Dear GMS Families,

As a family currently registered for our All-Inclusive Summer Camp, we want to let you know we are unable to open Summer Camp this June.

Based on the Interim Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Guidance for Day Camp or Program Settings Serving Children and Teens; discussion among faculty, staff, and the board of trustees; and guidance from local medical professionals, we came to the same conclusion that every other independent school in Greensboro has also made. The health risks to students, families, and faculty of opening in June are too great to overcome.

We know you have a need for daytime summer childcare, and our next step is deciding whether or how to open Summer Camp the first week of July.

As promised, we will make any needed adjustments to your Summer Camp fees and deposits paid. For now, to help us best prepare for possible Summer Camp in July, we would like to better understand your summer needs.

As I shared last week, this situation is frustrating to all of us, and we want nothing more than to welcome our students, families, and faculty back to campus. The logistical, health, and financial challenges facing us all are very real, and safety continues to be our driving factor. We are actively engaged in planning for our in-person opening to the 2020-21 school year and are working to ensure we remain safe, focused on children's learning, and prepared to avoid and manage disruption as much as we can.

By the end of this school year, we will share information on whether we can open Summer Camp the first week of July. For now, please review the following section of Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about Summer Camp and the planning for the 2020-21 school year.

As always, please do not hesitate to  reach out to me with any questions or thoughts.

Why is Summer Camp not opening in June?

On May 5, Governor Roy Cooper modified North Carolina’s Stay At Home Executive Order, transitioning the state to Phase 1 of slowly easing COVID-19 restrictions.  Executive Order 138 went into effect May 8 at 5 p.m. The order says that daytime summer camps might be able to open, but "only if they are in full compliance with the Interim Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Guidance for Day Camp or Program Settings Serving Children and Teens." On May 6, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) issued this guidance. After closely reviewing the document from NCDHHS and consulting with faculty, staff, and medical professionals, we are unable to safely comply with the guidance in an age-appropriate, emotionally and socially acceptable, and mission-aligned manner at this time. This is the same conclusion drawn by all the independent schools in Greensboro with whom we spoke.

When will we know if Summer Camp will open in July?

Now that we know Summer Camp is not opening in June, we will make any needed financial adjustments to families' fees and deposits paid. For families choosing to cancel their Summer Camp registration altogether, we will work with them individually to repurpose or refund their deposit. Adjustments will be made nearer to the end of the school year, when we know your and our plans for July.

How will Summer Camp fees be adjusted?

Now that we know Summer Camp is not opening in June, we will make corresponding financial adjustments to families' fees. For families choosing to cancel their Summer Camp registration altogether, we will work with them individually to repurpose or refund their deposit.

When will we know about end-of-year plans?

We plan to make announcements next week with our end-of-year plans for moving up, celebrating students' work this year, and how we will honor our graduates in a special graduation ceremony.

When will we know about plans for the 2020-21 school year?

At this time, we are planning for the 2020-21 school year to begin as planned on Wednesday, August 19, 2020. We also know the landscape may change in ways that could affect that start date. We are going through scenario-based planning right now for next year, trying to anticipate and plan for all the potential realities we may face. We will share more information on our plans and possible scenarios with you prior to any June payments being drafted for the 2020-21 school year, so you can be as informed as possible about our year ahead.

While this lack of uncertainty is unsettling to many of us, know that our mission and vision as a school are rock-solid and field-tested. Throughout all of this, never have we, and never will we, waver on our commitment to providing the best possible hands-on and personalized education for your child – one that nurtures and challenges them, guiding them to become their best possible person and to unleash their full potential.

We have already begun preparing for students' transition back to in-person learning and will focus heavily on reintegration to the classroom in ways that support their cognitive, social, physical, and emotional well-being. Whether your child will return to their same classroom or enter a new division this fall, rest assured that we will be able to meet them where they are and go from there. Highly personal, individualized learning is what we do best.