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October 29, 2020
Dear Families,
I voted early on Tuesday and it took 4 ½ hours! I am sure there are many of you who also stood on the long lines. There was so much about the experience that reminded me of the lessons to be learned while leading our school during Covid. It was a long walk that snaked from 100th Street to 104th Street and back to 102nd Street. The trip went between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues, twice. It took forever but so many factors went into making it work. I was so proud to be voting with my husband and youngest daughter. I loved sharing the experience, watching my fellow Upper Westsiders, and feeling the sense of community.
I loved the clarity and transparency. The minute we got on line we were told “4-5 hours” and it was true. There were volunteers at each turn who encouraged us, gave us accurate time checks, and directed us to the next parts of the journey.
I loved the vibe. It was calm, focused, and determined. No one was cranky. There were only smiles or quiet talk and reading, listening to music, or meditative trances. It felt productive and both private and public at the same time.
I loved the support of volunteers, others on the line, the singer who entertained us, and the offerings of water, bananas, and pretzels.
And I LOVED the end point of voting, the sticker and the bracelet- the swag that said WE VOTED!
Sound familiar to your journey this year? While we are snaking through the year in more than 4 ½ hours, we can learn from what keeps us going, what is keeping us going, and what we must continue to do to keep us going. To that end, we want to know how your child is doing, Please take a moment to complete our survey that will be sending out tomorrow.
With Respect,
Jacqui & Katie
Updates for This Week
ELECTION DAY
We will be doing asynchronous teaching- and the whole day will be celebrating Digital Citizenship Day. Your children will complete 6 lessons- they are really interesting and IMPORTANT. The topics cover: Online Safety, Technology and Data, Digital Rights and Literacy, Social Media, Screen Time and Offline Time, and Digital Privacy
CONCISE EMAILS TO STAFF
Just a quick favor. We are all relying on email for everything because we are not able to pop in and talk to one another. Please be thoughtful when you email teachers. Concise, short emails are helpful.
REASONS TO CALL AND NOT TO CALL THE MAIN OFFICE
Reasons to Call:
If your child is sick we need to know. Please call the office at 212-295- 7555 even if you already informed your child’s Advisor. We need to know.
Reasons Not to Call (or Try Not to Call):
You want to know if your child arrived at school because they did not call or text you and of course now you are worried. We get it. However, as you can imagine our office staff is really busy. Please work with your wonderful children to put an alarm on their phones to remind them to help ease your worries by calling or texting you when they arrive. I am no different. I make my girls in their 20’s call or text when they get home from trips, protests, or big events. I get it.
FLU SEASON
It is coming and we know that the symptoms are Covid-like. If your child is home sick, we will call you for details. We will probably call the Situation Room for advice and, like you, we may worry. This will be a challenging winter. We know that and are prepared.
STUDY HALLS
More feedback from you has led to Study Halls. Starting in mid-November, your children will now have Specials 8 times a week instead of 10. Two periods will now be designated for Study Halls which supervised by your child’s Specials teachers who are available to provide advice and answer questions. Some Core Content teachers may specifically assign individual students to finish a project during this time. This is a great opportunity for your students to catch up on their work, email their teachers with questions, ask classmates for help, etc.