Dear Parents,
Welcome back to the 95th year of teaching and learning at Greens Farms Academy! The year ahead will be an exciting, rewarding, and undoubtedly eventful one, and we look forward to sharing it with you and your children.
As energized as we are about the work that our faculty have undertaken in preparation for the year ahead, we know that you are navigating the range of logistical and emotional challenges that are part of a unique back-to-school transition this fall.
With that in mind, we will be sharing more specific detail about the return to campus logistics (morning drop off, afternoon pickup, and the lunch experience) later this week. We also look forward to sharing more programmatic details in the weeks ahead and inviting you into that conversation at virtual grade-level meetings and through future communications. Please mark virtual Parent Visiting Nights on your calendars: September 17 for the Lower School, September 24 for the Middle School, and September 22 for the Upper School.
All GFA On-Campus Faculty and Staff Tested Negative for COVID-19
I hope that you have been able to spend time reviewing our return to campus plan. As we shared in a recent video message, preparations are underway in every corner of campus to enable us to welcome students back. As part of our process, more than 180 members of our on-campus faculty and staff took a COVID-19 PCR test this past Thursday. I'm pleased to report that all tests, thankfully, returned negative.
Creating Connection
Community and opportunities for collective engagement and enrichment are central to the GFA parent experience. Amidst fairly restrictive and necessary guidelines for group gatherings, we will make every effort to reimagine previously in-person events and likely hold them virtually.
Visiting speakers We hope you plan to join us this fall when we welcome Dr. Jonathan Haidt (7 pm on October 21), and Julie Lythcott Haims (7 pm on January 26, 2021), as Coyle Scholar visiting speakers.
We plan to host both speakers virtually this year and will be in touch with sign-in details closer to the date. For those of you who are new to GFA, the Coyle Scholar speaker series brings to campus inspiring individuals of scholarly and contemporary interest to interact with students and deliver an evening keynote. Every Coyle Scholar event is open to the public so please look out for the RSVP link and tell your friends. Click here for more on this series and these speakers.
Dr. Haidt, social psychologist and New York Times bestselling author of titles including "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion" and "The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure" makes a return visit to Greens Farms Academy, spending the day with students and faculty and presenting his keynote, "What is Happening to Gen Z: How to Make Our Kids Smarter and Stronger" for the community that evening.
Julie Lythcott Haims, New York Times best-selling author of "How To Raise an Adult: How to Raise Successful Kids without Over-Parenting" and the former Dean of Undergraduate Admissions at Stanford University for over a decade, is also the author of "Real American: A Memoir," a critically acclaimed and award-winning memoir that examines racism through her experience as a Black and biracial person in predominantly white institutions. Julie will spend the day with students and faculty and deliver her keynote, "What It Means to Be Black in White Spaces," at 7 p.m. January 26, 2021.
State of the School We will hold our State of the School event this year on Thursday, October 8 at 7 pm. This annual event is an opportunity to hear directly from school administrators, members of our Board of Trustees, and voices within the community about current and future planning for our school. We hope you will mark this on the calendar and plan to join us virtually this year.
Parent Association Events In addition to these all-school events, our Parents Association hosts regular events. You will be hearing from our Parent Association volunteer leadership shortly with details.
New GFA Faces
Everyone at GFA, from teachers to our entire staff, is involved in supporting our students. It is a pleasure to recognize new faculty and staff members and acknowledge important administrative changes. I invite you to spend some time getting digitally acquainted with these new faces and the impressive professional and personal experience they bring to our school. Please check out our "New Faces Page."
On behalf of the entire faculty and staff, we cannot wait to welcome your children back to campus tomorrow. This year, more than ever, we are humbled by the trust you place in us to help your children learn and grow. We look forward to seeing them next week as they begin a year of discovery, learning, and fun.
Let's go Dragons!
Bob Whelan P '24 Head of School Greens Farms Academy | 35 Beachside Avenue | Westport, CT 06880 |