2021 Planning

List of 7 items.

• Academics

  Our modified schedule was built with both on campus and remote learners in mind. We already know travel restrictions or health conditions will make it difficult for some students to be here at the start of school. And it is likely that we will have on-campus students learning remotely while isolated and/or quarantined due to a positive case or exposure to a positive case. 

   

  Here are the key highlights of the schedule:

  • Classes will be held Monday through Friday. 
  • We will use the same schedule each week throughout the fall trimester. 
  • Classes for third and fourth formers will meet four times a week for 45 minutes. 
  • Classes for fifth and sixth formers will have two 45-minute meetings and one 90-minute meeting.  
  • Classes will also have asynchronous components where boys work at the time, place, and pace of their choosing.
  • Saturday will include new co-curricular activities for boys on campus.

   

  The decision to have one asynchronous class each week will prepare students and faculty for the period in December when all courses will meet online. These learning opportunities might include specific time for reflection, participation in threaded discussions with classmates, out-of-class collaboration, or intentional application of learning to broader challenges. One of our students' primary frustrations last spring was the increased amount of what many of them saw as "busy work." We hope that we will all be better able to support meaningful asynchronous learning that engages boys to think creatively and analytically in December if we weave this kind of learning into our courses from the start of classes in the fall.  

   

  Reducing the class meetings per week opens up time for the faculty to manage the substantial work involved to enhance and standardize our courses on Canvas, engage our students for the one asynchronous meeting per week, and reach out directly to online learners.  

   

  We have built the schedule in anticipation of the transition to December’s online learning, but also constructed it in a way that would allow us to move back to Woodberry’s regular schedule, including a resumption of Saturday classes, later in the school year if health conditions improve. 

  
  

  There are no major academic changes as we move forward, though we will return to our normal system of dismissing classes at the bell. Please remember the expectations around Canvas that were outlined during opening faculty meetings.

  
  

  Because we must wear masks AND remain distanced indoors, please leave desks spaced the way they were set up in August.

  
  

  Some faculty would like to use minibuses for short (less than 15 minutes) on-campus trips.  Please follow these rules:

  • Masks on
  • Windows down
  • No talking
  • No lingering on the bus
  • Spread out to at least 6 feet apart as soon as you’re off the bus
  • Sit in the same seat on the return trip
  • Wipe down your seat when you return
  • Wash your hands when you return

  
  
  

• Arts

  Just as we plan to offer our full academic curriculum in other subjects, music ensembles and other courses will be available next year. The music faculty continue to monitor guidelines from national and international music organizations. “Best practices” may be a moving target and evolve as the year goes along, but our faculty will help every student continue his musical education.

   

  Our drama and visual arts offerings are less impacted by COVID-19, though there will certainly be some changes. We look forward to another year of outstanding artistic achievements from students in all facets of the arts programs at Woodberry.
  
  

  Each part of the Arts Department is in a slightly different place due to widely varying risks, but all art/music/drama classes are being offered this year. Here’s a rundown of the current status.

  
  

  Visual arts: Classes are meeting. Studios are open to art students and to boys who have permission from Mr. Erickson to pursue independent work. 

  
  

  Drama: The fall play will be A Separate Peace. Details to come on the performances.

  
  

  Music: Rehearsals are complicated by social distancing rules and because singing or playing any instrument that produces aerosols (woodwinds, brass, bagpipes) is very high risk. The department is ordering special safety equipment to allow indoor practices. 

  
  

  For now groups are rehearsing by section (i.e. all violas on one day, all violins another day) and, when possible, outdoors. Students can practice their instrument alone in a practice room if they follow the sign-in and cleaning rules that have been posted.

  
  
  
  
  

   

• Athletics

  For the rest of the fall we hope to run the following Afternoon Activities and Intramurals

  • Fall Afternoon Activities
    • Varsity Cross Country - Meets begin early October. 
    • Varsity Soccer - Practicing as an academy. Games TBD.
    • Varsity Football - Practicing as an academy. Games TBD
    • Mountain Biking running as an activity
    • Fall Golf - Will host at least 4 matches at WFS
    • Fall Tennis
    • Fall Swimming
    • WFS Outdoors
    • Athletic Development
    • PE
    • Senior Golf
    • Main Stage play and tech crew
  • Intramurals - 3rd and 4th Form
    • Two 4-week "seasons" with both flag football and soccer as games played by all with masks.
    • 3rd and 4th form may opt for the Main Stage, WFS Outdoors, or be allowed to participate in the Varsity Sport Academies or Varsity Teams 
    • Greg Jacobs will be the commissioner of the 3rd and 4th form intramural league and will divide coaches among teams.  
  • Varsity Athletic Academies
    • Varsity teams that are not run in the fall as normal, as well as some winter and spring teams, will have the opportunity to work as a team for four weeks.
    • Two four week sessions will be run concurrently with the Intramural and Afternoon Activities
    • Varsity Fall Coaches will run these academies and will be asked to help with intramurals when their four-week session is over

  Glover Center

  • Masks must be worn
  • Please do not bring in your own equipment
  • No HIT in the space; lifting only

  The Barbee Center Fitness Area (on the infield of the track) will open to Students, Staff, and Faculty after all boys are on campus and have removed their stored belongings.

  
  

  Dick Gymnasium

  • Open to boys for shooting. No more than two to a basket, and no games (either 1v1 or full-court)

  Squash Pavillion - 

  Area open to Campus Families is limited to the cardio machines, weight area, and front 3 squash courts

  Students, staff, and faculty have access to back 6 courts and storage area

  1 player per court until further notice

  
  
  

• Library Access and Use

  You can see the most up to date library information here.

  
  

  With a focus on curating quality educational resources to help support instruction, prioritizing our student and faculty learning experiences, and championing equity, diversity, and digital citizenship, the WHW Jr. Library plays an integral role in supporting our colleagues, students, and families. We will continue to do this in the 2020-2021 school year; however, library services and resources will look and feel a bit differently in order to follow best practices during the COVID pandemic. The information below is a preliminary snapshot to provide essential information as we move into the school year. More details will be forthcoming.

  
  

  NOTE: The WHW Jr. Library plan for services and resources during COVID is meant to be flexible and should change fluidly as new data is provided. While arranged in three phases, these phases are not absolute and services will scale within each phase. Phase 1 = no physical access, Phase 2 = limited access (our current library status), Phase 3 = full access restored. Books will circulate through all phases. 

  
  

  Phase Two

  • The physical library space is open: we offer contactless checkout and welcome faculty, limited independent student users, and classes by prescheduled reservation only, subject to density limitations (seating has been removed from the library, and the remaining chairs have been arranged a minimum of six feet apart).
  • There will be no physical class reserve shelves created or maintained. Options for electronic reserve shelves are available.
  • Users are expected to wipe down shared computer keyboards, mice, and surrounding table surfaces as well as any shared common equipment such as the copier with provided antiseptic wipes after each use. 
  • Magazines and Newspapers are not on display and any shared office supplies or materials require sanitization after use.

  
  

  Phase Three

  • Drop-in student entry to the library will be restored.
  • Drop-in use by classes will be permitted.

• Online Learning and Delayed Return

  As described in the Academics section, all courses for next year are being designed so they can be taken in-person or online. They are also built so that a boy can be online for a few weeks and then join the classroom cohort without being behind. This will be useful in cases where a student is delayed in his journey to campus due to travel restrictions, visa issues, or pre-existing health conditions. This setup should also allow a boy who has started in person to work online for a few weeks if he is infected or quarantined.

   

  We want our students to be back on campus, and we know that’s what most boys and parents want, too. We are preparing to deliver the Woodberry experience in-person for nearly the entire year and for nearly all boys. But if your son cannot reach campus at the start of the school year, we are committed to supporting his academic experience until he is able to come to campus. 

   

• Creating and Maintaining a Safe Community

  We’re fortunate that COVID-19 usually does not impact teenagers as severely as it affects older adults. However, there are no guarantees that a teenager’s case will be mild if he becomes infected. And clearly we have many faculty and staff members in the Woodberry community who are in higher risk categories because of their age or their personal health situation. 

   

  We have had at least two cases of COVID-19 on campus so far (one involving a member of the staff, the other involving a painter working on the Walker Building renovation project). Both cases were contained without further infections because the people involved wore masks, practiced social distancing, and stayed home when they started feeling sick. 

   

  We expect to have more cases of COVID-19 during the school year. Woodberry’s rural location and ample space is an asset, but we are not a sealed bubble, nor can we be. In order for us to remain on campus, we must all work together to limit the potential spread of the disease when a case occurs. 

   

  All of us — students, faculty, and staff — will use four strategies to create a safer community. All students and adults will also make a Commitment to Protect Woodberry. None of the four strategies we’ve outlined below offers complete protection against COVID-19 infections, and we must be prepared for additional cases on campus during the school year. If we practice these four strategies consistently and effectively, however, we will limit the spread of the coronavirus and prevent the likelihood of a single infection turning into an outbreak. 

   

   

  1. Hygiene and Facilities Changes: We are working with an engineering and environmental health company to make adjustments to our buildings. We have rearranged furniture in classrooms, the dining hall, and other spaces to allow for social distancing. We’ve also reviewed our HVAC systems; thankfully all buildings with A/C use fresh air circulation (rather than cooling and recirculating air already inside the building), which reduces the spread of virus particles. We have also added more hand sanitizer stations around campus.
  2. Face coverings: Boys will wear a cloth face covering (mask) when indoors, with the exception of their dorm room and the dorm hallway where they live. Adults will wear a mask indoors. In the month since we sent our last message, it has become increasingly clear that the virus is likely spread via aerosol and can be carried in minimal amounts of moisture and remain suspended in the air longer than previously understood. The good news is that wearing a face covering works to prevent the spread of the virus; it is, therefore, a practice that we will prioritize. 

   

  We will give each student several reusable face coverings when he arrives; boys are also welcome to bring their own or purchase more in the student store. We will collect and wash the masks for the boys each week.
  
  You can learn more about why face coverings are so important here.
  
  

  3. Physical distancing: Boarding school communities are tight-knit, and they don’t naturally allow for physical distancing. But we will do so whenever possible. We’ve rearranged classrooms and will not hold all-school meetings for the foreseeable future. During the fall we will take advantage of mild weather and hold larger meetings (such as for an entire form) outdoors. We will hold several chapel services each week, allowing all students to attend but creating space for them to spread out. 
  4. Testing and monitoring: As described in the section above, boys will take three COVID-19 tests before, during, and after their arrival on campus. If a test is positive, the boy will be asked to return home and continue classes online until he is fully recovered. This is our preference for all students whose parents live within several hours of campus. Boys who live further away, whether in the United States or overseas, will be isolated on House D and receive care on campus from our school nurses, as well as telehealth check-ups from our school physician.
     
     Students exposed to a person with a positive test but not showing symptoms will be quarantined in the Dowd House until they complete a quarantine of 14 days.  They would attend classes online during that time. We will use contact tracing to determine which students or faculty may have been exposed to a positive case.

   

  Some adults in our community are at higher risk due to age or other health factors. These employees will have the option of modified responsibilities until a vaccine is available. For example, a faculty member might teach a normal course load with strict social distancing and mask use in the classroom but not serve on a dorm team in order to reduce risk. Every member of the faculty and staff plays a critical role in the success of the school, and we know students will be flexible and understanding if they are asked to take additional actions to help protect a classmate or an adult who might be more vulnerable to complications from COVID-19.

• Residential Life

  Because weekends and other trips off campus will be extremely limited, we are developing new activities on campus. These will include food truck visits on weekends, events at Robertson Lake, cookouts, competitions, and more. We plan to make greater use of our 1,200-acre campus than ever before. 

   

  The completion of the Walker Building project will also give us full access to Tiger Square as well as to a new outdoor programs space next to the building. 

   

  The dining hall will serve students, faculty, staff, and faculty families in the 2020-2021 school year, but meal times and operations will look and feel different in order to follow best practices during the pandemic. Students, faculty, staff, and families each have different needs and expectations during the three meal times. 

  
  

  STUDENTS 

  • No seated meals.
  • Dining hall staff will serve you food on the main line. The line will offer two options of entrees as well as an assortment of pre-plated and wrapped salads and pre-filled drinks. 
  • Boys will eat with members of their cohort but will not have assigned tables.
  • Students are scheduled in two different eating groups and eat at assigned tables indoors, by cohort. Times will be posted at dining hall and be listed on the visualizer.
  • Boys may eat outdoors across cohorts but must be socially distanced.

  
  

  FACULTY

  • Can pick up from the main line or from the parking lot door. Faculty may eat in the tent or outdoors on the patio. 
  • Duty teams will help supervise the dining hall to ensure boys eat by cohort.  

  
  

  STAFF

  • Lunch will be picked up from the parking lot entrance and taken by department to an agreed upon distribution point. 
  • Staff will continue to provide their own breakfast until further notice.
  • Departments will need to submit their lunch counts one week in advance and be prepared to pick up and distribute their meals as may be appropriate.
  • When it is appropriate for staff to eat dinner, they should pre-order dinners a week in advance and pick up their own dinners at the parking lot entrance.

  
  

  FAMILIES

  • All families should pre-order lunch and dinner one week in advance.
  • Families will pick up all pre-ordered lunch and dinners at the parking lot entrance. 
  • Families will provide their own breakfast until further notice.

  
  Key Rules for our Residential Community
  

  Here are some key rules and reminders for boys around campus:

  1. Boys may visit other rooms; masks and distancing are required for everyone when visiting with each other. No more than two times the occupancy in a room. 
  2. Common rooms are open; wear a mask and observe occupancy limits. 
  3. All boys may shower on their dorm (stay masked; observe bathroom occupancy limit). 
  4. No trips to Orange. Haircuts available on campus; work with your advisor if you want to get a food pickup from town.  
  5. Testing: We will begin testing a random sample of the community each week to monitor for possible cases.  

  
  

  Advisee Groups: We’re working to establish dedicated advisory time in the schedule. You are welcome to meet with and host your advisees now at a time that works for you, with a preference for outdoor meetings. If you prefer not to meet with advisees in person, Zoom is probably your best option.

  
  Chapel: Now being held in groups of 50-60 on Sunday afternoon/evening. Boys attend by cohort and sit socially distanced. The weekend duty team assists with attendance.