Parent Weekly Update ~May24th
"If you persevere to the end… you will receive consolation and joy from Jesus." -Blessed Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd "The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy. As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." -John F. Kennedy Office of the Principal Mr. Meredith
Thank you to all of our students who worked so hard since our time apart that began on March 13th. Despite these unprecedented times, our students maintained their academic workload and stood together strong as a Nazareth Family. They not only maintained Nazareth traditions, they started a few new ones along the way. We are also very grateful for the support of our parents and guardians. Your support of your daughters and of the mission of Nazareth made our joint success possible. Finally, we appreciate the efforts of our teachers, counselors, and staff who delivered teaching and learning, not to mention social, emotional, and spiritual support, to our students. Their efforts on behalf of our students made school happen. Despite being apart, our school never closed. As we did during the beginning of flexible instruction, we will share survey questions shortly to gather your input.
This week, please note especially the schedule for Thursday. We will gather together virtually one last time as a class and together, "Move Up" to the next class year. Student Council Installation, traditionally held on that day, will be held in the fall, when we are altogether safely.
For our Senior Salute, on May 29th, only seniors and their families in their cars are to be on campus along with Nazareth teachers, staff, and coaches. While we many want to be present to celebrate our Class of 2020, we must maintain and honor safety and social distancing during these difficult times.
At the beginning of next week, on June 1st, we will share our 2020-2021 School Calendar in our final Weekly Update of the 2019-2020 school year. We will also discuss possible scenarios for school in the fall.
Finally, please click here for Summer Assignments.
Office of the President Mrs. LePera My hope is that we served you well during this virtual world. We are blessed to have your daughters in our lives. We hope that we were able to make their educational experience these last two months was as close to normal as it could be. Teaching and learning and counseling were part of every day.
Our Admissions efforts continued, our Advancement efforts forged on, and our marketing and social media efforts were exponentially greater than we could ever have imagined. Maintenance and security worked every day to make sure our emergency repairs continued and the Innovation Center could come to life. IT kept us going. The Business Office never missed a beat with meeting our business needs. Even Athletics had virtual workouts, senior days and virtual banquets.
We will never forget this academic year, and my hope is that it will soon be a distant memory and our personal and professional lives will return to a world where social distancing doesn't have a place and masks are not needed. But somehow the upcoming academic year will probably look different than any before it. Know that everyday we will be focusing on rolling out the academic year to best serve your daughters following the CDC and Commonwealth guidelines.
Financial Aid for 2020 -2021 Financial aid awards for those who applied will be announced by June 1. The coronavirus crisis has created many challenges. Our mission calls us to embrace faith, family and education. Many families have been unexpectedly impacted financially with job loss, salary reduction or major health issues created by the coronavirus. We are in the process of developing an application process for those families. This is possible because of our generous alumnae, donors and board members. Funds are limited, and we will do our best to assist as many families as possible. If you have any questions regarding financial aid or the COVID19 assistance, please contact Mrs. McCloskey at jmccloskey@nazarethacademyhs.org.
May this summer especially be filled with relaxation and wonderful memories! Until we meet again, stay safe and stay healthy!
Thought for the Foreseeable Future I thought this was an appropriate thought as the last 8 weeks have been filled with a lifetime of worry and of course endless waiting for the next piece of news to when we move towards our counties being open again!
Waiting and Worrying ~ Seth Godin It's easy for us to choose to worry. The world is upside down, the slog continues, a tragedy unevenly but widely distributed.
Worry takes a lot of effort. And worry, unlike focus, learning or action, accomplishes nothing of value.
And, at the same time, due to the time-horizon of the pandemic, it's also tempting for us to simply wait. To wait for things to get back to normal. But all the time we're spending waiting (for a normal that is unlikely to be just like it was) is time we're not spending learning, leading and connecting.
Waiting is, sort of by definition, a waste of time. But time is scarce, so wasting it is a shameful act.
If we decided to simply reduce our waiting and worrying allocation by 50%, just imagine how much we could discover, how many skills we could learn, how dramatically attitudes could shift.
We can still wait (even though time will pass either way). And we can still worry (even though it doesn't do any good). But perhaps we can figure out how to do it less.
Weekly Schedules
Monday, May 25th Memorial Day
Tuesday, May 26th No class
Wednesday, May 27th Class Day Awards: Presentation shared virtuallyby 11:00 am
Thursday, May 28th Class Meetings and Move Up Day via Zoom (Invitation to follow):
Friday, May 29th Senior Salute, 12:00 pm
Student Belongings Return and Pickup Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors will return any school issued material, such as textbooks, workbooks, sports uniforms, Chorale dresses, and Chorus and Chorale music beginning on June 2nd. At that time, in a safe and socially distant manner, students will pick up any of their belongings that still remain at school, such as the contents of their locker and art projects. Anything from the locker that belongs to the students has been bagged according to student and will be distributed to each student at the Gym Lobby. At this time, students can also pickup material that they may need for summer assignments.
Here is the schedule to return and pickup belongings:
For students arriving by car, please enter via Stevenson Lane and pull up closest to the steps at the Gym Lobby entrance, and then depart via Grant Avenue when the process is completed. For students arriving on foot, enter campus via the steps on Grant Avenue, follow the sidewalks around the front of school to check in at the Gym Lobby door.
If students are unavailable for their scheduled appointment window, time is available on Friday, June 5th. If students are unavailable at all during pickup, please email Mr. Meredith so alternative arrangements can be made. Athletics
Nazareth Academy High School is seeking to hire a Varsity Lacrosse Coach for 2020-2021. Please click here for additional information. |