by Grace Lewis, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus and Jesse Zhang, Design Editor Emeritus
As COVID-19 has swept across the world, everyday life has been put on hold. For Mercersburg Academy, this meant terminating in-person classes and closing campus for the Spring term. Seniors felt robbed of their celebration, while the rest of the student body looked ahead to the school year ahead. However, returning to campus next fall is not guaranteed, but if the Academy reopens, things will look very different and will no doubt require lots of work. In order to plan the best course of action, Mercersburg has created the Storm Watch task force, a committee dedicated to carefully researching and analyzing ways to protect the community and prepare for its future, which hopefully includes returning to campus in August.
Chairing the committee (virtually) is Director of Athletics Rick Hendrickson, working alongside seven other members of the faculty and staff. The group also recruited seven alumni who are external COVID-19 advisory experts. The full list of members and a list of responsibilities can be found on the Storm Watch page. In order to be best informed, the school is also communicating with its community to learn about how corporations, businesses, and other schools are operating.
In addition to the members of the Mercersburg community (current and past), Hendrickson noted that they “are active partners in several webs of school partnerships and educational associations, including The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS) and National Independent Schools Association (NAIS), along with several regional alliances with Pennsylvania independent schools and Mid-Atlantic boarding schools.” Head of School Katherine Titus is also involved in a group of around 20 heads of schools that are in communication.
The committee is considering the environment and spaces (working, learning, interactive, and travel) in which the community works, learns, socializes, and plays. They are also focusing on emotional and mental health environments, which are just as critical to consider. Additionally, Hendrickson stated that they have set forth several goals, including protecting the unprotected and vulnerable, minimizing degrees of exposure and transmission, and managing any emergent exposures and illnesses effectively.
Despite the widespread desire to return to normal, it is unrealistic to think that can happen any time soon. Hendrickson said, “We’re reshaping human behavior to influence our culture in a good way, while keeping the community components that make Mercersburg what it is. […] I see paths to bring our students back to campus and I am also cognizant of what is beyond our control, like state shutdowns and federal regulations. Our focus is what is within our control, and that is a full scale effort to reopen the Mercersburg campus.”
While the physical campus may be reopened this fall, it is certain that it will be different. Hendrickson commented that the school is perhaps being “more creative and thoughtful than [ever before].” While everyone appreciates the posters about cold and flu season on the back of the bathroom stall doors, minimizing the spread of COVID-19 will require a lot more work. Next year, students can expect new sanitizing standards, enhanced hygiene, and updated protocols for diagnosing and helping those who contract contagions. Symptom checking and contact tracing will be implemented. Potential spaces for isolation and quarantine may be added.
A large part of reducing the spread of contagions is by restricting large gatherings or taking extra steps to make them safer. Doing this at Mercersburg is tough, especially because the community values spending time together. The committee is working to establish a way to continue these events, though they will be different. Ideas include staggered entry to communal spaces and wearing masks. Also, for school meetings in particular, maintaining socially distanced chairs in the Hale Field House or just having those virtually in pods or advisory groups are possible options.
The intention is to return the community to campus next fall. This requires paying attention to medical interventions and treatments, and taking the time to learn about the coronavirus and its spread. Titus said, “[T]he coming weeks will be critical in guiding our decisions. The knowledge about the virus continues to evolve, as do CDC, state, and federal guidelines. We are monitoring those guidelines and currently planning for a return in the fall with established protocols to minimize risk.”
The school administration has already taken steps in envisioning the future of the Mercersburg community, and the community has responded in kind. After taking almost all academic and extracurricular endeavors online for the past two months, “I would like to think we would [return to campus in the fall], and as of now I think we might,” said Lois Hargrove ’21, “but I think everything’s changing so quickly that I think we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Meanwhile, members of the class of 2020, as they depart the Academy, remain hopeful for the rest of the student body. “As seniors, having the last and most precious part of our journey suddenly taken away is surely not easy,” reflected Rebecca Feng ’20. “This has challenged us to cope with being separated from our closest ones, it also continuously reminds us to reflect on all the moments of joy and craziness we have shared together, surprisingly drawing the community closer.”
Understanding the impact of the pandemic on the student body, Titus continues to hope that the community will deal with this time of uncertainty with “cautious optimism.” The Storm Watch charge, as they continue to seek information and solutions, is fully aware of the students’ desire to return to campus for an in-person experience in the fall. “We all want to be back on campus, living and learning together,” recognized Titus. However, Titus continued, “I also hope that everyone acknowledges that, until there is a vaccine for this virus, life on campus will not be the same and there will be new expectations about activity and behaviors that we will all need to embrace.”
It is evident that the Mercersburg community has been irreversibly changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Whenever campus reopens and in-person experiences are restored, it is certain that new hygienic measures will be in place for the safety of the community. Titus says, “To have the privilege of being on campus together, we will need to make sacrifices.” Core elements of the Mercersburg community such as weekly school meetings, Harkness table discussions, and family style meals may have to adapt to new guidelines of sanitation to cope with the constantly evolving situation whenever the administration as well as the task force deem it appropriate to reopen campus.
As this process continues, Hendrickson commented, “It means extensive research, planning, collaboration, and coordinated efforts from every member of our community. It’s both daunting and exciting, because Mercersburg will emerge as a stronger version of itself.”
Chairing the committee (virtually) is Director of Athletics Rick Hendrickson alongside seven other members of the faculty and staff. The group also recruited seven alumni who are external COVID-19 advisory experts. The full list of members and a list of responsibilities can be found on the Storm Watch page. In order to be best informed, the school is also communicating with its community to learn about how corporations/businesses are operating.
In addition to the members of the Mercersburg community (current and past), Hendrickson has shared that they “are active partners in several webs of school partnerships and educational associations, including The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS) and National Independent Schools Association (NAIS), along with several regional alliances with Pennsylvania independent schools and Mid-Atlantic boarding schools.” Head of School Katherine Titus is also involved in a group of around 20 heads of schools that are in communication.
The committee is considering the environment and spaces (working, learning, interactive, and travel) in which the community works, learns, socializes, and plays. They are also focusing on emotional and mental health environments, which are just as critical to consider. Additionally, Hendrickson states that they have set forth with several goals, includings protecting the unprotected and vulnerable, minimizing degrees of exposure and transmission, and managing any exposures and illnesses and exposures effectively.
Despite a desire to return to normal, it is unrealistic to think that can happen any time soon. Hendrickson said, “We’re reshaping human behavior to influence our culture in a good way, while keeping the community components that make Mercersburg what it is. […] I see paths to bring our students back to campus and I am also cognizant of what is beyond our control, like state shutdowns and federal regulations. Our focus is what is within our control, and that is a full scale effort to reopen the Mercersburg campus.”
While campus may be reopened this fall, it is certain that it will be different. Hendrickson noted that the school is perhaps being “more creative and thoughtful than [ever before].” While everyone appreciates the posters about cold and flu season on the back of the bathroom stall doors, minimizing the spread of COVID-19 will require a lot more work. Next year, students can expect new sanitizing standards, enhanced hygiene, and updated protocols for diagnosing and helping those who contract contagions. Symptom checking and contact tracing will be implemented. Potential spaces for isolation and quarantine may be added.
A large part of reducing the spread of contagions is by restricting large gatherings, or taking extra steps to make them safer. Doing this at Mercersburg is tough, especially because the community values spending time together. The committee is working to establish a way to still have these events, though they will be different. Ideas include staggered entry and wearing masks. Also, for school meetings in particular, having socially distanced chairs in the Hale Fieldhouse or just having those virtually in pods or advisory groups are possible options.
The intention is to return next fall. This requires paying attention to medical interventions and treatments, and taking the time to learn about the coronavirus and its spread. Titus says, “[T]he coming weeks will be critical in guiding our decisions. The knowledge about the virus continues to evolve, as do CDC, state, and federal guidelines. We are monitoring those guidelines and currently planning for a return in the fall with established protocols to minimize risk.”
While the school administration took steps in envisioning the future of the Mercersburg community, the community responded in kind. After taking almost all academic and extracurricular endeavors online for the past two months, “I would like to think we would [return to campus in the fall], and as of now I think we might,” said Lois Hargrove ’21, “but I think everything’s changing so quickly that I think we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Meanwhile, members of the class of 2020, as they depart the Academy, remain hopeful for the rest of the student body. “As seniors, having the last and most precious part of our journey suddenly taken away is surely not easy,” reflected Rebecca Feng ’20. “This has challenged us to cope with being separated from our closest ones, it also continuously reminds us to reflect on all the moments of joys and craziness we have shared together, surprisingly drawing the community closer.”
Understanding the impact of the pandemic on the student body, Titus hoped that the community would deal with this time of uncertainty with “cautious optimism.” The Storm Watch charge, as they continue to seek information and solutions, is fully aware of the students’ hope to return to campus for an in-person experience in the fall. “We all want to be back on campus, living and learning together,” recognized Titus. However, Titus continued, “I also hope that everyone acknowledges that, until there is a vaccine for this virus, life on campus will not be the same and there will be new expectations about activity and behaviors that we will all need to embrace.”
It is evident the Mercersburg community has been irreversibly changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Whenever campus reopens and in person experiences are restored, it is certain that new hygienic measures will be put in place for the safety of the community. Titus says, “To have the privilege of being on campus together, we will need to make sacrifices.” Core elements of the Mercersburg community such as weekly school meetings, Harkness table discussions, and family style meals may have to adapt to new guidelines of sanitation to cope with the constantly evolving situation whenever the administration as well as the task force deem it appropriate to reopen campus.
As this process continues, Hendrickson commented, “It means extensive research, planning, collaboration, and coordinated efforts from every member of our community. It’s both daunting and exciting, because Mercersburg will emerge as a stronger version of itself.”
Thanks for another informative site. Where else may just I get that type of
information written in such an ideal approach?
I have a undertaking that I am just now working on, and I have
been on the look out for such information.
Wow, amazing weblog structure! How long have you ever been blogging for?
you made running a blog look easy. The entire glance of your website is magnificent, as smartly as the
content!
Like!! Great article post.Really thank you! Really Cool.