From the Desks of Head of School Ned Smith and
From Head of School Ned Smith: In this, our second weekly summer communication, we continue to reflect on the lessons learned during the campus closure last spring and to articulate our plans for the future, building on those lessons learned and planning accordingly across all the major areas of school life. We continue this week with EHS Athletic Director Jason Grove's thoughts on athletics and physical education and with an eye toward launching the new school year with everyone safely back on campus together. Full-time, twelve-month employees returned to campus on June 1, almost two weeks ago. These employees included the school's senior staff and other administrators, our maintenance, business office and advancement staffs, as well as faculty members involved in scheduling and otherwise planning for next year. It has been great to be back together! To accomplish our goal of reopening in August with everyone on campus and to ensure that our return is as safe and healthy as possible, we worked with outside professionals to establish a number of new guidelines. We are in our second week of following these practices and we learn more each day. Of course, we also hosted a wonderful graduation ceremony for the class of 2020 on Saturday, June 6, at which we had the opportunity to expand these practices to accommodate a much larger group. We continue to improve at each new stage.
From Director of Athletics Jason Grove:
As we reflect on our time of quarantine and our efforts to continue to connect with and inspire our students to maintain good physical health, I can say that I am very proud of the efforts of both the Wellness Department and athletic coaching staff. The EHS Wellness Department continued to instruct throughout the quarantine, offering PE, Yoga, personal fitness, and weight training classes. A few examples include:
On the Athletic Pillar front, the coaching staff made strong efforts to engage students on a daily basis. Some examples include:
As we evaluate our efforts and look for ways to improve our engagement during our time away from campus, I am eager to explore opportunities that include the entire EHS community in these physical health initiatives. Daily videos of body-weight and cardio exercises created by members of the Athletic Pillar have been suggested. Weekly fitness challenges for the entire EHS community have also been a popular suggestion.
Lastly after careful evaluation and discussion with peer schools and health consultants, we are excited to announce the opening of the EHS athletic facilities for summer conditioning. This opening is very different from years past as workouts are now team specific events and involve strict supervision from full-time coaches. Along with supervision, infection prevention has been a key emphasis as steps have been implemented to avoid unnecessary risk and exposure. The fitness room and locker rooms remain closed as we continue to evaluate plans for a larger opening in the future. Fall season coaches will be connecting with students in the coming days to share additional information as well as the necessary health attestation forms. Go Knights! |