Dear ISW Community,
A year ago tomorrow, schools all over the country closed their buildings in an effort to slow the spread of the pandemic. We had no idea when we walked into school on Friday, March 13, 2020, that this day would be our last day of in-person education for six months. In the 365 days that followed, ISW’s students, teachers, administrators, and families showed a remarkable unanimity of purpose and commitment to keeping our community safe while staying true to our mission of providing an outstanding education for every student.
At ISW, it has been a difficult year for all: from 12 weeks of unanticipated but successful virtual learning to a lovely but lonely commencement ceremony, from an experimental YAA summer program to a building opening in August with 6-foot physical distancing, windows wide open, and a mask on every smiling face. In preparation for re-opening our building, we redesigned everything: the layout of every classroom, every single lesson, arrival and dismissal, lunch and recess, afterschool programs, performing arts programs including Huzzah (one of the few performing arts programs in the country that continued to offer in-person opportunities to students), our beloved rituals (including PJ Days, Thanksgiving, and Valentine’s Day), and our experiential learning programs.
We welcomed students back to our building with trepidation. Some students felt safer learning from home, and we found ways to meet their needs too. Over the course of the following seven months, we have held our collective breaths as case numbers climbed and climbed and, thankfully, have finally started to fall. Remarkably, we have been open and enjoying in-person education for all but a handful of days.
While acknowledging that the past year has been challenging for many and truly horrific for others, we want to thank our school community for their dedication to making in-person school happen. Students, faculty, administrators, and family, we see your sacrifices and your good faith. We see you rising above daily irritations and trials to do the right thing for one another. Parents, we see you coming to get your child who has the sniffles or some other symptom that in any other year would be considered minor but this year must be taken seriously. Teachers and students, we see you taking care of one another, and we appreciate you all.
In recognition of our outstanding community, we are declaring March 12 ISW Community Day! Each student and faculty member will take home a flower which represents both our thanks and the promise that spring is coming. Our masks may be covering our smiles, but our eyes see everything each and every one of you has done to help us make it through the last 365 days. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you!
With tremendous love and gratitude,
Dr. Claire