Dec. 15, 2020 

Dear Chatham Hall Community,

I hope this email finds you well and looking forward to a festive holiday season. Before we all take a much deserved break, I wanted to remind everyone of what to expect when we return in January given Governor Northam’s current regulations and with the knowledge that these may change throughout the break period. 

Before we discuss that, however, I feel it is important to take this opportunity to stress that, prior to a return to campus and similar to the summer, we ask all students, employees, and families to self-quarantine for at least five days. Additionally, we ask families to be forthcoming to Chatham Hall if they have been in contact with a COVID-19 case during the break. Reach out to me at mmiller@chathamhall.org or Director of the Health Care Center Lynne Shelton at lshelton@chathamhall.org. Those who have had COVID-19 during the break may still test positive when they are tested on campus, so knowing the exposure will help us with determining quarantines and restrictions. Also, please check your email during the break period as we will continue communicating via email during that time period.

Full-Time Remote Learning
As we look to next semester our decisions are being informed by all that we have learned and the desire to keep building our community. We know that we are the strongest community doing our best learning when we are on campus together. With that in mind, and based on our solid COVID-19 safety record in the fall semester, we have determined that the remote learning option will continue to be available to those students facing travel restrictions or with a medical note from their doctor. Please reach out to me or Dean of Academics Martha Griswold at mgriswold@chathamhall.org if you have any questions or issues that you believe need to be reviewed.

Return to Campus
Regarding our return to campus, I would like to remind everyone that any student taking public transportation back to campus must arrive after 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 5. Any student taking private transportation must arrive after 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 10. As a precaution, parents will not be allowed in buildings during this move-in period. From Jan. 10-12, all students will be tested for COVID-19 and quarantined in their own rooms (with their roommate, if both are on campus). Students will collect meals from the dining hall in shifts, and there will be outside time each day for fresh air. 

The first two and a half weeks back on campus, Jan. 5-24, will be a period during which we will revert to some of the precautions enacted during the first weeks of school as we monitor for symptoms throughout our community, but there will be some changes to make the time pass enjoyably. Until our student test results are returned, students will need to keep to their own dorm rooms and hall cohorts, traffic patterns will follow posted signs and stickers on dorm, and masks will be required everywhere except personal dorm rooms. In August, we had no cases of COVID-19 brought to campus and we are thankful for the diligence of our families in following CDC protocols to keep us all safe. Anticipating the same in January, we plan to hold limited weekend activities (maintaining COVID-19 protocols will be paramount) for those coming early via public transport, immediately welcome contactless food delivery, and welcome food trucks to campus right away. We will also have meals in groups outside under the tents with heaters, weather permitting.

Return to Classes
Remote classes start for all students on Wednesday, Jan. 6, which will be a Day 2/Tuesday schedule, and as in the past the academic schedule will take up much of the day. This means that some students will begin classes from home prior to their Jan. 10 return to campus. This will be the same remote schedule used prior to Thanksgiving Break. Once on campus, students will all attend remote classes from their dorm rooms. We anticipate in person classes will start on Thursday, Jan. 14

Boarding Students
We anticipate being able to open up room-to-room visits and loosening traffic flow on dorm as soon as we are out of the false negative period, or about two weeks after we receive the last test results. Shower stall assignments will remain in effect as will other dorm protocols including mask wearing. At this time we do not anticipate opening weekends for boarders to visit home. For the safety and integrity of our “bubble,” all five-day boarding students will need to remain full boarding students for the time being as they will continue to live on dorm, share showers, and be unmasked in their dorm rooms. The Sunday night return to the dorm after a weekend off-campus would be too precarious. Please see below for weekend parent visit information.  

Day Students
Depending on COVID-19 numbers in Pittsylvania County and assuming low or no COVID-19 numbers on our campus in January, it is our intention to offer day students the option to return to day student status on the afternoon of Friday, Jan. 22. Day students will be able to travel home for the weekend and return to school on Monday, Jan. 25 as day students. Under this program, these students will no longer be allowed on dorm and they will need to eat in their own cohort. They will take part in afternoon activities, excluding basketball, provided that those activities can maintain social distance and students can remain masked. Day students will be able to enjoy weekend activities if they choose to do so, but must register via sign up sheets just as boarders do. On weekends, day students may not be on campus other than for their registered activities, and we ask that day students travel only to and from campus and refrain from making trips into town. Day students who wish to remain as boarding students for the rest of the year have that option. 

Activities
Beginning the weekend of Friday, Jan. 22, the School will be pursuing off campus activities that are able to give us some degree of control over the environment. Renting out full ice skating rinks, bowling alleys, and movie theaters may be options as government mandates allow. We will also continue food trucks and outdoor activities such as the rock climbing walls and obstacle courses, weather permitting. Parents and immediate household members will be able to make weekend visits to campus as of Saturday, Jan. 30. We plan to have our Winter Long Weekend take place on campus and will be securing activities for that in the weeks ahead. 

Continued Precautions
Just as this past fall, when we return to campus in January our spaces will be sanitized regularly and the HALO machines will be in regular use. Community members will wear masks at all times unless in their own dorm rooms or alone in a room. Six feet of distance will need to be maintained, and regular hand washing and/or sanitizing will be expected. Daily temperature checks will be required of all students, faculty, and staff and periodic testing will continue. 

Please remember that if a student tests positive for COVID-19 then she will be moved immediately into Gilmore House and, if she lives within 300 miles from campus, her parents will be expected to pick her up to recover at home. Tracing will be done to determine those at highest risk and isolation/ quarantining is initiated. Students who live 300 or more miles from campus will be monitored and treated at Chatham Hall.

As we have been throughout the first half of the academic year, we will remain in regular contact with our epidemiologist to determine if/when any adjustments to our precautions - whether it be tightening or loosening - need to be made depending on internal or external factors. 

Vaccinations
Director of the Health Care Center Lynne Shelton has been in touch with the Virginia Department of Health (VDOH) regarding the availability of COVID-19 vaccinations. At this moment we have no information on potential availability, but we will continue to remain in contact with VDOH to have exploratory conversations and will be in touch when we know more.

I thank you in advance for the caution and care I know you will all take during our extended period off campus, and your support as we navigate our reopening in January. As a reminder, we will be having our Spring Break as scheduled and as we move closer to that date we will be in touch regarding return to campus plans then too.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Best wishes,

Marin Miller
Dean of Students