June 25, 2020 MESSAGE FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL Dear Merion Mercy Families,
Looking ahead, our top priority is to reunite our Merion Mercy community and operate school in a safe environment so we prevent the spread of Covid-19 among students, faculty and staff. While much is still unknown at this time, one thing is clear: the upcoming year will be different from other school years in many ways.
We have established a Reopening Task Force. It is important that reopening planning is informed by our latest understanding of Covid-19 pandemic health and safety guidelines and best practices of teaching and learning. For the past months, representatives from different school groups have joined together to form a Reopening Task Force to guide our return to campus in the fall. Our Task Force represents all areas of school life, from academics to facilities, from co-curriculars to athletics.
Reopening decisions will support our guiding principles. Since the onset of this global pandemic, we have navigated challenges with the goals of adhering to mission, supporting students and advancing academic excellence.
Our 2020-2021 School Year Calendar We anticipate an on-time opening of school in the fall should Pennsylvania continue on its current path to contain the spread of Covid-19 disease.
We are planning for several different opening scenarios, depending on recommended guidelines for social distancing. We are reviewing several options for class delivery, such as hybrid models combining in-class instruction and virtual delivery.
Our faculty is committed to academic excellence both at school and online. Our students must be academically challenged, successful and prepared for their futures, and that means having high quality learning opportunities both at school and online. We have seized upon this moment of disruption and challenged ourselves as a faculty to innovate and design for learning in all environments.
A strong parent-school partnership is essential for maintaining a healthy and safe school community. As scientific and epidemiological understanding of Covid-19 deepens and more data and studies become available, we are working with medical professionals inside the Merion Mercy community and throughout Philadelphia to develop protocols and policies that align with best practice.
We will provide ongoing communication throughout the summer. We realize this is an evolving situation and promise we will provide updates throughout the summer so you feel comfortable about our opening and confident that our community will always be put first.
We are eager to see you in just a few months. These last few months have taught us lessons in resilience and perseverance and allowed us to think differently and creatively about teaching and learning. We have been reminded day in and day out of the irreplaceable value of our community and will continue to find new ways to stay connected, stay engaged and stay social. We are truly grateful for your support and can't wait to be together again, however that together might be.
Laura Farrell Head of School 511 Montgomery Avenue • Merion Station • PA • 19066 |