From the Desk of the Head of School- July 10, 2020

7/10/2020

Dear Harding Academy Community,

This is a timely message considering Metro Schools announcement yesterday that they will be starting school in remote classes. Their decision as a school system does not impact our decision as an independent school. The guidance in the Nashville Plan: Framework for a Safe, Efficient, and Equitable Return to School, remains our guiding framework and we continue to prepare for an in-person opening on August 20. Learning at Harding Academy will take place on campus, but we will make that learning available for those students who are at risk, or have guardians who are at risk and decide to stay home.

As promised, this message will focus on our calendar changes as a result of opening Harding Academy in a modified Phase 2 or Phase 3 reopening stage. We have carefully examined the school calendar from our opening day through our Winter Break considering the constraints of operating school in a pandemic. What follows is a description of how we will approach a variety of events that would populate our calendar in a typical year.

Starting and Ending Dates and Major Breaks

First, I want to reiterate from my communication on June 19 that our starting and ending dates and major breaks will remain the same as we have always had. Fall Break, Thanksgiving, Winter Break, and Spring Break will stay on the calendar as they have been communicated.

First Day of Classes: August 20, 2020
Fall Break: October 15 & 18, 2020
Faculty and Staff Professional Development: November 2, 2020
Thanksgiving Break: November 25-27, 2020
Winter Break: December 21, 2020 - January 1, 2021
Martin Luther King Jr. Day: January 18, 2021
President’s Day: February 15, 2021
Spring Break: March 11-19, 2021
Graduation: May 28, 2021

School Opening Events

In our current modified Phase 2 or Phase 3 we cannot have our traditional Orientation events on August 19, 2020. In a typical year, this would involve families from three grade levels arriving on campus, visiting their classrooms, perhaps dropping off materials, visiting the school store, signing up for FLIK food service or Pursuit, or volunteering with Harding Parents Association (HPA). Obviously, we can’t congregate in these ways anymore. We will take the following steps to adapt via a virtual model.

Student Orientation: Teachers will be reaching out via email with a brief introductory video to themselves and some important information for the first day.
School Store: We are moving our school store online. You will be able to browse our inventory, select and purchase through our new website and we will have your item available for pick up. Stay tuned for more details.
FLIK: The company is developing an online sign up platform for daily boxed lunches. Lunches will be delivered to individual classrooms. Stay tuned for more information.
Pursuit: If you have completed the interest form in the recent Magnus email, then you are all set. Mark Jones, Pursuit Director, will be preparing a video outlining the answers to FAQs around Pursuit.
HPA: You can expect a welcome email from Ansley Wells, HPA President with information about opportunities to help Harding Academy via the Harding Parents Association.

Back to School Night

Like our orientation day, Back to School Night cannot be presented in our traditional model and will move to an online model. Our teachers will be presenting via Google Meet the information they would typically offer in person and you all will have the opportunity to ask questions via the Google Meet platform. Additionally, our teachers will have expanded information on their CompassNet and/or Google Classroom pages.

Field Trips

In a modified Phase 2 or Phase 3 opening, the Nashville Plan: Framework for a Safe, Efficient, and Equitable Return to School, states that off campus field trips should be discontinued. For us that means our overnight retreats in the middle school will be cancelled. We are working to develop leadership exercises and team building activities that continue to serve the goals of those retreats during our first full week of school. This also means that any off-site grade level field trips will not be able to happen while we remain in a modified Phase 2 or Phase 3.

Major Events

Athletics Start Dates: As most of you are aware, the TSSAA has recently announced the delayed start to both the high school football and girls soccer competition seasons as well as the modification of their practices to eliminate any close contact between players prior to Aug. 29 due to the Governor's extension of the state of emergency. While this impacts how we move forward with football, it fortunately allows cheerleading, cross-country, volleyball, tennis, mountain biking and golf to proceed with the possibility of some modifications for certain sports. All of our early fall sports are currently tracking for normal start dates the week of Aug. 10.

HPA Events: Ansley Wells, our Harding Parents Association President will be offering a virtual HPA kickoff meeting outlining the work of the Association, the goals for the year, and opportunities to engage. Stay tuned for details about that virtual meeting.

Last year the HPA offered grade level parent parties on campus that helped connect parents in each grade to each other. Unfortunately, due to the restrictions around gatherings in a modified Phase 2 or Phase 3 stage, we cannot have those parties this year. The HPA also organizes our big fall celebration and fair, Generals Jamboree. We will not be able to organize that event in a way that abides by the guidelines and so we are seeking ways to incorporate the activities into a spring event, should we move to Phase 4 by then or we may have to cancel. Additionally, we will not be having our Book Fair or Kaleidoscope Series. Finally, we are exploring how we continue to support our partners at Second Harvest through a reimagined Fall food drive.

Parent-Teacher Conferences: We will most likely be moving these conferences to an online platform.

Fall Musical: The cast will make use of recording and streaming technology to ensure a safe experience for the cast as they work to create the play and allow the audience to enjoy the performance remotely.

Advancement Events: We will not be able to gather on campus for our advancement events in the Fall. The advancement office is currently reimagining their celebrations and events.

Grandparents Chocolate: Pam Rhett, Lower School Music and Chorus Director, who has overseen the organization of Grandparents Chocolate, along with an army of HPA volunteers and our Fourth and Fifth Grade classes, for many years now is hard at work redesigning this event to abide by the opening guidelines that will most likely be in place. Obviously, we will not be able to have this even in person, but stay tuned for details around how we will continue the tradition anew.

The outline above attempts to outline our thinking and/or decisions around major calendar items related to the first half of the school year. There are calendar items that are either division-level or grade-level specific that will be discussed by our division directors and/or faculty during our opening events. Again, we find ourselves in a fluid situation and are working to offer as much information as we are able when we are able.

Have a great weekend!

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