I think for us it comes down to weighing the options. Our other option is the LPS. In our area, school committees voted on inperson/remote/hybrid models only a few days before teachers were due to return to work. The state decided to give teachers a 2 week period “to figure things out” before kids showed up. So the plane is being built as it’s flying. I feel at least our BS option has been working on this since March.
I am a teacher in a LPS. Kids will be showing up in one week. To be honest, we have absolutely no idea what we are going to do. Lots of meetings last week and everyone is still in the dark with no final plans. It makes me much more secure in the BS option we decided to go with.
Adding my hugs to @Golfgr8 and to everyone as we all take a deep breath and jump back in the pool. Our college kid went back last week, and our BS kiddo goes Thursday, after negative tests and a 2 week quarantine. After arriving, she will have an additional test that day, and additional quarantine in her dorm (with meals delivered every day and “recess” time outside (yes, they are calling it recess; someone joked “it’s better than “yard time”!”)), and the first week of classes will be online-on campus.
There are so many unknowns… and I know for me personally that’s what gives me the most anxiety - the inability to see the future and know how this will all turn out. I know that for my BS kid, and for her brother in college, they desperately want - and need - to get out of this house and be on campus with their people, living their somewhat independent lives, even if class is not fully in person and the experiences not the same. Mercersburg has put a lot of thought and care and sound science into their return plan, and at this point I have to trust that everyone is doing the best to make it work. I share concerns about the block scheduling and compressing a subject into 9 weeks, as well as waiting until spring (9 months after taking the language the previous time) for honors language… but again, all the kids will be in the same boat and I do actually see some advantages in the plan (including a 4 week “intensive” small cohort class over December).
DD goes to K-12 LDS. They reported a positive test in an upper school student yesterday. Contact tracing was done, areas used by that student deep cleaned, sanitized and ultravioleted. I’m not sure about the teachers that were exposed, but everyone else that was in close contact is remote learning for 2 weeks. This was their first case since returning a month ago.
Our public schools went back on Tuesday. They are not social distancing based on the droves that poured out of the doors yesterday afternoon. Other private schools are not requiring masks - in fact, as one parent told me “at your school, no mask = remote learning, but at ours wearing a mask = remote learning” due to ‘mask shaming’.
Our case numbers in the county had decreased by over 70% but I see another surge in our near future.
We are still avoiding public places as much as possible. But the way things are going in our community, I’m fearful DD will have to return to remote learning before Thanksgiving.
It’s hard enough to let your 14 year old kiddo live across the country. To miss the dinners, the nightly tuck-ins, the laughs, the hugs, the hard times, the good times, the family inside jokes.
But at least when you get to go to campus and see the big orientation and help them decorate their dorm room and meet the roommates and walk the campus and see the classrooms and the dining hall and the throngs of kids wearing school swag and spirit wear – well, you are reminded why you are doing this in the first place. You feel like you are gaining something that is worth even more than what you are losing.
Taking your kid to a post-apocalyptic-esque airport to drop them off in a desolate white zone, where you slip your mask down so she can hear your whisper final words of wisdom and love through your silent, but persistent tears – well it sucks. I feel only the loss, and I have little tangible evidence of the gain – just my faint memories of our interview tour a year ago, and try as I might, I simply cannot squeeze clearer images in my mind of any of the specific buildings, dorms, classrooms or library. I’m left with a general sense of “boarding school = good” so here I am trusting that. I have no choice but to trust the me of last year who was so enthusiastic about it all, who knew the losses but also saw the gains.
I am fearing that this year’s drop off will be harder than last. Thanks to a head injury I have had my kid home since the end of January. Everyday with her. I am crossing my fingers that her being so happy and excited to be heading back to school will get me through. Oh and the fact that I may have to take up drinking when we get home. ?
@Calliemomofgirls huge virtual hugs! I know it won’t seem like it now, but trust me when I say in a few months/years, you’ll realize it isn’t the decorating rooms, meeting roommate, seeing kids in swag or attending the sonorous parent meetings that make you realize the gain. That will always be intangible. But you’ll see it in the video chats, the visits home (hurry up Thanksgiving) and the eventual visits to school - when you see how much she’s grown and matured in such a short period of time.
It was this “X” factor that DD saw in DS that sealed the deal for her desire to go to BS.
But I’m not going to lie-you (and all other first timer BS parents) were cheated. ‘Rona stole the move-in photos, the memories of new beginnings and the brief meetings of new friends on which you’d survive until the next call or FaceTime…the old hag.
I will tell you that I don’t think either way is easier. To leave our kids there is to cut out a huge chunk of our hearts with nothing to fill that big empty hole.
Hang in there!!! You’ll see soon that this was the best decision you could have made! And remember- you always have CC parents to reach out to!
Big huge hugs to you, @Calliemomofgirls . @buuzn03 got it exactly right. Like so many people in so many ways, COVID has taken from you something tangible - what should have been a great, if still hard, first drop-off day on campus. But, if your school is anything like Mercersburg (saw you, @dramakid2, in the car check-in line this afternoon), the admin and parents group are finding ways and working doubly hard to help you find connection with other parents (after all, this is YOUR community now, too!), with her teachers/coaches/advisers, and virtually with her. I left a chunk of my heart today too, and the Facetime just now to see how she set up her room and how her lights and photos and tapestry are arranged so carefully on the walls, helps a little. But still, we’re not THERE.
Sending you all my virtual hugs and positive thoughts this week. Hang in there.
Hugs to everyone. It really does help feeling less alone. It’s hard all around. I am glad that my husband is finally going to see his first boarding school campus ever, so he can see for himself why DD and I were so convinced last year.
I just got a photo texted about two minutes ago – they landed in Boston, it’s raining (which DD loves), and they are headed to get their rental car in great spirits.
Sorry I missed you @hellomaisy , I also realized I missed seeing @busymommyof4 in the lineup. Its been a long week all around, and I was exhausted by the time we got there on Thursday. Although I was impressed with how everything was run, the friendly, enthusiastic faculty and staff, and the organization of the whole process. The quick turnaround time on the PCR tests is impressive, and I feel good about the start of the school year. I’m just glad that he is there, and I hope everyone can stay on campus, as planned, though the end of the fall term (at least!)
Sending you many hugs @Calliemomofgirls , as well as other parents of new students, as I can only imagine how surreal the whole experience must be for a new family. I think it would have felt overwhelming to drop a brand new student off at school under these strange circumstances. It felt weird to me as a returning parent to stay outside the dorm and not help unload. My husband took my son out 2 weeks ago to drop the majority of his stuff, so I have not seen his room in person - only via FaceTime. I’ve also been mourning the loss of weekends traveling to see his football games, the candlelight service in December, and most likely Declamation that comes at the end of Marshall Irving week before Spring Break. So many things will be different, and those community building events will not be the same this year. Despite all that, I know my son is thrilled to be back on campus, despite the sacrifices and changes in daily routines and events.
@Calliemomofgirls sending you hugs and please take solace in the knowledge that it will get better. Yes ,we will never have the kind of drop off so eloquently described by @buuzn03 but it is what it is.
It’s been 19 days (hey who’s counting ) that I waved goodbye to my ‘mini me’ and I miss her terribly (she’s probably going to see this and smile) but each day with less frequent calls, and two word texts tells me she’s settling in just fine.
Stay strong everyone and believe we are doing the right thing for our kids.
An update:
DD moved into Andover yesterday morning. It has been 36 hours since she moved in. I still have NOT been able to FaceTime her to see what her dorm room looks like.
Why? She is just too busy and happy and having a great time. I even signed up for Snapchat this morning thinking that might score me some major mom-points, and even a few videos, photos, texts. Still, I’ve gotten like 3 quick snaps and it was quick stuff: Gotta go Mom, going to watch a move outside! Have a dorm meeting!
I’ve decided the longer I go without seeing her dorm room is only good news. It means she’s not sitting in her dorm with nothing to do but FaceTime her mom closeups of the photo-wall she decided to make.
Husband landed home at midnight last night, and showed me some of his photos this morning and even a couple quick videos.
All is good.
I’m not just part of it. (Which is totally OK. Sad for me, but OK)
This is definitely not an ideal year for drop off. And it’s that much harder on new students too. We are still only getting sad communication from our daughter (day 2). I keep hoping that “tomorrow” is the day when she’s too busy/happy to call/text/ask to be picked up.
Oh and the school has their first positive test result today. Fortunately, the mandated tracking system showed no close contact with any other student so only he/she has been sent home to quarantine. Now the students on campus must eat meals in their rooms (as they cannot have their masks off at all outside their rooms), until the next round of tests come back. Yay Covid. :neutral:
Sending extra hugs to you @cityran , those sad communications are tough. Has her roommate moved in yet? Has the school organized some structured, outdoor activities to get students acclimated and introduced to new friends?
@cityran oh gosh it is so hard! I am so sorry. This could have easily been our experience so I can absolutely imagine it. I am crossing fingers for tomorrow to be the day! I know that even in the best of times, lots of kids have a really rough first few days. This is a pandemic so it’s new-level HARD.
How are you doing?
I’m sending hugs from afar.
Oh and a positive case just probably adds to the stress!!! I’m so sorry.
Did they catch it in a routine-for-everyone test before moving into dorm? So was it a randomized test? Or were they symptomatic and so then got tested? You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to. I’m just curious how different schools are testing and also what the likelihood is of a school having everyone in campus being negative (I’m guessing everyone had negative tests before being cleared to go on campus?) and then two days later, a positive crops up. Scary and stressful.
I will bet anything that the school week will start making things feel at least a tiny bit more normal. (Even if it’s zoom, which my kiddo has from her dorm.)
The positive test result was from the arrival testing. Each student had to provide a negative result before arriving on campus (up to 10 day ahead of time), and then the school did lower nasal cavity PCR testing on arrival (which takes 2-3 days to get back). All school community members will continue to be tested on a twice weekly schedule until the school feels comfortable stretching the tests out. So in order for the kids to be able to eat outside again, they have to wait for the second round of testing to come back negative. As far as I know, that testing hasn’t happened yet, but I suspect they’ll start today. It will be interesting to see if a school that is actively testing as much as we are will fair better or worse than a school that is doing no proactive testing (as is true for my nephew’s school).
I think citykid (ironically, we do not live in or near a city anymore, it’s just a really old screen name) may be starting to turn the corner. I got the dreaded “can we talk” text last night as expected, but then she never called, and I only got silly snaps from her complaining about school toilet paper, and then a “how to I set my alarm” text at 11pm. Fingers crossed that with classes starting today, she’ll start to settle in.
Thinking of you, @cityran. I have a colleague whose D was calling home from college pathetically unhappy. After these calls, her mom would be up all night, worried for her. She later found out that after “unloading”, her D went on with her evening at school quite happily! Her mom was glad, of course, that it was all good and that she could “help”, but really would have appreciated getting that “all clear” message as well.
Sounds like she is turning the corner. I feel a mom’s pain for you just the same.
Totally agree with your take @gardenstategal – it does seem like our kiddos process their (totally normal) fears and download their stress on us, their safe place. So we are under the impression that things are worse than they are because they save the joys and happy moments to share in their physical space and with their new friends (who are less “safe” for unloading on.). Anyway – @cityran thinking of you today and hoping first day of classes helps her feel connected a little!
) that I waved goodbye to my ‘mini me’ and I miss her terribly (she’s probably going to see this and smile) but each day with less frequent calls, and two word texts tells me she’s settling in just fine.