Dear Friends, It has been a busy week with many Upper School faculty spending time on campus testing classroom technology for hybrid teaching, collaborating on curriculum in teaching teams, and enjoying each other's company under the front tents during lunch. Many have noted that being on campus, even with mask, hand sanitizer and social distancing, feels good. And, we are ready to welcome you back next week. Before we get into the details of next week and the return-to-campus process, we want to introduce you to nine new teachers joining the Upper School for the 2020-21 school year. Please join us in welcoming Emily Brennan (Math), Colin Brown (Math), Lucia Herrmann (Urban Teaching Fellow), Kristen Kelly (English), Janet Kobosky (College Counseling), Michael LoStracco (Religious Studies), Catherine Murray (Social Studies), Edna RamÃrez (Spanish), and Allen Van (Physical Education). All have settled into virtual teaching and advising for the past two weeks and are looking forward to meeting students on campus next week. Please take a few moments to read the bios of these new members of the PC community. Social and Emotional Wellness for Teens Upper School counselor Elizabeth Hitschler reminds all of us to recognize that the past six months have been filled with challenges and uncertainty, but, hopefully, a silver lining or two! As we navigate the transitions from distance learning to a hybrid model of rotating blue/yellow weeks, the physical health and safety for all in our community is very important. Equally important is the social and emotional wellness and safety of all the Upper School students. In the next few weeks, it would be expected that students will experience a wide range of emotions. To support students in these transitions, Elizabeth would like to share four resources for you to read and discuss as a family. The are: If you have further questions or concerns, please reach out to Elizabeth at ehitschler@penncharter.com or 215-844-3460 ext. 205. Next week we are bringing smaller groups of students from all three divisions to campus to experience the new safety protocols and hybrid learning first-hand. We need to establish new patterns in our classrooms and hallways, over lunch, and how we arrive and leave campus. We believe that doing this over next week will allow us to help students return to PC safely. So, here are the details. Schedule for the week of Monday, Sept. 21 to Friday, Sept. 25, 2020 If students or parents have questions about next week's schedule, please reach out to your advisor or grade dean. Also, look for an email from Marianne Master and Sharon Ahram with more information about Wednesday's Community Day activities for 9th and 12th grades. Other important procedural things for next week: Arrival and Traffic Patterns - Students will not be permitted to enter the buildings before 8:30am. If students arrive before 8:30am, they may wait outside in one of the front tents.
- If you are dropping off a student, come to campus through the School House Lane entrance and drop off in the front circle. Exit campus via School House Lane. See map below.
- Student drivers enter at the Fox Street entrance and park in student parking (not a numbered or visitor parking spot). If student parking is full, park on Coulter Street. See map below.
- Upper School late arrival
– Students who arrive late or have permission to sign in after their first block of the day should enter the Upper School through the main lobby, on the first floor beneath the clock tower. – Students will be required to scan their QR code or Student ID barcode at the front reception desk of the main lobby prior to proceeding to their class. (Front desk personnel will contact Health Office x142, if there are issues with verification.) – For attendance purposes, Upper School students will then need to sign in at the US attendance office on the second floor of the main building. Screening - Each morning, look for an email from CrisisGo with the Safety iPass link. Complete this screening at home, including a temperature check. Submit this information before coming to campus. If you receive a green QR code entry badge, you are cleared to come to PC.
- When students arrive on campus next week, their green QR entry badge will be screened outside before they can enter the building. If a student is not cleared to enter, they will be asked to report to the medical tent to have a temperature check and to answer screening questions.
- Students in 9th and 10th grades will be screened and enter the building through the red doors under the bell tower on the front circle.
- Students in 11th and 12th grades will be screened and enter the building through the entrance outside of Gummere Library or through the back door by the hoist and ceramics studio.
Buying Lunch CulinArt is offering families the option to order daily lunch through their Nutrislice app. How to sign up. Lunches need to be ordered at 48 hours in advance, not including Saturday and Sunday. Lunches will be labeled with student name and grade. Lunches for students in 9th and 10th grades will be delivered to the front circle tents, and those for 11th and 12th students will go to the graduation patio tents. Families will need to provide breakfast and snacks because CulinArt services are not available to students during the school day. CulinArt will no longer be using MyPaymentsPlus. Families who used MyPaymentsPlus last year and have a credit will receive a refund. Departure - Students need to leave campus within 30 minutes of the close of school, except on days when they are engaged in PC athletics.
- Parents/guardians picking up a student should come in the School House Lane entrance and pick up their student from the front circle patio. Exit onto School House Lane.
- Upper School early departure
– Parents must contact the Upper School office to make arrangements. – Students must sign out at the US attendance desk on the second floor of the main building. – Students should then walk directly outside to meet their parents/caregivers. – Students who have permission to sign out before the end of the academic day must do so at the US attendance office on the second floor of the main building.
Athletics Athletic conditioning for students will resume next week. For full details regarding athletics this fall, please refer to this email from the Athletics Department. Dropping Off Materials Because of our current "no visitor" policy, we cannot allow parents to enter the buildings to drop off forgotten lunches, books, or other supplies. Instead, we have placed a plastic bin labeled "Material Drop Off" outside on the front patio by the red front doors to the main building. Parents/guardians should call the Upper School office to notify that an item has been placed in the bin for us to give to the student. Please label the item. Safety Protocols As we have shared previously, the proper wearing of masks, adherence to social distancing and hand hygiene protocols are essential elements of our Health and Safety Plan and part of our collective responsibility to each other, students and faculty/staff. These practices minimize risk of infection with COVID. While we will educate and support our students as they re-enter school wearing masks, sanitizing hands frequently and maintaining physical distances, there will be disciplinary consequences for students who consistently violate these essential community safety protocols. See p. 16 in the Student Handbook for more information. We are so excited to have Upper School students return to campus next week. We know that it will be a week of learning and growth for us all. We also know that we all need to be flexible and kind with each other as we learn new protocols and procedures. If we can move forward together, adhering to masking and other safety protocols, we have the best chance of remaining in school together for the long term. Thank you for your continued support and trust. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to one of us. Beth Glascott Assistant Head of School Sharon Ahram 11/12 Grade Dean Lee Payton Assistant Director of Upper School Marianne Master 9/10 Grade Dean 3000 West School House Lane Philadelphia, PA 19144 215.844.3460 unsubscribe |