Update from Head of School 7/29/2021

July 29, 2021

 

 

Dear VVS Families,

 

I hope each and every one of you is healthy and well. All of us at VVS are excited to open the school year this fall in partnership with all of you. The VVS Leadership Team along with our Director of Operations and Director of Health Services are working on the details around our fall reopening plan, and as always, the health and safety of our students and staff is our priority. Each and every decision we make is to ensure that we are keeping both the big picture and the detailed nitty gritty in mind. There are lots of layers to running a healthy, happy, well informed and intentional school.

 

Many schools have already announced the details of their plans to reopen this fall, and a number of those schools are now changing and modifying the plan given the fluid nature of the pandemic over the past few weeks. At VVS we are taking a long view approach, and ask for your patience as we continue to closely monitor CDC Guidelines and local county and state health officials’ recommendations. Our goal is to remain agile and share the details of our reopening plan the second week of August with all of you in a Town Hall for students and families with the Leadership Team (date and time to be announced). 

 

Our primary objective is to safely open and welcome students back to campus in the fall with a normal VVS educational experience that ensures the following:

 

• Keep the health and safety concerns of students, faculty, and staff at the forefront of our decision-making.

• Maintain academic excellence and the overall quality of the VVS experience.

• Take advantage of the outdoors and our location.

• Invest in the rich, vibrant VVS community and support the diversity of backgrounds, strengths, and interests each member of our community brings.

 

Vaccination is currently the leading public health prevention strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic and we continue to strongly urge all students to be vaccinated prior to their return in August. 

 

We will continue to monitor the situation over the next two weeks and keep you closely informed as our plans solidify and more information emerges. Whatever the outcome of our school reopening plan, I can assure you that a VVS education is like no other and it will happen in person on our idyllic campus. Please review the VVS 2021/2022 Calendar for important dates.

 

A positive outcome for all of us over the past 18 months, has been our gift to connect online with VVS constituents and friends from all over the world. I hope that your family has also found time for reflection and connection during this unprecedented and unexpected space and time. However, there is nothing like meeting face to face in person, and I am so looking forward to those opportunities over the next year. 

 

You can expect further correspondence next week and an invitation to our Town Hall in August.