Important: Please note that the Husky Pride Picnic is not taking place Saturday, as it was replaced by the Welcome and Information Alley event hosted last Wednesday. Please join us for a Husky football game on campus tomorrow at 1:00 PM and spectators are encouraged to come and show their Husky pride! Don't forget your masks!
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Welcome Back Husky Community,
We have had a fantastic first two days of school back on campus for RHP and Ren students. It has been so nice to be back together in person. Some highlights of our first two days have been watching students with their advisors learn about the new school year, seeing our new and returning students connect with their teachers, and of course our tradition of ringing in the new school year with the Tam Tam. I have really enjoyed getting to know our back-to-school traditions and meeting all of our students. Below are some reminders for all of our community members.
- Home football game this Saturday at 1:00 PM. All spectators will be asked to do a wellness check upon entry, practice social distancing, and wear a mask at all times. Come out and safely support our Husky football team!
- Please remember to complete your registration forms if you have not already done so, and be sure your student has the SchoolPass app on their device.
- Weekly COVID testing for athletes will be held on Mondays and Thursdays during lunch, and for all students on Wednesdays.
- Please join me for coffee each Tuesday morning at 8:30 AM, via Zoom, to share information and ask questions.
- RHP and Ren Back to school night will be a virtual event on Wednesday, September 1, from 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM.
- For REACH students only, please remember to come to campus Monday, August 30 from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM for student COVID testing.
We are looking forward to our first full week together next week with our students from REACH joining us starting on September 1.
Go Huskies!
Amy Hollinger
She/Her/Hers
Head of Schools
Pictured Above: Renaissance arts students got to work on some creative projects on the first day of school! Click the button below to view more pictures from the first day of school for RHP and Renaissance Students. We look forward to REACH's first day next week!
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As we head into the school year, it's important for our community to understand how we plan to communicate important information and updates throughout the year. There will be some significant differences with our communication compared to previous years and we hope that these changes make school communication more streamlined.
Friday Letters
The Friday Letter is the single most important form of communication we utilize as a school and serves as our main tool of information distribution. Our goal is to try to consolidate our messaging each week into the Friday Letter to ensure that there is little room for confusion or conflicts with communication. Please read the letter each week, especially the "Important Things To Know" section, because that will highlight all the important announcements and details that need to be addressed.
Advisor Letters
Weekly advisor letters for each grade will now be sent out in the Friday Letter each week, beginning Friday, September 3. We hope that this consolidation makes it easier to access both school and grade-level specific information in one location rather than prioritizing one form of communication or another.
Website
Apart from e-mail communication, our website has an entire "Community" tab dedicated to communicating information. Although all of the pages under the tab can be referenced throughout the year, we highly recommend bookmarking our "Announcements and Events" page because it is frequently updated with information and functions alongside the "Important Things To Know" section of our Friday Letters. In most cases, the "Important Things To Know" section will provide a brief explanation of a specific topic, but greater detail can often be found by clicking a button at the bottom of the section that leads to the "Announcements and Events" page on our website. Bookmarking the "Announcements and Events" page of the website is suggested to make it an easy-to-access resource.
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Husky Howls - Emails Throughout The Week
In previous years, families may have gotten used to e-mails sent throughout the week covering specific topics, often referred to as "Husky Howls." Although we still plan on using unique emails from time to time, our goal is to try to avoid overwhelming our community with messaging by consolidating our communications as much as possible in places like the Friday Letter and the "Announcements and Events" page of the website. We do plan on using Husky Howls to invite our community to virtual events (Zoom links are typically sent an hour before the event starts), distribute recordings of events, and provide other time-sensitive communications that can't wait until Friday.
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Wednesday, September 1 | 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Hosted Virtually on Zoom
Invite link will be sent via email at 4:00 PM on September 1
We invite families to learn more about our schools, programs, and year ahead at our annual Back-to-School Night on Wednesday, September 1 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. The event will open with a meeting for all attendees that includes school-wide announcements from Amy Hollinger and our administration, followed by class-specific Zoom rooms that give our advisors and teaching faculty time to highlight their classes, expectations of students, and other important information for the year.
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Thank you to everyone who attended last Tuesday's COVID Coffee with Amy Hollinger session! We deeply appreciate your questions and comments as we address our community's safety throughout the 2021-2022 school year. A recording of the session is now available and you may click the button below to access it on Youtube. |
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COVID Coffee with Amy
Tuesday, August 31 | 8:30 AM
Hosted Virtually on Zoom
Each Tuesday, our Head of Schools, Amy Hollinger, hosts a recurring "COVID Coffee" session with parents to address various topics relating to COVID, the safety of our students, and our programs.
No RSVP is required for COVID coffees, but we will provide a question form each week in the Friday Letter to allow families to ask questions in advance. Click the button below to ask questions for next week's session.
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Home Football Game - Saturday, August 28 | 1:00 PM: Come out and safely support our Husky football team! All spectators will be asked to do a wellness check upon entry, practice social distancing, and wear a mask at all times.
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SchoolPass: We require all students to fill out a daily health questionnaire provided through SchoolPass. If you require additional assistance, please refer to the setup guide linked below. It will also be featured on the "Announcements and Events" page of the website and on the "Current Parents" and "Current Students" pages of the website (all of which are under the "Community" tab).
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COVID Testing Today: Weekly COVID testing will be required for all individuals on campus regardless of vaccination status. Weekly testing for all students and employees will take place on Wednesdays. Our testing partner, COVID Testing Today, requires a one-time registration (registration link below) for every student. Registration will require uploading insurance information, however, COVID Testing is provided free of charge.
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COVID Testing for Athletes: Athletes may require additional testing throughout the week in order to participate in games, tournaments, or other competitions. In addition to our weekly testing on Wednesday, additional testing options will be provided on Monday and Thursday for athletes who require it.
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Lunch: This is just a reminder that ChoiceLunch is our only outside food provider this year and all orders must be placed by 9:00 AM the day before service. We encourage parents to tell their children about ChoiceLunch orders because they will have to retrieve their meals from the distribution area near the Koi Pond.
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Students are always welcome to bring a lunch to school. Please note that there are no microwaves or refrigerators available to students on campus and we encourage everyone to pack accordingly with ice packs, insulated bags, or other methods. |
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Welcome Back and COVID Guides: Prior to the start of school, we released two comprehensive documents to prepare our community for the year. You may access both the "Welcome Back" and "COVID Planning Guide" by clicking the buttons below or by visiting the "Announcements and Events," "Current Parents," or "Current Students" pages of our website under the "Community" tab.
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PE Uniforms - September 12 Order Deadline: New PE uniforms are here! All items can be ordered online and be delivered directly to your home via the One Stone Apparel link provided below.
The required attire will be shorts and a t-shirt, but there are also additional purchase options for Husky sweats, long-sleeved shirts, hoodies, and sweatshirts. The option to purchase PE attire will be available throughout the school year.
We understand that there is a delivery delay with our vendor and students are encouraged to bring shorts and a t-shirt for PE class until they arrive.
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The campus was busy with excitement for students, meeting new friends and old, getting tours of the campus during Advisory, and getting acclimated to the first days of school. Even within the excitement and eagerness may come feelings of concern or worry. For many of us, it has been quite some time since we have been in social situations. Sometimes we may feel awkward socializing with friends while still maintaining physical distance. One or two strategies may help to alleviate the heightened emotions that may surface. The 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Method is a discreet grounding tool that students can use anytime and anywhere. It helps us to get out of our busy thoughts when we are overthinking, and get into our bodies:
5: Acknowledge FIVE things you see around you.
4: Acknowledge FOUR things you can touch around you.
3: Acknowledge THREE things you hear.
2: Acknowledge TWO things you can smell.
1: Acknowledge ONE thing you can taste.
This often helps us to feel anchored in our bodies and take a break from our busy minds.
Christina Morse
Director of Counseling and Wellness
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Rolling Hills Preparatory and Renaissance School | RollingHillsPrep.org | RenaissanceSAS.org |
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