Gator Chronicles, December 2020

DECEMBER 2020

THE GATOR

C H R O N I C L E S

MESSAGE FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL

Dear Gaynor Alumni Families, Like all of you, our world changed in March when we had to quickly pivot from teaching in person to distance learning. Although we faced some challenges, the key to our success was the dedication and expertise of our faculty and staff. In September, we were overjoyed to once again open our doors to students. Even with our new COVID requirements in place, it was amazing how quickly the students adjusted — a sign of their resiliency in times of adversity.

As you will read in this newsletter, there have been many changes this year at Gaynor, but our commitment to our students’ individualized approach to learning continues to remain at the forefront of our mission.

I am heartened hearing the sentiments shared by many alumni and their parents that they continue to feel a special connection to Gaynor. The sense of community at Gaynor remains stronger than ever, and I hope we continue to find ways to stay connected beyond our walls.

Warm regards,

Dr. Scott Gaynor Head of School

GAYNOR UPDATES

What’s New at Gaynor This Year?

A day in the life at Gaynor!

As you could imagine, the daily routine of a Gaynor community member looks a little different this year. In order to reopen our doors in September, our dedicated Tracking & Tracing committee implemented a number of best practices that have helped monitor the health and safety of our community, including a daily symptom tracker, staggered arrival/dismissal times, frequent handwashing, face coverings, and social distancing. After the morning procedures are complete and everyone is inside the school walls, the Gaynor experience feels quite normal! Students continue to learn and build relationships with their peers and teachers, which is the hallmark of the Gaynor experience. As always, our faculty and staff don’t miss a beat. They are constantly coming up with innovative ways for our students to enjoy the process of learning. One teacher even created a TikTok dance to help her students learn the names of the world’s continents! Our Gaynor community has enjoyed being back at school and is happy to, once again, have a sense of normalcy.

Faculty Corner Even though Gaynor looks a little different this year, some things never change. We caught up with a few of our longtime faculty to get their take on what has changed at Gaynor, but what still remains the same.

“While things may look and feel different, the heart and soul of the school has not changed.”

—Mindy Stern, Director of Educational Evaluations for Admissions

“Although this school year is like no other, the sense of community that I feel at Stephen Gaynor School is as strong as ever. I have always loved the way that we all pull together as a staff no matter what the circumstances may be. I also appreciate the support that I have received from parents. As always, I feel extremely fortunate to be a teacher at Gaynor.”

—Joe Kaufman, Math Specialist

“Surprisingly, I find that Gaynor is not really all that different this year, despite all of the COVID restrictions we’ve had to implement and navigate.

While it’s true that classes are smaller and social opportunities are a little more restricted, and many teachers have been thrust into roles that they are not necessarily accustomed to, I find that the climate of the school is fundamentally the same as always. Every day, I am impressed with the upbeat and enthusiastic attitude of the kids and the adaptability and fortitude of the faculty and staff.

I enjoy coming to school every day, just as much now as ever.

So while COVID may have led to some superficial changes in how Gaynor functions, it hasn’t affected the culture of the school at all. And that’s really kind of amazing!”

—Chris Meyer, Blue Cluster Head Teacher

Let Them Wear Costumes!

Thanks to the advocacy skills of a Yellow Cluster class, for this year only, students were permitted to wear school-appropriate Halloween costumes on the Friday before Halloween. The students made a clearcut case and persuaded Dr. Gaynor and the Divisional Directors. Part of their letter read, “It has been a tough year for all of us, and we think that wearing our costumes will cheer everyone up.” They went on to say, “We promise that even while wearing fun costumes, we will stay socially distant, keep our focus, and try our best throughout the day.” To read more about the Yellow Cluster students and their petition for Halloween costumes, click here.

IMPORTANT DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION INITIATIVES OPEN EARS, OPEN MINDS, OPEN HEARTS Over the summer, a team of educators worked to create a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion curriculum that would be incorporated at Gaynor beginning this fall. To read more about what that curriculum entails and how it was created, click here.

For the 2020-2021 school year, our community values theme is, “Open Ears, Open Minds, Open Hearts,” encouraging the entire community to discuss issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in an inclusive and supportive way. To learn more about this, and to read what this theme means to some of our faculty, click here.

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