Dear Harbor Families,

I’ve been thinking a lot about last year at this time. If you are a returning family, you probably remember that time vividly as well. After opening five days a week from the first day of school, we were well into a school year where each week felt like a month - keeping six feet of strict distance at all times, wiping down toilets between each use (we’ll never forget that as a faculty!), having regular calls with the health department, and responding to each new challenge around the corner. And all this was taking place while each member of our community was working through the many challenging emotions, worries, and stresses that marked that time. I’m exhausted again, just thinking about it.

And now here we are, with weekly nose swabs that feel like no big deal to the kids, masks just a part of life, and responding to symptoms with PCR tests which can usually be returned within a day (remember when we had to wait for 4 or 5 days for a result?). And with many of our student population now eligible for vaccination, we are seeing a little more light at the end of the tunnel. Preschool families, hold on tight - we’ll get there eventually!

Hopefully, you have already read the letter I sent yesterday with information from our Health and Safety Committee. (Scroll down to the Health and Safety section of this newsletter for the content of yesterday’s communication.) Many of you have already completed our survey - thank you! If you haven’t yet and your child is five or older, please do take a moment to let us know of your plans for vaccination, as well as extended daycare needs (click the link just below this letter). This will help us as we make plans to expand our offerings.

Step by step, we are all getting closer to a new and better version of living in this pandemic. And of course, we recognize that it’s still very possible that as we take two steps forward, we may need to take one step back. But at least we can say, with pretty good certainty, that we won’t be wiping toilets all day again!

Cheers,

Leah Musico

Head of School