Pandemic Response

A Benedictine Response

This school year has been fi lled with constant changes fi lled with constant changes in Covid-19 guidelines, in Covid-19 guidelines, tiers, and outbreaks due tiers, and outbreaks due to the ongoing pandemic. to the ongoing pandemic.

Priory has responded to the Priory has responded to the pandemic by turning to what pandemic by turning to what has worked for the Benedictines has worked for the Benedictines for almost 1500 years; for almost 1500 years; the Benedictine values. the Benedictine values.

SPIRITUALITY remains strong

Spirituality is a strong value at Priory. Weekly chapel, diverse theology classes, and the blessed presence of our monastic community are just a few examples. Campus Minister Molly Buccola has continued the chapel experience through weekly Zoom webinars. While Molly knows there is no replacement for the experience of being together in the chapel, the Benedictine spirit remains strong, even virtually.

At a time when we all needed a sense of spirituality and coming together, the idea of a sunset chapel was brought up. The sunset chapel services provided a time for individual grade levels to gather on Kovacs field for a special chapel service just for them. Students brought large beach towels and blankets and enjoyed readings, prayers, and music by fellow classmates as the sun slowly began to disappear behind Windy Hill. Josh Oh ‘21 reflected upon the sunset chapel, “I thought it was super special for all of the Seniors to get together. It’s been a pretty up and down year, but the Sunset Chapel got us all back together and helped me reconnect with classmates I haven’t been able to see during the several months of quarantine.” Senior Sunset Chapel One thing Priory has always had an abundance of is hospitality. From delicious meals in the dining hall to warm welcomes on visitor days, Priory hospitality runs deep. During the pandemic the hospitality hasn’t stopped, just shifted to areas where the need was most apparent. One unexpected need was a place for school-aged children of faculty and staff members to be supervised while their parents taught classes via Zoom on campus. Therefore an outdoor “Learning Village” was setup and coordinated by Dean of Residential Life Adam Siler. With the help of the residential faculty, the faculty children were able to attend their own Zoom classes or work on school assignments. This gave the Priory faculty members peace of mind knowing that their children were in a safe and stable location while they were at work.

Another need that surfaced was an on campus location for a small group of students who had challenges attending distance learning classes from their homes. Many times the challenge was an unsteady internet connection, which can be frustrating for online classes. The identified students were setup in a location on campus and have been very happy with the blazing wifi connection and the opportunity to be on campus. Priory students stepped up in a variety of ways to give back during a time when so many people needed help. Service projects were organized by Priory faculty, parents and students themselves. Many of the projects included building gift bags, cooking

HOSPITALITY runs deep

INTEGRITY: Giving back

Freshman community service project.

meals, and providing holiday gifts for young children. A special emphasis was on essential workers and wildlife firefighters as well and students created thank you cards to thank them for their tireless service to keep our community safe. See the Community Service section on page 22 to see all of the community service projects!

PANDEMIC

INDIVIDUALITY: Recognizing it

Recognizing the individual needs of the Priory community is so important. With so much of the community in so many different situations, the class schedule was closely reviewed to ensure that it was the best learning opportunity to fit for everyone. The daily schedule was modified a few times throughout the school year, but key components remained that included a later start time, Advisory and Flex periods on Wednesdays, and no academic classes on Wednesdays to allow students a break. As an international community, it was imperative to create a schedule that accommodated our international students. We crafted a distinctive weekly night schedule to support our international students unable to attend class during normal school hours due to time differences. Many faculty members were teaching class during the day and then an evening class once a week. As the return to in-person learning comes closer to a reality, not all families are comfortable with returning to the classroom just yet. In order for a smooth transition between students in the classroom and students still attending through distance learning, the school has found an answer through the Owl. Owl cameras are high-tech devices that feature a 360 degree camera and shift to focus on the active speaker whether it be the teacher or a student. Students who are attending a class via Zoom will be able to view and interact with other classmates on Zoom, as well as the teacher and classmates that are in the classroom. Providing a learning environment that works for all students is a top priority during these uncertain times.

The Owl

COMMUNITY: Living it

Coming together as a Priory community has been one of the most important and sought after values during the pandemic. Priory is well known for community events such as weekly chapel, Spirit Week, and even the mixing of faculty and staff with students in the dining hall. So when all of these events were suddenly stripped away due to the pandemic, Priory shifted gears and created all new events to allow the community to come together in a different way. The first community building event took place before the 2020-21 school year even began. Under the direction of new Head of School Patrick Ruff, Dean of Residential Life Adam Siler and Assistant Dean of Students Wes Bennicas rolled out the Summer Enrichment seminars. The week-long, virtual classes were offered free of charge and faculty members offered creative classes that were meant to be fun, creative, and engaging. Seminars included: • Acting/Improv • Astronomy • Astrophysics • Cooking Basics • Fabulous Fibonacci • Film and Literature • Flexibility/Injury Prevention • Girls Circle • Happiness 10 • Hip Hop 101 • Linguistics • Martial Arts • Mindfulness • Newspaper • Nonfi ction Storytelling • Pastry Cooking • Plaster Casting • Redefi ning Beauty • Running Club • Science of Personality • Science of Cinema • Spanish Language • Sports Journalism • Strength Training • Writing Group

Once the school year began, Middle School Head Caitha Ambler jumped right into action, “Community and being together is such an important piece of the fabric of our middle school experience,” she said. Which is why she began gathering the middle school classes in whatever creative way she could. Ambler began hosting class socials, movie nights, and a Halloween parade that all took place on Kovacs field. “It was important to me to offer opportunities for our middle schoolers to be face-to-face (safely) and play games, be creative, and simply chat in the grass,” Ambler continued. Students were thrilled at the opportunities to come together with at least 80% of each class happily participating. Ambler reflected upon the events and remarked, “Even behind the masks, you could see the smiles and hear the laughter and chatter of friends getting reacquainted and new friends being made. Being together in community is just as important as our academic endeavors, it helps us with balance and soothes our heart and soul.”

On a different note, once it became clear that the dorms would not reopen at the start of the school year, Dean of Residential Life Adam Siler and the Residential Faculty knew that they needed to create what they described as “a convenient, stress-free, engaging forum, for dormers to nurture old bonds and create new ones.” The answer was with Dorm Seminars hosted by the talented Residential Faculty. The creative seminars were on compelling topics from cooking and exercising to vocal training and plant-based wisdom but according to Siler, “the content is secondary. Our primary task is to engage and connect kids to one another during these decidedly disengaging and disconnected times.” Siler expressed, “Simply put, the dormers have responded to the pandemic with patience and grace. They have shown a willingness to take time out of their busy schedules to participate in hour-long Dorm Seminars once a week. In doing so, they reveal and renew the positive, promotive, inclusive core of the boarding community.”

Some of the Dorm Seminar classes offered: • Creating the Perfect Dorm Playlist • Quarantine Care • The Most Influential Photos in History • Sunday Grill Retreat • Martial Arts • The Pepper Project • Cooking for Fun

Sunday Grill Retreat

PANDEMIC

Middle School Sports Camp

Meanwhile in the athletics world, while the upper school athletic teams were able to practice on a regular basis for the most part, Athletic Directors Mark Stogner and Doug Sargent had to build a completely new middle school sports program. With Covid-19 restrictions in mind, they developed a Sports Camp in which students could sign up for sports that they would practice for two week sessions on campus in cohorts. Students gained a greater appreciation for the many opportunities to partake in athletics and it showed with almost 85% of middle school students participating in the sports camps. Sargent was surprised at the high turnout, “It was great to see a whole new appreciation for athletics and its value to mental wellness and not just an athletic outlet,” he said. Organizing all of the different sports took a lot of teamwork, especially with securing the many Thank You Coaches! coaches. Sargent was very appreciative, “I’d like to thank all Andrew Downey- Basketball, Lacrosse of our coaches who went out of their way in order to make CJ Gomez- Track and Field this happen for the Priory students.” Dave Jefferson- Baseball, Basketball Tulin Mendoza- Soccer David Moseley- Basketball, Tennis Con O’Leary- Swimming, Water Polo Celso Onofre- Tennis Robin Rosales- Volleyball Myles Somerville- Lacrosse Sean Weeks- Track and Field Michael Zhao ’16- Traffic Management, Administration

Eighth Grade Social

With opportunities to come on campus still a hot commodity, the idea of Enrichment classes was implemented and managed by new Dean of Students Kate Johansen. Enrichment classes gave students the opportunity to partake in non-academic classes that were optional, similar to a club or extra-curricular. Students had a lot of hands on activities like painting, cooking, gardening, and even rocket and bridge building. The activities helped to fill students creative minds and souls. The weekly Enrichment classes proved to be hugely popular, “we averaged between 60 to 70 kids each week and most sessions were at or near capacity,” said Johansen. “Students LOVED it.” The offerings changed from week to week and students met in a variety of locations on campus from outdoor tents, the garden, and even small groups met in Just a small sample of some of the classrooms. Looking back at the sign up sheets, Johansen Enrichment classes offered by the remarked, “Pizza Making with Father Matthew was, by accomplished faculty: far, the most popular. It would be full within minutes of • Dot Painting me sending out the sign out form.” • Garden Work As the state of the pandemic fluctuates, Priory has had • Coloring and Conversation to adapt and sometimes completely rebuild traditions that have been in place since the school opened. We are • Pizza Making thankful for the Benedictine values which have served as • Exploratorium Toys & Microscope Lab our guide for over sixty years and will continue to do so • Intro to Music Production for years to come. • Practical Portuguese • Zumba • STEM Engineering Challenge

Exploration Toys & Microscope Lab enrichment with Paul Trudelle.

Coloring and Conversations Enrichment