January 20, 2022 | Issue 18 |
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The Pandemic’s Impact on Learning
The pandemic has been a real challenge for education over the past two years. A McKinsey and Company analysis found that student’s in America’s public schools were on average five months behind in mathematics and four months behind in reading at the end of the 2020-2021 school year. Given the time students have been absent from on campus learning in our nation’s schools and due to the other disruptions the pandemic has caused in classrooms, this is terrible but not surprising. Covid learning loss and other challenges to America’s schools are negatively affecting everything from students learning how to read to college admissions. Students emotional and social lives have also been adversely affected by the pandemic, but I will address that in another article soon.
While the disruptions of the pandemic have been far less at Mead Hall, we have not been immune from Covid’s impact. However, we have worked hard to overcome the move to remote learning in the spring of 2020 and the other challenges we have faced since. While they are a snapshot only, our standardized testing shows that students have done well overall considering the impact of the pandemic on our own school’s life. Where our teachers identify gaps in our students’ learning, these are addressed in their teaching while moving forward with the curriculum. Our small classes and the knowledge our faculty has of each student, assists us in addressing their particular needs. I am so grateful for the additional hours and effort that our teachers have invested in our students during the past two years to ensure their academic success during the minefield of the pandemic.
During this period we have also reflected on how our curriculum can best meet the academic needs of our students and provide them with success now and in the future and I would like to highlight a few of these.
At the elementary level we introduced a new mathematics curriculum that teaches students to understand the relationships between numbers rather than simply solve problems using formulas. The purpose of the Eureka curriculum is to provide students with a deeper understanding of the why behind the numbers in order to develop great math thinkers and make them better prepared to grasp the more abstract concepts of algebra, geometry, and calculus in high school. As well, at every level we are providing our students with the tools and the preparation to succeed in math.
We have also strengthened the already excellent preparation of our students for high school by expanding writing across the curriculum in 8th grade beyond English class. With more writing required in Physical Science and US History, our 8th graders will begin upper school with more experience in analytical writing in the sciences and social studies.
In our upper school program, we are pacing the progression of learning and providing guidance to our students so that they will take their required and elective courses when they are most ready to thrive academically in these classes. Students taking higher level mathematics, English, sciences, social sciences, etc. need to have the academic experience and the maturity to maximize their learning and achieve their best grades. For example, the most ideal progression in math is for students who plan on studying AP Calculus to take this in their senior year when they will be most prepared and mature to achieve the best results possible in this demanding course. We want our students to have the best possible academic results to present to prospective colleges, which usually means taking higher level courses when they are most ready. We are in the season when we meet with our upper school students and their families to select their courses for the next year which provides an opportunity to discuss the best plan for academic success for each student.
The pandemic has had a major impact on education and child social and emotional development. Through these challenges we are carrying on the teaching and learning that defines us as an independent college preparatory school but we are also pivoting as appropriate to strengthen our program in this time of adversity to educate and graduate students to succeed in the future.
It is by God’s grace that we are able to offer this education within a nurturing Christian environment to our students.
Blessings,
Frank Sawyer
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On Friday January 7, 2022 Dr. George King of Savannah River National Laboratory spoke to about 20 members of the Mead Hall Interact club about the history and science of SRNL.
Pictured below Dr. King, Rysheeka Bush (Sunrise Rotary), Arein Delariarte (MH Interact President), and Valorie Vance-Kraus (MH Interact Advisor)
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2022 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration |
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On Sunday, January 23, 2022, U.S. House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn will be the keynote speaker for the 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration. The event will be held at the USC Aiken Convocation Center, 2049 Champion Way, Graniteville, SC 29829.
"Congressman Clyburn is the third-ranking Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives and has represented South Carolina’s sixth congressional district since 1993. The district includes Allendale, Bamberg, Calhoun, Clarendon, Hampton, Jasper, and Williamsburg counties and portions of Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester, Florence, Orangeburg, Richland, and Sumter counties.
The community celebration brings together hundreds annually to celebrate Dr. King’s life and legacy. The 2022 event theme is centered on a quote by Dr. King, “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Doors will open at 2:30 p.m., followed by the event, which is presented by Aiken Technical College (Aiken Tech) and the University of South Carolina Aiken (USC Aiken).
The event is free and open to the public.
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Mead Hall PTO News and Events
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Faculty/Staff Appreciation Week - February 28th - March 4th
Be on the lookout for a Sign Up Genius link to be available in the coming weeks!
Parent volunteers are needed to provide daily breakfast items and mailbox treats for our faculty and staff on both campuses.
Saturday, March 5th - Flashback to the 80s Pink Carpet Event
in the Aiken Prep Campus Gym from 7:00pm to 10:00pm. Save the Date - Invitations will be sent out soon!
Saturday, April 23rd - 38th Annual Strawberry Festival
on the Aiken Prep Campus field from 10:00am to 2:00pm
Games, Inflatables, Food Tent, Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream and Shortcake, Gurosik's Strawberries, Bake Sale, DJ Kenny Ray and plenty of fun to go around!
Pre-Orders for T-shirts and all access wrist bands will be on sale soon.
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School Store
School Store Hours
Jan. 18th - Jan 28th
Open Monday - Friday 8:00am to 9:00am
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The back room has been updated! Our racks are getting full with gently used uniform items.
Stop by to see our selection of resale items including outerwear, polo shirts and khaki skirts/pants starting at just $3 each!
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Support Mead Hall Athletics
by becoming a Panther Club Sponsor -
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SUNDAY
Rite I Eucharist no music 7:45 AM
Rite II Eucharist with Contemporary music 9:00 AM
Rite II Eucharist with Traditional Music, choir and organ 11:15 AM
WEDNESDAY
Rite II Eucharist in the chapel 11:00 AM
We also live stream the services.
All of our services offer Communion.
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Notification Process for a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19
Please notify the school if your child or a member of your child's household has a COVID-19 positive test result. If your child is sick and is exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, please keep the child home and contact the school. Please see the link below for further details of what to do in the cases of Covid-19 symptoms or exposure.
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