Note from Mr. Sheldon: Cyclone Athletics and Other Updates

Students are doing their part to help us protect one another; faculty are teaching and engaging your students in active learning. Our Flex students are being included in our community and are also involved in active learning. 

Our teachers have jumped in to support and build relationships with your children! I am a massive fan of our faculty, and sometimes it takes a crisis like this to remind us of just how talented they are. This week I have seen teachers from Primary to Upper Divisions rise to the occasion and exceed expectations! Building trusting relationships will continue to be one of the most important guiding principles for your students' continued growth and development. I am grateful for the way our faculty have embraced the challenges of this year while continuing to value and enhance our sense of community.  

We now turn our attention to improving the dining service lunch experience for our Lower, Middle, and Upper Divisions. SAGE Dining and our Division Administrative Teams have been working diligently, putting a plan together to keep us moving toward a dining experience reflective of our best effort within this challenging environment. We intend to provide a daily hot lunch for every student. We will not be able to duplicate a pre-COVID dining experience for our students. Still, we are confident we can provide a quality experience within the environment we find ourselves.  

We recognize that this journey in our school lunch program may not resonate with some families, and we will provide the opportunity to "opt-out" of our lunch program. Casady will provide bottled water for those students who elect to bring their lunch. We request that students who opt out of a school-provided lunch bring their lunch each morning. If a child forgets their lunch, we will provide the student with a school lunch at no charge; we will discourage deliveries of forgotten lunch during the day. In this week's Division Notes section by your Division Director, you will receive more information and the form to complete if you choose to "opt-out."

I also want to share with you that our Upper Division Athletic Conference, the SPC, has released a statement that the conference has canceled the Fall Season. However, they have made it clear that schools may play an independent schedule. We have met with our Board of Trustees and presented to them a plan to find games to play safely, and we will operate within the parameters of the state's athletic conference, the OSSAA. We know this news will be disappointing for our students coming off a fully canceled Spring Season. However, our coaches and Athletic Director are working to build an independent, reduced schedule for our children to compete. Additionally, anyone who wishes to move from a competitive sport to our fitness program is free to do so anytime. If conditions in competitive athletics change in the future, you can be sure we will have a plan to fully engage the "body" in our "mind, body, spirit" mission with your children.  

After a week of classes and activities; I am optimistic and confident our students, teachers, and families will continue to fight to protect each other so that we can continue to live out our mission on campus and in-person.

Faithfully,

Nathan L. Sheldon
Head of School