A Message for the Weekend

Today is a beautiful fall day with low humidity and the excitement of a Friday. Everyone loves pizza, and as our Lower School students were spread all over campus eating lunch, it seemed for a moment, brief as it may be, that all was right in the world. The kids were asking about the new playground and were begging for their monkey bars (NO!), and the JK4 teachers were wrangling a remarkably active group of little ones. The easiest way for me to learn the names of our youngest Raiders, by the way, is to observe them at lunch and hear the JK teachers calling them by name. That may tell you a little about your child if I know their name already. And yes, that was me using an emoji…

I did speak to our Upper School today about being smart off campus. Their adherence to COVID policy on campus has been incredible so far, but I have heard of weekend social events with crowds, no social distancing, and no masks. We reinforced that it is better for them if they avoid such situations, and letters to parents regarding these events are headed out. There have been some other independent schools forced to close their upper schools because of unwise social events, and it helps our older kids to know that the ramifications of their behavior are real.

On another COVID related note, there have been a number of parents who have received “Explanation of Benefits” notes from their insurance companies in response to our recent COVID testing. These are not bills, and if you should receive an actual bill, please bring a copy to the business office. Please do not pay the bill before you bring it to us.

Putting COVID aside, we appreciate all of the positive notes we have received as a faculty and staff. We are aware that there are many inconveniences in your life and understand that at times we must add to them, so to hear that you think things are going well at school is gratifying. This is a tired faculty/staff that is also reinventing how they teach given block periods and distance learning, but they are committed to (apologies for the cliche) making lemonade from lemons.

We do have a football game this afternoon, a tangible sign of normality, and we are looking forward to a great weekend. For those of you wondering, Ellie is working Saturday at the shop, and I am going to play golf because my handicap is 4 strokes lower than it was prior to COVID. Now that’s making lemonade from lemons! Thanks again for being a part of our school community— for sure, there has never been a better time to be at North Cross.