Dear SAU 70 School Community,
By now, everyone has heard the nationwide call to hunker down. In NH, and especially Vermont, our governors have urged and even ordered us to restrict our interactions and to avoid travel. While our schools have remained safe harbors amid the resurging pandemic, we will need to act with caution to keep them open. Experts continue to insist that if we all mask, distance, and wash our hands diligently, we can slow the spread of the virus. I’ve attached a recent publication from CHaD reviewing our local situation and recommending our way forward.
Even as we continue to cope with the pandemic, I hope that you are all able to use this break to relax. I know that consciously or not, between the pandemic, the election, and the recent social unrest in our country, I have been working with much more than my normal stress level and I’m sure that you have too. This week, I plan to spend time letting some of that extra stress go. Our Thanksgiving holiday will be much lower key than usual, but we plan to make the best of it - and we certainly have much to be grateful for.
That said, I don’t need to wait for next Thursday to share my gratitude with this school community. Were it not for the incredible, collaborative effort of our students, staff, parents, and community, we could not have carried out such a successful first quarter. Research continues to mount that shows just how important restoring in-person schooling has been for our children, and I am deeply grateful for all that you have done so far. If you’re looking for some background music for the holiday, I would dedicate two songs to all of you: “My Thanksgiving,” by Don Henley, and “Kind and Generous,” by Natalie Merchant. They say it much better than I can.
Enjoy the break,
Jay
