimation days that Cohort students are listed to be on campus, Cohorts at home will not need to be present via Zoom. This will allow all teachers to get to know the students who are present in person on those days. It will also allow teachers and students to discuss the PREP COMMUNITY COVENANT and our expectations relating Zoom etiquette and other classroom prerequisites. The first day of classes is scheduled for September 16 with Cohort A on campus and Cohort B along with Remote Learners on Zoom.
September
3 - Acclimation Day: All Remote Learners
4 - Offices closed
7 - Labor Day - Offices closed
8 - Acclimation Day: Grades 6 and 9 in Cohort A and all transfer students
9 - Acclimation Day: Grades 6 and 9 in Cohort B
10 - Acclimation Day: Grades 7 and 10 in Cohort A
11 - Acclimation Day: Grades 7 and 10 in Cohort B
14 - Acclimation Day: Grades 8, 11, and 12 in Cohort A
15 - Acclimation Day: Grades 8, 11, and 12 in Cohort B
16 - First Day of Classes - Cohort A
Launching the PREP HELM (Hybrid Education Learning Model) program will be a new experience for all of us. We realize that there are many unanswered questions and we remain grateful for your patience. Please take some time to review the information in this email and be on the lookout for additional emails and information over the next few weeks regarding book lists, schedules, orientation, additional details about acclimation days, and more. Additionally, an archive of all emails will be made available on our Reopening St. John's Webpage. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Peace,
Keith A. Crowley, Ph.D.
Principal/Associate Head of School