Gratitude, Safety, & Details

October 23, 2020

Dear TGS Community–

We owe a debt of gratitude to our 5th grade teachers, Mrs. Nina Hernandez and Mrs. Jennifer DeBenedetti, for facilitating such a successful launch of in-person instruction with our class of ’28! And our 5th graders have been fantastic. They’ve navigated our safety protocols exceptionally. One of our SAGE colleagues described them as simply perfect! Good job 5th grade students and families.

I want to thank everyone who has reached out about the news of Ms. Patton’s resignation. I know she will be extremely touched to know the impact she has had on so many of you, and we welcome those notes of gratitude that can be passed on to her. As I shared in a message yesterday to the Middle School families, some of our wonderful faculty are already engaged in continuing the excellent work that Ms. Patton provided, and we appreciate all who are embracing new roles and opportunities.

In today’s newsletter, we’ve incorporated the release of our school’s opening campus safety guidelines, which have been developed and revised by the administrative team over the last six months, incorporating information and feedback from a number of professionals, including several medical personnel. Here you will see the behavior expectations, cleaning protocols and other measures being taken to keep students and staff as safe as possible. It is important that everyone do their part if we hope to decrease risk and increase the likelihood of remaining open through the semester. In particular, I encourage families to review our recommended protocols around travel, quarantine and testing. We are a very mobile community and you can really support our efforts by taking every precaution available. Thank you.

Next week, we welcome our 8th graders and Seniors. We are excited to have those student leaders on campus and will be meeting with each group to reinforce the importance of their role modeling for younger students, as well as other ways they can help.  

SAGE is continuing to fine-tune their lunch delivery system as we increase the number of students on campus. Because the safety protocols call for keeping students out of the dining hall, the meals need to be more portable, so simplicity is key as we build our way back to a more full-service food delivery system. Each day, students will get to choose one meal from three complete meal options, provided in one container. Fresh fruit will be available throughout the day to supplement the meal choice. Lunches are being distributed outdoors on both sides of campus. Students are eating outdoors, socially distanced.  

Monday’s forecast appears to have the possibility of rain. Murphy’s Law on our first day with 75 students on campus! We need the rain and will celebrate any precipitation that arrives! With 9800 square feet of tented outdoor space, we will be able to accommodate inclement weather. I would encourage everyone to have an umbrella handy for passing times between classes.   

As always, we welcome your input. Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any questions regarding the opening school guidelines.

Gratefully,

Julie A. Sherrill, Ph.D.
Head of School