Dear FVS Community:

I hope this message finds you well. Our beautiful campus is waking from its winter hibernation with irises and other early emergents seeking light that will nourish their beautiful blooms in coming months. It is incredibly peaceful and quiet here, and were it not for the constant prompting of our electronic tethers to the world outside our gates, one would hardly know that we are in crisis. Through meaningful and productive collaborations among all of the adults, we have created a safe haven for our community and I am incredibly proud of the teamwork and partnership that I see each day in support of our students. 

This is who we are - this is FVS. 

The students who remain on campus have settled into a healthy routine and are enjoying a range of opportunities to keep them engaged and entertained. Among the activities this weekend—students collected willow branches around campus which they used in learning the ancient art of basket weaving. Another group spent the better part of a day in our ceramics studio trying out wheel throwing and slab building for the first time. And on Friday evening, smiles were abundant as students enjoyed an authentic home-cooked Chinese meal courtesy of world languages teacher Xiaohong Teng who spent two days preparing the feast. 

In This Update:
  • COVID-19 Website  
  • Fountain Valley School Virtual (FVSV)
  • Interim Refunds

COVID-19 Webpage on FVS.edu
The school has created a webpage that will serve as a central location where members of the FVS community may find an archive of communications as well as resources to support virtual learning as we launch Fountain Valley School Virtual, which we will refer to as FVSV. This webpage can be found at fvs.edu/covid-19-resources and will be added to regularly as we move forward. 


Fountain Valley School Virtual (FVSV)
Work is well underway as the entire adult community prepares to launch virtual learning in early April. Later this week, we will share in-depth information about what this will look like and how it will work. I am excited for our community to reconnect and to see the great work that our students and teachers will accomplish together as we author this next chapter of FVS history. I am confident that we will continue to provide a powerful, transformative educational experience despite the distance that separates us, and I know that this spring will be remembered as one of the finest examples of FVS core values we’ve ever seen. 

Interim Refunds
The school will be issuing refunds equivalent to 90% of the amount paid for each Interim trip. This will be accomplished through a combination of money refunded as credit on April billing statements as well as vouchers from airlines for air travel that was purchased. If you have a credit balance on your account, you may carry it forward to the next school year or request the balance be paid to you. Interim trip leaders will be in touch in the coming week with specific details for each trip. Thank you for your patience while we completed this important work. 

Many families have already stepped forward and offered to forgo their refunds with the request that the money they paid for Interim be kept by the School as a donation—and for that we are tremendously grateful. Please know that while the School was able to recoup money from many vendors, the cost to provide the 90% refund far exceeds what will be recouped and the unanticipated expenditures that have resulted from the COVID-19 crisis are significant. 

With cashflows around the world significantly constrained and the financial outlook challenging, I’m particularly humbled by these acts of selfless generosity and I am extremely grateful. If you wish to join these families in donating your refund as an unrestricted gift, know that your contribution will be tax-deductible. Please contact me if you wish to exercise this option. 

Last, thank you to each and every member of our community. The challenges that we’ve endured and continue to face have brought out the best in our community and I am extremely proud. As we move forward, together, it is important that we remain connected to each other, that we support each other, and like the flora re-emerging here on campus and around the world, we work together to seek the light that is all around us.   

Take good care, and be well. 


William Webb
Head of School
 
Fountain Valley School of Colorado
6155 Fountain Valley School Road 
Colorado Springs, CO 80911