Nov. 11, 2020
Dear Chatham Hall Community,
Before we all get into the festivities of the holiday season, I wanted to take a moment to write to you about our January reopening plans. We remain grateful to all our students, families, and employees for the precautions they have taken and the adjustments that have been made. Our community has been safe and school has been able to go forward. We have learned a lot since August about the virus, about the strength of this community, and about the deep respect we all have for each other and for Chatham Hall. We would not be in the position we are right now without the sacrifices made by our parents, students, faculty, and staff. Thank you all.
Full-Time Remote Learning
As we look to next semester our decisions are being informed by all that we have learned and the desire to keep building our community. We know that we are the strongest community doing our best learning when we are on campus together. With that in mind, and based on our solid COVID-19 safety record in the fall semester, we have determined that the remote learning option will continue to be available to those students facing travel restrictions or with a medical note from their doctor. Please reach out to Dean of Academics Martha Griswold at mgriswold@chathamhall.org or 434-432-5617 or Dean of Students Marin Miller at mmiller@chathamhall.org or 434-432-5517 if you have any questions or issues that you believe need to be reviewed.
Return to Campus
Regarding our return to campus, I would like to remind everyone that any student taking public transportation back to campus must arrive after 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 5. Any student taking private transportation must arrive after 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 10. During the first 48 hours on campus, all students will be tested for COVID-19 and quarantined in their own rooms (with their roommate, if both are on campus). Students will collect meals from the dining hall in shifts, and there will be outside time each day for fresh air. Because remote classes start for all students on Wednesday, Jan. 6 the academic schedule will take up much of the day. We anticipate in person classes will start on Wednesday, Jan. 13.
The first two and a half weeks back on campus, Jan. 5-24, is a period during which we will revert to some of the precautions enacted during the first weeks of school as we monitor for symptoms throughout our community but there are some changes to make the time pass enjoyably. Until our student test results are returned, students will need to keep to their own dorm rooms and hall cohorts, traffic patterns will follow posted signs and stickers on dorm, and masks will be required everywhere except personal dorm rooms. In August, we had no cases of COVID-19 brought to campus and we are thankful for the diligence of our families in following CDC protocols to keep us all safe. Anticipating the same in January, we plan to hold limited weekend activities (maintaining COVID protocols will be paramount) for those coming early via public transport, immediately welcome contactless food delivery, and welcome food trucks to campus right away. We will also have meals in groups outside under the tents with heaters (weather permitting).
Boarding Students
We anticipate being able to open up room-to-room visits and loosening traffic flow on dorm as soon as we are out of the false negative period (about two weeks after we receive the last test results). Shower stall assignments will remain in effect as will other dorm protocols including mask wearing. At this time we do not anticipate opening weekends for boarders to visit home. For the safety and integrity of our bubble, all five-day boarding students will need to remain full boarding students for the time being as they will continue to live on dorm, share showers, and be unmasked in their dorm rooms. The Sunday night return to the dorm after a weekend off-campus would be too precarious to our bubble. Please see below for weekend parent visit information.
Day Students
Depending on COVID-19 numbers in Pittsylvania County and assuming COVID-19 numbers on our campus in January, it is our intention to offer day students the option to return to day student status on the afternoon of Friday, Jan. 22. Day students will be able to travel home for the weekend and return to school on Jan. 25 as day students. Under this program, these students will no longer be allowed on dorm and they will need to eat in their own cohort. They will take part in afternoon activities, excluding basketball, provided that those activities can maintain social distance and students can remain masked. Day students will be able to enjoy weekend activities if they choose to do so, but must register via sign up sheets as boarders do. On weekends, day students may not be on campus other than for their registered activities, and we ask that day students travel only to and from campus and refrain from making trips into town. Day students who wish to remain as boarding students for the rest of the year have that option.
Activities
Beginning the weekend of Jan. 22, the School will be pursuing off campus activities that are able to give us some degree of control over the environment. Renting out full ice skating rinks, bowling alleys, and movie theaters may be options. We will also continue food trucks and outdoor activities such as the rock climbing walls and obstacle courses (weather depending). Parents and immediate household members will be able to make weekend visits to campus as of Saturday, Jan. 30. We plan to have our Winter Long Weekend take place on campus and will be securing activities for that in the weeks ahead.
Continued Precautions
Just as this past fall, when we return to campus in January our spaces will be sanitized regularly, and the HALO machines will be in regular use. Community members will wear masks at all times unless in their own dorm rooms or alone in a room. Six feet of distance will need to be maintained, and regular hand washing and/or sanitizing will be expected. Daily temperature checks will be required of all students, faculty, and staff and periodic testing will continue.
As we have been throughout the first half of the academic year, we will remain in regular contact with our epidemiologist to determine if/when any adjustments to our precautions - whether it be tightening or loosening - need to be made depending on internal or external factors.
I thank you in advance for the caution and care I know you will all take during our extended period off campus, and your support as we navigate our reopening in January. As a reminder, we will be having our Spring Break as scheduled and as we move closer to that date we will be in touch regarding return to campus plans then too.
If you have any questions or concerns, we will be discussing the distance learning period between the holidays as well as the return to campus at our Nov. 16 Zoom at 7:00 p.m. Please join me and members of our Administrative Leadership Team for this time to chat. Details were sent via email last week, and will be included in this week’s P&G newsletter.
Esto Perpetua,
