Volume 36 I May 12, 2020
Roycemore School Weekly Newsletter
Joint Letter to the Roycemore Community
Thomas J. Ellis
Adrianne Finley Odell
First and foremost, we hope this finds you and your families safe, healthy, and able to adjust to the changes in your lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the pandemic evolves and responsive actions must necessarily change, we want you to know how Roycemore is responding so that you and your families may be informed, make decisions, and take appropriate actions as may be necessary. We take our responsibilities to our students, their families, and our faculty very seriously and will continue to do all we can to serve the needs of our community while carefully operating under the guidelines of the state, county, and municipal authorities.  

Roycemore’s Board of Trustees and its Administration have been actively and strategically working together in our responses to COVID-19, including work of the specially created Health and Safety Task Force and the COVID-19 Strategy Team. The details below reflect our current thinking with respect to the short-term, medium-term, and long-term responses, including specific information that will be helpful in your planning for end of year activities, summer, and the upcoming school year. 

We have also included Roycemore “Best in Class” for Remote Instruction and Surveys and Keeping Roycemore Strong & Supporting our Students sections that contain additional important information. We ask that you please pay close attention to all links and calls to action contained in this communication.

As we continue our work together to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, we thank you for your partnership in support of your children. We appreciate the trust you have shown Roycemore in the education of your children, and you have our continued commitment to strive to serve you and your children in extraordinary ways in the year ahead.
 
With Appreciation,
Thomas J. Ellis
Chair, Board of Trustees
Adrianne Finley Odell
President and Head of School

Coming up on the Calendar
Saturday, May 16, 5:00pm - "With a Little Help From Our Friends" Scholarship Fundraiser
Tuesday, May 19, 8:30 - 9:30am - Virtual Admissions Morning
Saturday, May 30, 5:00pm - Griffin Great, Naomi Rubinstein '14

Calendar Updates:
Important End of the Year Events
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As the end of the 2019-2020 school year starts to wind down, it is safe to say that no one predicted just how different our traditional end of year events might look this spring. Our goal is to honor our wonderful students, while also keeping members of our community safe and healthy. The calendar changes below reflect our desire to find that balance.
Thursday May 21, 1pm - Virtual Yearbook Assembly
Thursday May 21, 4pm - Virtual PALIO Celebration
Friday May 29th - Last Day of Instruction for All
Monday June 1, 12pm -Upper School Virtual Awards Ceremony
Monday June 1, 4pm - Lower School Virtual Culmination Night
Tuesday June 2, 4pm- Middle School Virtual Awards Ceremony
(includes sports and activities + special tribute to 8th graders)
Wednesday June 3rd, 4pm- Middle School Virtual Graduation, + “Drive By”
Thurs. June 4th, 5pm- Upper School Virtual Commencement; + “Drive By” at 7:15pm
Friday June 5th- Wrap Up Day: Locker Clean Out, Chromebook Return, Yearbook & Award Pick Up
(Scheduled times will be available for students or parents to come to school
with face masks and social distancing required. Further details to come.)
Scholarship Fundraiser: 4 DAYS To Go
Now is the time to prepare for the final countdown till the Scholarship Fundraiser:
Roycemore's Remote Learning Website
Our Remote Learning Website is updated regularly and we recently added a Student Work Page . This allows us to showcase the creative and hard work our students are doing in a variety of subject areas including art. More work will be added frequently so check back often. And don’t forget to also follow our teachers on social media to see student work highlighted there as well.
Spirit Week 2020: Thank You
Thank you to everyone who got into the Roycemore spirit last week. We loved seeing your creative hair, your funny hats, your favorite teams, your identical twins, and your blue and gold - Go Griffins!
Announcing Virtual Summer Camps
We are excited to offer a variety of virtual camps and courses this summer in addition to our longstanding Camp Griffin offerings and our enrichment theme-based Inspiration Factory offerings. Our virtual camps will blend regular group online meetings with independent project work guided by teachers. Do you want your student to learn a new skill, enhance their creativity, stay head academically, or just have some extra fun? You'll find a Roycemore virtual camp that's perfect for what you are looking for. Offerings include:
  • Math Investigation
  • Writing Through Current Events
  • Stop Motion Animation
  • Eco-Independence
  • Creative Writing
  • Algebra
  • Fun with Photoshop
  • Solamente en Español
  • Visual Storytelling with Adobe
  • Mandarin
  • Spanish Cuisine
  • Soccer Movement
  • Digital Painting with Adobe
  • Stories for the Stage
  • Apparel Design
  • Digital Photography
  • Computer Programming
  • Contemporary Poetry
  • English and Visual Design

**Attention Upper School Students**
Some virtual courses even give students the chance to earn High School credit!

Last Admissions Morning of School Year:
May 19th
We will be holding our final Admissions event for the 2019-2020 School Year next week. This is a great way for interested families to hear directly from Roycemore students and teachers about what it is like to be a Griffin. Please spread the word!

Virtual Admissions Morning
May 19th at 8:30am
Registration Required

Celebration of Dedication and Excellence
Thank you to everyone who attended our annual Celebration of Dedication and Excellence last week to thank our amazing Roycemore teachers and staff for all their hard work. Tom Ellis, the Chair of our Board of Trustees, was on hand to personally thank all staff and faculty on behalf of the Roycemore community. Click below if you missed his comments and be sure to also check out the Celebration video highlighting our faculty.
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