Dear Harbor Families,

Just in case you haven’t yet heard the big news, the votes have been counted and our Harbor Election results are in! The Spiral theme we will be studying this winter is “The World Underground” - which was one of three topics suggested by students. Students across the school campaigned for, thought critically about, and finally on Tuesday, cast their votes for their preferred topic. Our second grade students led the effort, designing and facilitating a fair and inclusive election process where every vote counts, as one student-created poster in our hallway proclaims - “Your Voice, Your Vote”! 

As had been the Harbor tradition for most of our 47 year history, the students across all grade levels will investigate this topic from many different curricular angles - driven by each class’ interest. Imagine the possibilities with this interesting theme of the underground world - geology, technology and infrastructure, animals, transportation, and so much more.  Beginning December 7th, Harbor students will inquire into the theme using skills of language, math, social studies, science - while developing important dispositions of critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity. We can’t wait to see what they learn!

Also coming up soon, and on the minds of many, are the school’s Thanksgiving and winter breaks. If you are considering travel or hosting out of town guests, we need to hear from you regarding your plans. This survey, which must be completed by every Harbor family, will allow us to make plans to accommodate distance learning for individual families in line with our policy. Keep in mind that travel or out of town guests from states with above 10% positivity rates will require a negative test to return to in-person school. (See below for more information and our full policy.)

As we move into the winter months, we are continuing to monitor local COVID metrics and assessing our in-person model. In addition to monitoring Montgomery County data, we are tracking our individual community metrics based on the zip codes where each family, faculty, and staff member lives - which remain lower than Montgomery County overall. As I mentioned in last week's letter, as a small school with strict protocols in place, we are better able to sustain in-person teaching than larger schools and districts.

Throughout the fall, it has been clear that our community takes our health and safety practices seriously. To every Harbor family, faculty and staff - thank you for your vigilance and dedication to maintaining safe practices, both inside and outside of school. It will continue to be imperative that we remain vigilant. As Head of School and as a parent, I am grateful for every in-person school day, which is only possible with our focused commitment to safe practices as a community!

Warmly,

Leah Musico
Head of School