HEADMASTER LETTER
Dear North Phoenix Prep Families,
We are in this together. None of us expected that COVID-19 would cause our school to close, and none of us really want remote learning to be our everyday reality. We want to be together at school where we belong. But we just aren't right now, and that's hard. The temptation that we all face is to remain just as isolated in spirit as we are in body.
Yet in the midst of all this, we have found inventive and new ways to connect. Our faculty have developed Google Classrooms and ZOOM tutoring hours and video lectures. In lieu of Senior Dinner, they filmed their tribute speeches in a special video. Our students and families, too, have remained connected through social media, keeping our Gladiator spirit strong. As we enter the coming week, I am grateful for this overwhelmingly generous spirit of camaraderie with which our community is approaching remote learning.
I am also aware that we need balance. I have directed our faculty to be generous with due dates on assignments and to make assignments due at the end of the week whenever possible. That's because we need flexibility and grace during this challenging time. Students and families are juggling a lot right now, and I want us to maintain the balance that we all need. The flip side of this balance is that faculty also need a week to grade assignments. Teachers are also juggling a lot. Just as we are giving grace on due dates for students, so also we must give grace to teachers on the timeline for grading and feedback. It will happen, but it will not happen instantly. Thank you for your patience and generosity on this.
Speaking of balance, let me also encourage everyone in our community to take some time to unplug on a daily basis. We are all human beings, not machines. As such, we need time for relationships, for self-care, and for rest. To keep body and soul together, we need to attend to these things, so let's make a firm intention to unplug a little each day.
With Devotion and Good Cheer,
Headmaster Weinhold
