Lawrenceville
In case anyone is interested, this is up and running now. Four tests per household.
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Iām so confused. Didnāt we have a boarding school and Covid thread? I have a sad update for Groton. Kids are struggling with the continuing extreme restrictions which were basically never eased (masks 100% of the time even as other similar schools were mask optional, etc). Some kid put up a sign saying āwe are not okā in the windows of a building. Strong statement and I hope the headmaster finally takes note that his policies are crushing these kids.
To be clear the Groton campus is 100% vaccinated over the age of 5, no exceptions. And restrictions have been in place since Covid began and never eased.
Yes, here. Hasnāt been active in a couple of weeks.
Even outside? Thatās a bit much, oh my.
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I am wondering how many of the kids are not OK generally. My daughter called me upset last night and it threw me because she seemed to be doing great. Sheās home for a long weekend this weekend but I just feel like this is a tough time for all of them.
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No, indoors at all times and outdoors at athletic events and similar when social distancing isnāt possible. But Iād be surprised if the masks were really the big issue - Iāve heard very few serious complaints from kids about them beyond being a nuisance. Suspension of role call, chapel, and other integral parts of community life are more impactful, as are restrictions about movement in and out of campus.
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I am also concerned about teachers not being ok. We know more than a few that feel burned out. Itās been almost 2 years of this. The last time our Seniors had a fully normal year was when they were Freshmen. At kiddoās school, some teachers are demanding that the students (fully jabbed & boosted) wear masks inside. The stress is evident.
Hmm, weāve had universal indoor masking aside from in the field house during athletics and while eating, but Iāve not noticed any complaints.
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The masking on campus is a charade anyway. At least at the athletic events (indoors obviously this time of the year), so many of the students as well as parents wear the masks as a fashion accessory on the chin or not at all, while screaming their heads off during games. And some of these were packed events with definite super spreader potential. Deerfield in particular had a total āwhat pandemicā vibe which I actually loved.
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To add to the 2022 awards: Last school to revise Covid policy before revisit day.
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I think the Covid lockdown has been the most strict in Massachusetts BS. Mid-Atlantic BS has lots of happy students, especially when compared to the very strict DC day schools.
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Hard to say, and last night hing I want to do is get into a debate about it, but the California schools have been really strict. The only saving grace last year was they could do classes outside.
This year has been much better.Cate is still pretty rigid about masks, but thatās Californiaās rules. The traditions are mostly back, and the warm and fuzzies are definitely much improved.
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My kiddo goes to BS in MA. They have only been wearing masks indoors, except at meals, since returning from Christmas break and have had many cases. All fall activities went on as normal, unmasked, including sports, dances, meals etc. Even with all the cases, the restrictions beyond indoor masking are pretty non-existent.
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Iāve been to a lot of BS social and sporting events requiring masks, and have found parents to be pretty good about wearing masks properly (exception: hockey parents, thatās just been our experience. Seems to be a view that a hockey arena is virtually an outdoor space).
Kids - while playing, of course not, you canāt wear a mask over your nose and mouth when your heart rate is 160 BPM plus. But when interacting with spectators, have found kids to generally adhere to the rules.
Have also seen a direct correlation between kids flouting mask wearing in crowded sports venues while not playing and then testing positive - has happened over and over. Have all turned out to be mild, but these kids have been frequently sidelined due to a positive test.
Now NEPSAC is curtailing spectators for championship season - absolute shame. Seniors and their families deprived yet again of a wonderful experience. Masked and vaxxed should be good enough.
Hopefully this goes through. Itāll be kinda surreal being maskless indoors, though; weāve recently taken some maskless group photos and I almost feel uncomfortable due to how much Iāve gotten used to the mask.
Anyways, I believe March 7 is, like, the third day of our (three-week-long) spring break, so the school has quite a bit of time to make its own decision as well.
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OK - now I am really fed up with DA! (Again).
Due to COVID restrictions, Kiddo could not visit the schools where acceptances came through. Also - last year at DA - there were restrictions on leaving campus. It was a perfect storm. One of the colleges was super strict and campus was totally shut to tours last year and earlier this year. We visited one campus over the summer - but no students on campus and buildings were closed. Even the tours were cancelled. We were allowed to walk around.
The Revisit Days for one of the colleges is on Thursday evening to Saturday (Reception/Dinner on Thursday, then students attend classes and speak with panelists on Friday). This means that my student needs to miss half a day for travel. The other schools have their Revisits also staggering a school day with a weekend - they are NOT in New England. So, travel is a factor.
Our student has been told that the school only allows 5 days total for college visits (including travel). I think this is unfair for students given that this Class of 22 was unable to initially visit many schools - they were newly minted Sophomores the last time they could actually have campus tours of most colleges/universities. The school should allow for more Revisit Days for our Seniors.
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Thatās absurd!! Iām sorry to hear it. Have you pointed out to them the oversight?
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I would say your student did not get any days to visit colleges junior year, so should be getting 10 days this year. Since you havenāt been able to visit yet, how do they expect them to pick a college? And really, are they going to play hardball like that during senior spring? I would reach out to their advisor and explain you need to go visit all the schools that are still in the running. What are they going to do? Worst case scenario, could you do some of the visits for the schools that notified already over spring break? I bet if you reach out they will be reasonable though.
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On another note, CT governor just said masks in school in CT will be up to the local school districts after Feb 28, so presumably boarding schools will get to decide whether to ditch them at that point as well