Before we know it, the new school year will be upon us. While we are all hopefully replenishing after a difficult spring, rest assured that I'm back in Philadelphia, energized and ready for our fall semester.

In a few weeks, I will be sharing our detailed plans for reopening. Our task force has been working diligently to develop health and safety protocols and schedules with the goal of reopening school in person for the 2020-21 school year.

As educators, and as parents, we know your daughters' health and safety are paramount. Our reopening work is guided by recommendations from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) as well as state and local health officials' guidelines. The first few weeks will certainly look and feel different, but I'm certain we'll all get accustomed to this new way of being together. We will look for new ways to create the warm, welcoming environment that is at the core of our Mercy community.

As parents, your partnership with Merion is essential as we embark on reopening school. I feel strongly that all of you should be involved in helping us. Please take a moment to complete the back-to-campus survey here. Your answers will help us understand your comfort level for coming back to campus and finalize our plans.

Here are some of the changes you can expect to see when your daughters return to campus.

We are planning for multiple reopening scenarios.

Our goal is to open school in person for the 2020-21 school year. Given the evolving nature of the Covid-19 disease and the increase in reported cases, we are preparing for a variety of scenarios. We are preparing to offer distance learning to the greatest extent possible for parents who are not comfortable sending their daughters to school.

We will practice social distancing throughout our campus and commit to physical distancing in the classroom to the greatest extent possible.

We are working on plans to ensure we all keep the recommended six feet apart throughout campus by limiting time spent in the hallways between classes, at lockers and in community spaces. We plan to establish one-way traffic patterns in hallways and staircases. We are also working on adjusting our floor plans in each classroom to allow for appropriate distancing between desks.

We will conduct daily health screenings every day.

Every student will be required to complete a health screening that includes a temperature check before arriving at school via RUVNA, an intuitive platform specifically designed to screen and track COVID-19 in schools. We will also ask that anyone running a temperature higher than 100.4 remain at home. If you do not have access to a thermometer at home, we will put you in touch with Mrs. Katie Hogan, our School Nurse, to coordinate. Additional health protocols will be included in our detailed plan, including a sick policy that's aligned with CDC guidelines.

We will ask that every time anyone is on campus, they wear a mask.

Every student, faculty, staff and admin must wear a face covering when at school, as recommended by the CDC and Commonwealth Department of Health. We will provide more guidance on masks in our detailed plan.

We will disinfect the school throughout the school day.

We are developing new protocols and schedules to ensure high-touch surfaces, common spaces and bathrooms are frequently cleaned and disinfected during the day. We've added additional sanitizing stations throughout the building.

We will modify our food services program to ensure limited handling of all meals.

We are working to adjust our lunch program to ensure fewer opportunities for shared meals and potential contamination. We will be offering boxed lunch options, including pre-made salads, and organizing new areas inside and outdoors where our girls can eat in spaces that comply with CDC guidelines.

We will limit visitors on campus during the school day.

We will be strictly limiting visitors on campus, including parents and other members of the community,, to protect the health and safety of those in the building. As guidelines change, we look forward to welcoming you all back to campus to fully participate in the life of our school community.

I know that our Merion community thrives when we're together—collaborating, exploring new ideas, sharing perspectives, discussing important topics, and building relationships. I'm looking forward to seeing our hallways filled again with laughter and the sounds of learning, even if things feel and sound a little different this fall.

While these times are challenging, we will confront our challenges together, keeping your daughters and our Mercy mission central to every decision we make.

Please don't forget to answer our short survey, and be on the lookout for our detailed plan later this month.

Be well.

Warm Regards,