Dear TGS Families:

Thank you for your continued vigilance and transparency in helping us keep our community safe and well. We are grateful for the calls and inquiries regarding possible COVID exposure. There have now been a few instances when it was helpful to be able to administer the rapid antigen tests we have available at school. Please remember that we need your permission in order to administer those tests. You can find the information that was sent previously re: the rapid antigen tests and parent permission on our COVID-19 update page.

Speaking of wellness, I appreciate the feedback received from some of our families regarding today's wellness survey and am happy to clarify a few points again here based on those inquiries. Students took the survey with their advisors during Exploration 1. Surveys were administered in advisory groups so that students would feel comfortable in asking advisors clarifying questions. Surveys are anonymous and the results will be compiled in the aggregate, one for grades 5-8, one for 9-11, and one for seniors. Students were reassured that they did not have to answer all of the questions if a question made them uncomfortable or they felt that it did not apply to them.

The survey was designed to provide us with baseline information about the students we serve as we work to build our Grades 5 - 12 wellness program. What are our students’ sleeping habits? Eating habits?  Knowledge about food and nutrition? Who do they seek out if they are having a social/emotional concern?  (Options include parents/family, faculty, staff, friends, etc.).

The results are much like an assessment that any competent educator provides a group of learners to see where the starting point is for instruction. For instance, we may see that 75% of girls in the middle school grades see themselves as overweight, when we know that in reality that is not the case. That says that body image may be an area to address in our health and wellness classes. If only 10% of students report that there is a safe adult at school whom they can seek out for help, that's a significant red flag. What are we doing to create an environment of safety? If 50% of our Upper Schoolers report binge drinking, we know we have to do a better job of communicating these dangers and offering healthy alternatives. If 40% of our students say they'd like to understand better how to use yoga and meditation to lower anxiety, then we can look at how we offer opportunities for this to happen within our existing curriculum. The list of possibilities can go on and on—but this gives you an idea of how the results can be used to inform our curriculum.

Thank you for your support as we continue to design meaningful and worthwhile learning experiences for your child.