Dear students and families,

There are mere hours until we're together, virtually or in person, again. We remain incredibly excited to begin the school year with you.

Please note—and read carefully—the important updates and reminders below.

Schedules
Students, please pay close attention to the new schedule you received on Friday, September 4, especially all rooms.

Don't forget that we have an all-school assembly tomorrow, September 8, in the Virtual Commonwealth Cafegymnatorium from 8:30-8:55 a.m. as well.

You'll also find the schedule for the first week of school here.

Virtual Commonwealth
Take a peek at your new Student Dashboard on Virtual Commonwealth! It's an interactive version of your schedule. You can enter your classrooms by clicking any of the class names. And there's a printable PDF of your schedule below the interactive one. If your classes are not showing up correctly or if you want to connect with a teacher who you don't have for class, you can also enter a teacher's room via the Classrooms page (just like you did in the spring, for those returning students). Let us know of any mistakes in your schedule here.

Remember to log in using Google too.

Technical problems? Please use this form.

Ordering Lunch
If you have not done so already, in-person students should use this form to order your lunches for the week. We will be using this new form to take lunch orders moving forward. And there's plenty to eat; don't be shy about ordering what you need for lunch and calling or visiting the kitchen if you need a snack. We'll take care of you!

First-Day Checklist for In-Person Students
Tuesday, September 8, for Group A; Wednesday, September 9, for Group B

(Parents) Submit both required forms for in-person learning (Informed Consent form and Consent to Collect Coronavirus Information form) if you have not done so already
(Parents) Complete Daily Screening in Magnus app by 7:30 a.m.
Log into Virtual Commonwealth for important announcements
Bring your mask (and a backup)
Bring a water bottle
Bring your laptop and charger (and headphones if possible)
Bring pen(cil) and paper on which to take notes, but little else—you will not need to have your texts for any class on your first in-person day of school
Use only your assigned bathroom (it appears on your class schedule)

Forms for In-Person Learning Due ASAP
All students participating in in-person classes must have both the Informed Consent form and the Consent to Collect Coronavirus Information form completed and on file. (The testing form was a late addition to our required back-to-school forms, given the new testing protocols.)

Parents who have yet to submit these form(s), please do so by TOMORROW, September 8:

Consent to Collect Coronavirus Information: please download, sign, and email it to Stephanie Poynter.
Informed Consent: please download, sign, and email it to Stephanie Poynter.

They are also on the Back-to-School forms page of the Parent Portal (passkey: parents2021). Parents can email Stephanie Poynter with any questions.

Changing Groups
Please note, while we know some students would prefer to switch between Groups A and B, we remain unable to entertain such requests. We are balancing a number of different factors as we return to school. Our top priority must be making sure our students, faculty, and staff are safe. Our small room capacities and the large number of students who take courses outside of their grade level make shifts next to impossible, particularly for some grades where almost all students will be attending in person. Depending on how the year unfolds, we may have more flexibility in the future.

Internet Tomorrow (Tuesday)
We are in the process of installing new, faster Internet, and we have been warned by our installation team that we might lose our Internet connection on Tuesday, September 8. If that is the case and the outage lasts longer than an hour, school will be suspended for students learning remotely. We will notify students and families via email or our emergency alert system (from an off-campus Internet source) with updates.

We are continuing with our plans to hold in-person classes because we need to acclimate to our new health and safety protocols, so students in the building should proceed with their classes as scheduled. (They will still be able to connect with faculty present in the building and classroom monitors.)

We hope that we do not encounter such a disruption. But if we do, we thank you for your patience.

***

A period of adjustment and adventure lies ahead. There will be joyful reunions, familiar classroom conversations, and laughter at the strangeness of it all. There will also be technical difficulties, confusion, frustration, and mistakes. But we will persevere and learn together, buoyed by our collective flexibility, patience, and good humor.

Until tomorrow...